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The Romans

Some interesting notes on how the Romans lived:

FOOD & DRINK

• Ordinary Romans did not each much meat.
• Latin for corn (frumentum) also means military food rations.
• army diet was an allottment of wheat which soldiers ground and made into porridge, bread or biscuits, some meat (bacon), fish, poultry, cheese, vegetables, salt, olive oil, and raw wine.
• corn ration was always preferred over anything with meat.
• Romans had no coffee, tea, sugar, liqueurs, truffles, potatoes, french beans, or even tomatoes.
• honey or grape juice was used as sweeteners.
• bread only became a dietary staple after 100 A.D.
• asparagus and artichokes were rare and only found on rich tables.
• vegetables were broad beans, lentils, chick peas, lettuces, cabbages and leeks.
• mushrooms were loved by all and olives stood in high esteem.
• citrus fruits were only introduced around 325 A.D. from the east.
• prior to 325 only fruits known were apples, pears, cherries, plums, grapes, walnuts and chestnuts.
• the average Roman's daily diet was porridge and bread with a regular allotment of the corn coming from the government daily.
• above average Romans "jentaculum" or breakfast was made up of bread dipped in wine, or with cheese, dried fruits, or honey.  "prandium" or lunch was a meal made from previous day leftovers.  "cena" or dinner was eaten in the early evening, after work and the bath, and could go on for hours.  Romans reclined at 45 degrees on their elbows and ate with their fingers.

 MARRIAGE 

• Roman marriages were rather cold affairs. Love had nothing to do with it.  Procreation is what counted.

 DEATH

• on the point of death one's family member would catch your last breath with a kiss, before closing your eyes.
• upon death those present would perform the "conclamatio", calling the dead person's name very loudly.
• the women or men trained as "pollinctors" wash the body with water, anoint and embalm it, a small coin placed under the decesed's tongue to pay for his journey to the underworld.  The corpse was dressed in its best clothes and displayed in the "atrium" of the house.
• a poor person was burried the same day as death occurred.
• emperors were displayed for one week.
• corpse was either burned or burried after the funeral "funus".
• burial was merely for the poor and cremation for the rich.
• funerals of poor and young were carried out by night while rich and famous funerals occurred during the day.
• women were hired to wail and cry grief, dancers and clowns might be in the funeral procession, jokes would often be made at the dead person's expense and onlookers might even jeer and yell abuse.  People often wore masks at the funeral.
• no cremations or burials were allowed within city limits.
• undertakers made good money but were held in very low esteem even enjoying lesser civil rights than normal.

ROMAN ADDRESSES

• few streets had names.
• Romans simply described that they lived close to a known fountain or other landmark.

If you want to read all there is to know about the Romans check out www.roman-empire.net

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