Terms to knowCircus Maximus- Большой цирк Colosseum- Колизей Gladiator- Гладиатор Greco-Roman culture- Греко-Римская культура Aqueduct- акведук Law of nations-правило народов Republic-республика Patrician-патриции Veto-вето Plebeian-плебей Twelve Tablets -“законы двенадцати таблиц” Punic wars - пунические войны Dictator - диктатор First Triumvirate - первый триумвират Second Triumvirate - второй триумвират Pax Pomana - Римский мир Law of succession - наследственное право
Glossary Aqueduct - a bridgelike structure supporting a channel through which water is transported over a distance
Circus Maximus - a Roman outdoor arena in which public games< such as chariot races were held
Empire - a state in which one ruler control several kingdoms or territories
First triumvirate - the three roman generals (Graeus Pompey, Marcus Licinius Graeus and Julius Caesar) who ruled the Roman republic from 60 to 46 BC
Justinian’s Code - a collection of the ancient laws of Rome Law of nations - a branch of Roman laws that was applied by citizens in all parts of the Empire regardless of the nationality
Law of succession - a law stating how a government will replace Leaders who die or resign before their term ends.
Patrician - one of the of wealthy landowners to which the leaders of the Roman republic belonged
Pax Romana - the period (27 BC-180 AD) when ancient Rome and the Empire it ruled enjoyed long periods of peace and prosperity
Plebeian - a member of the class of common people
Punic Wars - a series of three wars fought between Rome and the north African city-state of Carthage between 264 and 146 BC.
Republic - a form of government that was not a monarchy, in modern times, a democratic government in which citizens choose representatives to govern them. Second Triumvirate - the three supporters of Julius Caesar (Mark Anthony, Lepidus, Octavian) who controlled Rome after defeating Caesar’s murders.
Twelve Tablets - the Roman laws, collected in 451 BC that gave the common people some protection against unfair decisions by patrician judges.
Veto - to reject the proposal or act, in ancient Rome, a power hold by consuls that enabled them to check one another’s actions.
You are going to read the text about Roman society and culture. Choose the most suitable headings from the list (A-H) for each part (1-8) of the text. There is one extra heading which you do not have to use.
A. Beliefs and practices E. Literature B. Education F. Science and Medicine C. Art and architecture G. Roman towns D. Bread and Circuses H. Greek influence on Roman culture
1) Through its conquests, Rome remade the Mediterranean world. Yet Rome itself was transformed as well. Its growth from a small town to an emperial capital produced great wealth and cultural achievements. In spite of the empire’s flourishing economy it is very important not to exaggerate Roman prosperity, for Roman Empire had its weakness as well. One of the striking features of Roman life was specifically an urban culture - Roman civilization depended on the vitality of its cities. Roman towns were the biggest and the most sophisticated the world had ever seen. Roman towns had two main streets and many side streets with spaces in between called insulae (islands). The insulae were tightly packed with private houses - houses of the rich, called domi, and apartment blocks (also called insulae). Traffic jams were so common that many towns banned wheeled traffic from the streets during daylight. Most towns had numerous shops, inns (tabernae), cafes (thermopilia) and bakeries (pistrina). The forum was a large open market and meeting place that was surrounded on three sides by a covered walkway. On the fourth side there were law courts and a town hall (basilica). Most towns had many grand temples devoted to Roman gods. There was also a large open-air theatre. Besides they had a games arena, or stadium, where, warriors called gladiators fought. Bath houses (thermal) were places were people came to sit around and dip into hot and cold baths in magnificent surroundings.
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3) From the Greek cities the Romans had borrowed a lot of Greek civilization. Roman generals shipped libraries and works of art from Greek cities to Rome. Greek teachers, poets and philosophers came to work in Roman house-holds. Greek and Roman influences blended together, producing what is now called Greco-Roman culture. There were also libraries to hold books. By A.D. 400, Rome had more than thirty libraries. Throughout the Roman culture there can be easily found traces of Greek powerful influence. Even though the Romans constructed much larger and more ornate buildings, they copied the basic from of Greek architecture apart from their two important contributions of the arch and concrete, most of their architecture techniques, such as the elaborate columns, came from Greece. Roman sculpture also indicates some striking similarities. The scientific influence of Greeks on Roman Empire was enormous.
4) The time of the emperor Augustus was a golden age in the Greco- Roman culture. At Augustus’s request the poet Virgil (70-19 B.C.) wrote the Aeneide, an epic poem praising the Roman talent for governing. It tells the legend of Aeneas, whose descendants were said to have founded Rome. Although he is best known for his epic poem, he wrote several other works, including the Eclogues and the Georgics. The historian Livy (59 B.C.- 17 A.D.) also wrote about Aeneas. Livy’s classical work, History of Rome, describes key figures from Rome’s past in an uncritical, colorful style. Another great writer of Augustus’s time was the poet Horace (65-8 B.C.). the son of a freed slave, Horace became a friend of Virgil and Augustus. Like them, he had grown up under the Republic and remembered its civil wars. Horace wrote that human greed had caused those conflicts, and he criticized the luxurious lives of many weakly Romans. It would be better, he said, if Romans followed the Greek ideal of moderation. While Virgil and Horace celebrated the simply life of the countryside the poet Ovid spoke for the upper-clans people of the Empire cities. He wrote of wealth, fashion, romance, and other pleasures. He also retold Greek and Roman myths in his own verses.
5) Roman artisans used bronze and precious stones to craft jewelry and decorated objects. Roman sculpture tried to show unique qualities of an individual. Unlike Greek artists, who had presented perfect human beauty, the Romans carved every detail- even wrinkles and tangled hair- realistically. Another form of art in Rome was wall painting. Wealthy Romans decorated the walls of their homes with richly colored portraits, ocean views or scenes from mythology. Roman architects were skilled engineers. They designed amphitheatres, public baths, and temples with graceful columns and domes. They also excelled at building roads, bridges and aqueduct-channels and bridges structures that carried water to distant places. The remains of many such structures can be seen today in the lands once ruled by the Empire. Some are still in use.
6) Cures and treatments were herbal in nature. The father of the family prepared remedies to heal wounds and treat illnesses and this information was passed down from generation to generation and was found up with religious practices. The Romans borrowed the Greek God of healing, Aesulapius. Temples found throughout the Empire testify to the power of Aesulapius in Roman medicine. Usual remedies included going to the temple, sniffing herbs, praying to the Aesulapius, composing poetry, bathing, exercising and studying philosophy. The two most important scientists were Ptolemy and Galen. Both lived during the second century A.D. Ptolemy was a mathematician, geographer and astronomer. His 13-volume Almagest (a Greek-Arabic word meaning “the greatest”) summarized the ancient world’s knowledge of astronomy and geography. Ptolemy believed that the Earth stood in the centre of the universe, while the sun, the moon, and planets moved about it in circles. It was accepted until the 16th century. Galen was the court physician to Marcus Aurelius. Being situated at the Gladiatorial school, Galen was well placed to observe human anatomy firsthand. To study the working of body, Galen dissected animals. Although Galen’s work contained many errors, it was the basic of Western medical knowledge for centuries.
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In the early days of the Roman Republic children learned the basic techniques of farming, developed physical skills for war, learned Roman traditions and legends at home. However, in the second and third centuries B.C., contact with the Greek world stimulated new ideas and education. Schools taught by professional scholars began to appear. The very wealthy provided Greek tutors for their children. For the less wealthy there were private schools in which Greek educated slaves instructed students. Children learned the basic requirements of reading, writing and arithmetic. By the age of twelve or thirteen, and if the child had shown promise, he could attend the grammaticus, or grammar school.
Rome provided citizens with food; it also provided them with entertainment. For instance, animals were led into an amphitheater where heavily armed fought and killed them. This was a popular pastime. Those events were held in a structure called the Circus Maximus, which was build during the second century BC, between Capitoline and Aventine Hills in Rome. After being destroyed by fire, it was reconstructed in A.D. 200. The Romans were fascinated with wild animals. There were no zoos in Rome and most animals were privately owned. Animals were not only used for show but for what we can only call blood sport. For example, 9000 animals were killed at the games celebrating the competition of the Coliseum in A.D. 80. There were three kinds of blood sports: armed men fighting animals or armed men and women exposed to starving vicious beasts, the latter usually reserved for criminals and animals fighting animals. Gladiators’ contests were a source of entertainment for everyone. The Chariot races were the passion of all social classes and bound wealthy and poor together.
