My Trip Around the World: Ancient Rome

Today we visited Rome, our second stop in our world travel. The weather was very nice, perfect for the tours we took! We split our stay in Rome into two days. The first day we wet to Palatine Hill, the place where Rome was first founded. There we read the story of Romulus and Remus. They were brothers who competed with each other for the power of Rome. This story showed how important competition, strength, and power were in Ancient Rome. I also learned about patricians, wealthy landowners who held most of the power, and plebeians, farm owners, merchants and artisans who had the right to vote, but not much else. It was very interesting to learn about how a republic like Ancient Rome worked compared to the direct democracy of Ancient Greece.

As we continued walking through Palatine Hill, I loved seeing all the huts, although they were in ruins. I also enjoyed the large and extravagant Palace of Domitian with the huge stadium in it. I learned about all the people who lived there, like Augustus Caesar and his wife, Tiberius, and Caligula. Then our tour group got to the Forum. All the large, old buildings lined the Via Sacre, the original road! We also saw the Colosseum where athletic competitions like gladiator fights were held. I really loved the Arch of Constatine, the Temple of Vestal Virgins, and the Temple of Antoninous and Faustina. These temples, used to honor important gods, were beautiful, with intricate details! We spent much time here taking pictures and learning all these new facts.

The Coliseum in Rome

The next we went back to the Forum, but spent all day touring the Curia and Basilica Julia. The Curia, or the senate house, is where the senate and the two assemblies met. The senate, mad up of the wealthy citizens, and the assemblies, made up of the not-as-wealthy, voted on laws and elected officials. It was pretty similar to what we, as Americans, do now. The Basilica Julia, or the courthouse, contained multiple columns and arches, although not much is left. This is where the executive and judicial branches met. Trials were also held here. Each trial had 45 judges and were open to the public, often as entertainment. The courthouse was split into four courts by screens hung to separate it all. I could just imagine myself being questioned on trial by 45 judges. That would have been so intimidating!