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Ancient Rome

Death and Funerals

Most of the Romans believed that the spirits of the dead were rowed across a mythological river called the Styx, to the underworld. There, the spirit was said to be judged whether it was to go to heaven Elysium, or hell Tartarus. Funerals were held to prepare the spirit for this journey. To pay the ferry fare across the Styx, a coin was placed unde...

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Roman Family Law and Traditions

Roman Law One of the greatest legacies of Rome is their legal system... The development of Roman law began with the Twelve Tables in the mid-fifth century B.C. During a period of over 1000 years, the Roman jurists created a rich literature about all aspects of law: property, marriage, guardianship and family, contracts, theft, and inheritance. Roma...

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Roman Slaves

Slaves were very important to the Romans. Without slaves, the wealthy of Rome would not have been able to lead the lifestyles that they wanted to. Who were slaves? They were people who were frequently captured in battle and sent back to Rome to be sold. However, abandoned children could also be brought up as slaves. The law also stated that fathers...

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Ancient Roman Festivals

Feriae - Ancient Roman Festivals. Bacchanalia | Dionysiac festivals held in honor of the god Bacchus, Bacchanalia were so notorious in ancient Rome that the Roman Senate suppressed the celebration of these rites in 186 B.C....

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Clothing & Hairstyles

CLOTHING & HAIR STYLES: The very early Romans wore a toga. It looked like a white sheet 9 yards long. Togas were arranged very carefully, in a stylish way. Togas fell out of style rather early. (The toga was inconvenient, and people felt the cold when they wore it.) To get anyone to wear them, even very early emperors had to legislate the weari...

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Marriage

Roman girls were allowed to marry at the age of 12, but most waited until they became 14. The young Romans did not have a lot of choice about whom they married. Parents made the choice, and they were often for business, political or social reasons....

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Ancient Roman Women: A Look at their Lives

Any historical investigation into the lives of ancient women involves individual interpretation and much speculation. One can read the ancient sources concerned with women and their place in society, but to a large degree, they are all secondary sources that were written by men about women. No ancient journals or personal diaries written by Roman w...

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Roman Education

A Roman Education: Just as it is in much of the world today, the amount and kind of education you got in Rome depended on your family's wealth, status, and connections. There was no legal requirement to educate your children, but in most times and places during the long span of "ancient Rome" there was broad acceptance of the idea that knowledge wa...

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Roman School

Rome as a Kingdom: In early Roman days, kids did not go to school. A Roman boy's education took place at home. If his father could read and write, he taught his son to do the same. The father instructed his sons in Roman law, history, customs, and physical training, to prepare for war. Reverence for the gods, respect for law, obedience to authority...

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Roman Lifestyle

The Romans encompassed thousands of different cultures and comprised of diverse social, religious, ethnic and economic classes. The Roman family consisted of the father of the family, the wife, the children and the slaves of the household. The Roman family structure was patriarchal, with the oldest father of the family being the head. They lived in...

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