Rome Wasn’t Built in a Day…

The Ruins of the Colosseum

This week my grandson ask if I would talk about Rome. So here we go. Legend says that ancient Rome was founded around 735 BC by two twin brothers, Romulus and Remus. As the story goes, they were abandoned and raised by a mother wolf. Later Romulus killed his brother and became the first king of Rome. We do know Rome was founded in 735 BC and that Romulus was the first king, but the rest, well, who knows. By 117 AD the Rome Empire covered all the lands around the Mediterranean and most of Europe. Rome was ruling over Israel & Jerusalem when Jesus was alive.

The Romans gave invented and built many things. They made wonderful roads decreed to “last 1000 years”. They made very strong concrete for sea walls and harbors that had the ability to get stronger with age as it sat in the ocean. They build the Colosseum that could hold over 60,000 people. They built huge temples like the Parthenon. They had aqueducts that could carry water throughout the city. The Romans had a huge army that was almost invincible. The soldiers could mark almost 25 miles in one day! The Romans had one of the first republics. We used many ideas from their government to help form ours.

Many Romans wore robes or togas, a kind of long cloth mad of wool that was wrapped around the body. Most togas were white, but the ruler, Caesar, wore one that was purple. He was the only one who could wear all purple. It was extremely expensive. The purple dye came from a special kind of snail. You had to use a lot of them for just one robe! Most Romans spoke Latin, a language only used in science today, but many knew Spanish and Greek.

The Romans gave us many other things. There are many web sites that can tell you about Roman culture, its history, and even how to make your own toga. Well that’s all for now!

Love Papaw.

10 facts about the ancient Romans

Rome for Kids