The Roman Society

Introduction

The Roman society was an ancient society founded at around the year 10th BC. It was founded along the banks of the Mediterranean Sea. The society consisted of citizens, noncitizens and slaves. The society is extremely hierarchical. This is to say that its members are divided into certain classes, for example, the slaves were at the bottom of the hierarchical ladder, the freed slaves just above them, and the rulers and other noble men were at the top most part in the society. This society had several characteristics that distinguished it from the other societies (Clark 20).

Characteristics

First is that the Roman society conducted a census after some time. People are counted and if a person does not declare all he was jailed for that. The man in this case was the one to declare his wives, children, animals and any slave he has. If a slave has been registered, then he is considered a freed person.

Secondly, Romans had some form of Religion. They worshipped several gods and burnt sacrifices as a way of appeasing them. They had several gods, who, were responsible for rain, harvesting, planting and there health. They had religious days marked on their calendars. 

Thirdly is that identity to a Roman was extremely essential. Romans elected leaders, but these leaders could see themselves through the eyes of fellow citizens. In this case then Romans used their virtuous deeds to climb the social ladder. They made sure that when performing something admirable; other people see them so that they use this act to escalate the social ladder.

Fourthly is that Romans had rulers such as; magistrates, attorneys, quasi kings and senators. Their powers were absolute. They cannot be compared with the present rulers where their powers are divided according to law. They had a constitution governing them.

Education is another characteristic of the Roman Society. Boys and girls were both given chances to obtain some education at the lower part of the education system. Girls from the noble families continued their education at advanced levels. Boys were not restricted in their level of education.

Finally, is that the family was a main unit in the Roman society. The family consisted of father, mother, the children and the slaves. The father was the key figure in the family, and he made all the decisions (Taylor 37).

The Roman Family

The family is still beneficial to the Roman society. The father is the key decision maker, although in the modern day, his decisions are not absolute. Older children can make decisions by themselves as long as they are above the age limit for majors.

The Roman Republic

It was during the ancient civilization. The senate governed the Republic and, it had a condensed constitution to govern its people. It delegated its powers to smaller departments in the government. The aristocrat's influenced the senate. The characteristic of identity has profoundly impacted on the republic. The people judged the senators through their deeds (Taylor 50).

The Roman Empire

In the Roman Empire slaves were not as valuable as before. Although they had been initially used to build the Roman Empire, they were no longer viewed as a beneficial part of the society. Religion which was also important to the Romans had paved way to Christianity which shunned slavery.

The Christian religion

The Christians, especially, the Catholics were greatly impacted by the Roman Society. The sacrifices offered by the Romans are a reflection of the Old Testament in the Bible where sacrifices were done. They also borrowed the idea of celebrating religious days. The Christians have Easter, Thanksgiving and Christmas to commemorate past events (Clark 58).

Conclusion

The characteristics of the Roman society have greatly been felt by the Christians and other Roman institutions.