Curiosities of ancient Rome (Unknown facts)
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Subarmalis – Roman “vest” under the armor
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 ... Read more
Kottabos – Greek party fun
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, ... Read more
Reason of war with Tarentum
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 ... Read more
Mare Nostrum (“Our Sea”)
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, ... Read more
Alcoholism among Romans
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 ... Read more
Too many rose petals
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. Nero’s engineers Celer and Severus have created an amazing mechanism operated by ... Read more
Ruins of Pompeii with section not yet excavated
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 ... Read more
Fate of Pompeii after eruption of Vesuvius
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. According to Suetonius1, he allocated large ... Read more
Where was Roman toilet located?
Almost all private Roman houses in Herculaneum and Pompeii had toilets. They were usually in the kitchens or under the stairs (Herculaneum Casa del Gran Portale house). Such solitary confinement rooms often had no doors, which would be unthinkable these ... Read more
“Golden Age” of Roman Empire
The so-called “golden period of the empire” consisted of the rule of the emperors: Nerva, Trajan, Hadrian, Antoninus Pius and Marcus Aurelius (96-180 CE). At that time, the choice of the ruler was made by designating the person considered the ... Read more
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