Curiosities of ancient Rome (Ancient stories)
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Caere – city that accepted Vestals
When in 390 BCE the Gauls invaded and conquered Rome, the priests of Quirinus and the priestesses of Vesta decided to leave the city and save the holy artefacts of the Romans from the barbarians. The vestals were to go ... Read more
Numa Pompilius known for his wisdom
The second king of Rome Numa Pompilius was known for his wisdom, piety and peaceful attitude. According to tradition, he initiated the state cult of gods in Rome, created the so-called Capitoline Triad assigning priests for Jupiter (flamen dialis), Mars ... Read more
Strenuousness of Gaius Acilius
Suetonius in his work “Lives of the Caesars” devoted to successive rulers up to the times of Domitian (81-96 CE) mentions many amazing stories from wars that are intended to interest the reader and emphasize the heroism of the Romans. ... Read more
Gneus Petreus
In the winter of 102 BCE, one of the legions was sent to the Adige valley, near today’s Trento. Consul Quintus Lutatius Catulus, with this movement, wanted to delay the movements of the incoming Cimbri – Germanic invaders from the ... Read more
Emperor Elagabalus was wife
One of the disgusting ideas of Emperor Elagabalus was to marry a Greek slave, Hierocles. Officially, their relationship did not have legal force, because the ancient Romans did not envisage the institution of homosexual marriage. Hierocles became the emperor’s favourite ... Read more
Superstitious consul Lucius Aemilius Paulus
The Romans were very superstitious. For example, Consul Lucius Aemilius Paulus before embarking on the Macedonian War with king Perseus (in Latin Perseus or Perses) came to the house, where his daughter told him: “Perses is dead” – it was ... Read more
Amazing information about elephants from Romans
Thanks to the preserved work of Pliny the Elder – “Natural history” – we get to know many interesting observations that people had in ancient times regarding many animals. A great example of “unusual” behaviour is information about elephants. In ... Read more
Event that heralds end of Antony
Mark Antony was an outstanding Roman commander and a faithful supporter of Gaius Julius Caesar. After his death, he led the “Caesarians”, defeated in the Battle of Philippi Cassius and Brutus to finally bond with Cleopatra VII and come into ... Read more
Predicted fate of Cassius Parmensis
Ancient source texts very often convey stories in which the tragic events for the heroes were previously heralded by various strange events. Valerius Maximus tells us the story of a certain Cassius Parmensis, one of the assassins of Julius Caesar ... Read more
Ancestors of Romans were descended from Aeneas
According to Roman legend, the ancestors of the Romans descended from refugees (including Aeneas) from burning Troy who settled and built cities in Latium. In Greek and Roman mythology, the hero of the Trojan War. He was considered the son ... Read more
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