Curiosities of ancient Rome (Unknown facts)
This page is also available in: Polish (polski)
Fashion and jewelry in Rome developed strongly
In ancient Rome, fashion developed more than in Greece. The same was true of jewellery. Precious stones were very popular with the ladies; the most popular were emeralds. A big surprise for modern women may be the fact that diamonds ... Read more
Vibia Perpetua – Christian martyr
Vibia Perpetua lived at the turn of the 2nd and 3rd centuries CE. She came from a wealthy Roman home, and her parents professed various faiths: her father was a pagan, and her mother was a Christian. Vibia went down ... Read more
Todigubnus – example of local elite ready to cooperate with Romans
Before, during and after the conquest/subjugation of new territories, the Roman state always tried to find local elites who were ready to cooperate with the Romans. Such elites played a kind of link between the central government in Rome and ... Read more
Widespread migrations within Roman Empire
Roman Empire was a country extremely open to internal migration; additionally, it relocated troops (especially auxiliary troops) to areas far from their homeland. This is evidenced by the preserved, inter alia, tombstones of soldiers and people associated with the military ... Read more
Silk was popular in Rome
During the reign of Octavian Augustus (27 BCE – 14 CE), silk was an extremely popular material. Gaius Petronius refers to him as ventus textilis (“woven wind”). However, this product was extremely expensive and it was difficult to get it ... Read more
Incest, adultery or fornication
Under Roman law, sexual intercourse qualified as incest, adultery or fornication (stuprum). This word is often used by Roman writers also in the context of the violation of Roman rights of freedom in relation to free-born women of both sexes. ... Read more
Assessment of Roman republican system by Polybius
Polybius went down in history as a Greek historian who, after his stay in Roman captivity, came under the protection of the consul Lucius Emilius Paulus, and then took part in more important military operations of the Romans in the ... Read more
Silphium juice
Silphium, that is, the sylphion was a plant that enjoyed extraordinary popularity in ancient times. Its juice was one of the main exports of the ancient Greek colony of Kyrene (today Libya), and it was known and used throughout the ... Read more
Helmets of Roman gladiators
Most publications on the Polish market are full of errors in this matter. Konstantin Nosow is the most perfect in the described subject (Osprey’s publication “Gladiators. Bloody spectacle in the history of Rome”, Polish version by Bellona). The illustration shows ... Read more
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