Curiosities of ancient Rome (Society)

In ancient Rome, midwives (obstetrices) played a key role in society, being not only specialists in the field of obstetrics but also women’s guides in one of the most important moments of their lives – the birth of a child.

The entire life of Roman citizens revolved around the city on the one hand and around the family (familia) on the other. The word meant a little more than family. It included all the inhabitants of the house: parents, children, grandchildren, slaves, and even freedmen who stayed with their masters. They were all subject to the authority of the father of the family. It was in the family environment that the most important events in the life of a Roman and the rituals related to them took place.

Sumptuariae leges were laws that were intended to regulate expenses and limit luxuries in Roman society.

In ancient Rome, a fibula was a type of decorative pin, used mainly as a fastener for clothing such as tunics or coats. It was an important element of the wardrobe, serving both a practical and decorative function.

Roman mosaics, frescoes and written documents tell a lot about how the Romans lived daily. The wealthy lived comfortably in magnificent homes, ate exquisite food, wore beautiful clothes, and had slaves to serve them. Life was hard for the poor. They had to work and had little time for rest. Some Roman monuments are related to their everyday life.

Many legal systems in the world today, such as the French legal system, are based on Roman law. Law and order were essential to the governance of the Roman Empire; there were many laws and many ways to interpret them. They were all unified by Emperor Hadrian in the 2nd century CE. A significant reform of the law was carried out by Emperor Justinian (reigned 527-565). His law is known as the Justinian Code. It became the basis of Western European law.

Roman cities were carefully planned, built on a grid of streets intersecting at right angles. The Romans borrowed this idea from the Greeks. Streets divided the city into quarters, just like in some modern cities, such as New York. A wall was built around the city to mark its border. Roman cities were bustling, populous and full of large, magnificent buildings. In the 1st century BCE Rome had over a million inhabitants.

The prevailing view is that slavery is one of the darkest sides of Roman civilization. From our perspective, this is a reasonable opinion, but on the other hand, it must be remembered that slavery was a common phenomenon at that time, so when condemning it, one should probably also take into account the different state of social development, different mentality of people, etc.

In ancient Greece, the main type of beard was a lush full beard. In Sparta, this is a complicated issue. Spartans are generally said to have had beards without mustaches. However, every depiction in art does not support this except in figurines where the beard is carved and the mustache is not.