Culture of ancient Rome

The customs, beliefs, arts, institutions, and everyday practices of Roman society from Rome’s early history through the fall of the Western Roman Empire in 476 CE.

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Roman Republic: The Roman state from the expulsion of its kings, traditionally dated to 509 BCE, until the establishment of imperial rule. Its civic institutions and political customs shaped Roman life for centuries.
Roman cuisine: The foods, ingredients, cooking methods, and dining customs of ancient Roman society. Meals reflected differences in wealth, region, and household practice.
Roman mythology: The traditional stories Romans told about gods, heroes, the origins of Rome, and its destiny. Myths linked Roman identity to divine ancestry and legendary history.
Romanization: The spread and adaptation of Roman customs, institutions, languages, and material culture across the empire. Provincial communities adopted and reshaped Roman practices in distinct local settings.
Roman Empire: The state ruled by Roman emperors, conventionally dated from Augustus’s rise in 27 BCE to the fall of the western empire in 476 CE. Imperial rule transformed civic life, wealth, and cultural exchange across Rome’s territories.
Roman clothing: The garments worn in ancient Rome, including tunics, togas, and clothing that signaled status or civic identity. Dress made rank, citizenship, and public roles visible.
Roman literature: The poetry, drama, history, rhetoric, and prose written in Latin and Greek by Roman authors. Literary works preserve debates about duty, power, love, and Roman identity.
Latin: The language of ancient Rome, used in government, literature, law, and later Christian institutions. Latin carried Roman writing and administration across generations and regions.
Roman family: A household organized around kinship, marriage, dependents, and the authority of its senior male citizen. Household authority and family duty structured private life and social identity.
Roman education: The teaching of literacy, rhetoric, and other subjects in Roman households and schools. Education transmitted elite literary culture and prepared some boys for public careers.