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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.
Information about a luxurious Roman dish – the so-called The “Trojan pig” comes from the 5th century and we owe it to the scientist Macrobius. Macrobius himself describes the meaning of the dish as follows: “made pregnant with other animals and enclosed within as the Trojan horse was made pregnant with armed men”.
Tablet (No. 311) discovered at the Roman camp of Vindolanda, in northern England. In the letter, Sollemnis addresses a certain Paris (a soldier of the third Batavian cohort), to whom he points out that he did not send him even a single message. The object is now in The British Museum and dates back to the 1st century CE.
The Tarpeian Rock (saxum Tarpeium, mons Tarpeius, arx Tarpeia), is the slope of the Capitoline Hill named after the Vestal of Virgin – Tarpea, who betrayed Rome for promises of gold bracelets/epaulettes worn by the Sabines. After conquering the city, the Sabines threw her shields over her, causing her death, and buried her on the hill. In memory of this gruesome act, the hillside is called the Tarpeian Rock.
A preserved Roman road that used to lead from Londinium (London) north to Lindum Colonia (Lincoln) and Eboracum (York).
The so-called Ludovisi’s great sarcophagus was discovered in 1621 in a tomb on Via Tiburtina and found its way into the collections of the famous collector of ancient art – Cardinal Ludovico Ludovisi, nephew of Pope Gregory XV.
The office of the tribune of the plebs in ancient Rome was formed at the beginning of the republic, probably at the beginning of the 5th century BCE. In 494 BCE in the face of the rebellion of the plebeians, the aristocracy made some concessions. The compromise of 494 BCE resulted in the establishment of the office of the people’s tribune.
Women are often called “weak sex”. Nothing could be more wrong. More than once, this “weak sex” had more “guts” than many men. Ideally, this can be illustrated by the example of Arria – the wife of the Roman senator Caecina Paetus.
The map showing the greatest territorial extent of the Roman Empire is well known, as is the history of the Roman legion in China. But how far south did the Romans travel on their African expeditions?
Roman wall fresco depicting Amores playing hide and seek. Object dated to the middle of the 1st century CE. The painting was discovered at Herculaneum at Casa dei Cervi; now it is in the National Archaeological Museum of Naples.
The Roman Emperor Julian the Apostate, despite his brief reign (361-363 CE), contributed more to internal reform than any late- roman emperor. One of his decisions was to curb the bureaucracy and to reform the palace service, which was excessively large. Apparently, the reason for the reorganization of the palace structures was some funny event. Once Julian, who was growing his beard at that time, called for a barber. A wonderfully clothed dignitary surrounded by a swarm of helpers entered the room.
