Curiosities of ancient Rome (Other)

Rabies is a zoonosis, or zoonotic disease, transmitted from animals to humans. It is caused by viruses of the Lyssavirus genus. After entering the body through a wound, they travel along nerve fibers to the brain, causing significant neurological changes. Affected individuals (both humans and animals) appear to have lost control of their bodies and minds (symptoms include difficulty moving, seizures, salivation, hypersensitivity to stimuli, increased aggression, and hydrophobia).

A study published in the journal Heritage Science shows how expensive one of the most characteristic pigments used in the decoration of Pompeian houses – the famous Egyptian blue (called caeruleum) – was.

In Rome, “eating out” was not a luxury but a daily necessity in a big city. Street bars selling ready-made food, described by archaeologists as thermopolia, operated from stone counters with large jars (dolia) set into holes in the surface. Food and drink were served to be eaten on the spot or taken away. The popularity of such places grew out of life in the insulae; in crowded rental blocks, having a private kitchen was often not an option, so a quick meal bought on the street was simply how many people got by. The best evidence comes from Pompeii, where not only the counters and vessels survived, but also frescoes, graffiti, and food remains that let us glimpse a menu from almost two thousand years ago.

Lampreys (Petromyzontiformes) are jawless, predatory aquatic animals that can grow to over a meter in length. They are mostly parasites – they bite into the victim’s body using sharp teeth set in their round mouths.

Curule chair (sella curulis) is a folding stool with crossed straight or curved legs, originally backless. It was known to many ancient cultures of the Mediterranean basin, including the Greeks and Egyptians (it reached China via the Silk Road). The ancient Romans most likely adopted it from the Etruscans.

The common yew (Taxus baccata) is an evergreen conifer native to Europe, Asia, and North Africa. Today, it is a popular ornamental plant, but in ancient times its meaning was quite different.

In the town of Magnice (commune of Kobierzyce) in the suburbs of Wroclaw, a new street has been named after a Roman emperor Marcus Aurelius.

When we think of the animals that have most influenced the fate of humanity, we likely first place horses – after all, it was on their backs that armies, rulers, and ultimately, multitudes of ordinary people traveled. Perhaps we would think of the dog – the first domesticated animal in history. But in these reflections, we often forget another, inconspicuous creature whose role was no less significant, or perhaps even more significant, than those mentioned above. Since its domestication in North Africa around 6000 BCE, the donkey has become the most important beast of burden in ancient history.

On the walls of ancient Pompeii, Herculaneum, and other Roman cities, archaeologists have discovered thousands of inscriptions that offer a glimpse into the daily lives of the empire’s inhabitants. These are the so-called graffiti – short notes, political slogans, love confessions, and even insults. Unlike monumental inscriptions dedicated to emperors, these drawings and writings let us hear the authentic, often humorous voice of ordinary Romans.

In one of Rome’s most powerful periods, when its borders stretched from Britain to Syria, when Julius Caesar spoke in the Forum, and when legions marched along roads leading to the Euphrates, there was a disease that no conqueror could defeat. There was no effective knowledge or miracle cure at the time, only experience and instinct, yet every Roman knew its name, although it was not pronounced as we do today.