Culture+&+Traditions

The ancient Romans had very different traditions than we do. For example the most important part of a baby being born was to give the baby a name. The baby was given three names, a first name, a second name, and the third which was the family name. To Romans carrying on the family name was treated with very much respect. When a baby was born it was given necklaces and bracelets to help ward of evil spirits. Not all children were able to go to school, only the babies that were born into a wealthy family were able to. If you were born into a poor family you were either taught by your parents or you had no education at all. What isn’t so different about Roman children and American children today is that they played many of the same games as we do today. Some of these games include leapfrog, tic tac toe, yo-yos, and many board games.  Another tradition of the ancient Romans is their art. Roman art was greatly inspired by the Etruscans in about 500 BC. Then after this time Romans took many ideas from the Greeks. The Romans made life like sculptures and statues of their gods and heroes out of marble and bronze. Also painting was very popular in Rome, many Romans painted murals. Another thing the Rome did with art were mosaics which were patterns put together with colored chips of glass.

 Another tradition were the way they made marriages. They were usually set up by the bride’s father and the future husband. The husband had to be at least 14 years old and the bride had to be at least 12 years old. The ring finger originated from the Romans because they were the first to use wedding rings. The Romans did not require a wedding ceremony for the marriage to be legal, but for the wealthy Romans they believed that having a ceremony was an important rite. It was not a big deal if the groom was not present during the ceremony. In this case the groom could not make it and he sent a letter that said his vows and stuff. Like modern weddings there was a cake present during the wedding and there was also a dinner party that occurred after the wedding.

Another tradition of Ancient Rome would be all of the games. What I mean by games are the games that took place in the Amphitheater and the Circus Maximus. The games that took place in the Amphitheater were gladiator battles, public executions, battle reenactments, and animal battles. This is a tradition because a lot of the Roman citizens would go to these games to get amusement and also to eat. At the games there was usually free bread and wine that was distributed to all of the fans. The Circus Maximus is a large arena about the size of two modern day football fields. This arena could hold around 45,000 people. This arena is designed for chariot races, which were of great amusement to Romans. They would bet on their favorite teams. There were a couple teams that were distinguished by the color of their armor and the color of their chariots.

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