Curiosities of ancient Rome (Unknown facts)

When, in the first century CE, during the reign of emperor Claudius, the Romans invaded the British Isles. The hordes of Celtic warriors, despite fierce and courageous resistance, finally had to succumb to criminal and well-trained legionaries, and “Pax Romana” quickly became an accomplished fact on the islands. However, not everyone liked the Roman occupation. The most numerous group in the anti-Roman opposition were druids, whom the Romans ruthlessly persecuted. But who were the druids?

The first real Roman circus was Circus Maximus built for chariot racing. In 329 BCE, the finish, stables and coach houses were fixed for the first time. In the middle, statues of deities were placed, e.g. Pollentia (Overpowered Strength), and a system for marking stages in the form of large wooden eggs – septem ova, which moved on a pole – spina – marked the stage of the run.

The construction of Colosseum was financed from loot obtained during suppression Jewish uprising (66-73 CE) led by Emperor Vespasian and his son, Titus. The Colosseum is the second largest building of antiquity after the Giza Pyramid.

The ancient Romans cared for tradition and myths on which attachment to their homeland was based. Naturally, the most important founding legend of Rome was the story of the twins Romulus and Remus.

It happens that nowadays public figures abuse gestures considered obscene. “Infamis digitus”, i.e. the middle finger arranged in a manner reminiscent of male genitals was a gesture most well known in antiquity and already considered offensive and obscene.

The life of a Roman living in a insulae – tenement house – did not differ much from the one we drive today. Also, you had to remember to pay the rent, which caused a lot of stress to some and worried about whether it would land on the pavement.

The intimate life of ancient Romans is well known, among others due to discovered cloisters. Evidence of this is found in the Herculaneum place under a small complex of commercial premises and apartments.

Ancient Greeks and Romans greatly valued the noble laurel (Laurus nobilis), they considered it a noble and powerful plant. The winner of the Olympic or Pythian Games received a laurel wreath of bay leaves (a tree dedicated to Apollo) from the Tempe Valley in Thessaly, with which he then proudly walked around the city. The leaves of this plant were worn by prominent citizens, priests, poets and heroes. Worn on his head, he commanded the person’s genius.

In 2010, researchers discovered 14 military graves in North Yorkshire (Britain), in which next to the bodies of the buried Romans were the remains of sandals, including preserved fibers among rust from nails from sandals. This proves that the ancient Romans could wear socks along with sandals , and thus extravagant fashion appeared much earlier than we think.

To this day, the ancient Romans appear to us as wasteful and absorbed in abundant feasts. As it turns out, the upper social classes did not spare a penny and allowed themselves crazy feasts.