Daily Routine Of An Ancient Roman Citizen

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Examine in detail the daily routine of a male citizen in ancient Rome from dawn to dusk. In your essay you should discuss: • the usual daily activities at home and in the city • breakfast and lunch • business • visiting the baths Then discuss how different daily life was for male citizens living in the countryside A male Roman citizen living in the city of first century AD Rome had a routine around which his day was centred. A Roman’s day, regardless of status, would have followed a similar format. From dawn until dusk, a Roman completed the activities that had to be done such as breakfast and lunch, conducting business at the forum, midday siesta and attending the baths and/or forms of entertainment such as that provided at the Circus Maximus and The Colosseum. For the plebeian masses, a typical day was much shorter than that of the wealthy whose days often continued until midnight with dinner parties at the homes of friends or business associates. Life on the countryside was much quieter than that of the hustle and bustle of the city and did not follow as strict a routine. The wealthy landowners had slaves to do the work for them and some owned a country home or a villa urbana where they would travel to after completing work in the city or go to as a sanctuary when summer arrived. The day of a male citizen in ancient Rome began at 6AM. The day was divided into twelve hours from sunrise until sunset, most beginning their day with a light breakfast. The workday began early, as the poet Martial describes ‘the first and second hour wear out clients; the third keeps hoarse lawyers busy’, when clients would call on their patrons at home. After this they would conduct law courts and the forum or attending the senate if the citizen was a senator. Most workplaces closed for lunch. In summer, a siesta was taken to avoid

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