Even Rome Had Their Differences...

In ancient Rome, there were two social classes you could possibly be a part of. The Patricians and the Plebeians made up a majority of the population of Rome, and they were two very different lives to live. The Patricians were seen as the higher class, and they could make laws if they wanted to do so. They were the landowners and the generals over the army (all luxuries that the Plebeians did not have access to). The Plebeians however, were the farmers, craftsmen, laborers, and soldiers of Rome. They acted as the regular townspeople in a way. Both social classes began to but heads with one another after the expulsion of the kings. The aristocrats (mostly patricians) then took over and ruled over Rome. Needless to say, they abused their power and the plebeians were not happy. This conflict led to many disputes between the orders (the term used to refer to the patrician and plebeian groups of Roman citizens) and they did not seem to get along very well.
If we were to think back to the Greece unit, The Greeks had their own versions of patricians and plebeians for their society too. Ancient Greece had the upper class, metics, middle class, and freedmen. Even though there are four groups rather than two, the social ranking in which you belong to meant the same things. They were a judgement of who you were before someone got to know you for real.
Social class ranking tends to be a decision about who you are, but you don't get to make it. It is what other people give to you and in ancient Greece and Rome, they seem to have similar ideas of where a person should belong.
Thank you for reading my blog today.
Have a good rest of your day!
- Karlee :)