If you have found a spelling error, please, notify us by selecting that text and pressing Ctrl+Enter.
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.
Roman mosaic showing Oceanus or Neptune “creating” the sea world; lobsters come out of his head and dolphins come out of his mouth. The object is dated to the 4th century CE and was found in a Roman villa in Withington, Gloucestershire, central England.
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.
In ancient Rome, contrary to popular belief, human sacrifices were made. We are talking here, especially about the period of the wars with Carthage in the 3rd and 2nd centuries BCE, when numerous failures were explained by the disapproval of the gods.
In 217 BCE, after a series of legion defeats in the Second Punic War, Fabius Maximus was entrusted with the Roman dictator. He decided to avoid an open clash with Hannibal’s army, waging a war of exhaustion with the Carthaginians.
Unique Roman wine cup made of glass and gold. The object was found in Cologne, Germany in 1864. Artifact dated to the 2nd-4th century CE; it is currently in the Corning Museum of Glass in the USA.
Roman sculpture showing a young boy. The object is dated to the end of the 2nd century CE. He is probably a young Caracalla, son of Septimius Severus and future emperor in the years 211-217 CE. The object is located in the Hermitage in Saint Petersburg (Russia).
Very interesting Roman vessel in the shape of a human face. The object was found in the area of the former Roman settlement of Nida (the present district of Frankfurt am Main – Heddernheim, in western Germany). Artifact dated to the 2nd century CE.
Jugurtha, grandson of Masynissa (an ally of Rome from the Second Punic War ) was king of Numidia from 118 BCE His ambition allowed him to defeat two rivals for the throne of the state, divided by Micipsa. Seeking the unification of the state, however, Jugurtha fell into a conflict with Rome, which led to the so-called Jugurthian War, which was fought in 111-105 BCE.
