Roman citizenship:
All wealthy children were able to receive a primary education. Wealthy male children were able to receive a secondary education. The oldest male was in charge of the entire family. They could arrange marriages, divorce, and execute his children if he so chooses.
A one time the male population was very low, so the government inserted programs to encourage families to have many children. If a woman would have three children, then she would be able to inherit her husband's land.
Family values were promoted, but it was difficult to enforce. Rome was a sin bin. Adultery was outlawed. Women caught in adultery could lose property, be divorced, or exiled to an island. A man could kill his wife or daughter if caught in adultery. Emperor Augustus' own daughter was caught and exiled in 2 BC To show that Rome wanted values, Augustus instituted the Vestal Virgins. Rome chose 6 girls to protect a light that symbolized the pureness of Rome. These girls were selected from ages 6-10 year old. They must stay virgins their entire lives.
Many people wanted to be a Roman. It was popular to be Roman because of the following guaranteed:
The staple food of Rome was corn. The largest commodity the Romans had were slaves. In some areas over 10,000 slaves could be sold in a day. There were over 16 million slaves in the Roman Empire. They were not all manual labor slaves or gladiators. Many intelligent slaves like doctors and teachers were bought and sold.
A Roman city can be found in Europe from looking from above. Since many cities started out as outposts, they were built the exact same way. All cities would have some if not all of these things:
Marriage
Marriage in Rome was a lot like marriage in Greece, the fathers would decide whom their daughters would marry. Women were second class citizens and under the control of either their father (youth), husband (adult), or male children (if husband died).
Some of our own marriage traditions, the wife would wear a ring on her left finger; she would wear white and a veil during the ceremony; she would be carried over the threshold of the husband's house; weddings were done in the summer months, mostly July. In Rome a marriage was not official until they lived together for one year.
The Coliseum was built in 70 AD. It was started during the reign of Nero. It was planned after the fire of 64 AD. It was called the Coliseum because a large statue of Collosus was found in front of the building. There were 4 major types of competitions in the Coliseum.
Chariot racing was not in the Coliseum, it was found in something called the Circus Maximus. Just like in the Olympics, it was a free for all. Most people watched for the wrecks and the violence.
Besides violent entertainment, Rome was very artistic. They had theater, music, poetry, and books. Besides this, the Romans liked to party and drink. As a matter of fact, the Romans had 170 days set aside for some type of celebration out of 365 days.
Public baths and rest rooms were social areas like today's gyms and spas. The one thing Rome had plenty of was water. The aqueducts pumped water into cities had in all honesty could not sustain the population they had otherwise.
Religion was open as long as a person would honor and sacrifice to the Roman gods. This is why Christians and Jews were attacked openly in the Roman Empire. Christians got it worse because they were more active about membership. Rome as a whole was not a real religious culture.