Life of Ancient Romans

The ancient Romans built the city of Rome in today’s country of Italy. The Roman Empire took over the northern cost of Africa, parts of Middle East and most of Europe.

Even though they had strong armies, they lived during the time of peace which was called Pax Romana. During Pax Romana, the richest people had big, fancy houses, servants or slaves. But, this wasn’t the lifestyle of most citizens. The empire was rich, but most people were poor. Romans ate grains, grapes and olives almost every day. They made bread from grains, wine from grapes and olive oil from olives. Poor people ate mostly bread for meals but the rich liked trying new things such as; jellyfish, peacock, ostrich and fungus. They held huge parties which lasted for days.

The most famous clothing was the toga, a long piece of wool draped around the body without any pins or buttons. Togas weren’t comfortable, but people wore it with pride. The colours of a toga showed the importance. Most citizens wore a white toga, an important person wore a toga with purple stripes and the emperor’s toga was all purple.

Romans liked to go to public baths where they could exercise, relax and get clean. A normal trip to public baths was a big event. First, they exercised in the gym, and went to a warm room where someone would rub oil all over the body. Then, they took a swim in the baths. Finally, the visited ended drinking natural mineral water which they believed had healing powers. People visited the baths not only to relax but also to gather with each other. They shared ideas, made plans and got to know one another. This might have been the most important purpose of the baths.