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Different personalities - different perspectives

How might the Roman world have affected a gladiator who became a slave as a prisoner of war? What did a legionary think about his daily life as a soldier? How did a patrician (Roman citizen) feel about being able to shape the destiny of the Roman Empire? What did a Greek-Roman philosopher think in general about life at that time? What qualities and tasks were attributed to the various gods and deities? Can an ancient world be depicted with the existing figures?

These are some suggestions for approaching Roman history. You can find more information online in the descriptions and in the templates. You can also use stories, pictures, chronicles, history books and films that give an insight into life in Roman times.

Colourful hustle and bustle in a Roman town

To this day, the typical layout of a Roman city is called a square grid. This means that the town plan was divided into squares of roughly equal size, connected by streets. Each city had two main streets. These were the Decumanus, the east-west axis, and the Cardo, the north-south axis. Both crossed the residential, commercial, entertainment and public areas. The city was surrounded by a fortified wall with towers and gates.
At the intersection of the Decumanus and the Cardo was the Forum. Here were the temple, the market, the court, the bazaar, the school and other public buildings. Adjacent to the forum were rectangular residential buildings, also built in a checkerboard pattern. Not far from the forum was the amphitheatre with its arena, boxes, stage and rooms for actors and gladiators. It was regularly used for gladiator fights and theatre. The amphitheatre is characterised by the entertainment, fun and performances of the kings and other city leaders with their families. This type of culture was made famous by the Roman poet Juvenal, who used the phrase "bread and circuses" to criticise the aristocracy.

Let's start with the temple on the Forum. If you think you will only find Roman gods and deities here, you are wrong. Rome built its empire on tolerance of other cultures and religions. That is why we see statues of Roman, Greek and Egyptian gods in and around the temple. Usually one deity appears with several names but similar attributes and tasks. For example, the Roman Mercury and the Greek Hermes are worshipped as chief gods. Both represent traders and thieves. Their attributes are Hermes' wand, winged helmet and purse. Mars and Ares are the gods of war, with helmets, shields and spears. Mars was once the patron of agriculture in the Roman Empire. As Rome, the centre of power, expanded, Mars became the god of health, fertility and disaster. In addition to the common Roman people, we meet patricians, philosophers, senators and other government leaders in the temple, asking their gods for advice and help.

Not far away is the military camp with its legionaries, praetorians, tribunes and centurions.

Next to it, in the gladiator school, we linger and watch the training of the gladiators. As Murmillo, Thracian, Secutor and Retiarius, they train endurance, speed, courage and fighting spirit. As slaves, they fight in the arena for their masters. Through fighting and bravery, some of them manage to buy their freedom from their masters with a small fortune, the peculium, and become citizens of Rome. Gladiators have access to the best medical and general care. They are considered pop stars by the populace, and their steely bodies are reminiscent of modern bodybuilders. Their life expectancy of 27 years is well below the average for the rest of the population. They only had to fight 1 to 3 times a year. According to tradition, during the Roman Empire, they began their battles with the phrase morituri te salutant = "The dead salute you" (the emperor).

Build a Roman city

The 3D crafting templates bring the houses and streets of an authentic Roman town to life. With these figures you can bring ancient history to life. Children love creative history lessons. These lessons are suitable for schools, leisure groups or a child's birthday party. A total of 40 different craft sheets are available for the reconstruction.

Making history comprehensible with the help of creative design

Ancient life continues to fascinate people of all ages to this day. Special attention is paid to the various gods, emperors, gladiators and legionaries. With our historical craft templates in 3D, you can recreate a wide variety of people, professions and gods and "bring them to life". You will find both individual templates as well as craft sets. All templates are made of sturdy cardboard, provided with self-explanatory instructions and designed in antique colors. These historical craft sheets are suitable for children from 6 years. For example, recreate history with the "Gods of the Nile", the "Gladiators Morituri te salutant" or the "Roman legions veni vidi vici". Especially for children, history becomes tangible and understandable in this way. Individual parts of the figures are movable or removable. Therefore, these templates are not only suitable for creating and setting up, but also for playing and illustrating Roman history.