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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.
Saint Augustine (354-430 CE) says the story of a Alypius, a young Christian who was pushed to saw – by his companions – gladiatorial fight. He believed that this type of entertainment is barbaric and contrary to the teachings of Christ.
When the Roman emperor Caligula asked one of the exiles, what he was doing in exile, he replied that all this time he had prayed for death of Tiberius and ascending the throne of Caligula. The Emperor, after a moment of reflection, decided to send his agents over the islands to murder all those whom he sentenced to exile during his reign.
Suetonius indicates that the emperor Caligula was heavily mentally unbalanced. Apparently, the ruler was very worried about the fact that under his rule there was no great tragedy that would have gone down in history.
During the battle of Lake Trasimeno, a strong earthquake took place. As mentioned by Livy, the Romans and Carthaginians who were fighting at that time were so absorbed in the fight, that they did not even feel the trembling of the earth.
