If you have found a spelling error, please, notify us by selecting that text and pressing Ctrl+Enter.
Curiosities of ancient Rome
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 kitchen mortar
Roman kitchen mortar and thumb-shaped pestle. The object dates to the 1st – 2nd century CE. The object is located in Musée de la Romanité in Nîmes, France.
Largest Roman circus – Circus Maximus
The first real Roman circus was Circus Maximus built for chariot racing. In 329 BCE, the finish, stables and coach houses were fixed for the first time. In the middle, statues of deities were placed, e.g. Pollentia (Overpowered Strength), and a system for marking stages in the form of large wooden eggs – septem ova, which moved on a pole – spina – marked the stage of the run.
Gladiator placed into corner
Gladiators were not only slaves, prisoners of war or criminals; they could also be free citizens of Rome, eager to gain wealth or the opportunity to win fame as a good warrior. However, there were cases when, paradoxically, the profession of a gladiator, among whom most were slaves, was one of the options not to become a slave.
Coronavirus in comic book “Asterix in Italy”
In recent months, the number one topic has been coronavirus, which has spread from China to other continents at incredible speed. Interestingly, this name was already known in 2017.
Funny Roman sculpture of fat man
A humorous Roman marble sculpture from Herculaneum, depicting the so-called Heracles Bibax. As you can see the man is obese and naked. This character was often the object of jokes, among others in the works of Aristophanes. The object dates to the 1st century CE.
Asclepius – enemy of Christianity
Asclepius (Roman Aesculapius), who was the patron of doctors, was admitted to the pantheon of Roman deities in the 3rd century BCE. However, it was not until the second century CE he became an important god for the Romans, who was not only a healer of the body, but also a savior of souls. A morally correct attitude guaranteed his followers the initiation into a posthumous life. But where does the hatred of Christians to Asclepius come from?
Stable times of Antonine dynasty
The time of the Antonine dynasty (including Trajan, Hadrian, Antoninus Pius and Marcus Aurelius) is a period of splendor of the Roman Empire, which was prosperous, society felt safe, and legions Roman dominated at all borders of the Empire. The Romans and peoples living within the Empire appreciated the times they lived in.
Roman tourniquet
Roman tourniquet. These types of objects have been used since the second century BCE until 5 CE.
