Roman Adverts

No trip to a public bathhouse would be complete without having a massage. After having a wash, the bather would be rubbed down with perfumed oils by a slave. This masseur - or masseuse if it was a woman - belonged to the owner of the baths. The rich built private baths in their villas and used their own servants. The Romans learned the art of massage from the Greeks. They believed that it was good for you, especially if you had stiff and sore muscles, or were unwell. Emperor Julius Caesar ordered oils to be rubbed into his body every day to stop his epileptic attacks and stabbing pains. Judging by the description of the playwright Seneca, it was not a gentle treatment to have. He complained to a friend about the noise from the bathhouse below his flat. Describing a man having a massage, he said: "I hear the smack of the hand on his shoulders, the sound varying with whether it strikes flat or cupped." The aelipto, as the masseur was called, usually used olive oil or sometimes sesame and almond oil. These scented oils were supposed to give you a feeling of wellbeing.

Olive oil was very important to the Romans. They used it not just for cooking, but also to wash themselves and light their homes and buildings. The oil was made from crushed olives, grown by slaves on farms in hot countries, like Spain and Northern Africa. When the crop was ripe in December, they would use large sticks to beat the fruit from the branches. The olive oil was then put in huge jars called amphorae and shipped to other parts of the Roman empire, including Britain. The largest amphorae contained over 77 litres (17 gallons) of the liquid and weighed around 100 kg. Londinium - the Roman name for London - depended on getting olive oil from abroad. Cooks would brush the oil onto meat to be roasted, and put it in sauces too. If you needed to get clean, you rubbed some olive oil onto your skin and then scraped it off to get rid of the dirt. It was also burned in lamps which were decorated to fit in with a particular room.

The way Britain and other Western countries deal with criminals is based on Roman laws. A list of crimes and punishments was written down in a book called The Twelve Tables in 450 BC after a revolt by the plebs (lower classes) in Rome. They were angry that they could be punished for doing something they didn't know was wrong. So The Twelve Tables was drawn up on 12 wooden tables and then put up in the centre of the city so that all Romans could read it. In theory, everyone had to obey the rules, but the rich usually found a way to get round them, possibly by bribing officials. The laws were fair, as well as strict. A thief, who admitted stealing or killing an animal or slave, had to pay the owner the value of the property. If he denied the crime, and was found guilty after a trial, the fine would be doubled. Children were very well behaved because if they disobeyed their father he had the right to kill them! Crimes of violence, arson, and poisoning were punished by burying the offender alive, burning them to death, or throwing them off a cliff. One big difference between then and now was that a Roman lawyer wasn't paid, although he could receive favours.

A rich man in Roman times would show off his wealth and good taste in art by decorating his villa with mosaics. These were pictures, made from thousands of small pieces of coloured stone and glass, which covered the floor. Usually the mosaic was placed in the main room of the house, where visitors were most likely to see it and be impressed. Another one might also be put in the dining room. There were many different designs. Some showed scenes from everyday life, such as a cat catching a bird or hunters returning with their prey. Others featured Roman gods. In large towns, there were shops where you could look at pattern books and choose a design. A mosaic that measured 15ft (4.57m) by 9ft (2.75m) contained about 120,000 tiles, so it took a lot of time and patience for a skilled craftsman and his apprentices to make it - but at least it was easier to clean than a carpet!

The Romans enjoyed playing lots of different board games in their spare time, including tic-tac-toe, which was a bit like noughts and crosses. The difference was that it was probably played with pieces of bone or glass to mark the x or o. We know about this game, which was called `terni lapilli' in Latin, because boards have been found throughout the empire, scratched on walls, floors and roofs. The exact rules are not known, but it was obviously very popular, along with chess and a form of backgammon. The Emperor Claudius was so keen on backgammon (tabula) that he kept a board in his carriage so that he could keep himself entertained when he travelled. Soldiers also liked to take each other on at tabula, which means table, when they weren't fighting barbarians in some far off country. In Rome, it caused a gambling problem, so playing for money was outlawed, except during public holidays. Anyone who broke this rule would be fined four times the value of the bet. People took part in these games in each other's homes, when they went to the pub, or even in the street. It was the custom to use three dice, instead of two.

One of the main attractions in London was the amphitheatre. Here Roman citizens would delight in watching fights between gladiators and wild animals, such as bears or lions. The bloodier the battle, the more the crowd roared. The fighters were slaves or criminals whose punishment was to risk a most gruesome death. Executions were also held in the oval-shaped stadium which was as big as a football pitch. It was built in around 70AD and seated 6,000 people. London's population at that time was 30,000, so not everyone would have been able to get in. The Colosseum in Rome, where gladiators fought each other, was much bigger. It had 50,000 seats. The London amphitheatre in Guildhall Yard, which is in the centre of the capital, stayed open until the fourth century. In 1988, archaeologists discovered the remains of the building.

The Romans built lots of roads, bridges and canals. So getting about in the empire was quite easy, although if you went by road without your slaves and armed guards you risked being killed by bandits. For this reason, travellers preferred to take a ship to towns on the coast. One such place was the city of Constantinople in Turkey. It was named after Emperor Constantine who made it the capital of the eastern Roman Empire in 330 AD. It was originally called "Nova Roma," meaning new Rome, but the name didn't catch on. We know it today as Istanbul. One of its main attractions is the domed church of Aya Sofya, which was built by Emperor Justinian. It was turned into a mosque in the 15th century. These days it is a museum. Visitors to Constantine in Roman times would also have been able to enjoy chariot races, which were held at the Hippodrome in the Field of Augustinian. The second largest city in the Roman Empire and one of the seven wonders of the ancient world was Ephesus, also in Turkey. An earthquake destroyed Ephesus in 17 AD. It was later rebuilt.

A toga was a type of gown which you wrapped around your body. Nowadays we wouldn't think it was very trendy to wear one because it looked like a sheet! But in Rome, where it was mainly worn, it was a fashion statement because it was a symbol of being a citizen of that city. Slaves and foreigners were only allowed to wear long vests. A sleeveless pullover that reached the knees was usually put on underneath the toga, although men in the early days would have nothing else on! The cloaks were made from wool and were mostly white which was the natural colour of the material. There were many different styles, depending on your age and position in society. The emperor stood out from the crowd because he was always dressed in purple. A child's toga had a purple border, while a general celebrating a victory put on one that was embroidered. If you were in mourning, you wore black, just like today. Some British people liked to dress in togas too and speak Latin.

Bread was eaten every day and with every meal. Mostly it was "shop bought" because people in towns and cities usually didn't have ovens at home to bake bread. Instead, they had allotments where they grew grain. When the grain was ready, they would take it to a bakery to be ground into flour and mixed with water and yeast to make the dough. The baker would then knead the dough with his hands and shape it into loaves which would be baked. Some time later the owner of the allotment would return to pick up his bread. The Greeks were particularly skilled in the art of bread making and many came to work in Rome after their country became part of the empire. By 30 BC there were more than 300 Greek bakeries in the city. Loaves would be baked to order with different designs on them, while feast days would be celebrated with a loaf shaped like a lyre, a musical instrument with strings, or a bird. Sometimes honey or cheese would be added to the ingredients for variety. A tomb to Eurysaces, a freed slave who became a baker, still stands in Rome today. The monument is decorated with scenes showing bread being made.

The Romans liked nothing better than to relax with a bottle of wine. In fact, they drank it all the time, because tea and coffee were unknown to them. They learned the ancient art of winemaking from the people of Carthage in North Africa. When the Romans conquered the city in 146BC, they captured a book about how to turn grapes into an alcoholic drink. Everyone, from the lowliest of slaves to the emperor himself, would expect to have wine with their meal. They drank many varieties, which were described as black, red, white or yellow, depending on which type of grape was used. The wine was always watered down because it was thought common to drink it neat (without any water). Wine-drinking parties were very popular. It was also the custom to drink "vinum," from which we get the English word "wine," at graveside funeral feasts. By the 2nd century AD each Roman citizen was drinking about 250 litres of wine a year. Nobody knows exactly what it tasted like, but it was described as a sweet drink by writers of the time. Honey was often added to cheap wines, as well as lemon and other sour juices - and even seawater!