Essay About Rich Had Slaves And Middle Class

Roman History
Roman History
Death
In Rome when you died it was very important that you
were buried properly and the correct procedure was
followed. If something didnt go right the funeral would
start again. The Romans believed in life after death, and
the souls of the dead could help the living or make life
hard for them. To insure that the souls of the dead rested
in peace a gold coin would be placed under the tongue,
this was to pay the ferryman Charon to cross the river
Styx. If you didnt have a coin or you drowned you had
to wait for 100 years. Once across the river your soul
would be judged. If you had a good life you would be
sent to Elysia or the Elysian Fields. If you didnt you
would be sent to Tartaurs where you would be tortured
for all eternity. The bodies of the dead were cremated.
The cremations were held outside the city. The body
would then be placed into the ground. The rich were put
into sarcophagi. Some people would have an epitaph on
there tomb. This was a brief description of the person
how they lived and died. On the birthdays of the dead the
family would have a meal in there honor. Most
tombstones had a chute where food could be dropped
into, this was thought to nourish the soul. Some
Mausoleums had kitchen facilities and eating areas for
these occasions. Most Romans belonged to a funeral
club. These were clubs that a Roman would join and pay
into over there life to pay for there funeral. The only
class that had trouble paying into it were the unskilled
plebs, they were usually thrown into a pit just outside the
city walls.
Work
Most Romans worked. Most of the rich had slaves to do
all the work. They thought that work was below them.
The rich would be educated and go into the military as a
tribune. When they came out of the military they went
into politics. They were put into a arranged Marriage
planned by the head of the family. The middle class were
educated to a lesser level and went into the military.
They then went into the family business. The marriage
was arranger by the head of the family. The skilled plebs
were educated to a lesser level still. They then went into
an apprenticeship in a trade or a shop. The unskilled
plebs had no education. They Built up a pool of
temporary work like laboring or hiring them self out to
people without slaves. The unskilled plebs could collect
2 forms of dole. The first was the grain dole where each
man was given an amount of grain to last