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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.
Roman marble bust of a man. The object is dated to the 3rd century CE. The sculpture was improved in the 4th and 6th centuries. The artifact was discovered in the agora in Thessalonica. The object is in the Archaeological Museum of Thessaloniki (Greece).
Plutarch recognizes Gaius Gracchus as the person who, for the first time in the Roman Republic, ordered small stones to be placed by the road so that the horseman could, without any help, mount his horse.
Roman fresco showing a group of nymphs with a crowned and seated Bacchus, the god of wild nature, vines and wine. The object is dated to the 1st century BCE and was discovered in Pompeii. The artifact is in the National Archaeological Museum in Naples.
The Latin phrase – furor teutonicus (“Teutonic fury”) – was used to describe the aggressive actions of the Germanic peoples. It first appeared in Lucan’s Pharsalia to convey the qualities he attributed to the Teutons: cruelty and battle frenzy. At the end of the 2nd century BCE northern Italy was invaded by the Germanic tribes of the Teutons and Cimbri, whose invasion threatened Rome’s sovereignty.
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.
