The Ancient Roman civilization could be said to have lasted nearly 2000 years in some form or other. This great length of time has ensured that the Roman way has trickled down into even our modern ways of living. We still know about how they lived through films and their lives continue to fascinate us. Many of their traditions and ways of running a state or empire are still in use today. There are many things we have to thank the Romans for so why not start by dressing in a Roman costume this Halloween ?

We are all familiar with the Roman soldier costume and even Gladiators thanks to movies like Spartacus, Ben Hur and more recently Gladiator. The roman soldier and army was the backbone of the Roman Republic and later on the Empire. It was used to take over lands in western Europe, the middle east and northern Africa. The army was also used to enforce the law in sometimes lawless lands. When there was trouble in the outer colonies, the army would be sent to sort it out.

There are all sorts of Roman soldier costume available these days. Most aren’t very authentic looking but they give you an idea of what a roman soldier might look like. They are basically a helmet, a chest plate of armor, arm and leg gauntlets and some kind of tunic under the armor. Roman soldiers would often wear sandals in warmer climates but no doubt wore warmer footwear in places like ancient Britain and the link.

Other Roman costumes could be the Gods and Goddesses of Roman Civilization. The Roman civilization in the republican time and onwards until Christianity began to dominate, was polytheistic meaning that they believed in many gods and goddesses. Each god or goddess had a role and distinct characteristics. This polytheism was a flow over from the Ancient Greek civilization that also believed in many gods. In fact the Romans seem to have just taken all the Greek gods and changed their names. However their stories and their relationships to each other seem to be identical.

Other types of Roman costumes could be nobleman, senators or every day people (citizens) that might have lived in some part of the lands ruled by Rome. These types of costumes are basically just a tunic or toga outfit. Depending on the status of the individual, the tunic might be more elaborate and there might be more accessories to go with it. But other than that, it just a toga costume.

Comments are closed.