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Roman Dinner Party Review

Directions: You are hosting a dinner party and are inviting 24 historical figures from Ancient Rome. Some of your guests may not get along or they are from different cultures or eras. This will make for some interesting conversations! It is your job to create a successful dinner party using the criteria below.

Decide which 8 people will sit at the 3 different tables. Each table will be having a different conversation. You must seat at least 2 from each column or era of Roman history at each table.

Although a triclinium set-up would have been more accurate, the round table could fit more speech bubbles! :)

Pay attention to the conversation topic/question for each table when choosing seating arrangements.. Fill in the speech bubble with what each historical figure might be thinking or saying in response to the topic.
Your speech bubbles will show how well you understanding the different perspectives of people from different social classes and time periods of Roman history.

For example: Even though Octavian did not live to see the issues the empire faced at the end of its reign, what would he say about how he would ruled and how he tried fixing the problems of the republic?

The first page has been started for you as an exemplar. Fill in the existing blanks on the first page and complete the rest on your own!

Republic	End of Republic/ Start of Empire	Height of Rome	Fall of Rome
Romulus	Tiberius Gracchus	Nero	Diocletian
Cincinnatus	Brutus	Caligula	Constantine
Hannibal	Julius Caesar	A Patrician woman	Commodus
Spartacus	Marc Antony	Gladiator (who fought at Colosseum)	Roman Soldier towards the end of the empire (Paid non-citizen)
A wealthy Senator	Cleopatra	Jesus Christ	Odoacer
A poor Plebeian	Octavian/Augustus	Paul	YOU! (...as in a 6th grader from McClure Junior High!)

Name: ______________________________________

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The chance to serve your country, of course! We are so lucky that this great republic allows citizens to serve when called upon. I place my civic duty above all other things.

I have far more rights than most women in other societies. I get a basic education and can own my own property. However, we still have no real power. I can’t vote or hold public office.

Hmm… that’s a loaded question because I don’t think it’s all that great for the majority of our population. Plebs are hungry! The slaves have all taken their jobs. Once we get more land and jobs for the common man then I can answer your question.

Conversation Topic:

What do you think is the BEST part about living in ancient Rome?

Cincinnatus

Tiberius Gracchus

A Patrician Woman

Table 1

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Conversation Topic:

What do you think is the WORST part about living in ancient Rome? What makes you unhappy at the moment?

Table 2

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Table 3

Conversation Topic:

What do you think we should have done to save our empire? How could we have kept in from falling?