Life During the Roman Empire vs. Life Today – World Civilizations Essay
As the world we live on gets older, the people and materials on it change. You may ask yourself, “How did they live without television and radios?” It may seem to you that it would have been horrible and boring to live back in a time period such as the Roman Empire. The truth is, we do a lot of stuff today that they did back then. Don’t get me wrong there were some differences, but it wasn’t a different world. Keep reading and you’ll see what I mean.
There are many similarities between life during the Roman Empire and life today. If you were a child back in the Roman Empire you would still go to school as we do today. Another similarity is that people today still enjoy the same activities as the Romans did. Some of these may include gambling, sports, and socializing. They socialized at public bathhouses, which are very similar to modern country clubs. A third similarity is that today we still live in houses and apartments. A fourth and final similarity is that both time periods have the same problems. These may include pollution, low housing, high taxes, crime, and a low amount of available jobs.
Although life during the Roman Empire and life today are in fact very similar, they also have their differences. One difference is that in during the Roman Empire, the father would arrange his children’s marriages, while today you can pick your own spouse. Another difference is how long a child would attend school. Back in the Roman Empire, when a child turned twelve, the rest of their life would be decided. If you were a rich boy, you would continue your schooling and when you turned fifteen you would enter the school of rhetoric, or speech and writing. If you were a poor boy, you would go to work at whatever your father did. If you were a rich girl, you would continue school at home with a tutor. If you were a poor girl you would help your mother at home. Today, you go to school as long as you need to. If you don’t have the money, there are scholarships available. A third difference is that back in the Roman Empire, the father was the head of the house and his word was law. Today, it could be just the opposite, or a child could live with its older siblings. A final difference is that in the Roman Empire, the athletes they watched compete were usually killed. Today we treat out athletes with respect and protect them.
In conclusion, life during the Roman Empire and life today have their similarities and differences. It is true that they didn’t have electronics or cars, but they thought they had it pretty good. People two thousand years from now may think the same of how you live.