Rome FAQ

Rome FAQ Journal for Latin 2 9/14/2005

What I Learned

I learned that a large part of Roman society / government was logistics in transportation and organization. I also found out more about the roman system of reward and punishment. They Romans were very, very good at getting their way with their large military force and the above system. I also learned where the word decimation came from.

I also was reminded that some Romans did not like the arenas and gladiators games. Also, I learned that they used thumbs-down as a good thing, which is the opposite of what we do today.

I learned in the slave section that freed slaves were not 100 percent free. They could not vote or run for office. Also they were discriminated against by “Real” Romans as they saw themselves.

Roman woman had many different statuses, depending on their socioeconomic status. Some ran the house while the men were away. Middle-class women cared for the children. Slave woman even had the same status as men, though that was not a good thing, because you were still property of your master to do (almost) anything he wanted to you.

Another part of Roman history that is often overlooked is that most emperors were good. Even some that seemed a little funny were still very good planners and organizers. Still the emperors didn’t know who to trust because every one around him tried to manipulate him to their needs. One time an emperor was chosen because he was the highest bidder and his wife wanted him to amount to something.

Rome did not fall because of one reason. Lead from water pipes and silverware poisoned the upper crust of Rome. The two sections of Rome were just too different to defend and hold together. Agricultural and weather problems also might have contributed to the lack of crops to feed the large population. I learned that Rome may not have fallen because of outside invaders or hired protectors.

Personal Response

This packet summarized many of the things we learned in years before, but also some new information.

I was amazed by the number of seats in the Circus Maximus. It is amazing that racing in moving vehicles is still very popular. The largest sports venue in the world is the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, home of the Indy 500, the most attended one-day sporting event in the world. Some things must never change.

It was interesting to learn how the Romans were so successful. They were a type of government that controlled people and liked to attack and expand. I know that this was a success (by getting millions of new slaves) and also a weakness because they over-expanded.