Simularities In Life

Can you imagine a Rome being two to three times the size of Boise? With 500,000 citizens Rome was twice the size of Boise, and at that time was the ruling city in the world. With all of those people of course the living situation would be less then adequate. With most people living in apartment type building prone to fires. With no sewage system much of the waste was just thrown on the streets. The smell and sight is just unimaginable. In the home life the father ruled like most would figure. However it is interesting to learn that the father would obtain any assets or wealth earned by his sons as long as he lived. This of course would cause quite a bit of drama and betrayal. Women it seems were given much more freedom then that of their Greek predecessors. They were able to own property and speak their minds. Many had a direct influence on their husband’s political careers. In the early years most of the education was obtained at home, but after the Macedonian Wars the Romans were exposed to Greek liberal arts. Much of Rome's art and culture is derived from the Greeks. This is not surprising however because the Greeks were generations ahead of their time. As for slavery much of the Roman economy was based around slavery, and when manpower decreased this did not boat well for the Rome. Some say this was a significant factor in the Roman decline. That is similar to the early United States basing much of the economy around slavery, and if not for the industrial revolution we too might have not made it.