Daily Life - Ancient Rome for Kids

What we don't know:

In spite of the many inscriptions and other pieces of the past scholars have labored to put together for us, we still don't know much about ancient Roman daily life.

We still don't know whether the ancient Romans had wastebaskets, or how common cats were, or whether anyone kept a dog indoors.

We know they had temples, but what did they do in there? It will be interesting to see what scholars discover as they continue to find inscriptions, and to put pieces of the past together!

What we do know:

We know quite a bit about Roman government, which was famous for power and law, and a great deal about Roman religion with its many Roman gods and festivals.

We know that Rome grew from an important city into a huge, crowded, noisy, smoky, dusty city, with beautiful temples and public buildings. The rich had gracious homes, each with an entrance atrium, which was the center of family life. For those who were not quite as rich, there were apartment buildings, some quite nice ones, and there were shabby tenements for the poor. Narrow streets wound between the seven hills.

We know some people walked around Rome. Some were carried in covered litters, with curtained couches carried on poles by slaves. Soldiers strode though town in chain mail or leather armor. Workmen hurried in belted tunics of dark wool. Before daylight, boys hurried to school. Later in the day, Roman citizens strolled around town in white wool tunics. Shops lined the streets.

We know that, down in the Forum, courts were in session, and the great Senate orators met and argued.