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Faustina II ‘Junior’ – Roman Empress & Wife
of Emperor Marcus Aurelius – 161-175 A.D. –
Bronze As 24mm (12.02 grams) Struck circa 161-175 A.D.
Reference: RIC 1639;
sear5 #5295
FAVSTINA AVGVSTA, draped bust right
FECVNDITAS S-C, Fecunditas standing right,
holding scepter & child.
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In Roman mythology, Fecunditas (Latin:
“fecundity, fertility”) was the goddess of fertility.
She was portrayed as a matron, sometimes holding a
cornucopia or a hasta pura, with children in her arms or
standing next to her. Nero erected a temple to
Fecundity, on the occasion of a daughter being born to
him by Poppaea (Tacit xv 23). And the adoration of this
divinity, once established at Rome, became a frequent
subject of allusion and typification on the coins of
succeeding empresses. It has been thought that, under
this name, worship was paid to Juno. The priest of
Fecundity was called Lupercus; and to him one of the
artful and indecent superstitions of paganism ascribed
the power of rendering women fertile, by strapping them,
while in a state of nudity, with thongs made of goat
skin! On coins of the Augustae, Fecundity appears as a
matron, clothed in the stola, sometimes standing with
the hasta pura in her right hand, and supporting an
infant in her left; sometimes with a cornucopiae in her
left hand, and before her a child, to which she extends
her right hand. On others she is seated, with children
in her lap, or standing at each side of her; sometimes
with one on each arm.
Annia
Galeria Faustina Minor (Minor Latin for
the younger), Faustina Minor or Faustina
the Younger
(February
16 between 125 and 130-175) was a daughter of
Roman Emperor
Antoninus Pius
and Roman Empress
Faustina the Elder
. She was a Roman Empress and wife
to her maternal cousin Roman Emperor
Marcus Aurelius
. Though Roman sources give a
generally negative view of her character, she was held
in high esteem by soldiers and her own husband and was
given divine honours after her death.
//
Biography
Faustina, named after her mother, was
her parents’ fourth and youngest child and their second
daughter; she was also their only child to survive to
adulthood. She was born and raised in
Rome
.
Her great uncle, the Emperor
Hadrian
, had arranged with her father for Faustina
to marry
Lucius Verus
. On February 25, 138, she and Verus
were betrothed.
Verus’ father
was Hadrian’s first adopted son and
his intended heir. However when Verus’ father died,
Hadrian chose Faustina’s father to be his second adopted
son, and eventually, he became Hadrian’s successor.
Faustina’s father ended the engagement between his
daughter and Verus and arranged for Faustina’s betrothal
to her maternal cousin,
Marcus Aurelius
; Aurelius was also adopted by her
father. On May 13, 145, Faustina and Marcus Aurelius
were married. When her father died on March 7, 161, her
husband and Lucius Verus succeeded to her father’s
throne and became co-rulers. Faustina was given the
title of
Augusta
and became Empress.
Unfortunately, not much has survived
from the Roman sources regarding Faustina’s life, but
what is available does not give a good report.
Cassius Dio
and the
Augustan History
accuse Faustina of ordering
deaths by poison and execution; she has also been
accused of instigating the revolt of
Avidius Cassius
against her husband. The Augustan
History mentions adultery with sailors, gladiators,
and men of rank. However, Faustina and Aurelius seem to
have been very close and mutually devoted. Her husband
trusted her and defended her vigorously against
detractors.
Faustina accompanied her husband on
various military campaigns and enjoyed the love and
reverence of Roman soldiers. Aurelius gave her the title
of Mater Castrorum or Mother of the Camp.
Between 170-174, she was in the north, and in 175, she
accompanied Aurelius to the east. However, these
experiences took their toll on Faustina, who died in the
winter of 175, after an accident, at the military camp
in Halala (a city in the
Taurus Mountains
in
Cappadocia
).
Aurelius grieved much for his wife
and buried her in the Mausoleum of Hadrian in Rome. She
was deified: her statue was placed in the Temple of
Venus in Rome and a temple was dedicated to her in her
honor. Halala’s name was changed to Faustinopolis
and Aurelius opened charity schools for orphan girls
called Puellae Faustinianae or ‘Girls of
Faustina’.[1]
The Baths of Faustina in
Miletus
are named after her.
In their thirty years of marriage,
Faustina bore Marcus Aurelius thirteen children:
-
Annia Aurelia Galeria Faustina
(147-after 165)
-
Gemellus Lucillae (died around
150), twin brother of Lucilla
-
Annia Aurelia Galeria
Lucilla
(148/50-182), twin sister of Gemellus,
married her father’s co-ruler
Lucius Verus
-
Titus Aelius Antoninus (born
after 150, died before 7 March 161)
-
Titus Aelius Aurelius (born after
150, died before 7 March 161)
-
Hadrianus (152-157)
-
Domitia Faustina (born after 150,
died before 7 March 161)
-
Fadilla
(159-after 211)
-
Annia Cornificia Faustina Minor
(160-after 211)
-
Titus Aurelius Fulvus Antoninus
(161-165), twin brother of Commodus
-
Commodus
(161-192), twin brother of Titus
Aurelius Fulvus Antoninus, later emperor
-
Marcus Annius Verus Caesar
(162-169)
- Vibia Aurelia Sabina (170-died before 217)
The Roman Empire (Latin:
Imperium Romanum)
was the post-Republican
period of the
ancient Roman civilization
,
characterised by an
autocratic
form of
government and large territorial holdings in Europe and
around the Mediterranean.
The Roman Empire at its greatest extent,
during the reign of
Trajan
in 117 AD
The 500-year-old
Roman Republic
, which
preceded it, had been weakened and
subverted
through
several
civil wars
. Several
events are commonly proposed to mark the transition from
Republic to Empire, including
Julius Caesar
‘s
appointment as perpetual
dictator
(44 BC), the
Battle of Actium
(2
September 31 BC), and the Roman Senate’s granting
to
Octavian
the
honorific
Augustus
(16
January 27 BC).
Roman expansion began in the days of the Republic,
but the Empire reached its greatest extent under Emperor
Trajan
: during his
reign (98 to 117 AD) the Roman Empire controlled
approximately 6.5 million km2
of land surface. Because of the Empire’s vast extent and
long endurance, the institutions and culture of Rome had
a profound and lasting influence on the development of
language, religion, architecture, philosophy, law, and
forms of government in the territory it governed,
particularly Europe, and by means of European
expansionism throughout the modern world.
In the late 3rd century AD,
Diocletian
established
the practice of dividing authority between four
co-emperors (known as the
tetrarchy
) in order to
better secure the vast territory, putting an end to the
Crisis of the Third Century
.
During the following decades the Empire was often
divided along an East/West axis. After the death of
Theodosius I
in 395 it
was divided for the last time.
The
Western Roman Empire
collapsed
in 476 as
Romulus Augustus
was
forced to abdicate to the
Germanic
warlord
Odoacer
. The Eastern
Roman or
Byzantine Empire
ended
in 1453 with the death of
Constantine XI
and the
capture of Constantinople
to
Mehmed II
, leader of
the
Ottoman Turks
.
Government
Emperor
The powers of an emperor (his
imperium
) existed,
in theory at least, by virtue of his “tribunician
powers” (potestas tribunicia) and his
“proconsular powers” (imperium proconsulare). In
theory, the tribunician powers (which were similar to
those of the
Plebeian Tribunes
under
the old republic) made the Emperor’s person and office
sacrosanct, and gave the Emperor authority over Rome’s
civil government, including the power to preside over
and to control the Senate.
The proconsular powers (similar to those of military
governors, or
Proconsuls
, under the
old Republic) gave him authority over the Roman army. He
was also given powers that, under the Republic, had been
reserved for the
Senate
and the
assemblies
, including
the right to declare war, to ratify treaties, and to
negotiate with foreign leaders.
The emperor also had the authority to carry out a
range of duties that had been performed by the
censors
, including the
power to control Senate membership. In addition, the
emperor controlled the
religious institutions
,
since, as emperor, he was always
Pontifex Maximus
and a member of each of the four major priesthoods.
While these distinctions were clearly defined during the
early Empire, eventually they were lost, and the
emperor’s powers became less constitutional and more
monarchical.
Realistically, the main support of an emperor’s power
and authority was the military. Being paid by the
imperial treasury, the legionaries also swore an annual
military oath of loyalty towards him, called the
Sacramentum
.
The death of an emperor led to a crucial period of
uncertainty and crisis. In theory the Senate was
entitled to choose the new emperor, but most emperors
chose their own successors, usually a close family
member. The new emperor had to seek a swift
acknowledgement of his new status and authority in order
to stabilize the political landscape. No emperor could
hope to survive, much less to reign, without the
allegiance and loyalty of the
Praetorian Guard
and of
the legions. To secure their loyalty, several emperors
paid the
donativum
, a
monetary reward.
Senate
While the
Roman assemblies
continued to meet after the founding of the Empire,
their powers were all transferred to the
Roman Senate
, and so
senatorial decrees (senatus consulta) acquired
the full force of law.
In theory, the Emperor and the Senate were two equal
branches of government, but the actual authority of the
Senate was negligible and it was largely a vehicle
through which the Emperor disguised his autocratic
powers under a cloak of republicanism. Although the
Senate still commanded much prestige and respect, it was
largely a glorified
rubber stamp
institution. Stripped of most of its powers, the Senate
was largely at the Emperor’s mercy.
Many emperors showed a certain degree of respect
towards this ancient institution, while others were
notorious for ridiculing it. During Senate meetings, the
Emperor sat between the two
consuls
,[18]
and usually acted as the presiding officer. Higher
ranking senators spoke before lower ranking senators,
although the Emperor could speak at any time.[18]
By the 3rd century, the Senate had been reduced to a
glorified municipal body.
Senators and equestrians
No emperor could rule the Empire without the
Senatorial order and the
Equestrian order
. Most
of the more important posts and offices of the
government were reserved for the members of these two
aristocratic orders. It was from among their ranks that
the provincial governors, legion commanders, and similar
officials were chosen.
These two classes were hereditary[citation
needed] and mostly closed to
outsiders. Very successful and favoured individuals
could enter, but this was a rare occurrence. The career
of a young aristocrat was influenced by his family
connections and the favour of patrons. As important as
ability, knowledge, skill, or competence, patronage was
considered vital for a successful career and the highest
posts and offices required the Emperor’s favour and
trust.
Senatorial order
The son of a senator was expected to follow the
Cursus honorum
, a
career ladder
, and the
more prestigious positions were restricted to senators
only. A senator also had to be wealthy; one of the basic
requirements was the wealth of 12,000 gold
aurei
(about 100 kg of
gold), a figure which would later be raised with the
passing of centuries.
Equestrian
order
Below the Senatorial order was the Equestrian order.
The requirements and posts reserved for this class,
while perhaps not so prestigious, were still very
important. Some of the more vital posts, like the
governorship of
Egypt
(Latin
Aegyptus), were even forbidden to the members of the
Senatorial order and available only to equestrians.
Military
Legions
During and after the civil war, Octavian reduced the
huge number of the
legions
(over 60) to a
much more manageable and affordable size (28). Several
legions, particularly those with doubtful loyalties,
were simply disbanded. Other legions were amalgamated, a
fact suggested by the title Gemina (Twin).
In AD 9, Germanic tribes wiped out three full legions
in the
Battle of the Teutoburg Forest
.
This disastrous event reduced the number of the legions
to 25. The total of the legions would later be increased
again and for the next 300 years always be a little
above or below 30.
Augustus also created the
Praetorian Guard
: nine
cohorts
ostensibly to
maintain the public peace which were garrisoned in
Italy. Better paid than the legionaries, the Praetorians
also served less time; instead of serving the standard
25 years of the legionaries, they retired after 16 years
of service.
Auxilia
While the
auxilia
(Latin:
auxilia = supports) are not as famous as the
legionaries, they were of major importance. Unlike the
legionaries, the auxilia were recruited from among the
non-citizens. Organized in smaller units of roughly
cohort strength, they were paid less than the
legionaries, and after 25 years of service were rewarded
with
Roman citizenship
, also
extended to their sons. According to
Tacitus
there were
roughly as many auxiliaries as there were legionaries.
Since at this time there were 25 legions of around 5,000
men each, the auxilia thus amounted to around 125,000
men, implying approximately 250 auxiliary regiments.
Navy
The
Roman navy
(Latin:
Classis, lit. “fleet”) not only aided in the supply
and transport of the legions, but also helped in the
protection of the frontiers in the rivers
Rhine
and
Danube
. Another of its
duties was the protection of the very important maritime
trade routes against the threat of pirates. Therefore it
patrolled the whole of the Mediterranean, parts of the
North Atlantic
(coasts
of Hispania, Gaul, and Britannia), and had also a naval
presence in the
Black Sea
. Nevertheless
the army was considered the senior and more prestigious
branch.
Provinces
The
Temple of Bacchus
in
Baalbec
,
Lebanon
Until the
Tetrarchy
(296 AD)
Roman provinces (lat. provincae) were
administrative and territorial units of the Roman Empire
outside of
Italy
. In the old days
of the Republic the governorships of the provinces were
traditionally awarded to members of the
Senatorial Order
.
Augustus’ reforms changed this policy.
Imperial provinces
Augustus created the
Imperial provinces
.
Most, but not all, of the Imperial provinces were
relatively recent conquests and located at the borders.
Thereby the overwhelming majority of legions, which were
stationed at the frontiers, were under direct Imperial
control. Very important was the
Imperial province of Egypt
,
the major
breadbasket
of the
Empire, whose
grain supply
was vital
to feed the masses in Rome. It was considered the
personal fiefdom of the Emperor, and Senators were
forbidden to even visit this province. The governor of
Egypt and the commanders of any legion stationed there
were not from the Senatorial Order, but were chosen by
the Emperor from among the members of the lower
Equestrian Order
.
Senatorial provinces
The old traditional policy continued largely
unchanged in the
Senatorial provinces
.
Due to their location, away from the borders, and to the
fact that they were under longer Roman sovereignty and
control, these provinces were largely peaceful and
stable. Only a single legion was based in a Senatorial
province:
Legio III Augusta
,
stationed in the Senatorial province of
Africa
(modern northern
Algeria).
The status of a province was subject to change; it
could change from Senatorial towards Imperial, or
vice-versa. This happened several times
[26]
during
Augustus’ reign. Another trend was to create new
provinces, mostly by dividing older ones, or by
expanding the Empire.
Religion
The
Pantheon
,
the present structure built during
Hadrian
‘s
reign, was dedicated to the worship of all
Roman deities.
As the Empire expanded, and came to include people
from a variety of cultures, the worship of an ever
increasing number of
deities
was tolerated
and accepted. The Imperial government, and the Romans in
general, tended to be very tolerant towards most
religions and cults, so long as they did not cause
trouble. This could easily be accepted by other faiths
as Roman liturgy and ceremonies were frequently tailored
to fit local culture and identity. Since the Romans
practiced polytheism they were also able to easily
assimilate the gods of the peoples the Empire conquered.
An individual could attend to both the Roman gods
representing his Roman identity and his own personal
faith, which was considered part of his personal
identity. There were periodic persecutions of various
religions at various points in time, most notably that
of Christians. As the historian
Edward Gibbon
noted,
however, most of the recorded histories of Christian
persecutions come to us through the Christian church,
which had an incentive to exaggerate the degree to which
the persecutions occurred. The non-Christian
contemporary sources only mention the persecutions
passingly and without assigning great importance to
them.
Imperial cult
The
Augustus of Prima
Porta
, showing
Augustus
in
military outfit holding a consular baton
(now broken off)
In an effort to enhance loyalty, the inhabitants of
the Empire were called to participate in the
Imperial cult
to revere
(usually deceased) emperors as
demigods
. Few emperors
claimed to be Gods while living, with the few exceptions
being emperors who were widely regarded at the time to
be insane (such as
Caligula
). Doing so in
the early Empire would have risked revealing the
shallowness of what the Emperor
Augustus
called the
“restored Republic” and would have had a decidedly
eastern quality to it. Since the tool was mostly one the
Emperor used to control his subjects, its usefulness
would have been greatest in the chaotic later Empire,
when the emperors were often Christians and unwilling to
participate in the practice.
Usually, an emperor was deified after his death by
his successor in an attempt by that successor to enhance
his own prestige. This practice can be misunderstood,
however, since “deification” was to the ancient world
what canonization is to the Christian world. Likewise,
the term “god” had a different context in the ancient
world. This could be seen during the years of the
Roman Republic
with
religio-political practices such as the disbanding of a
Senate session if it was believed the gods disapproved
of the session or wished a particular vote. Deification
was one of the many honors a dead emperor was entitled
to, as the Romans (more than modern societies) placed
great prestige on honors and national recognitions.
The importance of the Imperial cult slowly grew,
reaching its peak during the
Crisis of the Third Century
.
Especially in the eastern half of the Empire, imperial
cults grew very popular. As such it was one of the major
agents of
romanization
. The
central elements of the cult complex were next to a
temple; a
theatre
or
amphitheatre
for
gladiator displays and other games and a
public bath complex
.
Sometimes the imperial cult was added to the cults of an
existing temple or celebrated in a special hall in the
bath complex.
The seriousness of this belief is unclear. Some
Romans ridiculed the notion that a Roman emperor was to
be considered a living god, or would even make fun of
the deification of an emperor after his death.
Seneca the Younger
parodied the notion of apotheosis in his only known
satire
The Pumpkinification of Claudius
,
in which the clumsy and ill-spoken
Claudius
is transformed
not into a god, but a pumpkin or
gourd
. An element of
mockery was present even at Claudius’s funeral, and
Vespasian
‘s purported
last words were Væ, puto deus fio, “Oh dear! I
think I’m becoming a god!”.
Absorption of foreign cults
Since Roman religion did not have a core belief that
excluded other religions, several foreign gods and cults
became popular.
The worship of
Cybele
was the
earliest, introduced from around 200 BC.
Isis
and
Osiris
were introduced
from Egypt a century later.
Bacchus
and
Sol Invictus
were quite
important and
Mithras
became very
popular with the military. Several of these were
Mystery cults
. In the
1st century BC
Julius Caesar
granted
Jews the freedom to worship in Rome as a reward for
their help in Alexandria.
Controversial religions
Druids
Druids
were considered
as essentially non-Roman: a prescript of
Augustus
forbade Roman
citizens to practice “druidical” rites.
Pliny
reports that
under
Tiberius
the druids
were suppressed—along with diviners and physicians—by a
decree of the Senate, and
Claudius
forbade their
rites completely in AD 54.
Judaism
While Judaism was largely accepted, as long as Jews
paid the
Jewish Tax
after 70 AD,
there was
anti-Judaism in the pre-Christian
Roman Empire
and there were several
Jewish-Roman wars
.
The Crisis under
Caligula
(37–41)
has been proposed as the “first open break between Rome
and the Jews”, even though problems were already evident
during the
Census of Quirinius
in
6 and under
Sejanus
(before 31).
Until the rebellion in Judea in AD 66, Jews were
generally protected. To get around Roman laws banning
secret societies and to allow their freedom of worship,
Julius Caesar declared Synagogues were colleges.
Tiberius forbade Judaism in Rome but they quickly
returned to their former protected status. Claudius
expelled Jews from the city; however, the passage of
Suetonius is ambiguous: “Because the Jews at Rome caused
continuous disturbances at the instigation of Chrestus
he [Claudius] expelled them from the city.” Chrestus
has been identified as another form of Christus;
the disturbances may have been related to the
arrival of the first Christians
,
and that the Roman authorities, failing to distinguish
between the Jews and the early Christians, simply
decided to expel them all.
Historians debate whether or not the Roman government
distinguished between
Christians and Jews
prior to Nerva’s modification of the
Fiscus Judaicus
in 96.
From then on, practising Jews paid the tax; Christians
did not.[34]
Christianity
The Christian Martyrs’ Last Prayer,
by
Jean-Léon Gérôme
(1883). Roman
Colosseum
.
Christianity
emerged in
Roman Judea
as a
Jewish religious sect
in the 1st century AD. The religion gradually spread out
of
Jerusalem
, initially
establishing major bases in first
Antioch
, then
Alexandria
, and over
time throughout the Empire as well as beyond.
Christianity shares numerous traits with other
mystery cults that existed in Rome at the time. Early
Christianity placed a strong emphasis on baptism, a
ritual which marked the convert as having been inducted
into the mysteries of the faith. The focus on a belief
in salvation and the afterlife was another major
similarity to other mystery cults. The crucial
difference between Christianity and other mystery cults
was the
monotheism
of
Christianity. Early Christians thus refused to
participate in civic cults because of these monotheistic
beliefs, leading to their persecution.
For the first two centuries of the
Christian era
, Imperial
authorities largely viewed Christianity simply as a
Jewish sect rather than a distinct religion. No emperor
issued general laws against the faith or its Church, and
persecutions, such as they were, were carried out under
the authority of local government officials. A surviving
letter from
Pliny the Younger
,
governor of Bythinia, to the Emperor
Trajan
describes his
persecution and executions of Christians; Trajan notably
responded that Pliny should not seek out Christians nor
heed anonymous denunciations, but only punish open
Christians who refused to recant.
Suetonius
mentions in
passing that during the reign of
Nero
“punishment was
inflicted on the Christians, a class of men given to a
new and mischievous
superstition
”
(superstitionis novae ac maleficae). He gives no
reason for the punishment.
Tacitus
reports that
after the
Great Fire of Rome
in
AD 64, some among the population held Nero responsible
and that the emperor attempted to deflect blame onto the
Christians.
One of the earliest persecutions occurred in
Gaul
at
Lyon in 177
.
Persecution was often local and sporadic, and some
Christians welcomed
martyrdom as a testament of faith
.[39]
The
Decian persecution
(246–251) was a serious threat to the Church, but while
it potentially undermined the religious hierarchy in
urban centers, ultimately it served to strengthen
Christian defiance.[40]
Diocletian
undertook
what was to be the
most severe and last major
persecution of Christians
, lasting from 303
to 311. Christianity had become too widespread to
suppress, and in 313, the
Edict of Milan
made
tolerance the official policy.
Constantine I
(sole
ruler 324–337) became the first Christian emperor, and
in 380
Theodosius I
established Christianity as the official religion.
By the 5th century Christian hegemony had rapidly
changed the Empire’s identity even as the Western
provinces collapsed. Those who practiced the traditional
polytheistic religions were persecuted, as were
Christians regarded as heretics by the authorities in
power.
Languages
The language of Rome before its expansion was
Latin
, and this became
the empire’s official language. By the time of the
imperial period Latin had developed two
registers
: the “high”
written
Classical Latin
and the
“low” spoken
Vulgar Latin
. While
Classical Latin remained relatively stable, even through
the
Middle Ages
, Vulgar
Latin as with any spoken language was fluid and
evolving. Vulgar Latin became the
lingua franca
in the
western provinces, later evolving into the modern
Romance languages
:
Italian
,
French
,
Portuguese
,
Spanish
,
Romanian
, etc. Greek
and Classical Latin were the languages of literature,
scholarship, and education.
Although Latin remained the most widely spoken
language in the West, through to the
fall of Rome
and for
some centuries afterwards, in the East the
Greek language
was the
literary language and the lingua franca. The Romans
generally did not attempt to supplant local languages.
They generally left established customs in place and
only gradually introduced typical Roman cultural
elements including the Latin language.[43]
Along with Greek, many other languages of different
tribes were used but almost without expression in
writing.
Greek was already widely spoken in many cities in the
east, and as such, the Romans were quite content to
retain it as an administrative language there rather
than impede bureaucratic efficiency. Hence, two official
secretaries served in the Roman Imperial court, one
charged with correspondence in Latin and the other with
correspondence in Greek for the East.[44]
Thus in the Eastern Province, as with all provinces,
original languages were retained.
Moreover, the process of hellenisation widened its
scope during the Roman period, for the Romans
perpetuated
“Hellenistic”
culture,[47][48][nb
4] but with all the trappings of
Roman
improvements.
This further spreading of “Hellenistic” culture (and
therefore language) was largely due to the extensive
infrastructure (in the form of entertainment, health,
and education amenities, and extensive transportation
networks, etc.) put in place by the Romans and their
tolerance of, and inclusion of, other cultures, a
characteristic which set them apart from the xenophobic
nature of the Greeks preceding them.
Since the Roman annexation of Greece in 146 BC, the
Greek language gradually obtained a unique place in the
Roman world, owing initially to the large number of
Greek slaves in Roman households. In Rome itself Greek
became the second language of the educated elite.It
became the common language in the early
Church
(as its major
centers in the early Christian period were in the East),
and the language of scholarship and the arts.
However, due to the presence of other widely spoken
languages in the densely populated east, such as
Coptic
,
Syriac
,
Armenian
,
Aramaic
and
Phoenician
(which was
also extensively spoken in North Africa), Greek never
took as strong a hold beyond Asia Minor (some urban
enclaves notwithstanding) as Latin eventually did in the
west. This is partly evident in the extent to which the
derivative languages are spoken today. Like Latin, the
language gained a
dual nature
with the
literary language, an
Attic Greek
variant,
existing alongside spoken language,
Koine Greek
, which
evolved into
Medieval
or Byzantine
Greek (Romaic).
By the 4th century AD, Greek no longer held such
dominance over Latin in the arts and sciences as it had
previously, resulting to a great extent from the growth
of the western provinces. This was true also of
Christian literature, reflected, for example, in the
publication in the early 5th century AD of the
Vulgate Bible
, the
first officially accepted Latin
Bible
. As the Western
Empire
declined
, the number of
people who spoke both Greek and Latin declined as well,
contributing greatly to the future
East
–West
/
Orthodox
–Catholic
cultural divide in Europe.
Important as both languages were, today the
descendants of Latin
are widely spoken in many parts of the world, while the
Greek dialects are limited mostly to Greece,
Cyprus
, and small
enclaves in
Turkey
and
Southern Italy
(where
the
Eastern Empire
retained
control for several more centuries). To some degree this
can be attributed to the fact that the western provinces
fell mainly to “Latinised”
Christian
tribes
whereas the eastern provinces fell to Muslim Arabs and
Turks for whom Greek held less cultural significance.
Culture
Life in the Roman Empire revolved around the city of
Rome, and its famed
seven hills
. The city
also had several
theatres
,
gymnasia
, and many
taverns
,
baths
and
brothels
. Throughout
the territory under Rome’s control, residential
architecture ranged from very modest houses to
country villas
, and in
the
capital city
of Rome,
to the residences on the elegant
Palatine Hill
, from
which the word “palace” is derived. The vast
majority of the population lived in the city centre,
packed into apartment blocks.
Most Roman towns and cities had a
forum
and temples, as
did the city of Rome itself.
Aqueducts
were built to
bring water to urban centres[55]
and served as an avenue to import
wine
and
oil
from abroad.
Landlords generally resided in cities and their estates
were left in the care of farm managers. To stimulate a
higher labour productivity, many landlords freed a large
numbers of slaves. By the time of Augustus, cultured
Greek household slaves taught the Roman young (sometimes
even the girls). Greek sculptures adorned Hellenistic
landscape gardening on the Palatine or in the
villas
.
Many aspects of Roman culture were taken from the
Etruscans
and the
Greeks
. In
architecture
and
sculpture
, the
difference between Greek models and Roman paintings are
apparent. The chief Roman contributions to architecture
were the
arch
and the
dome
.
Roman public baths
(Thermae)
in
Bath
,
England (Aquae
Sulis in the Roman province of
Britannia
).
The centre of the early social structure was the
family, which was not only marked by
blood relations
but
also by the legally constructed relation of patria
potestas. The
Pater familias
was the
absolute head of the family; he was the master over his
wife, his children, the wives of his sons, the nephews,
the slaves and the freedmen, disposing of them and of
their goods at will, even putting them to death.
Originally, only patrician aristocracy enjoyed the
privilege of forming familial clans, or gens, as
legal entities; later, in the wake of political
struggles and warfare, clients were also enlisted. Thus,
such plebian gentes were the first formed,
imitating their patrician counterparts.
Slavery
and slaves were
part of the social order; there were
slave markets
where
they could be bought and sold. Many slaves were freed by
the masters for services rendered; some slaves could
save money to buy their freedom. Generally
mutilation
and murder
of slaves was prohibited by legislation. It is estimated
that over 25% of the Roman population was enslaved
Professor
Gerhard Rempel
from the
Western New England College
claims that in the city of Rome alone, during the
Empire, there were about 400,000 slaves.
The city of Rome had a place called the
Campus Martius
(“Field
of Mars”), which was a sort of drill ground for Roman
soldiers. Later, the Campus became Rome’s track and
field playground. In the campus, the youth assembled to
play and exercise, which included jumping,
wrestling
,
boxing
and
racing
.
Riding
, throwing, and
swimming were also preferred physical activities.
In the countryside, pastimes also included fishing
and hunting.
Board games
played in
Rome included
Dice
(Tesserae or
Tali
), Roman Chess (Latrunculi),
Roman
Checkers
(Calculi),
Tic-tac-toe
(Terni
Lapilli), and
Ludus duodecim scriptorum
and Tabula, predecessors of backgammon. There were
several other activities to keep people engaged like
chariot races, musical and theatrical performances,
Clothing, dining, and the arts
Fresco of a Roman woman from
Pompeii
, c.
AD 50.
Roman clothing fashions changed little from the late
Republic to the end of the Western empire 600 years
later. The cloth and the dress distinguished one class
of people from the other class. The tunic worn by
plebeians
(common
people) like shepherds and slaves was made from coarse
and dark material, whereas the
tunic
worn by
patricians
was of linen
or white wool. A magistrate would wear the tunica
augusticlavi; senators wore a tunic with broad
stripes, called tunica laticlavi. Military tunics
were shorter than the ones worn by civilians. Boys, up
until the festival of Liberalia, wore the toga
praetexta, which was a toga with a crimson or purple
border. The toga virilis, (or toga pura)
was worn by men over the age of 16 to signify their
citizenship in Rome.
The toga picta was worn by triumphant generals
and had embroidery of their skill on the battlefield.
The toga pulla was worn when in mourning. Even
footwear indicated a person’s social status: patricians
wore red and orange sandals, senators had brown
footwear, consuls had white shoes, and soldiers wore
heavy boots. Men typically wore a
toga
, and women a
stola
. The woman’s
stola looked different from a toga, and was usually
brightly coloured. The Romans also invented
socks
for those
soldiers required to fight on the northern frontiers,
sometimes worn in sandals.
In the later empire after
Diocletian
‘s reforms,
clothing worn by soldiers and non-military government
bureaucrats became highly decorated, with woven or
embroidered strips, clavi, and circular roundels,
orbiculi, added to tunics and cloaks. These
decorative elements usually consisted of geometrical
patterns and stylised plant motifs, but could include
human or animal figures. The use of silk also increased
steadily and most courtiers of the later empire wore
elaborate silk robes. Heavy military-style belts were
worn by bureaucrats as well as soldiers, revealing the
general militarization of late Roman government.
Trousers—considered barbarous garments worn by Germans
and Persians—were only adopted partially near the end of
the empire in a sign for conservatives of cultural
decay. Early medieval kings and aristocrats dressed like
late Roman generals, not like the older toga-clad
senatorial tradition.
Roman fresco with banquet scene from the
Casa dei Casti Amanti (IX 12, 6-8) in
Pompeii.
Romans had simple food habits. Staple food was
simple, generally consumed at around 11 o’clock, and
consisted of bread, salad, cheese, fruits, nuts, and
cold meat left over from the dinner the night before.
The Roman poet,
Horace
mentions another
Roman favourite, the
olive
, in reference to
his own diet, which he describes as very simple: “As for
me, olives,
endives
, and smooth
mallows
provide
sustenance.” The family ate together, sitting on stools
around a table. Fingers were used to eat solid foods and
spoons were used for soups.
Wine was considered a staple drink, consumed at all
meals and occasions by all classes and was quite cheap.
Many types of drinks involving grapes and honey were
consumed as well. Drinking on an empty stomach was
regarded as boorish and a sure sign for
alcoholism
, whose
debilitating physical and psychological effects were
known to the Romans. An accurate accusation of being an
alcoholic was an effective way to discredit political
rivals.
Woman playing a
kithara
,
a wall mural from
Boscoreale
,
dated 40–30 BC
Roman literature was from its very inception
influenced heavily by Greek authors. Some of the
earliest works we possess are of historical epics
telling the early military history of Rome. As the
empire expanded, authors began to produce poetry,
comedy, history, and tragedy.
Virgil
represents the
pinnacle of Roman epic poetry. His
Aeneid
tells the
story of flight of Aeneas from
Troy
and his settlement
of the city that would become Rome. The genre of satire
was common in Rome, and satires were written by, among
others,
Juvenal
and
Persius
. Many Roman
homes were decorated with landscapes by Greek artists.
Portrait sculpture during the period utilized youthful
and classical proportions, evolving later into a mixture
of realism and idealism. Advancements were also made in
relief sculptures, often depicting Roman victories.
Music was a major part of everyday life. The word
itself derives from
Greek
μουσική (mousike),
“(art) of the
Muses
“. Many private
and public events were accompanied by music, ranging
from nightly dining to military parades and maneuvers.
In a discussion of any ancient music, however,
non-specialists and even many musicians have to be
reminded that much of what makes our modern music
familiar to us is the result of developments only within
the last 1,000 years; thus, our ideas of melody, scales,
harmony, and even the instruments we use would not be
familiar to Romans who made and listened to music many
centuries earlier.
Over time, Roman architecture was modified as their
urban requirements changed, and the
civil engineering
and
building
construction
technology
became
developed and refined. The
Roman concrete
has
remained a riddle, and even after more than 2,000 years
some Roman structures still stand magnificently.[76]
The architectural style of the capital city was emulated
by other urban centres under Roman control and
influence.
Education
Following various military conquests in the
Greek East
, Romans
adapted a number of Greek educational precepts to their
own system. Home was often the learning centre, where
children were taught
Roman law
,
customs
, and physical
training to prepare the boys for eventual recruitment
into the
Roman army
. Conforming
to discipline was a point of great emphasis. Girls
generally received instruction[78]
from their mothers in the art of
spinning
,
weaving
, and
sewing
.
Education nominally began at the age of six. During
the next six to seven years, both boys and girls were
taught the basics of
reading
,
writing
and
arithmetic
. From the
age of twelve, they would be learning
Latin
,
Greek
,
grammar
and
literature
, followed by
training for
public speaking
.
Oratory
was an art to
be practised and learnt, and good orators commanded
respect. To become an effective orator was one of the
objectives of
education
and
learning
. In some
cases, services of gifted slaves were utilized for
imparting education.
Economy
The invention and widespread application of
hydraulic mining
,
namely
hushing
and
ground-sluicing, aided by the ability of the Romans to
plan and execute mining operations on a large scale,
allowed various base and precious metals to be extracted
on a proto-industrial scale.
The annual total
iron
output is
estimated at 82,500 t,
assuming a productive capacity of c. 1.5 kg per capita.[81]
Copper
was produced at
an annual rate of 15,000 t, and
lead
at 80,000 t,[83]
both production levels not to be paralled until the
Industrial Revolution
;[84]
Spain alone had a 40% share in world lead production.
The high lead output was a by-product of extensive
silver
mining which
reached an amount of 200 t per annum.[86]
At its peak around the mid-2nd century AD, the Roman
silver stock is estimated at 10,000 t, five to ten times
larger than the combined silver mass of
medieval Europe
and the
Caliphate
around
800 AD. Any one of the Imperium’s most important
mining provinces produced as much silver as the
contemporary
Han empire
as a whole,
and more
gold
by an entire order
of magnitude.
The high amount of metal coinage in circulation meant
that more coined money was available for trading or
saving in the economy (monetization).
Currency
The imperial government was, as all governments,
interested in the issue and control of the currency in
circulation. To mint coins was an important political
act: the image of the ruling emperor appeared on most
issues, and coins were a means of showing his image
throughout the empire. Also featured were predecessors,
empresses, other family members, and
heirs apparent
. By
issuing coins with the image of an heir his legitimacy
and future succession was proclaimed and reinforced.
Political messages and imperial propaganda such as
proclamations of victory and acknowledgements of loyalty
also appeared in certain issues.
Legally only the emperor and the Senate had the
authority to mint coins inside the empire. However the
authority of the Senate was mainly in name only. In
general, the imperial government issued gold and silver
coins while the Senate issued bronze coins marked by the
legend “SC”, short for Senatus Consulto
“by decree of the Senate”. However, bronze coinage could
be struck without this legend. Some Greek cities were
allowed to mint[91]
bronze and certain silver coins, which today are known
as Greek Imperials (also Roman Colonials
or Roman Provincials). The imperial mints were
under the control of a chief financial minister, and the
provincial mints were under the control of the imperial
provincial procurators. The Senatorial mints were
governed by officials of the Senatorial treasury.
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