If you have found a spelling error, please, notify us by selecting that text and pressing Ctrl+Enter.
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.
Plutarch mentions a story about a senator whose wife questioned him about what the Senate was debating on. To silence his curious wife, the senator replied that the congregation was considering whether the appearance of a lark in the sky with a golden helmet and a spear was a good or bad omen. By the way, he asked his wife to keep a secret when he left the house.
Cassius Dio mentions that Domitian (ruled 81-96 CE) did not shy away from spilling blood among his family as well. On his order, Flavius Clemens was related to him, grandson of Titus Flavius Sabinus (brother of Vespasian, and uncle of Domitian) and the husband of his niece, Flavia Domitilla.
Emperor Claudius was once a judge of a man accused of an unlawful preaching Roman citizen. According to Suetonius, the ruler was to make brilliant decisions.
Breech birth (a child is born with legs and buttocks facing the birth canal) has been considered dangerous since ancient times. Pliny the Elder defines those born in this way as agrippae, meaning “born with difficulty”.
