The reason I wanted this course was to have a mental picture of this famous place so as to have some pegs on which to hang Roman history: wars, rulers, and political events. He does go at length into the habits of the Romans, including events at the coliseum such as athletic games, mock battles, gladiator contests and Christians vs. lions.
A very interesting and informative section is his discussion and description of the famous Roman baths. It seems that these were a main factor in Roman life--to the extent that all manner of business and social activities were carried on there, as well as health-related opportunities. One famous Roman bath of 34 acres, parts of which are still visible, housed food outlets, beauty salons, "spas," shops, libraries, and alcoves where much business and social interaction took place. Read about the plumbing available to this facility and you will be amazed! (Several sources say that Rome had the most extensive and excellent water system of any city in history up to early modern London and New York. See "Aqueducts" at end of post.)
As noted above, much business was conducted at the "baths," particularly by lawyers, politicians, and businessmen; it was not common in those days for many professions to have offices. So these professionals met their clients there. And because of a lack of decent inns, wealthy out-of-town clients usually expected to be invited to eat and spend the night at the often lavish home of their patron.
Let me parenthetically note at this point that middle to lower class Romans didn't have it so good; they often lived in a single room in an "apartment house" type dwelling with little or no kitchen facilities, and no running water or bathroom facilities.
Back to our more prosperous Roman merchants/businessmen who were expected to entertain their out-of-town customers. As was the custom, many homes had lavish wall paintings and murals. One extant mural discovered in Pompei, shows a lady dinner guest being propped up by a slave, and clearly (in modern parlance) she is "feeling no pain". This slice of life is taken to show that at Rome's famous dinners, the drink "flowed freely".
Banqueting among the upper class, either for social purposes, or business purposes was very common. And as noted, out-of-towners spent the night. The dinner itself would have been of multiple courses; what all was served is unclear but one writer notes that the Roman palate was attuned to exotic (by our standards) foods--notably unusual body parts of animals. (Reminds one of our early farm folks who ate brains and eggs, pig ear sandwiches, pig's feet and souse.) One favorite hors d'oeuvres of these people was STUFFED DORMICE. One can almost hear them say: "Please pass the stuffed dormice,"
These wealthy Romans usually had lavish gardens, semi-roofed, attached to their houses. The party might adjourn to the garden before bedtime for a play or music, or other entertainment.
So I'd recommend this course to you; you will ever after have a picture of old Rome in your mind---of arches, monuments, streets, temples, baths, aqueducts, the Forum, and the life there two centuries ago...in perhaps the most famous civilization of antiquity.
(AQUEDUCTS: Writers note--I hate to admit it, and you will laugh...but I thought those aqueduct things went across the country for miles and miles--above the ground. Not so. Aqueducts were mostly underground. It's when they cross a valley or ravine or low-lying terrain that they must use the
"bridge thing" above ground to keep the water flow level, though it is always inclined every so slightly, so as to keep the water flowing. This whole system was an incredible feat in Roman engineering. A whole study would be to find out where they gained all their expertise in many areas of knowledge.)
By Mil, 1-19-12
Sent from my iPad
No comments:
Post a Comment