Daily life in the roman empire
City and country
In ancient times, a city was viewed as a place that fostered civilisation. A focus of Augustan monumental architecture was the Campus Marcius which was an open area outside the city centre that in early times had been used for equestrian sports and physical training for the young people. The Altar of Augustan Peace was situated there as well as an obelisk imported from Egypt to form a pointer on this altar. City planning and urban lifestyles were mainly influenced by the Greeks in early times. But Rome formed its own development on cities that already had a strong Hellenistic character. In the areas of the western Empire, lived in by the Celtic peoples, Rome encouraged the development of urban centres with stone temples, forums, monumental features, and amphitheatres, often on or near the sites of pre-existing walled settlements known as oppida. Urbanization also expanded on Roman Africa in the Greek and Punic cities along the coast. The network of cities throughout the Empire was a primary united force during the Pax Romana. Even the Christian polemicist Tertullian declared that the world of the late 2nd century was more orderly well-cultivated than in earlier times. The decline of cities and city life in the 4th century when the wealthy classes were unable to support public works, was a sign of Rome's imminent disintegration.
In the city of Rome most people lived in the multi-storey apartments called insulae and they were often, a lot of the time, fire hazards. Public facilities were aimed primarily at the people living in the insulae. These included baths/ thermae, toilets that were flushed with running water/ latrinae, efficiently located basins or intricate fountains/ nymphae delivering fresh water and large-scale entertainments such as chariot races and gladiator fighting. Some of the best-preserved Roman structures are found in Spain, southern France and northern Africa.
The public baths of the Empire served with hygienic, social and cultural functions. Bathing was what most people did in Roman cities in the late afternoon before dinner to socialize with friends. The Roman baths were divided into different rooms with baths of different temperatures. Also in the facility of the public baths, there was an exercise-training room, sauna, exfoliation spa, ball court or sometimes there was an outdoor swimming pool. The exfoliation spa was oils were massaged into the skin and scraped from the body with a strigil. Most baths in Roman cities had hypocaust heating to boast their advancement in technology. Mixed nude bathing wasn't unusual during the early Empire. Though some baths may have given separate facilities or hours for the men and women. These public baths were a part of the urban culture throughout the provinces and by the late fourth century AD individual tubs started to replace collective bathing. Christians went to the baths for health and cleanliness but they didn't go the games because they thought that they were religious events for the 'pagans'.
Rich families from Rome normally had two or more houses: a townhouse/ domus and at least one luxury home outside the city. A domus was a privately owned single-family house and it was sometimes furnished with a private bath but it was never a place to retreat from public life. The houses of the wealthy were always meant to be visible and accessible. The atrium was usually a reception hall where the head of the household would meet with his clients every morning and it also contained a household shrine for the gods and the images of family ancestors. These houses were situated in busy public roads and usually contained an wall-enclosed garden called a peristyle which was normally at the back of the house. The rich families' luxury home on the other hand was called a villa and ideally this place commanded a view or vista carefully arranged beforehand by the architectural design. It might be situated on a working estate or a 'resort town' on the coast, such as Pompeii or Herculaneum.
During the urban reforms of Augustus, the population of Rome amounted to one million people and this was accompanied by pleasant remembrances of rural life expressed in the arts. The insides of houses were often decorated with painted gardens, fountains, landscapes, vegetative ornament and animals, mainly birds and marine life. Also, during Augustus's reign, the poet Horace wrote the well-known fable of The Town Mouse and The Country Mouse.
The central government's main aim was to maintain the agriculture where producing food was the most popular job on the land. Farming techniques such as crop rotation and selective breeding were distributed throughout the Empire and crops were introduced to new provinces such as peas and cabbage was introduced to Britain. Since the food dole was established in the Late Republic, two hundred to two hundred and fifty thousand adult males in Rome received the dole and every year a hundred thousand tons were imported mainly from Sicily, North Africa and Egypt. The grain dole both ensured the emperor as the universal contributor, and the right to all citizens to share in the 'fruits of conquest'.
In the city of Rome most people lived in the multi-storey apartments called insulae and they were often, a lot of the time, fire hazards. Public facilities were aimed primarily at the people living in the insulae. These included baths/ thermae, toilets that were flushed with running water/ latrinae, efficiently located basins or intricate fountains/ nymphae delivering fresh water and large-scale entertainments such as chariot races and gladiator fighting. Some of the best-preserved Roman structures are found in Spain, southern France and northern Africa.
The public baths of the Empire served with hygienic, social and cultural functions. Bathing was what most people did in Roman cities in the late afternoon before dinner to socialize with friends. The Roman baths were divided into different rooms with baths of different temperatures. Also in the facility of the public baths, there was an exercise-training room, sauna, exfoliation spa, ball court or sometimes there was an outdoor swimming pool. The exfoliation spa was oils were massaged into the skin and scraped from the body with a strigil. Most baths in Roman cities had hypocaust heating to boast their advancement in technology. Mixed nude bathing wasn't unusual during the early Empire. Though some baths may have given separate facilities or hours for the men and women. These public baths were a part of the urban culture throughout the provinces and by the late fourth century AD individual tubs started to replace collective bathing. Christians went to the baths for health and cleanliness but they didn't go the games because they thought that they were religious events for the 'pagans'.
Rich families from Rome normally had two or more houses: a townhouse/ domus and at least one luxury home outside the city. A domus was a privately owned single-family house and it was sometimes furnished with a private bath but it was never a place to retreat from public life. The houses of the wealthy were always meant to be visible and accessible. The atrium was usually a reception hall where the head of the household would meet with his clients every morning and it also contained a household shrine for the gods and the images of family ancestors. These houses were situated in busy public roads and usually contained an wall-enclosed garden called a peristyle which was normally at the back of the house. The rich families' luxury home on the other hand was called a villa and ideally this place commanded a view or vista carefully arranged beforehand by the architectural design. It might be situated on a working estate or a 'resort town' on the coast, such as Pompeii or Herculaneum.
During the urban reforms of Augustus, the population of Rome amounted to one million people and this was accompanied by pleasant remembrances of rural life expressed in the arts. The insides of houses were often decorated with painted gardens, fountains, landscapes, vegetative ornament and animals, mainly birds and marine life. Also, during Augustus's reign, the poet Horace wrote the well-known fable of The Town Mouse and The Country Mouse.
The central government's main aim was to maintain the agriculture where producing food was the most popular job on the land. Farming techniques such as crop rotation and selective breeding were distributed throughout the Empire and crops were introduced to new provinces such as peas and cabbage was introduced to Britain. Since the food dole was established in the Late Republic, two hundred to two hundred and fifty thousand adult males in Rome received the dole and every year a hundred thousand tons were imported mainly from Sicily, North Africa and Egypt. The grain dole both ensured the emperor as the universal contributor, and the right to all citizens to share in the 'fruits of conquest'.
Food and Dining
Most apartments didn't have a kitchen though a charcoal brazier could be used for basic cooking. Prepared food was sold at pubs and bars, inns and food stalls. Takeaway and restaurant dining was only used by the plebeians while the higher-ranked people dined in fancy private dinner parties in houses with a chef and kitchen staff.