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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.
In ancient Rome, gladiatorial struggles appeared for the first time probably in the year 264 BCE. At the time, at the funeral of senator Decimius Junius Brutus Pera, which took place at the Forum Boarium, six warriors (three clashes) fought to commemorate the deceased.
Dies natalis (“birth day”) was in the Roman world the day of birth or the anniversary of the construction or event. Ancient Romans celebrated their birthday every year, in contrast to the Greeks who celebrated their birth on the same day each month of the so-called libation – drinking the most often mixed with water wine.
Marcus Tullius Cicero became famous for many won cases, speeches and sayings. He probably had no idea that it was due to his very original, as for the Roman, approach to the natural resources of his province, which today could be regarded as a precursor to the protection of biodiversity. Well, Cicero was not in high esteem of gladiators and often spoke critically about the involvement of animals in the games. He was outraged, among others, by the massacre of elephants during the Games organized by the Pompey the Great.
Ancient Romans sometimes had problems with determining the first seen creature that was brought from the next conquest. This is evidenced by detailed descriptions, which obviously pose a lot of difficulties to the authors. An example can be an extremely vivid description of an animal imported for the first time by Caesar for the needs of its four-day triumph in September 46 BCE.
In 9 CE, after the Roman forces were destroyed in the Teutoburg Forest, Arminius managed to destroy all the Roman clusters on the eastern side of the Rhine. The only fort that managed to resist the Germans was fort Aliso, whose crew was commanded by prefect Lucius Ceditius, to whom managed come the survivers from the slaughter before the Germans.
Scientists believe that the inscription on Roman fibula is the earliest use of Latin. The object is dated to the 7th century BCE.
