Education | Vintage Games 4U

Checkers Tic

Sep 052011

Checkers Tic

Living in Ancient Roman Times

While this depiction has some truth to it, there is much more to the average Roman citizen’s daily life than these movies would have you believe. Here is a brief look at some of their daily activities.

Bathing and Grooming

Bath was an important part of every Roman citizen’s daily life. Unlike our baths which we prefer to have in private Roman baths were a communal activity that combined getting clean, visiting with friends and neighbors and catching up on the daily news. Bath complexes were often huge affairs consisting of a large exercising area, a pool and your choice of three baths cold, warm and hot. Men would often begin their bathing routine by exercising and working up a good sweat followed by a steam bath and then a cold bath. Women did not usually make use of the exercise room though they like the men bathed daily while visiting with friends.

Roman women also would often dye their hair, they liked a golden red color. And then either wear it down in ringlets or held up with decorative pins. The more well to do women then would spend a good deal of their day preening into tin mirrors admiring themselves and their jewels.

Eating Habits

While Romans did hold festivals and huge dinners where there was every kind of exotic dish imaginable these types of foods and occasions were limited to the wealthy Romans. The peasant’s food usually consisted of wheat or barley, olive oil and home grown vegetables and whatever small fish they could catch. If a peasant family was lucky enough to own a cow or chickens then eggs or cheese was added to these simple diets. Wine was drunk by all Romans regardless of class.

The more well to do classes often had meals that included pork and fowl or fish as well as nuts, fruits and honey cakes, salads, eggs and even mushrooms. Supper was the largest meal of the day and was usually eaten in the afternoon.

Entertainment

The Romans did indeed enjoy going to the Coliseum and watching the fights that pitted man against man, man against animal and animal against animal. These events took place so often that the Romans almost totally wiped out several species of animals from their natural habits.

Other forms of entertainment included playing marbles and a number of assorted ball games among these games were field hockey, soccer, handball, catch and a Roman children’s version of dodge ball.

Board games were also favored and the Roman’s enjoyed rousing games of Knuckle bones, Roman chess and checkers, Tic tac toe and Roman and Egyptian backgammon.

Like people today the ancient Romans lived their lives according to the customs and their economic position. They ate played and bathed daily and lived somewhat quiet lives as a general rule.

Learn more about roman culture and ancient roman artifacts.

About the Author