Curiosities of ancient Rome (Ancient stories)

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Ancient stories are curiosities revealing lesser-known, surprising, or unusual episodes from the world of ancient Rome and antiquity. This category includes short stories about events, people, and situations that don’t always make it into classical works, yet allow for a better understanding of the realities and mentality of the era.

Cato the Elder insisted on bathing children in warm urine

The Roman statesman, Cato the Elder insisted that children should be bathed in warm urine, made by adults who have eaten cabbage before. On the other hand, if the child does not feel like falling…Więcej

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.…Więcej

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…Więcej

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…Więcej

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…Więcej

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.…Więcej

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…Więcej

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…Więcej

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…Więcej

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…Więcej

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