The Romans of the early republic were orderly, practical people, disciplined by parents, teachers, and the state, and hardened by almost constant warfare. Luxuries did not come to Rome until the second century B.C., when money and slaves from conquered lands began to pour into the city.

Rome, especially in its years as a republic, had two distinct social classes among its citizens. Patricians belonged to wealthy families that had long held the best lands. The plebeians included farmers and city workers, and freedmen with citizenship. Eventually an intermediate class of rich, powerful businessmen, called equites (or equestrians ), arose. Non-citizens were either slaves or aliens.

The Romans cherished the family unit and attached great importance in law and custom to its maintenance. The important events in a family, such as births, engagements, marriages, and deaths, were celebrated by ritual, and the wealthier the people the more elaborate and formal were the ceremonies.

Parents arranged all marriages, and the engagement would usually take place a number of years prior to the actual marriage. Usually the bride-to-be would be in her early teens at the time of her engagement; her future husband, a few years older. Under Roman law, there were three kinds of marriage contracts. Under the most formal contract, used by patricians, the husband's power was absolute. The wife was legally his property; she had no legal or property rights of her own. In actual practice, however, the wife often exercised much power and influence in such a marriage. There were less formal, as well as less restrictive, marriage contracts for lower classes; the wife was given more freedom and could own property.

The Romans spoke Latin, one of the Indo-European languages. Latin is flexible, yet precise. These qualities made it the language of government and law in many European countries for hundreds of years after the fall of Rome. Latin was used for centuries in the liturgy of the Roman Catholic church, and the modern Romance languages—French, Italian, Romanian, Spanish, and Portuguese—are descended from Latin. Latin also had a strong influence on English.

Worship in ancient Rome was a family affair. The head of the house led his wife and children in offerings of flowers and grain to the many family gods. These included the lares of the household and fields, the penates of the storeroom, and Vesta, goddess of the hearth. (The Romans associated gods with all familiar objects.)

The early Romans thought of their gods as abstract, impersonal spirits, not as the warm superhumans the Greeks believed their gods to be. Gradually, however, the Romans developed a pantheon of gods, many adopted from the Greeks, who had the character and personality of humans. It included Jupiter, the supreme god; Juno, the queen of heaven; Minerva, the goddess of wisdom; and Mercury, the god of commerce.

Roman religion was sponsored by the government, which built temples to the various gods and which employed the priests and oracles. Eventually, the emperor came to be worshiped as a deity.

Many festival days during the year added color to the state religion. During the Saturnalia, which was celebrated during late December, slaves were set free for a few days and people exchanged gifts. The Lupercalia, Feburary 15th, was a fertility festival. The Floralia, dedicated to the goddess of flowers, celebrated the coming of spring.

During the second and first centuries B.C., Roman faith in the old state religion weakened. As the wealth of Rome's empire poured into the city, many turned to lives of pleasure-seeking. The number of slaves and other non-citizens increased greatly, and these people introduced the religions of the East, which soon became popular with the Romans. They worshiped Isis, the Great Mother of Egypt; or the god Baal of Syria; or Mithras, a Persian god. The new religions made no distinction between classes, gave hope of a glorious life after death, and contained appealing exotic, often mysterious, rituals. Men of culture studied Greek philosophy, which discouraged fear of the gods, and many leaders of Rome became Stoics or Epicureans.

The emperors generally tolerated the many religions of Rome, requiring only that everyone join in rites for former emperors and the city's patron goddess, Roma. The Jews and the growing number of Christians refused, and these groups were often persecuted. The Christians, however, grew in number and strength, and in the fourth century the emperor Constantine himself became a Christian. Christianity became the predominant faith, and the old Roman state religion died out.

Reading, writing, and arithmetic formed the basis of the education of Roman children. Patriotism and obedience were taught by reciting stories of Roman heroes in prose and poetry.

During the early republic, neighboring families usually combined to pay a tutor for their children. When Greeks began settling at Rome in great numbers during the second century B.C., many became teachers and some established schools.

Under the emperors, children of free parents attended elementary school from age 7 to 13. Boys then went on to secondary school, where they studied Greek and Latin literature, history, astronomy, and music. Secondary education was completed at the age of 16. Girls were tutored at home, and often received a better education than the boys. For the most part, tuition was paid by the parents, although scholarships and other financial aid were provided by some of the emperors.

There were universities at Athens, Alexandria, and other great cities of the empire. Rhetorical schools, conducted by teachers called rhetores, gave training in speech-making and law, and some instruction in geometry, astronomy, and philosophy.

The early Romans believed that the arts were frivolous and interfered with the serious work of life. Architecture, however, was an exception, and it and the related field of civil engineering were important throughout Rome's history.

Roman architects adapted earlier forms and made much use of the arch. The Romans excelled at large structures, such as the Circus Maximus, which seated 180,000, and the Baths of Caracalla, which covered 260,000 square feet (24,155 m2). Some ancient aqueducts, bridges, and roads are usable to this day. The plan of the Roman basilica, designed as a law court, was adopted by early Christian architects for churches.

Contact with Greek civilization stimulated Roman interest in the other arts. In sculpture, painting, drama, and literature, the Romans usually followed Greek models. They took classical myths for their subjects and worked in the styles of the Greeks. Roman sculptors created statues and busts of gods and famous men, designed friezes to ornament buildings, and told the stories of military campaigns in reliefs on arches and columns. Roman painters decorated walls in the homes of the well-to-do with paintings. Music was usually played as an accompaniment to lyric poetry. With dancing, it became very popular under the empire. The chief instruments were flutes and lyres; trumpets and cymbals were also used.

The earliest Roman amusements were organized as part of the religious festivals. During the livelier festivals, the strict customs of everyday life were relaxed and there was much drinking and dancing. The state organized entertainment, including horse and chariot races and athletic exhibitions. As Rome expanded, animals were brought from all over the world and shown in the arenas.

Much was brutal in the public entertainment of Rome. Condemned criminals and slaves were trained as gladiators and made to fight one another in the arenas. The games were especially brutal under the emperors. The public demanded exhibitions where hundreds of gladiators fought to the death. Men were often pitted against wild beasts. The most elaborate Roman spectacles were sham naval battles fought on artificial lakes.

The large public baths provided relaxation and some exercise for both men and women.