You have JavaScript disabled
For the best experience, please turn JavaScript on. Here's how

Four sisters in Ancient Rome - Ray Laurence

9,946,905 Views

25,892 Questions Answered

TEDEd Animation

Let’s Begin…

How did the young, wealthy women of Ancient Rome spend their days? Meet Domitia and her sister Domitia and her sister Domitia and her sister Domitia. Ray Laurence sketches the domestic life of leisure that these young girls lived, despite little recorded information on women from this otherwise well-documented era.

Watch Think 5 Multiple Choice &
1 Open Answer Questions Dig Deeper Learn More Discuss 1 Guided Discussion &
3 Open Discussions

What was significant about the names of males in Ancient Rome, and why were the names of females sometimes confusing?

a

Males had rhyming names, but females had names that were made of words that were meant to mimic the names of their biological fathers

b

Males often had up to six names that told a story of their family heritage, but females were named after the attributes of their biological mothers (which often confused the characteristics specific to more than one lineage)

c

They could determine ancestry with the names of the males, but they often confused the females because the had only a single name which was the same as their female siblings

d

Names were trivial and served no purpose in Ancient Rome

About TED-Ed Animations

TED-Ed Animations feature the words and ideas of educators brought to life by professional animators. Are you an educator or animator interested in creating a TED-Ed Animation? Nominate yourself here »

Meet The Creators

Animator Cognitive Media
Educator Ray Laurence
Narrator Ray Laurence

More from The World's People and Places

Social Studies

Ugly History: The Armenian Genocide

349,874 Views

Social Studies

Why did people wear powdered wigs?

726,733 Views

Social Studies

The rise and fall of the Maya Empire’s most powerful city

295,640 Views

The true story behind the legend of the 47 Rōnin

472,772 Views