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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.
A restored Roman temple with an Ionic-style colonnade can be admired in Garni, east of Yerevan, the capital of Armenia. It is the only building of this type in Armenia and the entire former Soviet Union and the highest of all known Roman temples (1396 m above sea level).
Thanks to the preserved work of Pliny the Elder – “Natural history” – we get to know many interesting observations that people had in ancient times regarding many animals. A great example of “unusual” behaviour is information about elephants.
Under Roman law, the woman who got married was still in her father’s family (but that was not the rule) and not just the spouse. With the divorce, she lost parental rights over children who were only among her father’s family.
The third wife of Emperor Claudius, Valeria Messalina, was a nymphomaniac. According to Roman historians, she once decided to compete with a professional prostitute. The women were to confirm who would be able to hold more lovers in one night. It is said that Messalina, who made love with 150 men, was to win.
Roman golden ring that belonged to a child. The object was found in Aalen (southern Germany). The inscription CRESCAS is engraved on the ring, which translates as “May you grow” – probably the ring was given to the child by his parents.
Fragment of the Roman floor mosaic showing Emperor Hadrian (ruled 117-138 CE). It adorns the Venus bath in Baiae (southern Italy).
A man ruled the Roman house, but he often entrusted his wife with some duties, for example, looking after the treasury or managing slaves. Traditionally, it was considered that the only work a free woman could do was spinning wool.
The Romans accused Christians of many crimes. For example, they believed that early Christians were practising cannibalism. They probably thought so because they heard about Christ’s followers eating his flesh and drinking his blood. But where does the negative attitude of the Romans towards the followers of Christ come from?
Roman miniature (4.7 cm high) head sculpture Emperor Octavian Augustus, made of black glass with a turquoise-green coating. Object dated to the beginning of the 1st century CE.
The Romans invented the calendar, which we most use to this day. The so-called Julian Calendar is a solar calendar developed at the request of Julius Caesar by the Greek astronomer Sosygenes and implemented in 709 AUC (45 BCE) as the calendar of the Roman state.
