LibGuides: Humanities: Ancient Rome

About this guide

This guide shows you how to take notes, use a variety of reliable resources to locate relevant information as well as how to create a Reference List of all the resources you've used.

Daily Life in Ancient Rome
Assessment Task

Creating References

Referencing or citing your sources is an important part of academic writing and research. It lets you acknowledge the ideas or words of others and helps avoid plagiarism.

Click on the Online Reference Generator to create references for your assignments.

Citations and bibliography information.

Referencing - Research tips - LibGuides at Clonard College Geelong

Note taking

It is important to take notes when conducting research for an essay, assignment or research task. You can create notes on paper, in a word document or other program. Your notes don't have to be detailed, but to the point. Taking notes helps you to understand the content of what you are researching as well as developing the skill of note taking. It is also helpful to record authors and titles for your Reference List.

Cornell Notes is an effective way to take note and keep a record of your research.

Life in Ancient Rome

Comparing Patricians and Plebeians

This site about Ancient Rome from the BBC gives information about topics like the Roman Empire, Roman amphitheatre, Pompeii, Life in Ancient Rome, Gladiators, Romans in Britain, Roman technology and an Ancient Rome timeline.

BBC History- Ancient Rome

Start by searching both Britannica School Edition and World Book Online for an overview of gladiators.

See below for further information:

Gladiators: Heroes of the Roman Amphitheatre
How gladiators were recruited, the rules and regulations of fights, fighting styles, life in the gladiators' barracks, criticism and popularity of the combats as entertainment.
Gladiators, 50 AD - Eyewitness to History
Includes a recount by the roman philosopher Seneca of an arena fight
Arena: Gladiatorial Games - VROMA
A description of the arena and an event, and the different types of gladiators.

See U in History 2019. Gladiators: The Arena Warriors, online video, 24 May 2021. Duration: 11 mins.

The Inforgraphics Show 2019. The horrible life of an average Roman Empire slave, online video, 25 May 2021. Duration: 9 min.

Word on the Via: Fortunata - National Geographic
An imagined interview with a female slave named Fortunata, describing life as a slave and the working conditions of slavery.
Roman slavery
Why Rome depended on slaves, where slaves came from, how they were traded and their legal status. Also, how slavery was affected by a changing empire.
Resisting Slavery in Ancient Rome - BBC History
This article explains the conditions of slavery in Ancient Rome, and the attempts by slaves to oppose slavery and their masters, either through organised rebellion or by individual actions.

Radford, F 2018. From slave to rebel gladiator: the life of Spartacus, online video, 25 May 2021. Duration: 6 mins.

The Romans flooded the Colosseum for sea battles.

Dig in to the history of the Roman Empire’s staged gladiatorial naval battles and how they flooded the Colosseum to reenact famous battles.

Start by searching both Britannica School Edition and World Book Online for an overview of Julius Caesar.

Tempest, K 2014. The great conspiracy against Julius Caesar, online video, 25 May 2021. Duration: 6 mins.

Rome and Christianity - History Learning Site
The dangers of being a Christian in Ancient Rome.
Roman religion - UNRV
Gods and goddesses, worship practices in the family, the priestly colleges, emperors as gods, and the emergence of Roman religion and Christianity.
Christianity and the Roman Empire - BBC History
Persecution with periods of toleration, the conversion of Constantine (left) to Christianity, and its subsequent gradual spread.
Religion: The Roman Empire - PBS
Description of public and private worship, Judaism in Ancient Rome and the rise of Christianity.

The Roman Empire and Trade
Explains the importance of road and sea transport for successful trade.
Roman Empire: Road and Trade Network
This map gives information about the Roman’s road system throughout the empire and its primary maritime trading routes between the busiest and largest port cities within the empire.

Start by searching both Britannica School Edition and World Book Online for detailed information about the Punic Wars.

See below for further information:

The Women's March: Rome
A series of laws were implemented after Second Punic War in 215 BC, a period of financial crisis. Many particularly affected women.
The power of women
The 2nd Punic War (218-201 B.C.E.) was especially lethal leaving at least 50,000 Roman soldiers dead and many women in charge of their property.

Start by searching both Britannica School Edition and World Book Online for information about Pompeii and Herculaneum (both cities were destroyed in the 29 CE eruption).

Devore, G 2021. Run, sail, or hide? How to survive the destruction of Pompeii, online video, 24 May 2021. Duration: 5.30 mins.

Zero One 2013. A Day in Pompeii animation. Online video, 24 May 2021. Duration: 8 minutes.

What was life like in the Roman army? - BBC Bitesize
How soldiers were recruited and trained, their skills, and how the army was arranged.

Infographics Show 2019. Most hardcore soldier: Roman Legionnaire, online video, 24 May 2021. Duration: 12 mins.

The Roman legion
How was the Roman army structured?

Books about Ancient Rome

Books available in the library
Includes an eBook

Encyclopaedias

Click on the above image to go to Encyclopaedia Brittanica. From there you can access the Primary, Middle and High levels of Brittanica.

Brittanica online provides research materials including articles, images and videos.

Other aspects of Ancient Rome

Food in Ancient Rome

Food in Ancient Rome - ABC Education

Roman Times: Eating and entertaining in ancient Rome - ABC Education

Bathing in Ancient Rome

Bathing in Ancient Rome - ABC Education

Theatre in Ancient Rome

Theatre in Ancient Rome - ABC Education

Fashion in Ancient Rome

Theatre in Ancient Rome - ABC Education

Family & Housing in Ancient Rome

Roman Times: Growing up Roman - ABC Education

Roman Times: Looking for a place to live in ancient Rome? - ABC Education

Roman Times: Keeping ancient Romans clean and healthy - ABC Education

MathXplosion, Ep 22: How to communicate numbers with Roman numerals - ABC Education

Recommended fiction set in ancient civilizations

Click on the image if you're interested in reading stories set during ancient times.

Infobase Ancient Rome

Ancient Rome
Infobase database which includes numerous topics to do with Ancient Rome. Includes images, maps,video, articles and primary source documents.

Clickview

Click on the image above to go to the Click View page on Ancient Rome.

Ancient Rome infographic

Paraphrasing and summarising

Click on the link above to find out how to paraphrase and how to summarise information. This will be particularly helpful when doing research.