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Sashalee
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| Joined: | Wed Mar 21st, 2007 |
| Location: | Kingston, Jamaica |
| Posts: | 9 |
| First Name: | Sashalee | | Gender: | Female | | Faith History: | Roman Catholic |
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Posted: Mon Sep 10th, 2007 07:15 pm |
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What was the Roman Empire like before Jesus walked the earth did it compare to our time now.
Sashalee
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CajunRick
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| Joined: | Fri Sep 29th, 2006 |
| Location: | Houma, Louisiana USA |
| Posts: | 4979 |
| First Name: | Rick (& Kermie) | | Gender: | Male | | Faith History: | Lifetime Catholic, Latin Rite |
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Posted: Mon Sep 10th, 2007 10:40 pm |
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Sashalee wrote: What was the Roman Empire like before Jesus walked the earth did it compare to our time now.
Let's see:
Women were their husband's property.
Every family of any worth had slaves.
People seldom bathed.
The closest thing to a "modern convenience" was the rock a woman pounded her family's clothes on to wash it.
If you wanted heat or light you had to start a fire by banging rocks together.
If you made a Roman mad, he killed you.
If you got caught on a deserted road, you would be lucky to only be beaten within an inch of your life.
Samaritans, Romans, Jews, Egyptians, Assyrians, Greeks, and every other nationality hated each other and killed each other at every opportunity.
The average life expectancy was 35.
The average height for a man was around 5'0".
If you wanted to travel to the next town, you walked.
Women were not allowed to be educated. They were not allowed to own property or work. If their husbands died and they had no male children, they could either beg or become prostitutes ... or find another husband.
When the Romans got mad at your town they would crucify a few hundred men and line the roads or surround the town with their bodies. They would rot there.
You walked in the same streets as the horses and the camels. The horses and camels had no separate rest room facilities. Your feet got dirty.
Extended families lived under the same roof. There were no walls and only wooden windows. If it got hot, you opened the windows or took off the roof. When you bathed, you bathed in the river with everyone else.
Your village stood behind you. Your lives depended on each other.
Did it compare to our time? You decide.
BTW, Anne Rice does an excellent job of presenting a historically realistic story in Christ the Lord: Out of Egypt. If you would like to know what Palestine was like from the perspective of a seven year old boy, this book will give you an excellent understanding.
Last edited on Mon Sep 10th, 2007 10:41 pm by CajunRick
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Understanding is the reward of faith. Therefore seek not to understand that you may believe, but believe that you may understand. - Augustine
Rick Luquette
Luquette Lane
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Credo Catholic
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| Joined: | Sat May 5th, 2007 |
| Location: | Greenville, South Carolina USA |
| Posts: | 1212 |
| First Name: | Marsha | | Gender: | Female | | Faith History: | Baptist, Catholic |
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Posted: Tue Sep 11th, 2007 12:35 am |
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| Sounds a lot like what we see on TV coming out of the middle east. I thought the Romans were much more civilized, with modern plumbing, etc.
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CajunRick
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| Joined: | Fri Sep 29th, 2006 |
| Location: | Houma, Louisiana USA |
| Posts: | 4979 |
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Posted: Tue Sep 11th, 2007 01:14 am |
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Credo Catholic wrote: Sounds a lot like what we see on TV coming out of the middle east. I thought the Romans were much more civilized, with modern plumbing, etc.
Not for the average resident of the Empire. Remember that the Romans were conquerors. The people of areas such as Palestine were virtual slaves to the Roman governors like Pontius Pilate, who used torture and murder to maintain power. Those native "kings" who led puppet states, like Herod, were no better.
Some areas, like Saxony, Brittania, and Gaul, fared pretty well under Roman rule. In some places the aqueducts built by the Romans still function. But that was not the case in Palestine.
Palestine in particular was kept under tight rein because it was the location of a number of revolts. The Jewish people did not accept Roman domination, so there were constant riots and rebellions. The Book of Maccabees recounts a time when the Roman government was overthrown, and the rebellion in 70 A.D. led to the destruction of the temple and virtually all of Jerusalem. There were some improvements, mainly in the form of roads and pagan temples, but they were intended for Roman citizens and Roman armies.
Rome was much better, of course, because it had all the resources of the conquered territories to draw on, but the original question was about the Empire, not the city. Because of the reference to Jesus particularly, I took the question to mean what was Palestine like under Roman domination, so that's how I answered the question. The Romans were not benevolent rulers of the Holy Land. They were tyrants.
Last edited on Tue Sep 11th, 2007 01:21 am by CajunRick
____________________
Understanding is the reward of faith. Therefore seek not to understand that you may believe, but believe that you may understand. - Augustine
Rick Luquette
Luquette Lane
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kimdyuma
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| Joined: | Mon Oct 9th, 2006 |
| Location: | Arizona USA |
| Posts: | 710 |
| First Name: | Kim | | Gender: | Female | | Faith History: | cradle Anglican, Episcopal /Catholic-04/07/07 |
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Posted: Tue Sep 11th, 2007 11:51 am |
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| Let's not forget that the family entertainment in Rome was either people ( eventaully Christians) either fighting armed warriors in a fight to the death or facing wild lions etc to the death. The blood stains in the Colissuem have soaked into the very stone to this day.
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Robert
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| Joined: | Mon Nov 12th, 2007 |
| Location: | Germany |
| Posts: | 65 |
| First Name: | Robert | | Gender: | Male | | Faith History: | The whole spectrum from black to white, now 100% Catholic! |
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Posted: Thu Jan 10th, 2008 01:19 pm |
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I’ve read this a few times, and just can’t resist a short rebuttal. In general what is described is more pertainent to 8th through 12th century Europe, and not really the Roman world. Just a few examples:
Women were their husband's property.
Wives were not slaves, but a spouse who had the right to property, cultic practice, and divorce.
People seldom bathed.
False! The most common pastime of the Romans was bathing! The greatest baths/spas ever built were built by the Romans. Evan the lowliest military outpost had a bath consisting of Frigidarium (cold bath), Tipidarium (warm bath), and Caldarium (hot bath).
Women were not allowed to be educated. They were not allowed to own property or work. If their husbands died and they had no male children, they could either beg or become prostitutes ... or find another husband.
False! Most Roman Women could read and write. The better educated were also fluent in Greek. They could own property and work. If they were widowed they could and did inherit.
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Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect (1 Peter 3:15)
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CajunRick
Network Helper
| Joined: | Fri Sep 29th, 2006 |
| Location: | Houma, Louisiana USA |
| Posts: | 4979 |
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Posted: Thu Jan 10th, 2008 04:10 pm |
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Robert wrote: I’ve read this a few times, and just can’t resist a short rebuttal.
As I said in an earlier reply, Robert, I was not referring to the Roman citizens but to the average resident of the Empire, particularly in Palestine. Although it was not part of the original question, I assumed the writer was asking about conditions where Jesus lived and at the time he lived.
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Understanding is the reward of faith. Therefore seek not to understand that you may believe, but believe that you may understand. - Augustine
Rick Luquette
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