Curiosities of ancient Rome (Unknown facts)

The defeat of the Jewish uprising (years 66-73 CE) was influenced by the internal division of the insurgents. Jerusalem was torn apart by an internal civil war between four factions: the Jerusalem zealots led by Eleazar Ben-Simon (2,400), the Galilean zealots under John of Gishala (6,000), the Sicarians led by Simon bar Giora (10,000) and the Idumeans led by Jacob ben Sosa and Simon ben Cathlas (5000 people).

Praised by Christian sources Emperor Constantine the Great in 326 CE ordered his wife – Fausta killed. The cause of her death has been interpreted differently; either as a result of the alleged organization of the coup and an attempt to seize power or as a consequence of the affair between the emperor’s wife and the emperor’s son – Crispus. Faust was strangled in an overheated bathhouse.

The Phoenician colonization of the western Mediterranean, the controversial rivalry with the Greek settlers and the wealth of Phenicia are issues that are well known to people, even if only superficially interested in antiquity. But what was the process like? How has the community changed, creating new Semitic settlements on unknown lands?

Roman Senate did not allow slaves to wear clothes that could distinguish them from ordinary citizens. Different costumes could make the enslaved aware of how numerous they are and lead to open rebellion.

In ancient Rome, slave revolts were so feared that a law was introduced whereby if a slave kills his master, he will be punished with no death penalty. only he, but also all the slaves residing in the house of the deceased owner.

The most original cult of the Romans was the cult of genius. As a guardian deity, he was born along with a man, he guided his good and bad fortune. He was shown as a young man in a toga, with a veil on his face, a cup and a cornucopia.

During the time of the first emperor – Octavian Augustus – Princeps himself was highly appreciated by a medic, a certain Antony Musa. He used, in 23 BCE, a revolutionary method of treatment – different from other doctors – namely cold compresses/baths, which healed a seriously ill emperor.

Titus Livius mentions that approximately 170 women of prominent families were convicted in 331 BCE for poisoning their husbands. Other sources mention even larger numbers.

In ancient Rome, cranes were used for construction works. Roman crane (polyspastos) was manned by four men on either side of the machine. The crane was able to lift up to 3,000 kg.

The appearance in Roman mythology of Cybele is associated with defeats during the Second Punic War. In 205 BCE The Senate called on a college of priests to consult the Books of Sibyl about the results of the ongoing war. The priests have issued a verdict that the only thing that can save Italy in this tragic hour is to bring a new goddess to Rome.