What Life Was Like for Teenagers in Ancient Rome: Get a Glimpse from a TED-ED Animation

The more things change, the more they stay the same. That adage often holds true, but not in this historical case. While your average American teenager devotes more than 7 hours a day to imbibing media — to watching TV, playing video games, hanging out on Facebook — the average 17-year-old Roman kid (circa 73 AD) had some more serious business to deal with. Like mastering reading and writing in two languages, fighting in imperial wars, taking care of (obscenely young) spouses and various other items. All of this gets conveyed to us by Ray Laurence, a classics professor from the University of Kent. The video itself comes from the TED-Ed series that otherwise features a clip about the historic walls of Constantinople, built during the Byzantine period.

If you would like to sign up for Open Culture’s free email newsletter, please find it here.

If you would like to support the mission of Open Culture, consider making a donation to our site. It’s hard to rely 100% on ads, and your contributions will help us continue providing the best free cultural and educational materials to learners everywhere. You can contribute through PayPal, Patreon, and Venmo (@openculture). Thanks!

Related Content:

The History of Rome in 179 Podcasts

Rome Reborn: Take a Virtual Tour of Ancient Rome, Circa 320 C.E.

How Many U.S. Marines Could Bring Down the Roman Empire?

Free Online Courses in the Classics

The Rise & Fall of the Romans: Every Year Shown in a Timelapse Map Animation (753 BC -1479 AD)


by | Permalink | Comments (0) |

Support Open Culture

We’re hoping to rely on our loyal readers rather than erratic ads. To support Open Culture’s educational mission, please consider making a donation. We accept PayPal, Venmo (@openculture), Patreon and Crypto! Please find all options here. We thank you!


Leave a Reply

Quantcast
Open Culture was founded by Dan Colman.