Apartment Living in Ancient Rome

When you consider Ancient Rome (as I’m sure you often do) it is a wondrous thing to see their system of architecture and bulding dating back to the age of the “Early Empire” from ca. 27 BC to 192 AD. I choose this time when talking about “apartment living” inside Rome because this was the era of perhaps the thickest concentration of people within the city, itself – and I think anyone who has lived in an apartment will appreciate the Roman take on urban dwellings.

In Rome, during the age of the Early Empire, you would have seen things like the the “arch” and the “vault” and the “basilicas” being used in architecture. Actually you would have seen this much earlier in Rome, but let’s stick with the Empire… knowledge of these structures allowed the Romans to construct massive works that would connect the people of the city with each other. The sheer workings of the “aquaducts” during this time was impressive – nearly fifty miles of clean water ran beneath the city of Rome and millions of gallons of water ran through the city every day. Amazing, too, were the public baths – these were the spas of the day, let me tell you, and hot, steaming water was coupled in the same square with cool, sparkling water for leisure and refreshment, and (ahem) bathing.

The temples during this time were astounding, too, and the Augustus’ “Pantheon” was gorgeous with its columns, the arch, and a towering dome that stretched into the sky. This was rebuilt many times due to the constant fires inside Rome. You also had the “Colosseum” (of course!) which was perhaps one of the greatest structures in the ancient world. This was the arena for the gladiators and it also served as a vast stage for things like battles, plays, and mass executions of war prisoners.

The apartments, then, were just as massive as these public constructs… if not as adequately built. Because of the sheer number of people crowding the city the apartment buildings tended to be built upward, with many floors, and they became tottering structures against the Roman skyline. Unlike today’s world, where you might aspire to live on an upper floor, in Rome you were facing the possibility of several hundred steps to reach your abode, and if fire broke out below (as it often did) you had little chance of escape. The bottom floors, too, had the only running water. Roman tenants were forced to carry water up long, fragile flights of stairs, and this meant little bathing and perhaps no real removal of waste. Indeed, the “dumpings” were often dumped out a window and left to collect on the streets below. No glass as yet covered the windows; instead, the Romans would use cloth or leather or even wooden shutters. This tended to close out natural light and locked in the smoke (and fire) from cooking… which was done on an open stove. An apartment might have a bed, and this is where people would sit, sleep, and eat. Chairs were more like stools, and blankets or pillows made up the rest of the furnishings. A family of four or five was usual for a small apartment room.

If you couldn’t be found at the baths or the colosseum (or working) you were usually found inside your apartment – it was not safe to walk the streets during the night, as they were not lit, and many Romans would retire to bed as soon as the sun went down. The massive city would come to a very quiet halt during the wee hours, and people would live by the dim fire of lamps inside their homes. They slept in the bed or on the wooden floor, and it was not unusual to have a small gathering of animals inside the apartment, either. So much for the TV, the Playstation, the gas range, the fridge, the laundry or the shower, right ??

The threat of fire was constant in Rome. In 64 AD perhaps the most famous fire engulfed the city; it is not true that Nero played the fiddle while Rome burned – in fact, he was responsible for organizing mass relief efforts with royal money as he ordered shelters and food and supplies for the Roman people. Rome burned uncontrollably for almost six days and merchant and living districts were razed to the ground.

It is interesting that a response to such danger was to simply build the apartment buildings higher and higher… I don’t think this is surprising, really, given the constant reconstruction of the Pantheon and other great buildings in the Empire. The Romans were expert builders, of course, and there were always more and more people eager to fill the apartments. Just like in modern times, yes? (SMILE)

A Gentleman's Duel

You see this guy on the $10 Bill and you might wonder (asI’m sure you do) just who he was and what made him tick and what happened in 1804 to cause him to become engaged in a late afternoon gunman’s duel that would cause his death… yes? Shot through the liver by a gun in the hands of Aaron Burr… right? You’re telling me you don’t have a lot of $10 bills these days? I understand. Believe me, I do. But let’s take a look at an interesting duel, anyway.

In 1800 the US of A was having a rather heated Election. History sometimes views this as a sort of minor “revolution” in American politics, and I think this is probably true. It was a time of division and splintering as Americans decided on what the country might become – Republicans appealed to the “farmers” in the South and West while the Federalists won over the “merchants” and “manufacturers” in the North. One group wanted the country to remain agricultural and supply Europe with food, the other wanted a broad industrial base. This is over-simplistic, but to see the broader background you have to see these two factions and understand that they were bitter, bitter opponents.

The Election of 1800 came down to Thomas Jefferson (Republican) and Aaron Burr (Federalist). The two men would tie for votes in the Electoral College and the election was thrown into the House of Represntatives. It would seem they decided (perhaps) on the lesser of two evils and support was given to Jefferson to become the president. It is interesting that Alexander Hamilton was a key figure in this process: he believed Jefferson to be a “gentleman” whereas Burr was a dangerous, uninhibited, and even vile opponent. Hamilton campaigned hard against him. And
Aaron Burr would not forget or forgive this… nope, not at all.

Burr was a schemer, that is certain. He was Jefferson’s vice-president (a practice of the time) but in 1804 was dropped from Jefferson’s second presidential ticket. I say Burr was a schemer only because I really don’t like him; you will see why in a moment. For now, Burr was trying to get elected governor of New York. This was an important state in the Northeast, particularly when this region (New England) was talking about actually seceding from the Union. (It’s interesting that this is a common theme in American History – people believed in their right to secede).

Anyway, Hamilton launched an impressive smear-campaign against the vile and dangerous Aaron Burr. It ended up costing Burr the governership. At a public dinner Hamilton went further and actually chastised the “uneducated” and “base” politician. He called him all sort of unpolite names, lashed into him, and embarrassed him in front of everyone. Poor Aaron. He didn’t like this, not one bit. Furious, and perhaps with spittle on his lips, he challenged Hamilton to a duel. And how cool is that? A real gentleman’s gunfight, with black longcoats and manners and everything!

The two met, late afternoon, on July 11, 1804. They took several paces across a dusty street, backs to each other, and upon turning, Hamilton’s first shot missed his opponent. Aaron Burr’s shot was not a miss, nope, not at all. It was a direct hit to Hamilton’s side and the bullet would slice through the man’s liver, causing massive bleeding and internal damage. It would take Hamilton a horrible thirty six hours to die from the wound.

Burr, meanwhile, fled from the Northeast; he was charged with murder and the authorities were after him. It gets kind of dicey here, with Burr retreating to the South, and stirring up ideas of a secession there, where it is rumored he was trying to seize territory in Louisiana. But he WAS busy, certainly, for three years; it is possible he was trying to forment rebellion in the South and West. He was arrested in Spanish Florida in 1807 and returned to Jefferson’s custody. On trial for murder (and now, treason), Aaron Burr was acquitted, in what was akin to a political circus on the scale of our own modern-day O.J. trial. Jefferson (and his Republicans) wanted Burr to hang; the Federalists wanted him set free. Poor Alexander Hamilton, resigned to his future fate on $10 bills, wanted to take another shot at his foe. In the end, Burr was set free and it was “suggested” he leave the country. He retired to England, and then France, and in 1836 would die from a bullet-wound to the heart. Oh! Not really. He had a massive stroke and died from complications.

.