6 th Grade UBD Unit 6 Roman Culture

6 th Grade UBD - Unit 6 - Roman Culture Life and Legacy

Essential Question �How did the spread of Roman culture influence life throughout the Empire?

Roman Society �Roman culture and influence spread through the ancient world and continues to influence people and nations today.

Roman Society � The center of Roman society was the called the familia, or family. Family was important to the people of ancient Rome. . � A pyramid-style hierarchy, or order, determined the roles of every person within the society.

Roman Society � Ancient Roman society was organized into three classes: patricians, plebeians, and slaves. � Patricians were the ruling class, and plebeians were commoners.

Roman Society � The center of Roman society was the family, or familia. � Societal roles were determined by a pyramidstyle hierarchy. � The father was the head of the family, or the paterfamilias, and had absolute power.

Roman Society � The bottom of the pyramid consisted of women, children, and slaves. � Women focused on domestic chores and managed household slaves.

Slavery in Ancient Rome � As the Roman Empire grew, its slave population soared. Slaves worked in a variety of roles, including mining, farming, and domestic work.

Slavery in Ancient Rome � Some slaves were forced to fight to the death as gladiators. � Gladiators were professional fighters. � There were no laws to protect slaves, and they had no rights.

Slave Revolts � Because of the harsh conditions slaves lived in, Romans feared a slave revolt. � To prevent slave revolt they used the possibility of manumission, the ability to buy one’s freedom. � Even so, slave revolts did happen. A famous example is a slave revolt led by the gladiator Spartacus. After years of fighting, his rebellion was harshly suppressed.

Slavery and the Economy of Rome � Since slaves did much of the work in the Roman Empire, many plebeians had no jobs and fell into poverty. � Plebeians were forced to survive on food handouts from the government.

Bread and Circuses � The increasing inequality of Roman society led to tensions between the upper and lower classes. � To appease the lower classes, patricians used a tactic called “bread and circuses. ”

Bread and Circuses � Bread and Circuses refers to distracting the people from their long-term problems by offering them food handouts (bread) and entertainment such as chariot races and gladiator fights (circuses).

Entertainment for the Masses � Chariot races were held in a large U- shaped stadium called the Circus Maximus. � Another stadium, called the Colosseum served as an arena for gladiator fights and other entertainments.

Entertainment for the Masses � The games were an expensive but an effective way of keeping the poor entertained. � The state also provided free or low-cost grain to the poor to keep them happy.

� Like sports fans today, the Romans pass through the gates and head for their seats. Where they sit, however, depends on who they are. The emperor and his guests are seated nearest to the field on a magnificent platform.

Key Ideas- Roman Genius �Roman engineers and architects developed styles and ways of doing things that were their own. �Public baths spread throughout the empire.

Key Ideas- Roman Genius � Many Roman buildings and roads throughout the empire still exist today because of the invention of concrete. � Rome used Greek building styles. However, it built larger, taller, and heavier buildings than the Greeks built. Romans did this by adding their own ideas, such as vaults, arches, and the use of concrete.

Moving People � The Romans constructed a vast network of roads to hold the empire together. � These roads made it possible for Roman armies to control the population in all areas of the vast empire.

Moving People and Water � The roads were built to last—in fact, some of them are still used today. � The Romans provided water to their cities using aqueducts that carried water over long distances for drinking, irrigation, and baths.

Moving Water � Public baths were a part of daily life in ancient Rome. � At these baths, men would discuss business, politics, and local gossip. � Women had smaller, less luxurious baths.

Art � Roman artists adopted techniques used by the Greeks and applied them to art forms such as landscaping and portraiture. � The Romans also specialized in making practical art, such as jewelry, coins, fountains, and mosaics.

Art � The Romans used an architectural element called the dome in some of their buildings, such as the Pantheon.

A Practical Art � Roman culture often imitated what it admired and improved on what it needed from other cultures. � As a result, it came up with useful inventions, such as concrete.

Key Ideas- The Development of Language � Latin became the common language of the Roman Empire. � Latin became the official language of the Roman Catholic Church.

Key Ideas- The Development of Language �Latin is still used in terms for law, science, and mathematics. The spread of Latin changed the languages of some Europeans. This change resulted in the forming of various Romance languages. �English contains many Latin-based words.

Latin � Latin was the common language of the empire. � It helped unite the diverse cultures within the Roman Empire. � It influenced the development of many modern languages.

Latin �Today, many modern languages, including French, Spanish, Italian, Portuguese, and Romanian, are called Romance languages because they developed from Latin.

Rome Declines, but Latin Remains � With the decline of the Roman Empire and the rise of Christianity, Latin became the spoken and written language of the Roman Catholic Church. � Classical Latin continues to be used in science, mathematics, and legal terminology.

Rome Declines, but Latin Remains � Rome’s legacy has been ensured by the multiple ways the rest of the world has recognized, admired, and adopted aspects of its unique character.