Roman Leisure, Festivities, and Sciences
Leisure, Holidays, and Traditions
Holidays
Every nine days, the Romans had a day of rest. Roman festivals were closely related to religion. In fact, it was the pontiff who mostly elaborated and controlled the calendar, and also indicated the holidays and working days. Each year, the Pope indicated the most suitable tokens for public activity and on fasti (courts). Because citizens were not informed, calendars were hung on the walls of buildings.
Major Holidays
The holidays are a portrait of the idiosyncratic Roman character. The early Romans were peasants who performed rituals related to the elements of nature. As time went by, they became victors and conquerors, and in turn, they instructed the god of war. Whether they were peasants or soldiers, they were very superstitious and asked for help from the gods. Some of the festivals celebrated in honor of the god of war, Mars, began in March (as the name suggests, dedicated to Mars). This month, all preparations were made, and in October, the festivals ended.
Some religious festivals that were held:
- Lupercalia (February 15): In honor of the wolf that saved Romulus and Remus. Oxen were sacrificed, and the blood purified the land. Afterward, a few priests ran nearly naked down the street and hit people who wanted a good future with a belt. It was the fertility festival. Pope Gelasius I wanted to abolish it, but because of resistance, it was replaced by Candlemas (February 2).
- Parentalia (February 13-21): To honor deceased family members. Relatives gathered, visited graves, and made offerings and sacrifices.
- Saturnalia (December 17-23): In honor of the god Saturn, there was a party, banquets, and gifts. It was called “the party” since slaves were freed. To Christianize the festival, it was replaced with the birth of the Messiah.
To celebrate, the best parties were created with public games, from chariot races and theater to gladiator fights. The oldest and most important were the Ludi Romani or Ludi Magni in honor of Jupiter. They were held in September and could last up to 16 days. All these games were organized by judges of the Republic, who promised to be elected. The Floral Games, which had nothing to do with the current ones, were dedicated to the goddess Flora (from April 28 to May 3).
Time Out
Public Shows
Many people who did not work spent a long time at spectacles. Augustus used this because he knew people liked it, and all the emperors who followed him did likewise. The games par excellence were the circus chariot races. The vehicles were driven by charioteers and could carry 2, 4, or 6 horses, and big bets were made.
Another amusement was the theater; there were 14,000 theater seats in Marcellus’ theater. The most cruel and bloody show was the gladiator fights, which were held in the amphitheater.
Board Games
People played dice, heads or tails, micatio (guessing the correct number of fingers between two people), a kind of chess, and even or odd, but always betting money, except during Saturnalia, when bets were banned.
Math, Chemistry, Latin
Mathematics
- The numbers were: unus, duo, tres, quattuor, quinque, sex, septem, octo, novem, decem, centum, mille…
- Other numbers were: multi, aequi, semi, rectus, circumcisus, occur…
- Other mathematical terms that are derived from a single Latin etymon are: power (potentia), calculus (calculus), unknown (in cognitus, not known), addition (sum, additio), equation (aequatio), multiply (multiplicare)…
Chemistry and Chemical Elements
Many of the elements of the periodic table have their names in Latin or Greek. Some are:
- Gold: Au is Aurum, so the coins were called Aureus.
- Silver: Ag is Argentum.
- Copper: Cu is Cuprum.
- Sulfur: S is Sulphur.
- Titanium: Ti is Titanium.
- Tantalum: Ta is Tantalus.
- Neptunium: Np is Neptunium.
- Plutonium: Pu is Plutonium.