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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.
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.
The preserved remains of Roman mosaics throughout the former Roman Empire are proof that wealthy Romans loved to decorate their homes. The works of art depicted various images: heroes, gods, women, animals, etc.
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.
Under Roman law, the father was not only the head of the family but exercised absolute authority over it. The fact that his wife gave birth to a child did not yet mean that he would become a family member. This happened only after the completion of the so-called ritual of elevation. It consisted in placing the newborn at the feet of the master of the house and awaiting his decision. If the pater familias, as the omnipotent father was called, took the child in his arms and walked around the house with him, he officially recognized him as his offspring.
On January 10, 49 BCE Gaius Julius Caesar crossed the Rubicon River in northern Italy and thus started a civil war against Pompey and the Senate. In the days of the Roman Republic, the Rubicon was a border river between Pre-Alpine Gaul and Italy, and due to the growing political power of Julius Caesar, the Senate drew a border on the river, which he could not cross due to your legions. It was supposed to be a safeguard against a possible coup d’état.
In ancient Rome, it was an unwritten rule that in the event of marriage the bride should bring a dowry (dos). The additional capital contributed to the husband was to facilitate the maintenance of the family (onera matrimonii) and the protection of the wife or children in the event of a breakdown of the relationship (divortium). Obviously, the larger the dowry the father of the bride could propose, the greater the chance that the husband would accept the woman’s hand.
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.
In the light of social norms or Roman law, from the earliest years of its existence, the Roman state limited access to military service. Only Roman citizens (cives Romani) had the right or duty to serve in the legions, and foreigners (peregrini), slaves (servi) or criminals were not.
Gemma was a semi-precious or noble stone with the shape of a round or oval plate decorated with relief. Gemmas were popular as ornaments or seals in the Roman Empire. In Rome, probably the first to wear a gemma was Scipio Africanus.
