Professor Ray Laurence, from the Department of Classical & Archaeological Studies has created an educational cartoon depicting the life of a teenage boy in Ancient Rome. Ray also narrates the cartoon and even stars in it as a cartoon Roman.
The cartoon tells the tale of Lucius Popidius Secundus, a 17-year old living in Rome in 73 AD. At a time when only 50% of people would live until they were 15 years old, the cartoon tells of his daily activities such as going to communal baths with his friends and having dinner served by slaves. As it typical of ancient Rome, we see that his father is planning an arranged marriage for him, and we experience his brother’s coming-of-age festival to mark the achievement of reaching adulthood. His life is a typical one of arranged marriages, coming-of-age festivals, and communal baths.
This cartoon is both interesting and educational and provides a fascinating insight into the ancient Roman world. The video can be watched from the link below and includes a fun quiz on what we have learnt through the cartoon:
http://ed.ted.com/lessons/a-glimpse-of-teenage-life-in-ancient-rome-ray-laurence.