How did ordinary people live in Ancient Rome?
Much has been written, said and filmed about the life of the ancient Romans. But mostly we are told about the lives of Roman aristocrats, warriors or artists. Because of this, many people get the impression that the life of the inhabitants of the Eternal City consisted of spectacular orgies, gladiator fights, political assassinations and military campaigns. But the majority of the population of Rome were ordinary people - who led an ordinary, even routine life. They were worried about housing, they bought food and things at markets and in shops and they had the most ordinary troubles, such as expensive rent, drafts and fires.
Surprisingly, a couple of thousand years ago life in Rome was very similar to modern life. It was a huge city for its time, with a population of 700,000 to 1.5 million, according to various sources. The streets of the ancient metropolis were very crowded and noisy. Residents hurried about their business, traded, or simply relaxed and chatted with each other.
Unlike modern city dwellers, ordinary Romans spent most of their lives outside the home. Although the residential buildings of Rome were very similar to modern ones, the interior was not very pleasant. The rooms were cramped, almost unfurnished, and were filled with noise from children all day long. Therefore, a healthy and energetic city dweller came home only to sleep.
Most of the city's residents lived in insulae - multi-story apartment buildings. They belonged to wealthy Romans, who lived in domus - mansions and villas. Ordinary people rented apartments or rooms in insulae, like in modern dormitories. Nowadays, mostly rich people live on the upper floors. But back then, the most inconvenient and cheap apartments for the poor were located there.
The higher the floor, the less comfort was available to the residents. Many apartments on the lower floors had bathrooms and toilets connected to the city sewer system! Residents of the attic could only dream of such a service. Attic rooms often resembled prison cells and did not always have full-fledged windows.
The poet Martial left us a description of life in the insula. He himself lived in a mid-level apartment on the third floor. The poet wrote that he was completely satisfied with his modest abode. However, he added that the god of the winds Boreas himself would not have refused his room. The problem was that the only window in his home did not close well and there was a constant draft.
The same Martial described life in the cheapest rooms "under the tiles". According to him, in some rooms the ceilings were so low that they did not allow one to stand up straight. A typical apartment in an insula had one or two rooms, no kitchen or running water, and on average had an area of 10 to 20 square meters. But on the first floor there were often apartments up to 200 square meters.
In the 4th century AD, there were 46,602 insulae and 1,797 domus — private houses — in Rome. That is, there were 26 dormitories for every house. Today, many are unhappy with the multi-story, uniform residential boxes. Imagine that this problem also bothered the ancient Romans. The city was actively growing upwards, and Cicero once said that Rome was “rising upwards and suspended in the air.”
The buildings were made of stone with wooden floors, roofs and flights of stairs. The main problem of residential areas were fires. In tall buildings, they led to the rapid spread of fire and a large number of victims. Because of this, Emperor Augustus prohibited the construction of buildings higher than 21 meters within the city limits. But no one rebuilt the existing buildings and among them were real skyscrapers. Many sources mention the House of Felicula, which was so huge that guests of Rome came to gawk at it.
Despite the large number of apartment buildings and their active construction, there was a shortage of housing in Rome. Apartment rent was incredibly expensive and reached 2 thousand sesterces per month, which is equivalent to 4 thousand dollars (336 thousand rubles). So the owners of insulae, which sometimes housed dozens of apartments, earned a lot of money.
The ground floor rooms facing the street were usually rented out as shops, workshops, thermopolia (snack bars) and popinas (drinking establishments). Expensive ground floor apartments faced quiet, closed courtyards, just like today. Incidentally, in Ancient Rome there was no division into elite and poor neighborhoods. Expensive private houses and wretched, dilapidated insulae could stand side by side.
Because of such a neighborhood, when fires broke out in poor tenement houses, the aristocratic mansions also suffered. The Roman poet Juvenal lamented that fires were commonplace in the city and no one could feel safe. He wrote: "Oh, if only I could live in a place where there is no fire, where the nights come without alarm."
The diet of wealthy Romans was varied and elaborate. They were the ones who came up with the idea of cooking bull testicles and pig udders, roasting garden dormice and smoking seahorses. The food of ordinary city dwellers was much simpler. The basis of the diet was bread, spelt porridge, vegetables and beans. Meat rarely appeared on the table - except on holidays. Garum fish sauce, which all Romans adored, added flavor to even the most modest dishes.
The Romans also loved simple soups, the most popular of which was pule - a mixture of flour, honey, salt, olive oil and water. The menu of ordinary people also included an analogue of borscht - a soup with meat, cabbage and beetroot. Cabbage was one of the most popular garden crops and was grown by both ordinary peasants and aristocrats. Cabbage was grown by Emperor Diocletian and the poet Horace.
The ancient Romans are considered the inventors of salads. They used lettuce, parsley and onions in them, and added honey, salt, vinegar and olive oil as seasonings. Richer townspeople in the 1st century AD could also afford ground black pepper, which was brought by merchants from Asia. In many Roman cities, it was common practice to distribute free bread from state reserves. Moreover, both poor and wealthy Romans could receive it.
The Romans ate a hearty breakfast, using up the leftovers from dinner. At midday, the routine was the prandium, a no-frills English lunch. Lunch was usually a quick meal, but dinner was a big event. Families would gather to eat and talk. The common people didn't have the elaborate feasts of the nobility, but they could enjoy simple things: fresh bread, olive oil, and a jug of watered wine.
After work, ordinary Romans looked for a way to relax. The most popular place was the thermae – public baths. Here you could not only wash yourself, but also meet friends, discuss the news or even play dice. These were not just places to wash – the thermae turned into a real social club. First they relaxed in the hot pools, then cooled off in the cold ones, and after that they could chat in the shade of the porticoes or even have a snack.
Entry to the baths for ordinary Romans cost a symbolic fee - usually a quadrans, the smallest coin, which made the baths accessible to almost everyone. Women sometimes paid a little more. On holidays or by decree of the authorities, the baths were opened for free, to please the people and emphasize the generosity of the rulers. Men and women usually visited the baths at different times, but in less strict establishments there were mixed days, which added to the liveliness.
Spectacles in ancient Rome were a magnet for ordinary people. Chariot races in the Circus Maximus and gladiatorial fights in the Colosseum turned the city into a seething cauldron. The poor cheered for the Blues or the Greens, shouting until they were hoarse and catching the excitement from the upper tiers of the amphitheaters, where tickets were cheap or even free. Theatrical comedies with crude jokes and street performers - magicians and jugglers - added to the fun. Juvenal grumbled that the people were thirsty for "bread and circuses," but for the Romans these days were a real holiday.
Holidays like Saturnalia turned Rome into a carnival. People exchanged gifts – candles or clay figurines, sang and treated each other. On these days, even the poor felt freer. Taverns and popini, local eateries, buzzed in the evenings. They drank watered wine, played dice and argued until midnight. The walls of the taverns were covered with inscriptions – from jokes to declarations of love, and each such night became a small story.
At home, leisure was more modest. Families would gather for dinner, play board games similar to checkers, or tell children stories about the gods. Sometimes neighbors would invite each other over, sharing cakes and wine. Ordinary Romans knew how to find joy in small things, whether it was laughter in the baths or the roar of the stands. Their leisure was simple but lively, like the Eternal City itself.
Ordinary Romans could not boast of luxurious outfits like the patricians, but their clothes were practical. Men wore a tunic - a loose knee-length shirt made of linen or wool. It was white or cream, but it got dirty quickly. They threw a cloak over it, and rarely wore a toga - it interfered with work. But wearing trousers in ancient Rome was considered shameful. Women wore long tunics with a belt and a stola - a draped dress. The colors were simple: brown, gray, sometimes blue. Footwear - leather sandals or rough shoes. In winter, they insulated with wool, and went barefoot at home. The poet Juvenal joked about worn-out sandals "slapping on the heels."
It was not easy to look after one's appearance in Rome. There was often not enough water in the insulae, and people had to wash at fountains or in thermae. Men shaved with bronze razors, while the poorer ones simply plucked their beards. Women braided their hair in simple plaits or gathered it into a knot, securing it with bone pins. Rich women adorned themselves with gold, while simple Roman women contented themselves with copper bracelets or necklaces made of colored glass. Cosmetics? They rarely used it, but sometimes they painted their cheeks with ochre, and their eyes with soot diluted with oil.
Clothing and appearance were not only a matter of convenience, but also a way to show who you were. Even a poor man tried to keep his tunic clean before going out into the city - sloppiness was frowned upon. In the baths, at the market or during holidays, Romans exchanged glances, discussing whose fabric was torn, and who had new sandals that day.
As you can see, the everyday life of ordinary Romans was full of worries, difficulties and amazing parallels with our time. Would you be interested in living at least a day in an ancient Roman insula - with its street noise, drafts, simple food and cramped rooms? Or are you still a supporter of the conveniences of the 21st century? Share in the comments!