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The world of the ancient Romans was rich in extraordinary, and sometimes even surprising, facts. We draw our knowledge of Roman daily life, customs, and mentality primarily from works left by ancient writers and historians. It is thanks to them that we discover information that is astonishing today – sometimes even hard to believe. Below are some interesting facts that reveal a lesser-known and less obvious side of the Roman world.
I encourage you to submit your own suggestions and to report any corrections or inaccuracies.
Roman mosaic depicting a sea scene from a female dressing room (apodyterium) in the thermal baths at Herculaneum. The scene shows the sea god Triton, holding the wheel and a fish, surrounded by dolphins, an octopus and possibly Cupid.
Roman tombstone of Flavia Augustina and her two sons, commissioned by her husband and father, Gaius Aeresius Saenus – a veteran of the legion VI Victrix. The woman died at the age of 39, and the children were barely two. The relief shows us two parents holding scrolls and in front of them their sons with balls.
The defeat of the Jewish uprising (years 66-73 CE) was influenced by the internal division of the insurgents. Jerusalem was torn apart by an internal civil war between four factions: the Jerusalem zealots led by Eleazar Ben-Simon (2,400), the Galilean zealots under John of Gishala (6,000), the Sicarians led by Simon bar Giora (10,000) and the Idumeans led by Jacob ben Sosa and Simon ben Cathlas (5000 people).
Roman coins found in one place in Llanvaches (Wales). The treasury consisted of 599 silver denarii, which were hidden in the middle of the 2nd century CE.
Praised by Christian sources Emperor Constantine the Great in 326 CE ordered his wife – Fausta killed. The cause of her death has been interpreted differently; either as a result of the alleged organization of the coup and an attempt to seize power or as a consequence of the affair between the emperor’s wife and the emperor’s son – Crispus. Faust was strangled in an overheated bathhouse.
The Phoenician colonization of the western Mediterranean, the controversial rivalry with the Greek settlers and the wealth of Phenicia are issues that are well known to people, even if only superficially interested in antiquity. But what was the process like? How has the community changed, creating new Semitic settlements on unknown lands?
Roman mosaic showing a young Bacchus (Dionysus) savoring wine while riding a tiger. Object found in Faun’s house in Pompeii; now it is in the National Archaeological Museum of Naples. The strange appearance of the animal may be due to the fact that the artist saw the animal only once or it is only his image.
Roman relief in a precious stone showing Faustina the Younger and Marcus Aurelius. It is located in the National Archaeological Museum of Florence. Dated to the 2nd century CE.
