The Role of Religion

Ancient Water Works

Unlike many Mediterranean cities, Rome today has a constant supply of fresh, clean drinking water brought down from the hills through a system of pipes and aqueducts that has changed little from the time of the empire. When the city's wells were no longer sufficient to meet the needs of the ancient Romans, aqueducts were built to bring water form surrounding hills. The first aqueduct, the Aqua Appia, was built in 312 b. c.e.

Some aqueducts were more than 50 miles long. Water from a spring in the hills was collected in a reservoir to build up pressure. Then it flowed downhill all the way into the city, so there was no need for pumping (which would not have been possible). Water flowed through underground channels when it cut through high ground, and raised aqueducts maintained a constant gradient for carrying the water over low ground. The aqueducts were covered water channels supported by arches, all made of cut stone.

From the earliest days of Rome, religion played a key role in families and in the larger community. Roman religion was focused on daily life in the present, not a future afterlife in a perfect heaven. The Romans believed everything in nature had a spirit associated with it, and so did human-made items and activities-a house or even a doorway had a spirit associated with it, as did such essential acts as planting and harvesting crops. Romans set up altars where they made sacrifices or prayed to these spirits, with the goal of winning their blessing. Good spirits would help the Romans live happy and productive lives, while bad spirits, such as the one within a lightning bolt, could destroy property or kill a person.

In the early days of Rome, the father of a family was responsible for carrying out the religious rituals that

Pleased the spirits. As Rome grew, political leaders took on the role of priests, trying to win favor with the gods for the entire community. Rome had a state religion-an official religion supported by the government. Priests were government officials, and the emperors built temples and paid for religious ceremonies.

During the monarchy, the Roman king was the chief priest. Later, most of the priests were elected officials, and a politician might run for the consul one year and the priesthood the next. Starting with Julius Caesar,