Want To Live In Rome?
Bathing was also an important ritual for the Romans. They really loved themselves and being clean was a must. The wealthier families often had their own private baths of course.
Boys and girls were treated very differently. You couldn't be a tomboy if you were a girl! You were expected to be gracious and elegant, no climbing trees for you! Often between the ages of 12 and 14 years, a girl would be married. Could you marry for love? Nope, you were told whom to marry, and even then depending on the agreement formed between the two families you could still be under the control of your father!
Boys often married later and were not really seen as adults until around the age of thirty and yes; good-old Dad still controlled your life at this point. Having children was an important part of a Roman marriage because babies often died young. They didn't have the medical knowledge that we have today and almost half of all the babies born wouldn't get to adulthood.
So, if you pleased Dad and your family was well off, then the chances are you might have had a good life during the Roman period and if you managed to reach old age, well you became a respected citizen. However, it didn't matter how old you were if Dad was alive, because he still ruled the roost and you, until he died!
Next Time - Roman entertainment – the life of a gladiator!
Further Reading
Roman Life
Timeline of Ancient Rome
The Domus Aurea - Roman sources by topic particularly useful for essay writing or to just learn more.
Photographs very kindly supplied by Leo C. Curran ©1997-2002. Please visit Leo's excellent Maecenas, Images of Ancient Greece and Rome website for more superb images. Thank you Leo.
Sources: Life in Roman Britain; Tony McAleavy. Published by English Heritage; December 1999.
The Ancient City: Life in Classical Athens and Rome; Peter Connolly; Hazel Dodge; Published by Oxford University Press; July 2000.
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