I woke up today to see that it was going to be just as any other hard and challenging work day. As usual I got up before the sun had come out to make myself breakfast which at usual was a loaf of bread and a chunk of whatever meat I could find. I lived with my wife, two sons and Adobis and Romus who were my familyÃÂs slaves. My family wasnÃÂt the richest of families but we still earned enough money through our farm to pay for our food and clothing. Unlike most Roman farmers we didnÃÂt go back into the main city often, but we stayed in our farm admiring its peace and beauty. However my wife and I could no longer afford to send or two sons to school any more as there was a drought upon Rome, causing less food to be grown on our farm, therefore causing less income.
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Via Appia, a road connecting the city of Rome to t...We still wanted `our sons to receive education so we home schooled them. Adobis did most of the work as he was sick and was feeling unwell the past few months. Unlike most people in Rome my family treated slaves as they should be treated. We fed them, clothed them, never beat them and respected them for who they were.
I went out into the farm with Romus to start off the days work. We both knew that we were both in for a hard days work as we had to plough the land. Romus was a skinny figure. His ears stuck out and he had bulging blue eyes. I knew that he desperately wanted to be a free man and to be living his own life rather than someone elseÃÂs. However I could not afford to release Romus or Adobis as my family and I needed all the help that we could possibly get. Unlike Romus, Adobis was quite a big figure. He had brown eyes with dark brown hair but was quite nervous for no particular reason for most of the time.
While Romus was doing the ploughing just like he had always ever since Adobis became well, I was fixing up the cattle and checking up on them to see if they had caught any diseases. I took great pride in my small farm and my small amount of goods. Them and my family were the only luxuries I had.
I came back that night all sweaty and nervous as I knew I had much more work to do in the next few days. I was also nervous as much of the livestock and the wheat depended greatly on rain and there wasnÃÂt any for the past few weeks, and to me it certainly didnÃÂt look like it was going to arrive anytime soon..
Nor my wife or kids had cooked dinner that night so I went without. I took a big loaf of bread, got some money and made my way off for the town to buy goods for us all. Adobis offered to come with me abut I declined the offer as I knew that he wasnÃÂt feeling way and wouldnÃÂt be up to the challenge of the and a half walk there and back .
I started my journey at 7:30 pm and arrived home at 10:56. I had little luck buying food at a decent price that night. Many of the farmers were experiencing the same problems as my family and I were with the drought and such I thought.
I was beginning to worry about the drought now. My earnings were at an all time low and it hadnÃÂt rained for exactly twelve weeks. I tried to send Adobis to a hospital but they sent him back straight after they found how that he wasnÃÂt a free man but was a slave.
Life was getting harder and harder and the idea of quitting being a farmer was beginning to appeal to me. But i knew that I couldnÃÂt as than I would have to join the army. I knew that it was going to be a hard life for me, but after all I am doing it for my family and the city of Rome.
Bibliography:Internet resources:http://www.historylink102.com/Rome/roman-farming.htmBooks:The Horizon Book of Ancient RomeBy Robert Payne
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