For about 200 years, Rome was a kingdom

Rome was a republic for 500 years

Government under the Republic

Government under the Roman Republic

Government under the Republic

However, the assembly had one power that was very impressive-it was the Assembly who voted each year on which two members of the Senate would serve as Consuls. As a noble, if you wanted to rise to the level of Consul, the highest position in government under the Republic, you needed to gain the suppport of the plebeian class. Since it was the Consuls who filled empty seats in the Senate, if the Assembly chose their Consuls well, they could slowly gain power in government by putting ple in charge who were sympathetic to their needs.

The Assembly was composed of all the plebeian citizens of Rome, the common man. The Assembly did not have a building. It was the right of the common man to assemble in the Forum and vote.

Under the Republic, two elected consuls shared the head of government. Consuls were members of the Senate, who had been elected to serve for one year term in the position of Consul, the highest position in government under the Republic.

assembly

The senate was composed of leaders from the patricians the noble and wealthy families of ancient Rome. They were the law makers. They controlled spending. Members of the Senate were not elected. They were chosen by the Consuls. ONce chosen, they served for life. There were 300 seats in the Senate. When a seat opened, a new Senator was selected by the current Consuls.

Consuls

senate

For about 200 years, Rome was a kingdom

Government under the Republic

Some members of the Assembly became quite powerful in government in their own right. Some tradesmen were very wealthy. There is an old expression-money talks- which means the rich seem to be heard more easily than the poor.

In the beginning, the Assembly had very limited power. They could vote for or suggest laws, but the Senate could block their decisions. The Assembly could vote to declare war, but again, the Senate could override them.

In ancient Rome, certainly money talked, but so did those who had the pwer of speech. The Romans loved a great orator. When the Assembly met, down at the Forum, many speeches were going on at the same time. One speaker might say, "Rome's roads need repair!" Another speaker might say, "We need to stop cri in the streets." If you wanted your speech to have an impact, it did not matter how rich or poor you were. What mattered was how persuasive you were as a speaker.

The early Romans were ruled by kings. The first king was the mythical Romulus, son of the war god Mars. All the kings after that claimed that they were directly related to Romulus, and that gave them the right to rule.

Rome was not built in a day. Rome began as a small village, located on the Italian peninsula in Europe. To be more specific, around 2750 years ago, a tribe of early people settled down in the land of 7 hills, on the Tiber River, near the Mediterranean Sea

Each early Roman family was ruled by the father. His job was to care for his family fairly. The early Roman people were ruled by a king. The king's job was to care for his people fairly.

It was a wonderful place to build a town. There was good soil to grow crops. The Tiber River provided a source of fresh water for drinking and bathing. And the 7 hills offerd both shelter and a vantage point to keep an eye out for intruders.

Rome grew quickly as a cultural and trade center on the Italian peninsula. Early Roman values included loyalty to the many gods and goddesses they worshiped, loyalty to their family, and obedience to authority. These values produced loyal and obedient subjects, who put their country's needs and their family's needs before their own.

Honoring their gods was a big part of ancient Roman daily life

Roman Gods

The Romans had many gods of their own. There was a festival nearly every day for on god or another. Pax, for example, was the Roman goddess of peace. Her festival is January 3. Fornax is the Roman goddess of wells and springs. Her festival is January 11. Consus was the Roman god of good advice. He was so important that he had two festival days-August 21 and December 15, and a temple in the Circus Maximus.

There were many thousands of Roman gods. The ancient Romans believed that gods lived everywhere- in trees, under a bush, by the side of the road, in a burrow, flower, in a stream, under the bed, and perhaps even above the stove in your house. There was even a deity who lived inside the latch that opened the door to each home.

Pax

Fornax

Consus

no question

When they heard about the Greek gods, they adopted nearly all of them! The Romans changed many of the Greek gods names to Roman names. Zeus became Jupiter. Hera was renamed Juno. But the Romans left their personalities intact.

In ancient Rome, everything had a spirit in charge of it

New Gods

Not all of the gods that the ancient Romans worshiped were originally Roman gods. The Romans did a lot of traveling as they expanded their empire. Each time the Romans heard a myth about a god or goddess or spirit or deity from the people they met (and conquered), if they liked it, they adopted it and made it their own.

Temples

There were impressive temples all over the Roman Empire. Every day, the ancient Romans brought offerings of meat and other items to at least one nearby temple. Usually they visited more than one temple every day.

Household Gods

Each home had a personal household god that kept things running smoothly at home. Some ancient Romans kept a whole room of their house for a grand display to honor their personal household god. Others had a small display somewhere in the kitchen. Whenever the ancient Romans prepared a meal, they ate it in honor of the household gode

The Circus Maximus

Circus Maximus

The Circus Maximus was not the only circus in the Roman Empire. The Romans built circuses (outdoor racetracks) all over the Empire. The Circus Maximus was the most well-known.

The ancient Romans loved chariot racing In early roman times, young nobles used to race their chariots around the 7 hills of Rome. People had to scatter to get out of the way. They stopped for no one.

Circus Maximus

It could seat over 250,000 people! Admission was free. Anyone could attend the races, including Rome's poor. There were races every day. It was the height of success to race in the Circus Maximus.

Circus Maximus

In the 6c BCE (about 2,500 years ago!), the ancient Romans built the Circus Maximus in the city of Rome. Basically, the Maximus was a race track. It was designed to race chariots. Women could attend the races. They could sit with men. That was very unusual.

The original Circus Maximus was built out of wood. It burnt down a couple of times. During the Roman Empire, the Circus Maximus was rebuilt using marble and concrete (an ancient Roman invention)