Rome Revison

Question 1

What were the main dangers of chariot racing?

Answer 1

The possibility of crashing into other chariots or the spina;
cornering too close to the metae;
being in tangled in reins;
being run over by other chariots

Question 2

How many spectators could the Circus Maximus?

Answer 2

up to 385,000

Question 3

How large was the Circus Maximus?

Answer 3

It was 600m long and 200m wide

Question 4

Where did the Emperor sit?

Answer 4

in an imperial box called the Pulvinar, located on

the slopes of the Palatine

Question 5

Describe the three tiers of seating

Answer 5

The seating in the lowest tier was marble, the
second tier was wood and the third for standing
only

Question 6

Who could attend chariot racing?

Answer 6

Men and women sat together, and slaves were

allowed to watch

Question 7

Why did enjoy the races?

Answer 7

The races were a release of tension and were
always a spectacular occasion; held on holidays
and people enjoyed seeing their heroes. Plenty of
gambling and people supported favourite teams.
Crashes always brought gasps of amazement!

Question 8

Describe the metae

Answer 8

These were the turning posts in the form of large

bronze cones

Question 9

Describe the carceres

Answer 9

These were the twelve starting gates - they were

set in a curve so no-one had an advantage.

Question 10

How was a charioteer protected?

Answer 10

With a leather cap, leather padding around the
waist and a knife for cutting himself free from the
reins

Question 11

What were the different types of chariots?

Answer 11

Races could involve 2 [bigael, 3 [trigael, 4
[quadrigael, 6 or 7 horses in the Circus,
although 4 was the most common

Question 12

How would a race start?

Answer 12

Chariots would process once around the track
with images of gods before going into the
carceres. The emperor threw a white napkin into
the arena a lever was then pulled to open the
gates

Question 13

How long was a race and how long did it last?

Answer 13

There were 7 laps this was about 5 miles and

took 15 minutes

Question 14

What were the factiones?

Answer 14

These were the teams sponsored by the
Emperor who built stables for each team in the
Campus Martinus with coaches, trainers,
blacksmiths, vets and grooms

Question 15

What were the different colours?

Answer 15

In the Imperial age there were normally four:
white [Albata]; red [Russata]; blue [Veneta];
green [Prasina]

Question 16

Who became charioteers?

Answer 16

The charioteers were mainly professional, drawn

from the lower social classes, freedmen and slaves

Question 17

Who were the most famous charioteers

Answer 17

The most famous charioteer was Diocles who
won the equivalent of £12 million in prize money.
Star charioteers were called miliarii

Question 18

What was the prize for coming first

Answer 18

The winners received prizes — the victor’s

palm, crowns and chains of gold.

Question 19

Who was the Paterfamilias?

Answer 19

He was the male head of a Roman household; this included the family
and all of the slaves

Question 20

What were his main

responsibilities?

Answer 20

• Bringing in an income through the family business
• Looking after the family religion
• Patron to clients
• Promoting the family image in public
• Purchasing slaves
• Arranging in marriage of his daughter

Question 21

What were his religious

responsibilities?

Answer 21

Every morning he would gather the whole household together at the
family shrine, the larariumt where the spirits of the family’s ancestors, the’
lares, were worshipped. The spirits of the larder, the penates. would also
have to be worshipped. He would lead the family in prayers and offerings

Question 22

What were his

responsibilities to his clients?

Answer 22

If he was wealthy enough, then he might be a patron to some clients.
Poorer Romans in need of money would attach themselves as clients to
a wealthy man, the patron.

Clients were expected to appear at the patron’s house at dawn every
morning; later they might be required to accompany him to the forum or
to the baths. In the city they acted as their master’s supporters and were expected to vote for him if he ran for political office.

Question 23

How was a woman viewed in

Roman society?

Answer 23

Women were regarded as inferiors in Roman law and could not vote. A
woman was under the control of the paterfamilias all of her life. Generatty
a woman’s quality of life depended upon her social status and the
character of her husband.

Question 24

What were the main duties of

a woman?

Answer 24

A wife was expected to spend much of her time at home. where her main role was to manage the household. This did not necessarily mean she
was confined to the house: she could visit friends, visit the market or the baths.
She was expected to assign slaves to perform duties in the house such as cleaning, cooking or fetching water. Another important responsibility was to manage the spinning and weaving in the house, as well as bringing up the children.
For richer women, an additional duty was
overseeing the organisation of dinner parties where important social connections were made thereby improving the status of the family.

Question 25

What part did women play in

the bringing up of children?

Answer 25

A mother was expected to oversee the nursing of infants, and then to ensure that her sons went to school, and her daughters learned the duties required of a Roman woman. Giving birth could be very dangerous —both maternal and infant mortality was high. One woman married at 11 and died at 27; she had six children but only one survived her. However
providing sons for the paterfamilias was an important duty

Question 26

How did social background

affect a woman’s status?

Answer 26

Women’s lives depended to a great extent on their social background — poorer women would work on market stalls or in industries such as washing and cleaning. Richer women even had slaves to dress them

Question 27

What restrictions were there
on a Roman woman’s way of
life?

Answer 27

She was under the control of the paterfamilias, could not vote or hold public office, was not free to choose her husband. had no right to her children after a divorce, was not allowed to make a Will or own slaves, or
even property. However she could visit friends, visit the market. make trips to the Colosseum, Circus Maximus or the baths.

Question 28

How did people become

slaves?

Answer 28

Most were captured prisoners of war, or the babies of mothers who were slaves. People captured by pirates could be sold into slavery; and some criminals could be condemned to slavery by going into the mines or becoming gladiators

Question 29

How were slaves sold?

Answer 29

They were taken to large slave markets and stood on a revolving platform with placards on their necks giving information about them — new slaves had their feet whitened b chalk to mark them out

Question 30

What guarantees did the

slave trader have to give?

Answer 30

That he owned the slaves legally and that they were in a healthy condition and not wanted for any crime. Slaves were normally sold for between 500 and 2000 denarii depending upon on their talents

Question 31

What were the various jobs for a slave?

Answer 31

A large household relied heavily upon its slaves. Educated Greek slaves were highly valued as tutors for children, while women were bought to help the Roman wife in domestic chores, such as shopping, weaving,
fetching water, cooking and cleaning. Male domestic slaves could work for the paterfamilias, doing his accounts or accompanying him to the baths. Some were sent to mines where life expectancy was short.
Many others worked the large farming estates throughout the empire. They might also be called upon to sexually gratify their owners

Question 32

What factors affected the quality of a slave’s life?

Answer 32

Certainly the type of job carried, but also the character of the master who had the power of life or death over them. There were also some genuine friendships formed however. Gladiators for example had excellent medical care; it was not unknown for some slaves to marry their masters. Household slaves might have a better way of life than the poor of Rome

Question 33

Did slaves have any rights?

Answer 33

Slaves had no political rights, nor could they marry or earn property. They were allowed earn more which they could use to buy their freedom

Question 34

Why were slaves important to a Roman household?

Answer 34

Slaves enhance the household’s image and status
• Might offer a degree of self-sufficiency and provide more free time
• Slaves might have special skills

Question 35

How could a slave become a freedman?

Answer 35

A master could free a slave in reward for a long period of service, performed an outstanding act, or if he had saved sufficient money.
Freedmen did not have the full rights of a Roman citizen, but their children did.

Question 36

Where would a dinner party be held?

Answer 36

A dinner party (cena) would be held in the triclinium — i.e. room with three couches centered around a small table; three people would sit on each couch with the couches arranged according to importance of the guests

Question 37

Why would Romans hold dinner parties?

Answer 37

To enjoy the company of friends, to make new business or social contacts, to unite the family, to promote new ties with other leading families or to care for one’s clients

Question 38

How many might attend?

Answer 38

Normally each of the three couches would fit three people

Question 39

How did people eat?

Answer 39

You would recline on the couch, leaning on your left elbow and taking food with your right hand from the table in the center

Question 40

How many courses were

there?

Answer 40

Typically there were three — the first course would consist of appetizers such as eggs, olives and wine sweetened with honey; the main course was a selection of meats and fish; desert would be fruit, nuts or sweet cakes

Question 41

What entertainments might be provided?

Answer 41

Slave girls dancing or playing musical instruments, comedians performing, gambling with dice. There could be drinking competitions called commissions. More intellectual entertainments could be poetry recitals or philosophical discussions. One hosted by the emperor even included gladiator fights!

Question 42

Who educated a boy until the age of 7?

Answer 42

He was put under the care of a Greek slave called a paedagogus. This man was responsible for the behavior and appearance of the 7 year old boy as well as teaching him Greek

Question 43

What did pupils learn at the school of the litterarius?

Answer 43

Pupils sat on wooden benches, holding their wax tablets on their knees. From dawn until mid-afternoon they practised writing, chanted the alphabet, practised writing their letters, and sung their multiplication tables for hours on end

Question 44

Why were these schools not fondly remembered?

Answer 44

Teachers at this level were very poorly paid. Any room could serve as a classroom, and some were situated right by noisy streets or at the back of shops. Teachers could be violent!

Question 45

What did pupils learn at the school of the grammaticus?

Answer 45

If children aged 14 were wealthy enough they went onto the second stage of Roman education: the Grammaticus. Here they read and analysed the great works of Greek and Latin literature. The students
were required to read aloud and learn long passages by heart. Studying these famous works gave them access to philosophy, medicine, poetry and drama. Since so much time was spent on literature, there was little time for history, mathematics or geography. Yet exercises in speech making which formed the final part of the Grammaticus stage were of practical value in the future.

Question 46

What did pupils learn at the school of the rhetor?

Answer 46

Here the 16 year old young man would study rhetoric — the art of public speaking under the guidance of the rhetor. The exercises involved writing speeches praising famous men or characters in history (Suasoria), composing attacks on Rome’s enemies, or arguing for/against a particular view.

Question 47

What about the girls?

Answer 47

Fathers did not worry about the education of their daughters. Those from rich families would have learned reading and writing alongside boys at the litterarius, but then their education continued at home under the care
of a tutor teaching them Greek and Latin literature. They also learned needlework, singing, dancing, as well as learning to run the household and direction the slaves.

Question 48

Did Roman education
prepare a boy well for adult
life?

Answer 48

Under the rhetor a boy would learn vital skills for later life — learning how to form an argument and debate was vital in Roman politics.
Students were trained in Suasoria — these were training speeches where students formed arguments relating to past historical or mythological events.
There were other skills as well leaned under the rhetor such as looking at texts, studying events from history, analyzing dramatic characters that would also contribute to any career followed in the military, the Senate or the Law Courts which required the crucial skills of handling information and analyzing important facts.
Senators certainly needed both public speaking and the powers of analysis when debating proposed laws.
A knowledge of Greek was very useful for the middle classes who may get involved in trade.

Question 49

How did Roman boys write?

Answer 49

Whilst in school boys would practice by using wax tablets set on wooden boards.
The stylus (pen), made from metal or bone, would be used for writing with the blunt end used for wiping words out so the wax could be continually used.
Later on ink, made from soot. would be used — this pen was called a calamus, and paper made from Egyptian papyrus reeds would be used.
The calamus often had a spoon end for mixing ink.

Question 50

Jupiter is responsible for and recognized by what…?

Answer 50

All of the other gods, & the skies

His thunderbolt or sceptre

Question 51

Neptune is responsible for and recognized by what…?

Answer 51

The seas & earthquakes

His trident and a dolphin

Question 52

Venus is responsible for and recognized by what…?

Answer 52

Love …

Naked accompanied by shell