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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.
Caesar’s death in 44 BCE was a huge shock for Roman society. As if sensing his fate, the dictator decided to write down his will earlier, probably trying to prevent fights for supporters, property, power and heritage. The act of his last will was deposited in the temple of Vesta and it was publicly read by the last father-in-law of Caesar – Lucius Calpurnius.
Roman saddle from Aegyptus frontier. It comes from the Qustul site in southern Egypt and is dated to the last quarter of the IV century CE. Located in the Oriental Institute Museum in Chicago, USA.
Publius Aelius Hadrianus was born in Rome in 76 CE. He owed his later position to his uncle (Trajan), who adopted him after his father’s death. In this way, he gave him the opportunity to gain experience and the ability to exercise power. Thanks to this he became the emperor in 117 CE. The ruling of Hadrian is usually associated with cultural flourishing and maintaining peace in the state.
Ancient Romans were famous for drinking wine in large quantities. The wine was available to everyone: a slave, a plebeian, a soldier, a woman. The wine also saw children (there was no age limit). The wine to the younger Romans was, however, served with water in the right proportion so that they would not get drunk. Was there anything else besides the red liquid?
The basic ingredient of an ancient Roman dinner was the bread of various types of flour: black bread (panis rusticus, plebeius), white bread (panis secundaris) and the most delicate luxury bread (panis candidus, uniform). There were also popular vegetables: lettuce, cabbage, leeks, chickpeas, broad beans (boiled, roasted), goat’s cheese and olives. Beef and various kinds of venison were valued (including deer meat and wild donkey), however fish dishes were the most favoured.
The oldest known Roman wine is dating back to the 4th century CE. The 1.5-liter bottle was found in the tomb of the Roman nobleman in present-day Germany.
What kind of pleasures Romans had thanks to the wine – prof. André Tchernia, a French historian, archaeologist and researcher of ancient wines, tied to find it out. He produced a liquor according to a recipe from the Roman Empire.
The popular opinion is that young Gaius Octavian, the future Roman Emperor, was cowardly and weak. However, we know the message about how Octavian enters the area of a military camp to talk to rebel soldiers. In the camp, he could see the body of a murdered emissary who was also looking for a dialogue. Nevertheless, Oktavian did not give up the daring decision.
