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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.
Preserved plaster casts of the bodies of Pompeii inhabitants. To this day, we can admire the remains of Pompeii inhabitants buried alive. And this is due to the brilliant method of Giuseppe Fiorelli.
Gaius Petronius called Arbiter, who is credited with the authorship of the anonymously published novel Satyricon, gained a great influence on Emperor Nero, bored with the stoic Seneca. For the emperor, fascinated with Greek culture and who considered himself an artist, and his mannered court, he became an oracle in matters of good taste and artistic values.
Pliny the Elder left a message that the former consul Titus Petronius1 had a cup made of fluorite, an extremely valuable mineral for which he paid 300,000 sestertii. Before committing suicide, he smashed the vessel, not wanting the precious item to end up in the hands of a greedy ruler Nero.
Certainly, the Roman shoemakers (sutor) were very good artisans and their products were widely worn throughout the Mediterranean. Most often, the inhabitants of the Tiber wore the most ordinary sandals (sandalia or soleae). Shoes (calcei – from the word calx meaning “heel”) were also popular, apparently, they looked best with a toga and thus were worn by the upper classes.
Ancient Romans adopted the names of many animals for their military equipment, including: eagles (aquilae) for the legionary mark; the ram (aries) for the ram; “pig’s head” (caput porci) for wedge formation; raven (corvus) for the boarding bridge; cuniculus (“tunnel” derived from the word rabbit – coniglio, thus “rabbit hole”); wolf (lupus) for a defensive tool used to push siege ladders away from walls; or “Marius’s mules” (muli Mariani) to describe Roman legionaries after reform of Gaius Marius.
Demand for prostitutes was on the agenda and relatively high. The earnings of prostitutes were subject to taxation by the state, which also, thanks to appropriate legislation, secured the money invested in the lupanaras of that time.
The first Christians, wanting to gain as many followers as possible and to hide from the persecution of the authorities, tried to find an equivalent for the person of Christ in a pagan culture. It turned out that the most similarities can be found in Bacchus, the god of wild nature, vine and wine, who appeared relatively late in Roman culture. Both gods were portrayed as young and feminine when they were young.
Golden ring of the Roman officer Legio V Macedonica – dated at the turn of the 2nd and 3rd century CE.
Preserved gladiator skull with visible traces of a trident hit. This weapon was used by the retiarus – a lightly armoured warrior who also had a net that he threw at his opponent to restrain him. Most often, his rival was murmillo – a heavily armoured infantryman who had a helmet and a large shield.
Marshal Józef Piłsudski about his historical interests: “The books describing the existence of the classical nations – the Greeks and Romans made the greatest impression on me. Probably because they were filled with details of the struggles for the Homeland and descriptions of heroic deeds. Besides, I was in love with Napoleon and everything that happened. I was concerned about this hero, it touched me with emotion and ignited my imagination”1.
