The people of Rome were farmers and herders. They worked very hard and did not have much spare time. When they were free they liked to play a lot of board games!

Romans liked going to the theatre. Most of the plays were comedies, but there were some serious plays too.
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Most children in Rome did not go to school. Instead, boys and girls in poor families had to go to work. Girls from rich families were often taught at home and boys were sent to school.

Hunting was popular amongst the Romans. They hunted animals for fun and for food.
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Roman baths are still very famous today. The Romans used to go to the baths to relax and to meet people. All sorts of people could go to the baths, not just rich people. The baths were made up of swimming pools, very hot rooms, massages and cold pools.

Poor Romans ate bread, soup and porridge. Unless they lived in the countryside and could hunt, meat was a luxury item. Rich Romans had food cooked for them by their slaves. They liked to eat exotic food like flamingo and parrot!

The Romans ate lettuce at the end of their dinners because they believed it could help you sleep!
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Chariot races were very popular in Roman times. Men would race around a track in small carts pulled by four horses. These races were very dangerous and accidents often happened.

Watching Gladiators fight was also a very big part of Roman life. Gladiators would either fight each other or big animals like bears or lions. It was a very dangerous sport!

If the audience wanted to watch a Gladiator die they would wave scarves or hold up their thumbs. If they wanted a Gladiator to win a fight they would close their thumbs onto their fingers.  Gladiators had lots of different weapons including swords, shields, spears and big nets!