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The world of ancient Romans abounded in a number of amazing curiosities and information. The source of knowledge about the life of the Romans are mainly works left to us by ancient writers or discoveries. The Romans left behind a lot of strange information and facts that are sometimes hard to believe.
Suetonius tells us that the famous Roman commander Julius Caesar was known for his moderation in drinking wine. Hence the famous words of Marcus Cato the Younger: “Caesar was the only man who undertook to overthrow the state when sober”.
One day at Octavian Augustus a citizen of Furnius appeared, who wanted to ask the emperor’s forgiveness for his father, who during the civil war was a supporter of Mark Antony. Octavian agreed and spared the man.
Emperor Hadrian (76-138 CE) often competed with teachers and philosophers in prose or poetry.
It is said that one day the emperor Octavian Augustus ordered a spoiled young man – a man named Herenius – to leave the Roman camp.
According to the Historia Augusta, during the reign of Gallienus (253-268 CE), a Roman merchant who traded in fake jewellery was captured and led to the arena, where he had faced a bloodthirsty lion. As the gate opened, a chicken entered the arena.
Two ministers of Emperor Claudius (ruled 41-54 CE), his freedmen Pallas and Narcissus, made huge fortunes from their offices. Claudius was known for his trust in his freedmen, who often decided the country’s politics and palace intrigues.
Marcus Licinius Crassus (114-53 BCE) was killed shortly after the battle of Carrhae (53 BCE) by the Parthians who, according to Roman tradition, poured liquid gold into his throat. Mocking the rich man, he was asked how he liked it. Crassus’s head was then beheaded and sent to the Great Parthian King – Orodes II – to Seleucia on the Tigris.
Galba (3 BCE – 69 CE) became famous as one of the “four emperors of 69 CE” who assumed power in Rome after his death Nero. For the first half of Nero’s reign, he retired until 61 CE. Later, the ruler of Rome commissioned him to lead the province of Hispania Tarraconensis, where he “governed the provinces in a variable and capricious manner,” as Suetonius told us. However, what is worth emphasizing, he was extremely strict in his rule.
In the work Factorum et dictorum memorabilium libri novem by Valerius Maximus, we can see the characters and behaviours that the author distinguished in the context of decency and dignified life.
