Culture:
Rome had a population of about 3.5 million people at its highest. The Roman Empire covered a vast amount of land and there were so many people that a rebellion could easily break out. The Romans have had many similiar architectural designs to the Greeks. Their clothing and their government had a sense of similiarity too. Much of Roman culture was copied from the Greeks. The Romans had a very busy life. Many of Roman citizens served in the army, while others were either wealthy landowners, or poor farmers. Many of Roman culture consisted of sacrifices and festivals. There were many festivals to celebrate the gods and goddesses and they were very many of them. Like there used to be a festival every 9 days for Jupiter or on the full moon. Besides that the Roman emperors built miraculous wonders to provide the Roman people entertainment and fun. Like the Circus Maximus, the Romans built it for chariot races that provided gore, blood, and death. The Colosseum which held gladiator events where slaves often killed others to be the winner. The Roman people had a bloody, odd way of life every day. Baths were a regular part of a Roman citizen. The Romans adored the idea of being pure and "unclean." They despised those who they called "impure" like those with leprosy during those days. This ignorance of leprosy increased as more and more Romans started to feed the idea that leprosy can spread through a touch to other cultures. For example, the Jews. The Roman's idea of taking baths was very elaborate. First you went to the cold room where you encountered a "tank" of icy cold water. Then you went into the warm room where you used "scrapers" to scrape off dirt from your body. Then you went into the hot room where you got cleandd. Then you were done. This was condition that many Romans took EVERDAY. EVERY...SINGLE...DAY. There are other parts of Roman culture that were also unique like the laurel wreath. The laurel wreath was a sign of dignity and honor that the Romans copied from the Greeks. The laurel wreath was often given to the winner of the Circus Maximus, Colosseum, and Campus Flaminus.(racetrack) If a person wore the laurel wreath given to him by the emperor himself this man was HIGHLY respected among others. Romans used many revolting, and weird experiments to cure oneself. One experiment to cure a sickness was to eat rotten cabbage and drink your own urine. Another technique was how the Romans cleaned their ears. The Romans boiled an earthworm put in oil and stuck it in their ear. Although we might view this as revolting it actually helped! Although we do not use the same techniques the Romans used. The culture of Rome was very elaborate and unique.
