The Roman Gods
There was a Roman God called Mars. Mars was the 2nd most important god and he is bringer of war. The planet Mars was named after the god called Mars. Mars was less important than Jupiter.
Jupiter was the most important god. He is the god of heaven, sky, thunder, rain and other terrible natural events.
Venus was the goddess of love and beauty, she had two husbands called Vulcan and Mars.
Neptune was the god of the sea. Neptune’s brother was called Jupiter.
Two faced Janus was the god of past and future. One side of his head is past and the other side is future. He also was the god of doors and gates.
Pluto was the god of the underworld and had a pet called Cerberus which was a three headed dog and helps Pluto guard the underworld.
Apollo was the son of Jupiter, King of all the gods. He had a twin sister called Diana.
Vulcan was the son of Juno and Jupiter. Vulcan was married (and deeply loved) to Venus, the goddess of love and beauty .
Minerva was the Roman goddess of wisdom, medicine, commerce, handcrafts, poetry, the arts in general and later war.
Ceres another god had a bear for her child. She was the goddess of crops and grain.
Vesta was the goddess of Earth and home.
The Roman Army
You had to stay in the army for 25 years and you could not get married. You had to be at least 20 years old.
Did you know that, the Romans practised fighting with wooden shields and spears? The shields were heavier than the ones that they actually use in the war.
The Romans marched round the city in pairs. It was not just England the Romans conquered, they conquered lots of other countries because they had such a good Army. When they had to travel across the sea they used boats.
The Romans had a formation called the Tortoise shell. There was another one called the Wedge which was used to break the others lines.
There were only men in the army so if you were a women you would have to stay at home. There were night shifts and day shifts.
In the Roman army there were 30 legions.
They insisted that the natives carried weapons. The natives were the people that came from the Celtic tribes.
Boudicca decided to attack London when the Romans who lived there had gone far away. She set fire to all the houses which were made from wood.
The Celts lost the Roman war because their army was really good.
The weapons that they used were daggers, scabbards, short swords, spears, javelins and shields.
A legionary carried 4 weapons with him he had 2 javelins.
A Roman soldiers helmet was called a galea. It had special guards to protect their cheeks and necks.
Latin translations for weapons
A javelin was called a Pilum. A sword was called a Gladius. A shield was called a Scutum. A helmet was called a Cassis. A spear was called a Hasta. Roman army boots were called Caligae. They were like sandals but much stronger.
The armour included: a helmet, some body armour, a belt, a pair of boots and a tunic.
Body armour was made from overlapping iron plates held together by leather straps and brass clasps. Underneath their armour a Roman soldier wore a woolen tunic.
Roman Children
Most towns didn’t have high school. School took place 7 days a week. The went to school for 6 hours. Roman school where small with only one room. Romans started school at age 11 and 12.
Girls were taught by females in their household. They were taught how to run a household and how to be a good wife.
School started before sunrise with students working using candles or oil lamps. In school instead of chairs and tables they had stools and their arm to lean on. For reading they used scrolls made of papyrus . A scroll was a long strip of writing, rolled up to form a book. Many boys learned to read and speak Greek by memorizing hundreds of lines. They used an abacus in maths. Boys also studied philosophy. They used wax tablets and a metal spikes. Reading, writing and arithmetic were important subjects.
They took a break for lunch and siesta. At school they ate pigeons, bread, cheese, beef, goat, chicken and fish.
Some rich boys, especially if they lived in a city, did not go to school. Only rich boys understood Roman writing. If a Roman child was rich they took slaves to school. Rich girls also went to school.
What the Romans wore
Tunic
It hung down from your neck to knee. It was made from wool. It was small enough for a child. They wore a loincloth [pants] underneath the tunic.
Soldier
They wore a metal helmet to protect their head. They also wore leather skin tight trousers to protect their legs. They had horse hair on their helmet. They also had metal plates protecting the upper body.
Sandles
Every single person wore sandles. Their other name is Caligae. They were brown.They went past the ankle.
Material
The materials Romans used were: wool, felt, cotton, leather, linen, flax, gauze, damask and the most important one of all cloth of gold.
Emperor clothing
The toga was the standard loose flowing outer garment which was elaborately draped around the body.
The slaves wore
The slaves wore tunic that hung down to their knees and belts so the tunic would not fall down. They wore sandals to protect their feet. The tunics were made of sheep wool.
What the ladies wore
Tunics that were made out of soft material (ankle length). The name of the tunic is a Stola.
Men clothing
Loincloth is a name for Roman pants they also wore a toga. A toga was a special outfit for gladiators games.
Young boys wore
Loincloths, tunics that were a little bit smaller than the men ones.
Julius Caesar
Julius Caesar was born on the 13th July 100BC. He lived in Subra in Rome.
When he was young, he was kidnapped by pirates on the way to study oratory.
Julius Caesar’s father died when he was sixteen years old. He became the head of the family and was responsible for his mother Aurelia and his sister Julia. His Uncle’s name was Gaius Marius.
At around the age of six, Gaius began his education. He was taught by a private tutor named Marcus Antonius Gnipho. He learned how to read and write. He also learned about Roman law and how to speak in public. These were important skills he would need as a leader of Rome.
The King of diamonds in a traditional deck of playing cards, represents Julius Caesar.
He introduced the Julian calendar. Julius Caesar reformed the calendar. With only minor changes his is the calendar we use today. One month, July, is named in his honour.
Julius Caesar was very rich as he was an emperor - a famous Roman leader. He decided to make Britain part of the Roman Empire. Julius Caesar was a Roman General. He helped to take over new land for the Roman Empire including England and Germany.
Julius Caesar had three wives. He first married Cornelia then Pompeia, and then Calpurnia. At the age of seventeen he married Cornelia,the daughter of a powerful politician in Rome.
His face was depicted on the Roman coins.
Julius Caesar died on the 15 March 44BC. He died at 55 years old because he was assassinated.
The Colosseum
The Colosseum held 50,000 seats and it was 48m tall. It was made out of solid and rough concrete. It was also built by Kevin Brintnall.
This famous building was created in 80AD. The colosseum took 8 years to build and the events lasted 100 days. The Colosseum has lasted 1,937 years.
By the law the best seats were reserved for the senators and servants sat up at the top.
Over 3,000 Gladiator fights were held there. They had rhinos, hippos, elephants, giraffes, aurochs, wisents, lions, panthers, leopards, bears, caspian tigers, crocodiles and ostriches. Did you know that all the animals did acts for the crowds?
The Romans enjoyed ship fighting and killing prisoners while they were chained up to poles.
There was a great festival and parade.
Roman Food and drinks
Food was an important part of the Romans day. The Romans ate a varied diet costing of vegetables meat and fish. The poorest Romans ate quite a simple meals, but the rich were used to eating a wide range of dishes using produce from all over the Roman Empire. The rich Romans did enjoy expensive meals. This was because expensive meals were good to show of your wealth to others. Romans typically ate three meals a day, breakfast, lunch and dinner.
Poor people in Ancient Rome ate vegetables with porridge and bread and only one piece of meat when available.
The list of vegetables introduced to Britain includes garlic, onions, shallots, leeks, cabbages, peas, celery, turnips, radishes and asparagus. The Romans were also very fond of fresh sauce called liquamen.
The Romans drank wine mixed with water and spices. They grew grapes to make into wine. In the Roman times wine was called calda. Wine mixed with honey was called Mulsum. Calda and muslim were served in jugs. Romans also watered down wine with water because they never drank wine on its own.
Not all Romans drank wine because soldiers and slaves drank Posca which was diluted vinegar beer. Posca was a popular drink in ancient Rome and Greece made by mixing sour, wine or vinegar with flavouring herbs.
They drank in small rooms. Romans also drank out of tiny, metal cups.
Beer was invented but it was considered to be a barbarian drink which meant the Celts drank it.
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