If you have found a spelling error, please, notify us by selecting that text and pressing Ctrl+Enter.
Unknown Facts are curiosities revealing little-known, surprising, or rarely discussed information from the world of ancient Rome and antiquity. This category includes unusual details, curiosities, and facts that offer a less obvious perspective on the Roman Empire.
Calisthenics, physical activity based on strength training based on exercises using your own body weight (crunches, push-ups, etc.) was already used in ancient times, e.g. by the Greeks and Romans, and one of the earliest records of calisthenics is Herodotus’s account that it was used by the Spartans in training for the upcoming Battle of Thermopylae.
More than 12,000 shipwrecks have been found at the bottom of the Mediterranean Sea, dating from around the 3rd century BCE to 2nd CE; much more than in the next century. This difference is not due to the fact that sailing skills have improved, but rather the well-being of the inhabitants has decreased, and thus sea trade has lost its importance.
Roman legionaries wore under armour (lorica hamata, lorica segmentata, lorica squamata or lorica plumata) so-called subarmalis – quilted vest. The main task of subarmalis was to absorb shocks and prevent rubbing and dirt. Subarmalis covered the chest and reached the hips.
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.
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.
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.
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.
According to Suetonius, during one of the feasts in Nero’s “Golden House”, one of the guests suffocated after the hall was flooded with huge amounts of rose petals.
The ruins of Pompeii with the section (regiones V) visible that has not yet been excavated. There are still undiscovered places in the Pompeii Archaeological Park before archaeologists. These are mainly districts (regiones): V, IV, IX, III and part of I. The main problem, as always, is not enough money.
After the ancient city of Pompeii was destroyed and covered with a huge amount of pyroclastic material from Vesuvius in 79 CE, the reigning emperor Titus Flavius immediately decided to support the surviving inhabitants.
