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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.
The game kottabos, extremely popular in ancient Greece, consisted in splashing the remains of wine from a vessel into a metal bowl in such a way as not to stain the floor with the remains of the drink. In addition, it was appropriate that the sound of the falling drink be as delicate as possible. It was believed that the effectiveness of this game guaranteed a good love life.
Roman fresco from Herculaneum showing two young women, where one of them holds a wax tablet and a stylus for writing. Object dated to the 1st century CE. The artifact is in the National Archaeological Museum in Naples.
In 282 BCE, Roman Republic was asked to intervene in the case of the Greek city of Thurii1, which was being raided by Lucanians and Brucians. When the Romans entered the bay of Tarentum, they regarded it as breaking the mutual agreement not to enter the bay with Roman ships.
Roman cameo of a goose, a bird dedicated to Goddess Juno. The artifact is in the National Archaeological Museum in Naples.
The Mediterranean Sea in Roman times was the internal sea of the Roman Empire. For this reason, the Romans used to call it mare nostrum, literally “our sea”. This term appears for the first time during the conquest of Sicily, Sardinia and Corsica during the First Punic War.
Sculpture of emperor Antoninus Pius, who reigned in the Roman Empire in the years 138-161 CE. The artifact is in the National Archaeological Museum in Naples.
Alcoholism is not only a social problem of modern times. Already Lucretius, a Roman poet from the 1st century BCE, mentions alcoholism as a plague affecting the then elites among others, famous writers of the 1st century CE Seneca the Younger or Pliny the Elder prove the existence of a real social problem.
Roman fresco showing a woman combing her hair. The object is dated to the 1st century CE and was discovered in Stabiae. The artifact is in the National Archaeological Museum in Naples.
