Curiosities of ancient Rome

Appius Claudius Caecus (“the blind” – he received the nickname for having lost his eyesight at the end of his life) was a Roman politician and statesman, living between the 4th and 3rd centuries BCE. He belonged to a wealthy and influential family. He has had many functions in his life; he was: a curule edile, quaestor, military tribune, consul, censor, praetor, dictator and interrex (in the absence of consuls). Due to his achievements for the Republic, he was highly respected in his homeland.

Publius Vedius Pollio was a Roman equestrian and friend of the first emperor, Octavian Augustus. His father was a freedman; Pollio made a huge fortune by managing the province of Asia on behalf of emperor; i.e. he owned a huge villa on the Bay of Naples, where he was breeding predatory moray eels, which he would devour disobedient or making mistakes to slaves. His brutal habits were known throughout Rome and extremely outraged the public.