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Curiosities of ancient Rome (Unknown facts)

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.

Victim or aggressor – Christianity in ancient Rome

In the popular consciousness, there are only two facts in the conversion of the Roman Empire to Christianity: first, the persecution of Christians (especially during the reign of Nero in the 1st century CE and Diocletian in the early 4th century), and then the adoption of Christianity by Constantine the Great, who made the whole the empire had converted to a new faith. The triumph of Christianity seems as sudden as it is obvious and historically just.

Tombstone of a certain Licinia Amias

Spoliarium – place where corpses of gladiators were kept

In front of the entrance to the arena of Roman amphitheatres, there was a special space – the so-called spolarium. In this place, the corpses of fallen gladiators were kept, which were deprived of weapons and armament. The weapons and equipment of the fallen were given to the slave owner or to the local armory (armamentarium).

Spoliarium - Juan Luna

Dictator and magister equitum – a unique case

In Roman Republic there could be only one dictator. But for a short time in the most turbulent period in the history of Rome a single exception took place. Commander of the cavalry appointed by Quintus Fabius Maximus gained power equal to that of the dictator.

Roman fasces

Polybius square

Polybius square is (known also as Polybius checkerboard) a type of monoalphabetic cipher (the hidden letter corresponds to the open letter), which owes its name to the famous ancient historian and writer – Polybius. As Polybius himself tells us in his “Histories”, the author of the cipher are the Greeks – Cleoksenos and Democletus – but it was he who undertook to improve the mechanism.

Polybius square with Greek letters

Pugilatio – bloody sport of antiquity

Probably everyone who was in Rome and visited the Palazzo Massimo Alle Terme museum drew attention to the famous “Qurinal boxer” – a bronze sculpture found near the ruins of the Baths of Constantine. A naked, muscular man in a sitting position looks to the side, slightly up. The more attentive would have noticed deep, bloody wounds on his body.

Ancient sculpture of a boxer from Palazzo Massimo Alle Terme

Shops of ancient Romans

What is a store and what is done in it probably everyone knows. It may come as a surprise to some that shops already existed in ancient Rome.

Trajan's halls in Rome

Galen and mental problems

Galen was a Roman physician of Greek descent who lived in the 2nd century CE. He was considered in his time to be a great expert in human anatomy and a physician. Interestingly, he also dealt with mental health disorders.

Galen

CE and BCE: where did “eras” come from?

Have you ever wondered when marking dates according to the time that has passed since the death of Jesus appeared? As it turns out, the matter is not as obvious as it might seem. It turns out that for a long time, several systems competed with each other and at first it was not at all certain that it was the date of Christ’s birth that would become the determinant for marking dates.

Roman agricultural calendar from the 1st century CE

Emperor Augustus’ workshop

I am always fascinated by the possibility of “touching” the elements of reality that 2000 years ago accompanied the heroes of my novels. The Roman historian Suetonius writes about Octavian Augustus: “If ever he planned to do anything in private or without interruption, he had a retired place at the top of the house, which he called “Syracuse”​ and “technyphion”1.

Emperor Augustus' workshop

Unusual legend about creation of Tiber Island

Tiber Island is one of the most picturesque places in Rome. No cars, greenery and the sound of water – this is a place with a small-town charm, where even at the peak of the tourist season you can take a break from the hustle and bustle of the city.

Tiber Island

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