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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.
Almost everyone knows the Ionian, Doric and Corinthian orders. However, there are numerous examples of columns not adhering to any of these Greek styles in the architecture of ancient Rome. Aside from simple modifications and evolutions of the Hellenic originals, one can also find some very distinct forms that can surprise them with their uniqueness.
Roman mosaic showing a partridge lifting a mirror from a basket. The object is dated to the first half of the 1st century BCE. Artifact found in the Labyrinth House in Pompeii; it is now in the National Archaeological Museum of Naples.
A slave in ancient times is a captive man, considered a subsistence animal because it benefits the owner. The food expenditures allocated to him are returned with the use of the slave’s energy and work.
A rich spectre of ancient Roman architectural achievements is reflected all over the Empire’s former territory. The largest ever-built Roman temple is located in today’s Lebanon, in the Bekaa Valley.
Roman fresco showing a copulating couple. The painting was part of a larger composition in one of the bedrooms (cubiculum). Object dated to the 1st century CE; possibly found in Villa Arianna in Stabiae. The artifact is in the National Archaeological Museum in Naples.
Roman thermal baths were certainly one of the favourite places where a Roman could relax his body. Tepidarium was probably the first place visited by bathers and was a kind of introduction to further hot (caldarium) or cold (frigidarium) baths.
Roman Empire was lucky to have unusual female characters. And although not all of them became empresses, they were often remembered by History. This was the case with caesar Titus, son of Vespasian, a descendant of the Flavian family. Officially, his wives were Arrecina Tertulla and Marcia Furnilla. One of them was the mother of his only daughter, Julia.
After gaining a dominant role in the Roman world, the ecclesiastical hierarchy moved away from propagated poverty. Churches turned into expensive palaces and bishops into wealthy patricians. The contradiction between the teaching of Christ and the practice of life was striking.
