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CLAS 1280 > Content > Flashcards

Content Flashcards

1
Q

Convivium or Symposium

A

Final course/drinking
After the Cena (main meal)
Involved entertainment and discussion
Associated both with wild revelry and serious philosophical discussions

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2
Q

Garum

A

Fermented fish sauce popular across the Empire with people of all classes
Fish intestines mixed with salt and left to ferment for 48 hrs.
Garum could be Liquid or evaporate into a paste

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3
Q

Caracalla

A

granted citizenship to all freeborn Roman citizens in 212 CE

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4
Q

Ways of becoming/being a Roman Citizen

A
  1. Being born citizen from two free parents
  2. Military service came with pension (20 years of service)
  3. Freed slaves were automatically granted citizenship
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5
Q

1st century: Path to Roman Citizenship

A

honorable discharge from army

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6
Q

2st century: path to Roman citizenship

A

any individual who enrolled in a legion

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7
Q

Citizenship privileges

A
  • Right to make a will
  • Right to vote (men only)
  • Right to wear the Toga
  • Legally protected from suffering abuse without trial
  • Pass on citizenship to children
  • Right to use three-name system
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8
Q

What was central to all aspects of Roman Life?

A

Wealth (class) & Status (legal standing)

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9
Q

Class: 2 elements

A
  1. Economic class: concerned with wealth
  2. Social sophistication: actions that are direct result of economic standing
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10
Q

Status: 2 elements

A
  1. Legal standing - citizen or non-citizen
  2. Social prestige - more casual, fluid (reputation)
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11
Q

gens

A

clan

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12
Q

Women naming system

A

Women usually known by the feminine version of their father’s nomen (last name)
Praenomen rare for women and if used, were adjectives

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13
Q

“New Men”

A

Men who were wealthy, but whose families did not previously hold high political offices

They aimed to distinguish themselves by getting elected to public office and admitted to the senate

“New Men” were looked down upon by the senators with senatorial ancestry

Those with famous ancestors would display wax images of their ancestors in their home

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14
Q

Marius

A

New Men

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15
Q

Cicero

A

was abandoned by the senate in part because of his “New Man” status, exiled

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16
Q

Augustus

A

The traditional political families were heavily damaged in the civil wars and proscriptions
– Therefore, there were many “New Men” under

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17
Q

Social Mobility

A
  • Possible in the empire
  • Slaves could be freed (freedpeople)
  • Freedpeople could become very, very wealthy (but could never apply for office)
  • Sons of equestrians could become senators, etc
  • People in the provinces could become citizens
  • Citizenship granted with an honourable discharge from the army
  • Most often took generations for anything to happen
  • Still stigma with having freedpeople in one’s ancestry
  • Stereotypes and discrimination against those from the provinces
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18
Q

Tunic

A

Worn alone at home and work, but never at a social function

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19
Q

tunica angusticlavia

A

narrow-striped tunic
Worn by Equestrains

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20
Q

tunica anteclavia

A

broad- striped tunic
worn by senators

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21
Q

Toga

A
  • Male citizens only
  • Made from unbleached wool
  • Semicircular cloth, between 12 and 20 feet in length
  • Restricted movement (and behaviour)
  • Variation in colour depending on rank and distinction
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22
Q

Toga Virilis

A
  • Also called Toga Alba
  • Plain white toga
  • Worn by adult Roman citizens on formal/special occasions
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23
Q

Toga Praetexta

A
  • White toga with purple stripe near border
  • Worn over a tunic with two broad, vertical purple stripes
  • Worn by freeborn boys before they came of age, senators (held position of curule, magistrate, and priesthoods
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24
Q

Toga Picta

A
  • “Painted toga”
  • Both dyed and embroidered
  • Purple with gold accents
  • Worn by the emperor
  • Also by officials giving public games, consuls on special occasions, and generals during their triumph
  • Increasingly elaborate over time
    *
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25
Q

Fullers

A

who washed clothes
No soap, and not washed at home

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26
Q

Chattel slavery

A

existed from 200 BCE to 200 CE) - anyone who was considered “socially dead”

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27
Q

Purpose of Baths

A

Leisure centers
* Exercise, play various ball games, libraries, reading & conversation rooms, massage & hair removal rooms

Patrons conducted business in the morning, bathing was a extension of business (clients informally speaking with their patrons)

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28
Q

Typical Visit to the Baths

A
  • Some exercise and a swim in the pool
  • Visit to the heathed rooms
  • Cold -> warm -> hot
  • Dirt would be sweated out in the steam room and you would be rubbed oil
  • You or your slave scraped dirt, sweat, oil off your skin with a metal tool
  • Final rinse in the cold pool
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29
Q

Garum

A
  • Fermented fish sauce popular across the Empire with people of all classes
  • Fish intestines mixed with salt and left to ferment for 48 hrs.
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30
Q

Convivium or Symposium:

A

Final course/drinking
* After the Cena (main meal)
* Involved entertainment and discussion
* Associated both with wild revelry and serious philosophical discussions

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31
Q

Nika Revolt

A
  • Hippodrome of Constantinople
  • Only Blues and Greens factions were influential
  • Justinian was a support of Blue
  • Nika: Victorty
  • Palace was attacked for the next 5 days
  • Fire spread to the rest of the city, destroying much of it.
  • Rioters found allies in the senate who wanted to overthrow Justinian
  • Demanded that he resign
  • Dismiss two hated officials
  • Declare Hypatius the new emperor
  • Theodora: Wife of Justinian convinced him to stay
  • Justinian got Narses to enter the Hippodrome alone with a bag of gold
  • Blues were paid off
  • Greens were killed
  • Hypatius was executed
  • Justinian re-asserte his rule
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32
Q

Charioteers

A
  • Slaves or Freedmen
  • Wore protective leather clothing
  • Horse’s rein was tied around the drivers’ bodies
  • Carried short knives to cut the rope
  • Difficult, dangerous, often-fatal work
  • If successful, immense rewards
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33
Q

Chariot Factions

A
  • Drivers and horses part of racing syndicates (factiones)
  • Red, White, Blue, Green
  • Frandom not divided by social status or wealth - First real example
  • People linked by their love for the same team
  • Intense rivalries could lead to violence between fans
  • Pliny the Younger was disappointed in why people liked Chariot Races, as they only cared about the team uniforms, rather than the rider or horses with skills.
    *
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34
Q

Circus Maximus

A
  • Location of chariot races
  • Between Aventine and Palatine Hills
  • Long & Narrow, with seats on all sides
  • Barrier in the center called Spina (backbone)
  • One end was the carceres (holding area for the charitos)
  • Other end was the porta triumphalis (triumphal gate)
  • 60, 000 spectators in 1st century
  • 200,000 spectators later on
  • Seats were hierarchical (based on status)
  • Marble platform and curved boxes in the first row for emperor, senators, etc.
    ** Augustus said women would only be able to sit at the back **
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35
Q

Actors

A
  • All actors were male slaves
  • Not well-regarded ‘infamia’
  • Used simple props and costumes
  • Wigs and Hats indicated different characters
  • Actors played multiple role (cheaper)
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36
Q

Plays

A
  • Earliest plays based on unscripted farces known from other italian cities
  • Imitation of Greek drama - scripted plays of comedy and tragedy
  • Greek-inspired genres of mime and pantomime
  • Mime: stock situations (soap operas)
  • Pantomime: wordless form of dance (ballet)
  • Romans weren’t interested in long dramatic competitions like the Greeks held
  • Nero tried to institute a festival that included plays and signing
    *
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37
Q

Public games

A
  • Ludi: public games in the circus or theatrical shows
  • Offered by the state as civic celebrations and religious festivals
  • Designated festivals throughout the year
  • Ludi also held in thanksgiving for military victories or in commemoration of a deceased emperor
  • Organized by aediles and other magistrates
    *
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38
Q

Female gladiators/ Gladiatrix

A
  • Fought against other women
  • Relatively uncommon
  • No female gladiator schools
  • Exotic rarity
  • “Rich women who have lost all sense of the dignities and duties of their sex” said by Juvenal.
  • Women breast-hunters (bestiarii) could earn praise and a good reputation for courage and skill
  • Emperor Septimius Severus banned female gladiators around 200 CE.
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39
Q

Gladiator schools/training

A
  • Lanista: head of a toupe of gladiators
  • Ludus: gladiator school
  • Gladiators: low on social hierarchy but could enjoy celebrity status based on their courage and skill
  • Trained gladiators were paid each time they fought
  • It is in the best interest of a Lanista to provide good training, good supplies, and good medical care to Gladiators. If they die - money wasted.
    *
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40
Q

Ludus

A

Gladiatorial school

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41
Q

Amphitheater

A

“two theaters”
* Since gladiators shows became a central part of Roman entertainment, it was needed to build permanent structures to hold the shows.
* Amphitheater/arena means two theaters
* Harena (sand) was used to soak up blood
* Oldest stone amphitheater is in Pompeii
* Augustus built the first permanent amphitheater in Rome (as part of his building projects for entainment)
* Flavian Amphitheatre
* Built using Vespasian’s destruction of Jerusalem and the Jewish Temple
* Sits on the site of Nero’s Golden House
* 40,000 to 60,000 capacity
* Seating by status
* First Row: Senators
* Second Row: Knights
* Third Row: Plebians
* Last Row: Poor, Women, Slaves
* Hypogeum: underground series of chambers
* Tunnel connecting it to the large gladiators schools
* Emperors used amphitheaters to spreaded Roman civilization and culture in the provinces
*

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42
Q

Late Republic - Gladiators

A
  • Until the end of Republic - all gladiatorial comebacks were part of funerals
  • Took place in public places like the forum using temporary wooden seating
  • Gaius Gracchus and some politicians used the popularity of gladiator shows to seek public support
  • When Julius Caesar was campaigning to be elected aedile, the senate passed a law to limit the number of gladiators that a private citizen could hire as Caesar’s preparations were so extravagant.
  • Limited to 320 pairs of gladiators
  • Gladiators shows transitioned from a ritual to a sport - became professionalized
  • By the late republic, the gladiators were prisoners of war
43
Q

Origins of Gladiators

A
  • Exact origins are impossible to discern
  • Likely originated in regions around Rome (ex. Campania)
  • Earliest recorded gladiatorial combat was in 264 BCE
  • Perhaps only fought to the point of first bloodshed
  • The sons of Decimus Junius Brutus Pera gave a gladiatorial show for their deceased father
  • To honor the deceased as well as the ancestors
  • Blood needed to be spilled for the manes
  • Earliest gladiators were criminals and slaves
    *
44
Q

Pliny’s letter to Trajan

A
  • No sustained, empire-wide persecutions, Trajan seems to think a standard response to Christians is impossible
  • Christians sometimes treated as “political associations”, indicates that they were sometimes seen as a threat to Roman authority. Could be punished for this offense, rather than anything to do with religion
  • Christians included people of all ages, sexes, ranks, all were eligible to be put to death
  • Defying Roman authorities in any respect could lead to execution, decision on punishment left up to individual officials
45
Q

Augurs

A
  • Responsible for making known the will of the gods through the interpretation of various signs (auspicia)
  • City officials called for signs, and the augur acted as an adviser or witness
  • Two different kinds of auguries
  • Impetrativa - requested by man
  • Oblativa - offered spontaneously by the gods
  • When taking a sign, the augur needed to define a particular area in the sky known as a templum, which is the area where the sign would be read
  • The passing of laws, holding elections, and discussions of war required approval by the augurs
  • Ambiguity of the signs meant that augurs often wielded great political power
46
Q

Pontiffs

A
  • Religious officials, complex group filled with different types of priests
  • Led by the pontifex maximus (usually emperor)
  • College of pontiffs included the Flamines (priests) of the 15 major gods
  • General experts on all issues related to religious practices
  • Determined dates of festivals through the organization of the calendar
  • Calendar also determined dates when the courts and the senate could sit
  • Oversaw sacrifices, arranged the games
  • Oversaw family issues like adoptions, wills/inheritances
    *
47
Q

Sacrifice

A
  • To praise a deity: thanksgiving, supplication, atonement/purification
  • Roman sacrifices originally based largely on the agricultural year, later on special occasions in civic life
  • Non-animal sacrifices: wine, plants/flowers, food, incense, small objects, etc
  • Animal sacrifices: pigs, sheep, cattle, birds
  • Stages of Roman sacrifice:
    Test to make sure it was suitable (sex, age, colour, type determined by deity/occasion)

Procession of victim to the altar

Prayer of main officiant at the sacrifice, and offering of wine, incense as a libation at altar

Pouring of wine and meal over the animal’s head by the main sacrificial

The killing of the animal by slaves, examination of entrails for omens

The burning of parts of the animal on the altar, followed by a banquet taken by the participants from the rest of the meat

48
Q

Temples

A
  • Various temples dedicated to various gods and goddesses
  • Generally followed a rectangular pattern
  • Elevated on a high podium
  • Inside, temples contained statues of the god or goddess to whom the temple was dedicated
  • The god or goddess was believed to occasionally reside within these statues
  • Ordinary Romans rarely entered the innermost part of the temple structure
  • Religious ceremonies took place in the space outside the temple
  • Sacrifices took place on an altar positioned towards the front of the temple, but still in the open air
  • The forum was the centre of civic and religious life, contained a series of temples
  • Greatest temple in the city was the temple dedicated to the capitoline triad
  • Jupiter Optimus Maximus, Juno, and Minerva
  • Destroyed by fire in 83 BCE, rebuilt
    *
49
Q

Incubation

A
  • Healing at shrines of Asclepius involved purification through baths, fasting, etc
  • Afterwards, patients would spend the night in a dormitory attached to the asclepion
  • During their sleep, asclepius would visit the patient and show what they had to do to be cured
50
Q

Asclepius

A
  • Healing god
  • Said to be the son of Apollo and a human mother
  • Said to be from Epidaurus, Greece
  • Known as a healer, said to be able to raise people from the dead
  • After his death elevated by Zeus to god status
51
Q

Asking the gods for help

A
  • Asked for ongoing aid in areas of concern (for example, prosperity of crops and herds)
  • Extremely common, can refer to specific illnesses or injuries (life-threatening or not)
  • Can simply be for general well-being
    *
52
Q

Janus

A
  • Two-faced god of beginnings and endings
  • Doors of his temple ritually opened during times of war and closed during times of peace
    *
53
Q

Worship

A
  • Nonexclusive and pluralistic (free to worship as many or as few)
  • No empire-wide organizations that oversaw the worship of the gods
  • Not all gods considered equal
    *
54
Q

Origins of Religion in Rome

A
  • Romulus founded the city based on sacred approval
  • Augury showed favour to his choice of the Palatine Hill
  • Romulus also said to have laid out the sacred boundary around the city (the pomerium) built the first temple, and established some of the most important festivals
  • Most gods and goddesses adopted from the Greek context
    *
55
Q

Pantheon

A
  • Originally built by Marcus Agrippa during the Augustan period
  • Completely rebuilt under Trajan and Hadrian
  • Dedicated to “all the gods”
  • Further demonstrates Roman expertise in the use of concrete, cylindrical structure
  • Self-supporting hemispherical dome
    *
56
Q

Flavian Amphitheatre (Colosseum)

A
  • Built by Vespasian, completed by Titus in 80 CE
  • Provided the people of Rome with a large entertainment venue
  • Demonstrates Roman expertise with concrete and vaulted construction
  • Series of arches on the outside
  • Complex series of vaulted passageways underneath held the seating and access staircases
    *
57
Q

Portraits of Augustus/Livia

A
  • Augustus’ image on coins and statues - not verism, instead portrayed as a young man throughout his reign
  • Symbol of the timelessness of Roman power
  • Shown in different political and religious roles (pontifex maximus, military commander)
  • Facial feature and hair are nearly identical, ensuring he was always recognizable
  • Same strategy for his wife, Livia
    *
58
Q

Verism in Roman statues

A
  • (realism of individuals)
  • Might have developed because of increased emphasis on family ancestry
  • Showing age in portraiture linked with an elevated social status (experience)
    *
59
Q

Aqueducts

A
  • Served as both important infrastructure as well as symbols of Roman dominance and superiority
  • Brought water to a number of different delivery points, including public fountains, wealthy private households, and Roman baths
  • Water transported by gravity (systems operated continuously and generally without shut-off mechanisms)
  • Water could be diverted into a temporary conduit or allowed to overflow at a convenient and safe point upstream of the repair site
  • Aqueducts contained settling tanks and inspections shafts for regular maintenance
  • 90% of aqueducts ran at or below ground level (arched bridges only when necessary)
  • Construction of Rome’s aqueducts began in 312 BCE, under the same censor who built the Via Applia (Aqua Appia)
  • Previously, Romans made use of water from the Tiber, wells, and springs, but the population had grown too large
  • By 226 CE, Rome had 11 aqueducts
  • In the Augustan period, cities in the provinces began to enjoy the benefits of aqueducts
  • Initially for Roman garrisons and veteran colonies, but then used for the wider population
  • Length could be over 90 km, width of the water channel usually less than a metre
  • Height needed to allow for a maintenance worker to enter and undertake repairs
  • Once the water arrived in a city, necessary to distribute it to the consumers
  • Collected in a central distribution basin
  • Lead pipes would then distribute it to different regions
  • Wealthy could pay for private running water at home
  • Otherwise, there were large numbers of public fountains throughout the city
    *
60
Q

Concrete

A
  • Invented in late 3rd century BCE
  • Revolutionized building construction because it could be shaped into any desirable form and was as durable as stone once hardened
  • Allowed Romans to build structures with unparalleled efficiency and to design interior space in innovative shapes
  • Ability to set and harden under water allowed for efficient construction of harbor installations
    *
61
Q

Roads

A
  • Essential for Roman expansion
  • Primarily intended for military use (allowed army and supplies to move efficiently)
  • Civilians also made use of them
  • Had regular rest stops and mile markers showing distance to major points along the road
  • Originally intended to be used by soldiers marching on foot
  • Had to offer stable footing throughout the year, avoid steep gradients, be as straight as possible, and durable to require minimum maintenance
  • Different methods used depending on the local climate and topographical conditions
  • Earliest roads seem to have had a simple gravel surface
  • By late Republic, important sections of roads were paved with polygonal stone resting on a layered bed of sand, coarse gravel, and fine gravel
  • Usually a slight land to allow rainwater to run off to the sides
  • Road widths could vary significantly depending on local topographic conditions, difficulty of construction, access to labour and material, and the importance of the road
  • Usually wide enough to fit two wagons side by side
    *
62
Q

Women and Families
In Militarty

A
  • Male-dominated army
  • Roman law forbade soldiers (not officers) from marrying
  • Roman authors stressed the negative influence of women on the effectiveness of soldiers
  • Vindolanda (Roman base in northern England)
  • Confirms presence of women and children (ex. Shoes of children, and women, brooches, spindles, and letters).
  • *
63
Q

Professionalization

A
  • Gaius Marius (2 century CE) took steps to professionalize the army
  • Enhanced training for individual soldiers using techniques from gladiatorial schools
  • Soldiers carried two weeks of supplies while on campaign
  • Recruitment of men without property
  • Augustus further advanced after 31 BCE:
  • Discharged half of the 60 legions
  • Remaining soldiers became permanent members of a professional army
  • Established a military treasury
  • Deployed the majority of soldiers to the frontiers
    *
64
Q

Praetorian Guard

A
  • Ratified under Augustus - responsible for the safety and protection of the emperor
  • 9 to 12 cohorts
  • 500 to 800 men per cohort
  • Highest paid rank within the Roman military
  • Triple the salary of a legionary
  • Served 16 years terms - shortest
  • Septimius Severus disbanded them and replaced with provincials
65
Q

Auxiliaries

A
  • Formalized during the Principate with Augustus implementing major changes
  • 150,000 to 200,000 soldiers served every year
  • Equal to the citizen legionaries
  • 2 types of Units
  • Cavalry Wings
  • Infantry Cohorts
  • Each with 500 to 1,000 soldiers
  • Composed of non-citizens living in the empire
  • Used sword, spear, circular shields, and wearing less armor
  • Served longer terms than legionaries
  • Upon retirement, they were only granted Roman citizenship
    *
66
Q

Legions

A

Heavy Infantry
Organized into smaller subunits:
1. Cohorts
2. Centuries
3. Contubernia

Only male Roman citizens could be legionaries

Prohibited from joining if
* Convicted and condemned to the beasts
* Convicted of adultery
* Convicted in public court by a jury

If a military tribunal finds a soldier guilty of a crime while serving in the ranks, he will face serious punishment, including death.
R
ecruits completed 4 months of probation
Required to swear a formal oath (sacramentum) to the Emperor
Included the recruit’s name, a statement of loyalty, a statement of obedience, and a reference to the emperors and state’s safety.

Served 20 years before retirement
Received money and land upon retirement

67
Q

Maecenas

A

Friend and Advisor to Augustus
Patron of Vergil

  • Maecenas developed friendships with leading poets of the time
  • Several of these poets seem to have lived near Maecenas
  • Questions about how much sway Maecenas would have held over the way writers described contemporary issues and Augustus
  • No imperial panegyrics (poems intended to be praiseworthy)
68
Q

Aeneid

A

Written by Virgil
His most famous work; an account of Aeneas, a hero of the Trojan War who eventually becomes the ancestor of the Romans

Consciously trying to Romanize Homeric epics
– Written in Latin, not Greek
* Aeneas travels from Homer’s world of Troy to the future
Roman world
* Aeneas’ qualities are specifically Roman
– Especially pietas (“duty”) towards the gods, his family, and his new fatherland (the future Roman Empire)
* Served to explain Roman history, glorify Roman virtues, and legitimize the Julio-Claudian dynasty as the descendants of Aeneas

69
Q

Foreign/Greek origins of Latin literature

A

240 BCE: traditional date given for beginning of Latin literature
Possible that Rome imported literature from other cultures throughout the Mediterranean
Authors typically not born in Rome (spoke multiple languages, culturally diverse)
Heavily influenced by Greek literature
Lots of appropriation of literature and literary practices using violent means
At first, copied closely Greek literature (tragedy, comedy, epic)
Slowly became more “romanized” and more accepted within Roman life more generally

70
Q

Apprenticeships

A
  • Most children did not receive formal education, instead having apprenticeships in trades
  • Only other steady career option would be joining the army (benefits and good pay, but for 20 to 30 years)
  • Training began at age 12 or 13, lasted from six months to six years
  • Work could be difficult, with long hours and few days off
  • Contract evidence comes from Egypt, but situation was likely similar throughout empire
    *
71
Q

Rhetorical schools

A
  • Only the wealthiest and most talented students (for those who had a future in the senate, the law, or other public realms)
  • Teachers called rhetores
  • Trained students on the art of giving a speech (legal speaking/judicial oratory also taught)
  • Two types of speeches:
  • Suasoria - exercises in deliberative oratory in which a literary or historical figure debates different courses of action and the declaimer (student) urges one
  • Controversiae - exercises in forensic oratory, essentially fictive legal cases in which one or more laws are cited, a situation involving a problematic application of the law is proposed, and the declaimer argues one side of the case
  • Ultimate achievement for the student was delivery of a piece of oratory (declamation)
72
Q

Grammar schools (grammaticé)

A
  • After elementary schools (age 12-14?)
  • Teacher called a grammaticus, may or may not give private lessons
  • Aimed at developing skills in reading, writing, and speaking
  • Greek and latin literature, poetry, geography, mythology, antiquities, history, ethics
  • Emphasis was on learning Greek and Homer (with poetic texts)
    *
73
Q

Elementary schools

A
  • Usually started around age 7
  • **Basic reading, writing, and arithmetic
  • Repetition, memorization**
  • Learning letters, combination of letters, etc
  • Practicing by copying short phrases and sentences
  • Teachers cultivated sense of competition among students
  • No formal examinations
  • Students praised or punished based on how well they completed exercises
  • Students of higher status could be at advantage based on privilege/stereotypes
  • No set number of years - complete once all the skills were acquired
    *
74
Q

Teachers

A

** Generally not well-regarded (slaves or freedmen, low pay, long hours)**
* If teacher had a good reputation, he could charge more and get wealthy students
* Many teachers had to supplement income with other work
* Sometimes had to teach in places that no one else would use for apprenticeships
* Classes also held in public spaces that were loud and distracting
* Had to deal with unreasonable expectations of parents (ugh)
* Elite parents highly concerned about misconduct
* Physical discipline was frequent and maybe expected
*

75
Q

Triclinium

A
  • Formal dining room, also the name of the reclining couch
  • Usually beautifully decorated
    *
76
Q

Peristyle

A

Pillar-supported roof around the courtyard
Provided shade for daily activities

77
Q

Tablinum

A

Room on opposite side of the entrance in the atrium, leading to peristyle
- office area

78
Q

Household gods/altars (Lares)

A
  • Protective gods of places - connected to the home, neighborhood, city
  • Integral to world of mortals
  • Connected to everyday activities such as cooking, eating, drinking wine, and travelling
  • Portrayed as guardians of Roman territory and Roman community as a whole
  • Lares represented as youthful, dancing male figures
  • Wore short tunics common to the countryside
  • Carried a drinking horn and a shallow disk for libations
  • Homes would have small statues of the Lares (placed on the table during meals or banquets)
  • Considered important divine witnesses for family events like marriages, births, etc
    *
79
Q

Exposure

A
  • Leave unwanted baby outside of town in well-known area
  • Baby would die from exposure to the elements, or be picked up by adoptive parents or slave owners
  • Usually done if the baby suffered a deformity or seemed unlikely to live
  • Female babies exposed more often than males because they could not contribute economically and would eventually require a dowry (sometimes could not afford)
  • Unclear how widespread this practice was
    *
80
Q

Wet Nurses

A
  • Proper & clean wet-nurse (ex. Does not drink, only sleeps when the baby does)
  • Not be temperamental, talkative, uncontrolled.
  • Not be a foreigner.
  • Had to be between 20 and 40 years
  • Had to have given birth two or three times already
  • Healthy, “good constitution”, “large frame”, and “good colour”
  • Self-controlled, sympathetic, not ill-tempered, Greek, and tidy
  • Should be in her prime.
  • Younger women don’t know how to care for children and are careless/childish.
  • Matter of life and death as there is no formula/reliable substitutions for breastmilk
  • What happens to the nurse’s own children?
    *
81
Q

Breastfeeding

A
  • Women of lower classes breastfed their babies
  • Upper class women usually used a wet nurse (often a slave in household)
  • Some upper class women breastfed as a sign of tradition and austerity
  • Nurses could become beloved figures to children
  • *
82
Q

Motherhood

A
  • Purpose of marriage was procreation, expected to start having children immediately
  • Infant mortality rates were high, women expected to have many children
  • ⅓ died before age 1
  • ½ died before age 5
  • High maternal death rate
  • Mothers were responsible for ensuring their children were brought up well
  • Mothers oversaw early education of children as part of their duties as household manager
  • An ideal mother brought up their children, rather than the nurse doing that.
  • Ex. Gracchi (Cornelia), Caesar (Aurelia), Augustus (Atia) brought up their sons and produced princes.
  • Domestic issues were domain of women
    *
83
Q

Ideal Characteristics of Wives

A
  • Beauty, wisdom, chastity
  • Children (fertility)
  • Cared for the family
  • Skillful
    *
84
Q

Wives as Household Managers

A

In both elite and non-elite contexts

Non-elite families – a wife’s ability to prioritize use of a family’s resources could mean the difference between survival and starvation

**Elite families **– wives were expected to oversee management of multiple homes, large numbers of slaves, and personal property

85
Q

Wives

A
  • Expected to have some more visibility in the public sphere
  • Wealthy wives could patronize groups or building projects
  • Lower class wives worked alongside their husbands
  • Usually operated in the domestic sphere (ex. Household managers)
    *
86
Q

Augustus Family Laws
(AKA Julian Laws)

A
  • Consuls with more children are prioritized over older consuls
  • Bachelors cannot inherit or receive legacies
  • A woman could be exempt from marriage for a** year after husband’s death, and six months after a divorce **
  • Placed heavier penalties on unmarried men and on women without husbands
  • Offered rewards for marriage and for having children
  • Allowed upper-class men (by their wish) to marry freedwomen - expect senators
  • Their children were considered legitimate
87
Q

Marriage Ceremony

A
  • Final step of contract between two families
  • Celebrated with singing, a procession through the streets as the bride was brought from her parents’ house to her new husband’s, and a banquet
  • Traditional wedding outfit was white tunic with saffron-coloured veil
  • Tunic fastened by a knot known as the Nodus Herculaneus, which the husband was to untie on their wedding night
  • Elaborate braid hairstyle arranged by the bride’s female relatives (same styles as Vestal Virgins)
    *
88
Q

Concubinage

A

partnership where man does not consider it a marriage

89
Q

Contubernium

A

partnership between slaves, depending on master’s good will. Slaves could not legally marry.

90
Q

Conubium

A

legal capacity to marry

91
Q

Requirements for Marriage

A
  • Roman citizenships
  • Minimum age (14 boys; 12 girls)
  • Not be too closely related
    *
92
Q

Crucifixion

A
  • Reserved for non-citizen members of the lower classes, whose crimes threatened Roman authority

** Crucifixion of the slaves demonstrated the extraordinary danger they posed to social order**

  • Extremely painful death -
  • either nailed or tied to a cross or tree and left hanging
  • Death most often came by suffocation,
  • body weight was supported by shoulders and chest
  • Victim could try to pull themselves up to allow their chest and lungs room to properly expand but eventually exhaustion would make this impossible
  • Death could take hours or even days,
  • could be exacerbated by infections in wounds received before crucifixion, or dehydration/starvation could occur
  • After death, bodies would be left on the cross as a warning to respect the authorities
  • Crucifictions usually took place in very public and visible spots
  • Ex. form, hill, road leading to the city
  • Left to the elements, bodies would be eaten by animals or birds, or decompose in place
    *
93
Q

Third Slave War

A

Began in Capua

Spartacus Escaped a gladiatorial training school with 70 others, set base on Mount Vesuvius

May have initially only intended to free themselves, but attracted other slaves and free workers from agricultural regions nearby

Spartacus headed north towards Gaul, traveled length of Italian peninsula

Defeated governor of Cisalpine Gaul
Turned back towards Rome

Due to some slaves wanting to go home
If they stayed together as army, they would face further hostilities from Roman and non-Roman armies

72 BCE, Crassus was ordered to go against Spartacus (raised 10 legions)

Trapped slaves in peninsula of Bruttium,
rebels unable to escape by sea

Spartacus tried unsuccessfully to negotiate with Crassus

71 BCE: Senate recalled Pompey the Great from Spain to help Crassus end the revolt

Outcome
Crassus defeated Spartacus at Lucania
**Crucified 6000 **rebel slaves along Via Appia between Capua and Rome

5000 more slaves who escaped were captured and executed by Pompey

94
Q

Second Slave War

A
  • Marius was consul & recruiting soldiers for a war against some northern tribes
  • Requested support from Bithynia -> refused as every Roman was enslaved by Roman tax-collectors for unable to pay debt.
  • Senate ordered forbidding taking slaves from Roman allies
  • Publius Licinius Nerva (governor of Sicily): freed 800 slaves (originally from provinces who were allies of Rome)
  • Slaves from other origins got angry
  • Alienated rich Sicilian landowners
  • Nerva (got scared) revoked manumission = caused slave population to riot
  • Slaves victorious against 600 soldiers sent by Nerva
  • Slaves nominated a leader named Salvius, who used Eunus as a model
  • Rebels besieged and captured city of Morgantia (Rebel army: 2,000 cavalry and 20,000 soldiers)
  • Another revolt took place in western Sicily,
  • joined Salvius in Morgantia
  • 103 BCE, senate sent praetor Lucullus to put down the revolt
  • He had some victories, but moved slowly
  • Sieged a city while he waited for his command to be extended, but senate recalled him
  • Burned camp and provisions, disbanded his army to make it harder for successor
  • 101 BCE, consul Manius Aquillius was given command, was victorious
  • Marius (consul) gave Manius several of his Gual army cohorts
  • Outcome
  • 1, 000 slaves who surrendered sent to fight against beasts in the arena, refused to fight
  • Instead, killing each other calmly with the last one falling on his own sword
    *
95
Q

First Slave War in Enna, Sicily

A

10,000 slaves
This sparked smaller revolts in other regions –Rome, Athens, Delos
Roman army engaged the rebels
Rupilius (general) crushed the slaves

Caucus:
Huge influx of enslaved people in Sicily following end of 3rd Punic war & overthrew of Carthage
Owners would not feed or clothe their slaves, who would steal in turn
Governes didn’t punish them due to their owners benign rich and powerful
400 salves led by Eunus, entered Enna (city) and killed everyone on sight.
First kill their own masters, then others

Eunus
Syrian slave who claimed to see visions and make predictions
Predicted success of revolt, led the march into town of Enna
Slaves of harsh owners [like Damophilus and his wife] consulted Eunus
Asked him if gods would give them success if they revolted
Eunus encouraged them and told them they should be speedy
Killed Damophilus and his wife, but spared the kind daughter
Called a king by the other slaves, wore a crown, called his wife a queen.
Fled with his guards
hid in a cave, **but was discovered
His guards cut their own threats
Imprisoned but consumed by lice
**

Outcome and Roman reaction

Diodorus Siculus:
Slaves were justified because of mistreatment and sought revenge against those who wronged them
Unjustified because the cruelty went too far
Leder, Eunus = conman, pretending to have visions
Seeking power
Death is fitting: coward, unworthy of leadership
Revolt seen as illegitimate because the Roman army was eventually able to restore order
Did not cause Romans to reconsider slavery,
For free Romans: believed to have caused more pain than they suffered

96
Q

Manumission

A
  • From manus = hand and mittere = to send
  • Slaves could be manumitted at any point, but particularly common for individual’s wills to have provisions calling for the freeing of a certain number of slaves
  • Seen as bringing prestige to the owner
  • (demonstrating generosity and wealth publicly)
  • Also occurred if the owner believed a slave would be more useful if freed, or having a particular appreciation for their skills
  • Ex. Cicero freeing Tiro (slave). Tiro remained a trusted advisor.
  • After manumission: Had citizenship, but with limitations
  • still had obligations to their masters
  • Viewed as patrons and owed them certain labour each year
  • Some achieved wealth, many remained poor
    *
97
Q

Sources of Slaves

A
  1. falling into debt
  2. being born into slavery
  3. being captured in war
  4. being condemned to slavery as a punishment by the state
  5. being sold into slavery by a pater familias
  6. Exposure
98
Q

Chattel slavery

A
  • anyone who was considered “socially dead”
  • Law refers to them both as a person (persona) and as a thing (res)
  • 287 BCE, Lex Aquilia was enacted, concerned with private property
  • The person that kills a slave unlawfully must pay the highest value it attained in the preceding year.
  • Recognition that the slave (as a person-object) must be clothed and fed
99
Q

Fullers

A

who washed clothes
No soap, and not washed at home

100
Q

Toga Picta

A
  • “Painted toga”
  • Both dyed and embroidered
  • Purple with gold accents
  • Worn by the emperor
  • Also by officials giving public games, consuls on special occasions, and generals during their triumph
  • Increasingly elaborate over time
    *
101
Q

Toga Praetexta

A
  • White toga with purple stripe near border
  • Worn over a tunic with two broad, vertical purple stripes
  • Worn by freeborn boys before they came of age, senators (held position of curule, magistrate, and priesthoods
    *
102
Q

Toga Virilis

A
  • Also called Toga Alba
  • Plain white toga
  • Worn by adult Roman citizens on formal/special occasions
    *
103
Q

Tunic

A

orn alone at home or at work, but never for a social function (like sweatpants)

104
Q

Social Mobility:

A

Possible in the empire
Slaves could be freed (freedpeople)
Freedpeople could become very, very wealthy (but could never apply for office)
Sons of equestrians could become senators, etc
People in the provinces could become citizens
Citizenship granted with an honourable discharge from the army
Most often took generations for anything to happen
Still stigma with having freedpeople in one’s ancestry
Stereotypes and discrimination against those from the provinces

CLAS 1280 (3 decks)

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