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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.
Attitude of Roman elite to bars, cafes and eateries
The Roman elite despised and worried about what the rest of the population did in their free time. Although the Romans coming from the upper classes had a negative attitude to shows and performances, where large numbers of people gathered, the bars, cheap cafes and eateries were worse anyway.
Romans next to Elbe
A very interesting story about the presence of the Romans on the Elbe was left to us by Velleius Paterculus, a Roman historian who lived during the reigns of Octavian Augustus and Tiberius. In 5 CE the Roman army led by the future emperor – Tiberius stood on the Elbe. What Paterculus tells us?
What did gladiators eat?
Subsequent fights and constant effort required the gladiator’s body to receive the right amount of food with the right nutritional values. We know about what ancient gladiators ate thanks to discoveries from Turkey and ancient records.
Plan of Roman house
The plan shows a typical Roman house (domus) in ancient Rome. Obviously, the number of rooms and the structure changed, depending on the times and wealth of the host; nevertheless, the layout and location of the rooms in the house were basically similar.
What did word “brutus” mean?
The word “brutus” literally means “dumb”. It came from Lucius Junius Brutus – known as the freedman of Rome, the first consul who expelled Tarquinius Superbus (the last Roman king). He was pretended to be a fool to survive at Tarquini’s court.
Ludus duodecim scriptorum – Roman game
The Roman game ludus duodecim scriptorum (also called XII scripta) was a board game with 3 rows, each with 12 markings. To this day, no one knows how the game was played.
Pronunciation of “Veni, vidi vici!”
Julius Caesar said “Veni, vidi vici!”. However, the pronunciation of Latin in ancient Rome has little to do with medieval, later and modern pronunciation.
Thermopolium – antique street bar
Thermopolium was an antique street bar that literally means “the place where you sell (something) warm”. This type of place was popular in Greek or Roman cities among the poor who could not afford their own kitchen. Today we could describe such a place as “fast-food”.
