A glimpse of teenage life in ancient Rome - Ray Laurence
-
0:18 - 0:21It's March the 17th in A.D. 73.
-
0:21 - 0:24We're visiting ancient Rome
to watch the Liberalia, -
0:24 - 0:29an annual festival that celebrates
the liberty of Rome's citizens. -
0:30 - 0:36We're looking in at a 17-year-old
named Lucius Popidius Secundus. -
0:36 - 0:41He's not from a poor family, but he lives
in the region known as the Subura, -
0:41 - 0:46a poorer neighborhood in Rome,
yet close to the center of the city. -
0:46 - 0:47(Gong)
-
0:48 - 0:51The tenants of these
apartments are crammed in, -
0:51 - 0:52(Grunting)
-
0:52 - 0:54which poses considerable risk.
-
0:55 - 1:00Fires are frequent and the smell of ash
and smoke in the morning is not uncommon. -
1:02 - 1:06Lucius, who awoke at dawn,
has family duties to perform today. -
1:08 - 1:09(Cheering)
-
1:09 - 1:11His 15-year-old brother is coming of age.
-
1:12 - 1:17Half the children in ancient Rome
die before they reach adulthood, -
1:17 - 1:20so this is a particularly
important milestone. -
1:21 - 1:24Lucius watches his brother
stand in his new toga -
1:24 - 1:27before the household shrine
with its protective deities, -
1:27 - 1:31as he places his bulla,
a protective amulet, -
1:31 - 1:34in the shrine with a prayer of thanks.
-
1:36 - 1:38The bulla had worked.
It had protected him. -
1:39 - 1:43Unlike many others,
he had survived to become an adult. -
1:44 - 1:50At 17, Lucius has almost
completed his education. -
1:50 - 1:53He has learned to speak well,
make public speeches, -
1:53 - 1:56and how to read and write
both Latin and Greek. -
1:57 - 2:00His father has taught him
the types of things -
2:00 - 2:02you can't learn in the classroom:
-
2:02 - 2:04how to run,
-
2:04 - 2:07how to swim,
-
2:07 - 2:08and how to fight.
-
2:08 - 2:13Lucius could choose, at 17,
to become a military tribune -
2:13 - 2:16and command soldiers
on the edge of the Empire. -
2:18 - 2:22But in other ways,
Lucius is still a child. -
2:22 - 2:25He's not trusted
to arrange business deals. -
2:25 - 2:28His father will take care
of that until he is 25. -
2:30 - 2:35And Dad will arrange Lucius' marriage
to a girl 10 years younger. -
2:36 - 2:41His dad has his eye on a family
with a 7-year-old daughter. -
2:42 - 2:43Back to the Liberalia.
-
2:43 - 2:45As Lucius leaves with his family,
-
2:45 - 2:49the shops are open as the population
goes about its business. -
2:51 - 2:55The streets are full
of itinerant traders selling trinkets -
2:55 - 2:57and people bustling from place to place.
-
2:58 - 3:02Large wagons are not allowed
in the city until after the ninth hour -
3:02 - 3:04but the streets are still crowded.
-
3:06 - 3:10Fathers and uncles
take the kids to the Forum Augustus -
3:10 - 3:13to see statues of Rome's famous warriors
-
3:14 - 3:18like Aeneas, who led Rome's ancestors,
the Trojans, to Italy. -
3:19 - 3:21And Romulus, Rome's founder.
-
3:22 - 3:26And all the great generals of the Republic
from more than 100 years earlier. -
3:28 - 3:31Lovingly, we can imagine
fathers and guardians -
3:31 - 3:33with their now adult children
-
3:33 - 3:37remembering stories of Rome's glory
-
3:37 - 3:41and re-telling the good deeds and sayings
of the great men of the past: -
3:41 - 3:44lessons on how to live well,
-
3:44 - 3:47and to overcome the follies of youth.
-
3:48 - 3:52There is a sense of history in this place,
relevant to their present. -
3:53 - 3:58Romans made an empire
without end in time and space. -
3:58 - 3:59(Thump)
-
3:59 - 4:02Rome was destined to be
eternal through warfare. -
4:03 - 4:07Wars were a fact of life, even in A.D. 73.
-
4:07 - 4:11There are campaigns in the north
of England and into Scotland, -
4:11 - 4:14to the north of the River
Danube into Romania, -
4:14 - 4:19and on the frontier
between Syria and Iraq to the east. -
4:19 - 4:22It's now the eighth hour --
time to head for the baths. -
4:22 - 4:26Lucius and his family head up
the Via Lata, the wide street, -
4:26 - 4:30to the Campus Martius,
and the enormous Baths of Agrippa. -
4:32 - 4:35The family members leave
the clients and freedmen outside, -
4:35 - 4:38and enter the baths with their peer group.
-
4:39 - 4:43Baths would change from dark,
steamy rooms to light ones. -
4:44 - 4:46The Romans had perfected window glass.
-
4:48 - 4:51Everyone moves from the cold room
-
4:51 - 4:53to the tepid room
-
4:54 - 4:56and to the very hot room.
-
4:56 - 4:57(Man) Oops!
-
4:57 - 5:01More than an hour later, the bathers leave
-
5:01 - 5:03massaged, oiled,
-
5:03 - 5:04(Whistling)
-
5:04 - 5:07and have been scraped down with a strigil
-
5:07 - 5:08to remove the remaining dirt.
-
5:10 - 5:14At the ninth hour, seven hours
after they left home, -
5:14 - 5:17the men return for a celebratory dinner.
-
5:18 - 5:20Dinner is an intimate affair,
-
5:20 - 5:24with nine people
reclining around the low table. -
5:25 - 5:27Slaves attend to their every need
-
5:27 - 5:32if the diners, through gestures,
demand more food and wine. -
5:34 - 5:38As the day closes, we can hear
the rumble of wagons outside. -
5:38 - 5:40The clients and freedmen,
-
5:40 - 5:44with a meal of robust
-- if inferior -- food inside them, -
5:44 - 5:46shuffle off to the now tepid baths
-
5:46 - 5:48before returning
to their apartment blocks. -
5:49 - 5:54Back at Lucius' house,
the drinking continues into the night. -
5:54 - 5:57Lucius and his stepbrother
don't look too well. -
5:57 - 6:02A slave stands by in case
either of them needs to vomit. -
6:05 - 6:08With hindsight, we know Lucius' future.
-
6:08 - 6:13In 20 years' time, the Emperor Vespasian's
youngest son, Domitian, as emperor, -
6:13 - 6:15will enact a reign of terror.
-
6:15 - 6:17Will Lucius survive?
-
6:17 - 6:19(Drums)
- Title:
- A glimpse of teenage life in ancient Rome - Ray Laurence
- Speaker:
- Ray Laurence
- Description:
-
View full lesson: http://ed.ted.com/lessons/a-glimpse-of-teenage-life-in-ancient-rome-ray-laurence
Welcome to the world of Lucius Popidius Secundus, a 17-year old living in Rome in 73 AD. His life is a typical one of arranged marriages, coming-of-age festivals, and communal baths. Take a look at this exquisitely detailed lesson on life of a typical Roman teenager two thousand years ago.
Lesson by Ray Laurence, animation by Cognitive Media.
- Video Language:
- English
- Team:
closed TED
- Project:
- TED-Ed
- Duration:
- 06:35
![]() |
Krystian Aparta commented on English subtitles for A glimpse of teenage life in ancient Rome | |
![]() |
Krystian Aparta edited English subtitles for A glimpse of teenage life in ancient Rome | |
![]() |
Bedirhan Cinar approved English subtitles for A glimpse of teenage life in ancient Rome | |
![]() |
Bedirhan Cinar accepted English subtitles for A glimpse of teenage life in ancient Rome | |
![]() |
Bedirhan Cinar edited English subtitles for A glimpse of teenage life in ancient Rome | |
![]() |
tom carter added a translation |
Krystian Aparta
The English transcript was updated on 2/13/2015.