Announcer: This is a Getty podcast.
Zoe: Hi there and welcome to a special if Objects Could
Talk Crossover episode.
This week we are traveling back in time with the team at Culture
Kids Asher and his mom Kristen.
Join me at the Getty Villa Museum to learn about
Roman dinner parties.
Then we travel back in time to experience one.
In this two part series, you'll learn more about how
and what the Romans eight, especially when they wanted
to show off to their friends.
You are joining for part two.
If you haven't heard part one, head back to
our feed and listen now.
Culture Kids takes young listeners on imaginative
adventures to explore traditions, stories, foods,
languages, animals, and the people behind them.
They bridge communities through curiosity and kindness.
If you love to travel, eat, learn, or all three, you'll love
these globe-trotting adventures.
Let's go!
Mom: Hello, Culture Kids!
Grab your imaginary passports and your bags because it's
time to become world trotting explorers, right where you are.
Asher: Hello?
Hello.
My name is Asher and I’m the host along with my mom Kristen.
Mom: Today we're hopping on our Culture Kids time machine,
and traveling all the way back to continue our Roman dinner
party with Miss Zoe, the producer for the Getty Museum’s
podcast, If objects could talk.
We're going to see what dinner looked like 2000 years ago
for wealthy ancient Romans.
Before we get started on our adventure, we wanna
say thank you to go Amber for your five star rating.
They said we loved how cool it was to learn about our native
home Nigeria in a podcast, please cover more tribes.
Asher: Cool.
I want to go back to Nigeria.
That was fun and yummy.
Mom: And a big thank you to Marlena and their family
for their five star rating.
They said, I'm Marlena and I'm seven years old.
I love traveling with you and your podcast.
I got a passport and we're going to England soon.
Can you do an episode about German Christmas markets?
Asher: Thank you, Marlena.
This is a great idea.
Mom: And Culture Kids, there's still time to submit
your joke for our very first Culture Kids Joke Fest.
This special episode will air during the last week of December
featuring some of the funniest jokes from our amazing Culture
Kids listeners around the world.
All you have to do is leave your joke on Apple Podcasts
along with the five-star rating, and you might hear
it featured on the show.
Asher: Please make us laugh.
Thank you.
Mom: Okay, Culture Kids.
I think our magical Culture Kids time machine is revving
up Before we hop on board, remember, if you haven't joined
us for our last adventure with Miss Zoe, make sure
to listen to that first one so you're all caught up.
Asher: We learned so much about Ancient Rome.
Mom: Yes, and we also visited the Getty Villa Museum in Los
Angeles, California, where we learned that the whole building
was designed to look just like an ancient Roman seaside villa.
Asher: But the real villa that inspired it
is actually in Italy.
Mom: Yes, it is.
It is buried beneath layers of ash from Mount Vesuvius.
The Getty Villa brings that ancient world back to life,
so we can imagine how Romans lived, played, and dined
thousands of years ago.
Asher: And now we get to time travel back there
to see what a real dinner party looked like back then.
But wait, can they see us?
Mom: No, they cannot.
That's the magic of our Culture Kids time machine.
We're invisible explorers sneaking through history
like friendly ghosts.
Asher: I hear our time machine.
Mom: Yep.
Culture Kids get ready to buckle up for a new adventure on our
culture train time machine.
Once again, we're heading back 2000 years to witness a real
ancient Roman dinner party, live in action with real guests,
reclining, sipping, and dining.
So buckle up now because we're time traveling on
our culture train to: [All Aboard!]
Ancient Rome!
Asher: Let’s gooooo!
[music and train sounds]
Mom: Welcome back to Ancient Rome Culture Kids.
It's really dark here because it's evening.
But look, off in the distance I can see a soft golden glow
coming from a grand room.
That's the triclinium where we were last time.
The Roman dining room.
Let's walk closer, Culture Kids.
The walls are flickering with firelight, and I
can smell delicious food drifting through the air.
Warm, fresh bread, roasted meats and herbs
like rosemary and thyme.
There are people quietly setting out silver
trays and polished cups.
Their footsteps soft against the marble floor.
The room feels alive, glowing, warm, and ready
for the guests to arrive.
Asher: Um, it's so dark here.
I can barely see my toes.
Mom: What's the shadow behind us?
It's getting bigger and bigger.
Asher: Hello anyone?
It’s a ghost!
Mom: Oh my goodness.
It's Miss Zoe.
Asher: Oh, hi.
Zoe: Hi.
So sorry to scare you guys.
It's quite dark in here, isn't it?
Mom: Well, we are so glad to see you.
Asher: I thought you were a ghost, but no, I wasn't scared.
Mom: So we know that we time traveled on our magical
culture train time machine, but could you remind us
where we are exactly?
Zoe: Yeah.
We are here at our villa for our Roman dinner party in the Bay of
Naples in the first century CE.
Asher: Well, I'm looking forward to it, but could
you turn on the lights?
Mom: Yeah.
There's so many shadows here.
Zoe: Remember, this is 2000 years ago, so there's
no electricity here.
Asher: Oh right.
Electricity.
But I see some lights.
Are those candles?
Zoe: Good question, Asher.
Sometimes Romans used candles, but torches and oil lamps
were the main ways Romans lit their homes and streets.
See here I've got three of my favorite oil lamps that we can
use today to light our way.
These oil lamps have a little hole on the top where you
can pour oil in, and then you'd put a little wick in
this other hole and light it.
Then the oil from the lamp would travel up the wick and
keep it burning for hours.
Mom: And looking closely at these oil lamps, Miss Zoe
is holding, they are all very interesting in shape.
Asher: I see an oil lamp that looks like...feet?
And an oil lamp that kind of looks like a really funny
face, kind of like a clown.
Mom: You're right, Asher one lamp is shaped like a
pair of feet, and another one is shaped like what
looks like a clown mask.
Miss Zoe, why is that?
Zoe: These lamps were useful, but they were also
a good place to have fun.
Romans loved a good joke.
So popular lamp designs might be animals or gods and goddesses
or comic actors’ masks…or feet.
Asher: Can I please have the feet lamp?
I want it so badly.
Zoe: Of course.
And if you wanna hear more from this lamp shaped like a pair
of feet, you can hear what it has to say on If Objects Could
Talk, the podcast from the Getty.
Asher: Awesome.
Mom: And I'll take the one shaped like
a comic actor's mask.
Zoe: Here you go.
Asher: I can't believe I'm holding a feet
lamp in ancient Rome.
I wanna tickle the toes.
Mom: Well, now that we got our oil lamps, let's go closer
to this Roman dinner party.
Zoe: Let's go this way.
Mom: Wow, Culture kids.
We are back in the triclinium from last time and there are
still three U-shaped couches with small side tables and
a big table full of food and I can't believe it.
We see real ancient Romans lounging on these couches.
One, two, three, four, five, or six of them lounging
on their sides as they are talking and laughing.
I also see people bringing them trays of food.
Asher: They are definitely having a good time.
Are they a family?
Who are these people?
Zoe: So this is the villa of a wealthy family.
They're showing off at this dinner party.
They might have invited some politicians or business partners
or clients to dinner too.
Asher: Hmm.
Their clothes look very different.
Mom: Yes.
Their clothes sure do look different from
what we normally wear.
Most of the guests are wearing soft, comfy outfits
that look like loose robes or long pajamas.
And we learned in the last episode that there's no shoes
in the triclinium, so I can see their bare feet and toes too.
Zoe: Actually, when we look at them, this is maybe a gathering
of friends because they're wearing a more casual dinner
outfit called a cenatoria.
That means dinner suit.
It’s loose fitting so that they can be comfortable when
they eat as much as possible.
It's a sort of belted, colorful tunic.
Asher: That sounds very comfy.
I wanna wear these for Thanksgiving and eat all
the pumpkin pie I want. [Gobble sounds]
Mom: What kind of foods are they eating?
It's a little hard to tell with all the shadows.
Asher: It smells like warm bread and chicken.
Mom: I can definitely see that there are a lot of meat dishes
being served at the table.
Zoe: A lot of the food is probably similar to things
we'd find on our tables today.
You see some fruits and vegetables, maybe also
eggs, cheese, meat, or fish.
Meat and dairy were pretty expensive, so that's
another way we can tell this is a wealthy family.
And of course they are using herbs from their
garden and spices that came from as far away as India.
Mom: I love that Ancient Romans also love to try
new flavors from different parts of the world.
Asher: So maybe I'll go sit with them and eat
like an invisible ghost.
Zoe: Well, you could, but I'll warn you, Culture Kids,
some of the foods here are a little different from
what you might be used to.
Today, people around the world might eat meats like
chicken, beef, or pork, right?
Here in ancient Rome, goat, boar, and venison were more common.
But they also served things that are less common today.
Like if you look closely at this table, I think they're
actually serving flamingo!
Asher: Wait, what?
Flamingo, like the pink bird with really long legs?
That is different.
Zoe: Yes.
A very rare meal.
This family is definitely trying to impress their guests.
Asher: But okay.
I see something that I definitely know.
I see bread, lots of it.
Zoe: Roman bread is very similar to modern bread and was a
daily staple for most people.
We've even found bread preserved by the Vesuvius
eruption and bread appears in murals from this period too.
Asher: Maybe I'll sneak up and take a piece of bread
and they won't see me because I'm invisible. [evil laugh]
Mom: And do they also enjoy desserts?
Asher: Yeah.
Why do I feel like there's going to be a chocolate
fountain or something?
Zoe: No dinner party is complete without dessert.
So these would've been sweetened with grapes, dates, or honey,
maybe like a honey sweetened pancake or sweet fried cheese.
Asher: Oh, healthy desserts.
But hey, in Korea we have honey pancakes too.
They're called hotteok.
Zoe: That's so interesting.
There are a lot of similarities in food across the world.
Mom: Apparently across different centuries too!
Okay.
But I do have to ask, is this a very rare dinner party?
Meaning, did all other ancient Romans eat like this?
Zoe: Remember, this is a very wealthy family.
Not every Roman ate like this, and even the wealthy Romans
didn't eat like this every day.
Many Romans actually ate takeout from little restaurants.
Many Romans didn't even have a kitchen at home.
I mean, fire is pretty dangerous, right?
Most Romans would eat out at thermopolia, which is sort
of like the prepared food section of the grocery store,
or a fast food restaurant.
They would not be cooking like this every day.
Asher: That would be cool if they had an ancient Roman drive-thru.
With horses.
Mom: Ah, speaking of drive through, looks like our magical
culture train is here to take us back home to the year 2025.
We better hop on before Asher takes off his
shoes to cozy up on the couches with these guests.
Asher: I might or am I not?
Mom: But Culture Kids, please remember to check out Miss
Zoe's fascinating show, If Objects Could Talk, to
learn more about some of these fun ancient artifacts
we learned about today.
Zoe: And if you're in LA, come by the Getty Villa in person
and check out some of these ancient objects in real life.
Bye Culture Kids.
Bye Kristen.
Bye Asher.
See you next time.
Asher: Bye, Culture Kids!
Mom: And to our Culture Kids families,
isn't it fascinating to know that even thousands of years
ago, ancient Romans loved gathering, learning, and sharing
meals just like we do today?
It reminds us that no matter where or when we come from,
people have always been curious, creative, and
connected by the stories we share around the table.
So keep exploring, asking questions, and remember
every culture, past or present helps us see how
people everywhere love to learn, create, and share.
And lastly, always remember you and your family are
valued, welcomed, and celebrated for exactly who
you are because every child belongs here at Culture Kids.
See you next week.
Bye-bye.
Asher: Joke time!
Can I go first?
Mom: Yes, go for it.
Asher: Why did the Medieval Knight always carry a pencil?
Mom: Why?
Asher: In case he needed to draw his sword.
Get it?
Mom: Yes.
I get it.
Like when a knight is getting ready to fight or protect,
he has to draw his sword.
Got it.
So good.
Asher: Your turn.
Mom: Why was the caveman a good dancer?
Asher: Why?
Mom: Because he knew how to rock.
Asher: Oh, I get it.
Because like it's like a kind of music.
Mom: Yes.
Rock is a type of music.
And you know, caveman lived under rocks.
Asher: Bye Culture Kids!
Mom: Thanks for joining us today.
Stay tuned next week as we explore the world of
butterflies, and of course, we have our Joke Fest coming up.
Please don't forget to tell everyone you love about culture,
kids, and reach out to us at any time on Instagram, Apple
Podcast reviews or email.
Thank you for all that you do, and see you next week.
Bye-bye.