ROMAN RELIGION
! Romans were polytheistic, believing
in many gods. Everything of nature had a
god to represent it. There was a god of
sun, Apollo, a god of the sea, a god of the
sky and many others. The Romans
believed that if they prayed to the god of
their choice, anything they wanted could
happen. For example, if a Roman wanted a
good crop he would pray to Ceres, the
goddess of agriculture. The most
important god was Vesta the goddess of
fertility. She was the center to the Roman
family life. Each household had a small
shrine used for praying to the gods.
ROMAN WEDDINGS
! The Ancient Rome wedding was like
a proper ceremony even done today.
There had to be many witnesses
watching the wedding. The bride agreed
to the wedding by appearing in public
holding hands with her future husband.
During the ceremony they made offerings
to the god Jupiter, usually consisting of
cake. Once the priest made the offering,
the cake was eaten by the bride and
groom. Then like weddings today, the
guests of the weddings congratulated the
newly wedded couple. After the wedding
dinner party the bride was taken to her
husbandʼs house. On the way everyone
and anyone paraded over to the groomʼs
house throwing nuts at the bride. At the
arrival of her new home the groom
carried his bride into the house to
s y m b o l i z e e n t e r i n g Ve s t a , s a c r e d
goddess of virgins. This was called
stepping over the threshold. The doors
were shut against the public but some
guests were invited.
ROMAN MEDICINE
! The Romans were very much into medicine.
Thereʼs No
The medicine they used then is nothing like the
medicine we use today. The Romans incorporated both
their mythology and science in their health care. Their
Place like
Ancient Rome
approach on medicine was, for the most part, all what
they adopted from the Greeks' scientific data
concerning medicine. Primarily, what Hippocrates
A guide to help you become a little more educated on
taught.
Romeʼs culture.
! Hippocrates gave the Romans a holistic look at
medicine and the treatment of illnesses and diseases.
Hippocrates was called the father of modern medicine. BY MADISON DARRAH
He honed in on all human health. Hippocrates was very
observant. This became extremely helpful when
diagnosing a patient. Also the oath that modern doctors
take today derives from the Hippocratic oath given to us
by Hippocrates.
! The Romans took the methods of Hippocrates
and combined it with the mythical and religious views
brought on by the Romans. While treating a patient the
Romans would include many prayers and offerings to
the gods. The mythical side to Roman medicine was
brought on by the god of healing, Aesculapius. He was
known to have traveled in the form of a snake to Rome
on a ship traveling up the Tiber. While on his journey he
slipped off the boat and onto the Tiber island. In honor
of Aesculapius, they built a temple where Romans went
for healing. To this day a hospital still stands on the
island.
This staff belongs to Aesculapius, the Roman god
of healing. Many medical organizations use this
staff as a symbol today.

ROMAN ART AND
ARCHITECTURE
! Roman art was influenced by many of itʼs
surrounding countries, like Greece, Egypt, and Africa. The
Romans also were very much into religion so their art also
displayed many sculptures of great Emperors and gods
and goddesses. Romans used three different art forms.
One was building murals on the inside of the Roman
Emperor's palace. The second was architecture. The
Triumphal Arch of Tibias was made with arches and
columns of different shapes and sizes to make it more
beautiful and interesting. Buildings and bridges were also
made. The third is life-like statues of gods and goddesses.
Other art forms were paintings, poetry, and tombstones. Art
and architecture were signs of someoneʼs wealth. Also
they used arts and architecture to show an important
personʼs power.
The Colosseum is one of Romeʼs greatest pieces
of architecture.
ROMAN CLOTHING
! Roman men and women began their
civilization wrapping themselves in large
pieces of wool. As time went on they
adopted the toga from Greece and Egypt.
The toga was a linen tunic they would
wear under the wool.
! Romans obeyed by Sumptuary
Laws, held by the government.
Sumptuary Laws created a sense of unity
and differentiated and segregated social
classes. What the Roman Sumptuary
Laws did was dictate what kind of
clothing that the Romans could and could
not wear. You were able to tell how
wealthy a person was by their
clothing.!
! On both men and women the shoes
were the same, leather sandals. And when
it was cold, they would wear leather
boots.
! Much like today women wore
wooden hair-sticks or wooden combs in
their hair. They could also use those tools
for combing their hair.
ROMAN LITERATURE AND
THEATRE
! Romans adopted most of their theatre
from the Greeks. The actual theatre for
Ancient Rome was designed so that the
maximum amount of volume could be heard
throughout the stadium. It was oval shaped
shaped. The auditorium was the area in
which people gathered. Sometimes it was
constructed on a small hill or slope in which
stacked seating could happen. Much like
the Greek theaters.
! Most of Romans literature is still used
today. For example, a satire. A satire is a
type of writing that uses ridicule and
vulgar statements to get a point across
and identify some truth. Also another type
of literature was a comedy. Comedies are
still very popular in our society today. All
these themes tie in with theatre. The
Romans would use their literature with
their theatre. The last type of play was a
tragedy. A tragedy shows the heartbreak or
the killing and dying of many people.