Ancient Roman Society and Social Order

Video

by Kelly Macquire
published on 14 May 2023

Rome began as a small city on the banks of the Tiber River in Italy. The Latin tribes (also known as the Latini or Latians) inhabited the region c. 1000 BCE but the founding of the city is dated to 753 BCE. The family was the center and foundation of Roman society with the father as its head.

Rome was a patrilineal society (legitimate descent and inheritance from the father's bloodline) who, among many other deities, worshipped the supreme the sky god Deus Pater (“Father God”) – better known as Jupiter – who was associated with horses, thunder, lightning, storms, and fire. The male deity as head of the pantheon reflected the value of masculinity over femininity in the Latin culture.

The society was clearly patriarchal from an early stage and would continue along those same lines through the history of the Roman Republic (509-27 BCE) and Roman Empire (27 BCE-476 CE in the west, 330-1453 in the east). Although there is a legend that a Trojan woman named Roma, travelling with the hero Aeneas, founded Rome, the far more popular and better-known foundation myth is that the city was founded in 753 BCE by the demi-god Romulus after he killed his brother Remus.

— SUPPORT US VIA OUR PATREON—
https://www.patreon.com/join/whencyclopedia

— BUY OUR MERCH —
https://www.worldhistory.store​/​

— CHAPTERS —
0:00​ Introduction
0:57 Beginning of Roman Society
2:02 Family-as-Foundation
6:35 Family, Women & Marriage
8:55 Religion & The State
11:43 Outro

— WANT TO KNOW MORE? —
Ancient Roman Society https://member.worldhistory.org/article/1463/ancient-roman-society/
Patrician https://member.worldhistory.org/Patrician/
Slavery in the Roman World https://member.worldhistory.org/article/629/slavery-in-the-roman-world/
Roman Empire https://member.worldhistory.org/Roman_Empire/

— WATCH NEXT —
Ancient Rome Playlist
https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLRIPanKDxKpt23JtCUEa7Cw787eohdqIP
Ancient Roman Art and Architecture
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=agbRzU7DZIk&t
The Rise and Fall of the Roman Empire
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FtB0wxDKmbc&t
What Caused the Fall of the Western Roman Empire?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RkPjf01oOdk&t

— ATTRIBUTIONS —
You can find all attribution and credits for images, animations, graphics and music here - https://worldhistory.typehut.com/ancient-roman-society-and-social-order-images-and-ressources-16574

The music used in this recording is the intellectual copyright of Michael Levy, a prolific composer for the recreated lyres of antiquity, and used with the creator's permission. Michael Levy's music is available to stream at all the major digital music platforms. Find out more on:
https://www.ancientlyre.com
https://open.spotify.com/artist/7Dx2vFEg8DmOJ5YCRm4A5v?si=emacIH9CRieFNGXRUyJ9
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCJ1X6F7lGMEadnNETSzTv8A

World History Encyclopedia
www.worldhistory.org

#history #romanhistory #ancientrome

About the Author

Kelly Macquire

Kelly is a graduate from Monash University who has completed her BA (Honours) in Ancient History and Archaeology, focussing on iconography and status in Pylos burials. She has a passion for mythology and the Aegean Bronze Age.

Related Content

Filters:

All 

Definitions134

Articles111

Images18

Videos15

Collections6

Teaching Materials14

Quizzes1

Definition

Plebeians

Plebeians were members of the plebs, the hereditary social class...

Definition

Patrician

The 4th century BCE Greek philosopher Aristotle once wrote in his...

Article

Ancient Roman Society

Rome began as a small city on the banks of the Tiber River in Italy...

Image

Ancient Roman Society and Social Order

An illustration of the complexity and dynamics of the Ancient Roman...

Definition

Roman Republic

In the late 6th century BCE, the small city-state of Rome overthrew...

Definition

Roman Empire

The Roman Empire, at its height (c. 117), was the most extensive...