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The family was very important to the Romans. The average Roman family consisted of father, mother, children, married sons, their family, and slaves. The person who controlled the family was the father. His word was law in the family house. It was the father who decided who and when you would marry and if you hadn’t got married by the age of 15-16, you were likely to be punished. Women were under control of their husbands but controlled how the house was run.
Let's follow our Roman Family through a typical day. The day would start in the early morning for the household slaves. They would be up and about long before the family, making sure fires were lit, rooms were cleaned and tidy and the breakfast meal prepared for the family. When all was ready the family would be woken and with the aid of their personal slaves the family would dress and prepare for the day.
Breakfast would be served to the family. The breakfast would consist of bread or wheat biscuits with honey, dates or olives. To wash this down the family would be served water or wine.
After breakfast the Master and the older sons of the house would go out to work. Women stayed at home. Even the task of queuing for the tokens which granted a family its monthly grain supply was done by the men of the house. The City would be full of traders and merchants adding to the hustle and bustle of life. Labourers would be moving goods around the city, while officials would check that the goods were in fit condition of sale and shop keepers would open early to catch the passing trade. The construction industry employed enormous numbers of workers. For in a time without building machines, it would be simple manpower which would shift earth or break stones. Architects and engineers, surveyors, foremen, sculptors, stonemasons, carpenters, bricklayers and simple day labourers. All these were necessary to build not merely grand monuments, but the apartment blocks to house the masses, or the residences of the rich.
For the younger members of the family it was time for school. Rome didn't have any public schools. Most children went to private school or studied at home. Their subjects were reading, writing, and arithmetic, Latin and Greek. In many homes, the slaves taught the children.
With his work done the Master of the House would be free to spend his day like any other Roman, heading for the forum or the markets, perhaps to read the daily news which would be hung up in public places. Or else he might take an early bath. As the working day ended, then bathing began. The women, just as much as the men, would head for the public bath houses. Bathing was a social affair. Even the rich, who might have their own bath houses, would hardly do so alone, but invite friends to join them.
The main meal for a Roman was at 4pm. This was called 'cena'. The Roman custom was to eat food while lying on couches around a low table. Food was eaten mostly with the fingers, or with spoons. Slaves would serve those eating the meal. If guests were invited the cena might go on into the night. There was usually some entertainment, musicians, jugglers, dancers or acrobats.
First Course: Salad, radishes, mushrooms, oysters, eggs and sardines. And to drink 'Mulsum' (wine sweetened with honey). Second Course: A course of as seven dishes including fish, meat, and poultry, served with vegetables and sauces. One of the most popular sauces was liquamen (or garum) made from fish, salt and herbs. Another was defrutum (boiled fruit juice). Slaves would move away the table and bring in another one, laid with the third course of fruit, cakes, honey and nuts. The meal was served with plenty of wine: the Romans had more than two hundred types. When the meal was finished it was off to bed, for another early start in the morning.