Today, we're going to look at the world of Rome through the eyes of a young girl. Here she is, drawing a picture of herself in the atrium of her father's enormous house. Her name is Domitia, and she is just 5 years old. She has an older brother who is fourteen, Lucius Domitius Ahenobarbus, named after her dad. Girls don't get these long names that boys have. What is worse is that Dad insists on calling all his daughters Domitia. "Domitia!" His call to Domitia drawing on the column, Domitia III. She has an older sister, Domitia II, who is 7 years old. And then there's Domitia I, who is ten. There would have been a Domitia IV, but mom died trying to give birth to her three years ago. Confused? The Romans were too. They could work out ancestry through the male line with the nice, tripartite names such as Lucius Domitius Ahenobarbus. But they got in a real mess over which Domitia was married to whom and was either the great aunt or the great stepmother and so on to whom when they came to write it down. Domitia III is not just drawing on the pillar, she's also watching the action. You see, it's early, in the time of day when all her dad's clients and friends come to see him at home to pay their respects. Lucius Popidius Secundus, a 17 year old, he wants to marry Domitia II within the next five to seven years, has come as well. He seems to be wooing not his future wife, but her dad. Poor Lucius, he does not know that Domitia's dad thinks he and his family are wealthy but still scumbags from the Subura. Afterall, it is the part of Rome full of barbers and prostitutes. Suddenly, all the men are leaving with Dad. It's the second hour and time for him to be in court with a sturdy audience of clients to applaud his rhetoric and hiss at his opponent. The house is now quieter. The men won't return for seven hours, not until dinner time. But what happens in the house for those seven hours? What do Domitia, Domitia, and Domitia do all day? Not an easy question! Everything written down by the Romans that we have today was written by men. This makes constructing the lives of women difficult. However, we can't have a history of just Roman men, so here it goes. We can begin in the atrium. There is a massive loom, on which Dad's latest wife is working on a new toga. Domitia, Domitia, and Domitia are tasked with spinning the wool that will be used to weave this mighty garment, 30 or more feet long and elliptical in shape. Romans loved the idea that their wives work wool. We know that because it's written on the gravestones of so many Roman women. Unlike women in Greece, Roman women go out the house and move about the city. They go to the baths in the morning to avoid the men or to separate baths that are for women only. Some do go in for the latest fad of the AD 70s: nude bathing with men present. Where they have no place is where the men are: in the Forum, in the Law Court, or in the Senate House. Their place in public is in the porticos with gardens, with sculpture, and with pathways for walking in. When Domitia, Domitia, and Domitia want to leave the house to go somewhere, like the Portico of Livia, they must get ready. Domitia II and Domitia III are ready, but Domitia I, who is betrothed to be married in two years to darling Philatus, isn't ready. She's not slow, she just has more to do. Being betrothed means she wears the insignia of betrothal: engagement rings and all the gifts Pilatus has given her - jewels, earrings, necklaces, and the pendants. She may even wear her myrtle crown. All this bling shouts, "I'm getting married to that 19 year old who gave me all this stuff I'm wearing!" While as they wait, Domitia II and Domitia III play with their dolls that mirror the image of their sister decked out to be married. One day, these dolls will be dedicated to the household gods on the day of their wedding. Okay, we're ready. The girls step into litters carried by some burly slaves. They also have a chaperone with them and will be meeting an aunt at the Porticus of Livia. Carried high on the shoulders of these slaves, the girls look out through the curtains to see the crowded streets below them. They traverse the city, pass the Coliseum, but then turn off to climb up the hill to the Porticus of Livia. It was built by Livia, the wife of the first emperor Augustus, on the site of the house of Vedius Pollio. He wasn't such a great guy. He once tried to feed a slave to the eels in his fish pond for simply dropping a dish. Luckily, the emperor was at the dinner and tamed his temper. The litters are placed on the ground and the girls get out and arm in arm, two by two, they ascend the steps into the enclosed garden with many columns. Domitia III shot off and is drawing on a column. Domitia II joins her but seeks to read the graffiti higher up on the column. She spots a drawing of gladiators and tries to imagine seeing them fighting, something she will never be permitted to do, except from the very rear of the Coliseum. From there, she will have a good view of the 50,000 spectators but will see little by way of blood and gore. If she really wanted a decent view, she could become a vestal virgin and would sit right down the front. But a career tending the sacred flame of Vesta is not to everybody's taste. Domitia I has met another ten year old also decked out in the insignia of betrothal. Home time. When they get there after the eighth hour, something is up. A smashed dish lies on the floor. All the slaves are being gathered together in the atrium and await the arrival of their master. Dad is going to go mad. He will not hit his children, but like many other Romans, he believes that slaves have to be punished. The whip lies ready for his arrival. No one knows who smashed the dish, but Dad will call the undertaker to torture it out of them, if he must. The doorkeeper opens the front door to the house. A hush comes over the anxious slaves. In walks not their master but, instead, a pregnant teenager. It is the master's eldest daughter, age 15, who is already a veteran of marriage and child birth. Guess what her name is. There is a five to ten percent chance she won't survive giving birth to her child, but, for now, she has come to dinner with her family. As a teenage mother, she has proved that she is a successful wife by bringing children and descendants for her husband, who will carry on his name in the future. The family head off to the dining room and are served dinner. It would seem Dad has had an invite to dinner elsewhere. With dinner concluded, the girls crossed the atrium to bid farewell to their older sister who is carried home in a litter, escorted by some of Dad's bodyguards. Returning to the house, the girls cross the atrium. The slaves, young and old, male and female, await the return of their owner. When he returns, he may exact vengeance, ensuring his power over the slaves is maintained through violence and terror, to which any slave could be subjected. But, for the girls, they head upstairs for the night, ready for bed.
今天我们要从一个小女孩的眼里 来看古罗马。 这就是她,在她父亲巨大房子的中庭里 给自己画了一张像。 她的名字叫Domitia, 只有五岁。 她有个十四岁的哥哥, Lucius Domitius Ahenobarbus , 取名于她父亲的名字。 女孩没有男孩那么长的名字。 糟糕的是其父坚持 叫他所有的女儿Domitia。 "Domitia!" 他喊在柱子上画画的Domitia, Domitia III。 她有个姐姐,Domitia II ,七岁。 还有Domitia I,十岁。 本来还有个Domitia IV , 但在三年前妈妈生她时去世了。 糊涂了吧? 罗马人都这样。 他们通过好听的三名法取名 从男性的关系找寻祖先。 例如,Lucius Domitius Ahenobarbus。 但是当他们要记录 Domitia和谁结婚了 是姑婆和谁结婚了 还是继母的妈和谁结婚了 他们真是搞不清了。 Domitia III 不只是在柱子上画画, 还观察行动。 你看,时候还早, 白天的时候所有她爸爸的客户和朋友 来她家看他表示尊敬。 Lucius Popidius Secundus,十七岁。 他想在今后五到七年里 娶Domitia II, 也来了。 他似乎不是在向他未来的妻子求爱, 而是她的父亲。 可怜的 Lucius,他不知道 Domitia的爸爸 认为他和他家是有钱, 但却是来自Subura的人渣。 但毕竟这是罗马的一个区 即使充斥着底层理发师和妓女。 突然所有人随爸爸离开。 现在是两点 到了该去大讲堂的时候 有一大群客户观众 给他的讲话鼓掌, 给他的对手起哄发唏嘘声。 现在房间里安静些了。 这些男人们走了有七小时, 直到吃晚饭的时候才回来。 但这七小时里家里发生了什么? Domitia, Domitia and Domitia一天都干什么了? 这可不是个容易的问题! 今天我们能看到的关于罗马人的所有记载 都是男人写的。 这使得构建妇女的生活十分困难。 可是我们不能只有罗马男人的历史 这里有了。 我们可以从中庭开始。 有一个超大织机, 爸爸的最新妻子正在织一件新长袍, Domitia, Domitia, and Domitia正在 纺线 来织这件 三十多英尺长的椭圆形的大衣服。 罗马人喜欢让妻子们干针线活 这个主意。 我们知道是因为这被记在 众多的罗马妇女的墓碑上。 不像希腊妇女, 罗马妇女走出家门 在城里活动。 她们早上去洗澡,为了避免与男人接触 只去单独的妇女的浴室。 公元七十年代最新的时尚确实有人这样做: 裸体与男性一起洗澡。 她们没有地位 在任何男人在的地方: 论坛上, 法院上, 或参众两院上。 公众场合她们呆的地方只有门廊 花园下、 雕像旁 和用来走路的通道里。 当Domitia, Domitia, 和 Domitia想 离开家到什么地方去时, 例如利维娅的门廊, 她们必须做好准备。 Domitia II 和Domitia III准备好了, 但Domitia I被许配两年后 要和亲爱的Philatus结婚, 没准备好。 她不是慢,只是有更多的事要做。 订婚了意味着她要戴订婚的标志 订婚戒指 和所有Philatus送她的礼物 - 珠宝、 耳环、 项链、 和吊坠。 她甚至会戴她的紫薇冠。 所有这些首饰明示着, “我要和那个十九岁的人结婚了 我戴的所有这些东西是他给的!“ 等的时候Domitia II 和 Domitia III在玩她们的娃娃 娃娃是照着她们的姐姐 要出嫁的样子做的。 总有一天这些娃娃将蔼诚为 结婚当天家里的神像。 我们准备好了。 女孩们走进由几个身材魁梧的奴隶扛着的轿子。 她们也有一个和她们一起的陪伴, 在利维娅的门廊将会见到一个姨妈。 被这些奴隶高高地扛在肩上, 女孩们透过帘子向外张望, 看到她们下面拥挤的街道。 她们穿过城市,通过体育馆, 然后拐弯向山上爬去 直到利维娅的门廊。 它是由第一位国王Augustus的妻子利维亚建造的, 就在骑士Vedius Pollio的房子附近。 Vedius Pollio不是什么好人, 曾差点把一个奴隶 喂了他鱼塘里的鳗鱼, 只因这奴隶掉了一个盘子。 幸亏国王也在这顿晚宴上 止住了他的脾气。 轿子放到了地上, 女孩们出来了, 两人手拉着手, 走上台阶 进了带许多柱子的封闭花园。 Domitia III跑出去,正在往一个柱子上画画。 Domitia II过来找她 但只想看在柱子高处乱画的东西。 她看到了一幅角斗士的画 并设法想象在看他们打, 这是永远不会允许她去做的事, 除非从体育馆的很后面。 从那里她才能看见 50,000观众 但几乎看不到血腥。 如果她真想看到不错的景像, 她可以成为一个维斯塔贞女 就坐在前边。 但是守护维斯塔的圣火 不是人人都喜欢做的事。 Domitia I遇见了另一个十岁的孩子 也戴着订婚的标志。 回家的时间到了。 八小时后她们到那里时, 出事了。 一个碎盘子躺在地板上。 所有的奴隶都被聚集在中庭 等着主人的到来。 爸爸要发疯的。 他不会打他的孩子, 但像许多罗马人一样, 他相信奴隶必须受惩罚。 鞭子准备好了等他回来。 谁也不知道是谁打碎了盘子。 但爸爸要叫管事人 来折磨他们,如果他需要的话。 守门人打开了房子的前门。 嘘声叫过来焦急的奴隶们。 走进来的不是他们的主人 而是一个怀孕少女。 是主人的大女儿, 15 岁, 已是一个婚姻和生孩子的老手。 猜猜她的名字。 有5%到10% 的可能性 她将无法活着生下她的孩子。 但现在她来和她的家人共进晚餐。 作为一个十几岁的母亲, 她已证明是一个成功的妻子, 为丈夫抚养孩子和后代, 替他以后传宗接代。 全家人来到餐厅 享用晚餐。 似乎爸爸有邀请去别的地方吃饭了。 晚餐结束后,女孩们穿过中庭 和她们的姐姐告别, 姐姐坐轿子回家, 由爸爸的一些保镖护送。 回到房里, 女孩们穿过中庭。 奴隶们,无论年轻的还是年老的, 男人还是女人, 都等着主人回来。 当他回来时,有可能施暴, 他对奴隶的权力 是通过暴力和恐怖来维持的, 任何奴隶都有可能被控制。 但是对于女孩们, 她们上楼过夜, 准备睡觉。