The key to ancient Roman role play is a basic understanding of what life was like in ancient Rome. Here at Gods of Valor we attempt to role play as authentically as possible the way ancient Romans would have lived in our time in history (see Our Town, Casilinum for more info). This article will try to explain a few of the basic elements in ancient Roman life to help in your role play here at Gods of Valor. We hope you will find it useful in getting you involved and fitting in right off the bat.
The first topic we’ll go over is the social classes in Rome. Unlike today, Rome had definite social classes. While moving from one class to another was not impossible it was not all that easy. Marrying into a class that was different from yours was also next to impossible. At the very top of the classes was the senatorial class the basis of which was political. It included all men who served in the senate, and by extension their families. These were the wealthiest of all Romans and a senator had to prove he was worth at least 1,000,000 sesterces. Below the senatorial class was the equestrian class the basis of which was economic. A man could be formally enrolled in the equestrian order if he could prove that he possessed a minimum amount of wealth (property worth at least 400,000 sesterces); by extension his family members were also considered equestrians. Below these two classes lay the lower classes. Next came the commons or freeborn Romans. Next came the freed people, slaves that had earned their freedom. Freedom was either granted by a slave’s owner outright or more typically after a slave had purchased their own freedom. At the very lowest of the classes were the slaves.
The next thing that you need to understand is ownership. Holding title to property was strictly limited to the male figures of Roman society. All property, live stock, business, slaves, etc. would always be held by men. In the event that a married man died, his property would not pass to his wife but rather to another male figure like a son or brother. In such cases the individual inheriting the property would more than likely also be assigned the responsibility of caring for the surviving wife and family.
The main currency of ancient Roman was the denarii and the sesterce. A denarii was worth four sesterce. A more detailed explanation of Roman currency can be found here: http://godsofvalor.com/2012/08/roman-money-costs/
Another thing you will need to know in order to role play in ancient Roman life is how to address others. When addressing a male figure you would call him “Erus.” A women would be addressed as “Era.” A slave would address the man who owned them as “Dominus.” They would address his wife as “Domina.” To say hello you would say “ave” or “salve.” To say good-bye you would say “vale”. So if you were walking down the street and encountered a man you might say to him, “Ave Erus.”
Another character you will see in ancient Roman role play is the gladiator. A gladiator was essentially sentenced to such a life either from being a criminal, a murderer, a prisoner of war, someone who could not pay their debits or, on rare occasion, a freed person who voluntarily signed up. They were owned by a Lanista who’s business it was to buy and train men to be gladiators and then earn money by having them preform in the arena for entertainment. The place where gladiators lived was called a ludus, the gladiator school, Typically, as is the case here in Gods of Valor, the ludus also contained a villa section where the Lanista lived. It is important to remember that gladiators were prisoners and would do anything to gain their freedom including killing Romans. In fact, they generally hated the Romans. They were constantly under heavy guard day and night and it was extremely rare that anyone outside the ludus, citizen or slave, would speak to them or have any contact with them. While gladiators were owned by the Lanista very wealthy citizens could “sponsor” a gladiator by paying toward their board and equipment. In exchange the Lanista would share the gladiators winnings with his sponsor. Also, the sponsor would be entitled to personal time with the gladiator usually for sexual purposes. Despite their lowest of all class rankings and the fact that they were virtually all criminals the Roman citizens held the better gladiators in high regard the same way we hold today’s athletic superstars in high esteem. In fact, gladiator sweat was sought after as it was considered an aphrodisiac.
This article touches just the tip of understanding ancient Roman life. For more detailed information search the Internet as it is full of very useful information on ancient Roman life. I hope you found this article useful. Enjoy your role play!
Crito Galtier