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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.
The ancients were keenly interested in the past. The stories of the mythical Trojan War and the return of the heroes from Troy to their homes throughout the epoch were a source of entertainment for both aristocrats and ordinary bread eaters, and inspiration for sculptors and poets.
They say you need three things to fight a war: money, money, and more money. Regardless of whether or not we accept this sentence as true, money undoubtedly helps in war. Of course, it was no different in ancient times. In ancient Rome, troops were paid primarily with silver denarii, sometimes, in exceptional circumstances, and also with gold coins, i.e. aureus.
The geographical knowledge of the ancient Greeks was truly impressive. Already in antiquity, prominent Greek minds held the theory of the spherical Earth as true. Moreover, numerous expeditions of discovery and information were collected, which led to the development of geography as a science.
Animation showing the mummification process on the example of the Fayum mummy from the 1st century CE. The Egyptians used mummification to preserve the body after death.
Map showing a total of 11,655 settlements that were founded or managed by the ancient Romans. The map was made by Harvard University as part of the DARMC PROJECT project. The settlements are grouped into three categories: a certain city location (square); probable location (circle); or possible location (semicircle).
Initium aestatis in Latin literally means “the beginning of summer” and it was not a holiday for the Romans – confirmation is the lack of such information in both Fasti Antiates Maiores, the official Roman calendar of public holidays, and in Ovid’s “Fasti”.
In the Roman period, Lower Silesia was one of the most dynamically operating metallurgical centres in the Barbaricum. One of the largest metallurgical settlements from this period was discovered in Tarchalice (administrative district of Wołów).
During the time of Emperor Constantine I (born on February 27, c. 280 in Nis – present-day Serbia, died May 22, 337; Emperor from 306; during his reign, the Roman Empire was in its heyday), Athanasius the Great (born in 295 in Alexandria, of Greek origin, Patriarch of Alexandria, the most prominent saint of the Catholic Church) was accused of performing magic rituals with the use of a severed hand. That hand was to belong to the Bishop of the Meleznai sect of Thebaida – Arsenius. It was even claimed that the man was murdered in order to get the “handle”.
A synod in Tire (335) was called, with the most eminent bishops of the Empire. They were even introduced to corpus delicti (the subject of the crime), in a wooden box there was an alleged hand of Arsenius. The accusers (Egyptian clergy) were already rubbing their hands. There is evidence, and there should be punishment. Knowing what he was accused of, Athanasius ordered him to bring him, none other than Arsenius himself. Alive, too. Ba, having both hands. In the end, he replied, “Let no one seek for a third hand, for man has received two hands from the Creator and no more“.
Although medieval and ancient alchemy shares many common elements, it is difficult to find a clear continuity between the Greco-Roman and medieval traditions. One of the main differences is that the first one was based mainly on philosophical subjects and hermeticism, while the second one valued higher the experimental contact with the surrounding matter. However, was this really the case? What do we owe to the Greco-Roman alchemists? What does alchemy have to do with the monetary unification of Emperor Diocletian? The answer is in the article below.
