BBC produced the documentary ‘Meet the Romans with Mary Beard’ in 2012. It covers the lifestyle of the Ancient Rome, known as the world’s first metropolis. The documentary comprises of three different episodes, each focusing on a different aspect of lifestyle in the Ancient Rome.
The first episode ‘All Roads Lead to Rome’ depicts the lives of ordinary people in the ancient Rome. One of the particularly interesting aspects shown in the documentary relates to the seating order of the Colosseum. Through the journey around Rome, Beard shows the socially assigned roles to the citizens of different groups. Another memorable aspect demonstrated in the documentary was the baker who was professionally engaged in the grain trade and constructed a tomb in the shape of the bread oven. That particular episode demonstrates the amount of creativity the Romans possessed. The third, striking aspect covered in the documentary was Pupius Amicus, the dye seller. The documentary showed his as an individual of the rather unusual profession.
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"Meet the Romans with Mary Beard".
The three things I learned by watching the documentary is that the life of the people who were working at the imperial house differed significantly from the other people. The scope of social stratification and the gender roles differed significantly in the Ancient Rome. Some women were perceived as objects for entertainment and did not possess any significant rights.
Having watched the documentary, I was left with the following questions.
1) How much of the Ancient Roman culture is still left in the contemporary Rome regarding the lifestyle of people, if anything?
2) How is the historical heritage preserved these days and what are the tools for seeking the historical evidence of the facts presented in the documentary?
3) If Rome did not undergo an imperial part of its history, how would the history twist?
