Lesson 1. From dawn to midday

A Roman's day began at dawn — there was little artificial light, and life followed the sun. The full day was divided into 12 daytime and 12 nighttime hours, but the hours were “stretchy”: a daytime hour was longer in summer and shorter in winter, because the whole span from sunrise to sunset was always divided into twelve. Once up, a Roman washed and ate a quick breakfast (this was called the ientaculum) — bread with olives, cheese, sometimes the leftovers from the day before. Breakfast was light; no one sat down to a lavish table in the morning. Next, a client of modest means had an important task — the salutatio, the morning greeting of his patron. Poor and dependent people went to their patron's house at daybreak to pay their respects and in return received a small handout (the sportula) — money or food — or help with their affairs. This whole system of mutual obligations, “patron and client,” held society together. Then the real work began: the shop, the workshop, the courts, or the market.