Curiosities of ancient Rome (Unknown facts)

“The Last Roman” is a colloquial term used in historical journalism to describe a character who is considered the last representative of ancient culture and ancient Roman virtues in the face of the end of the age and progressive barbarization. The term comes from the work of Cremutius Cordius, a Roman historian who, being the advocate of the republican system, called “the last Romans” (ultimus Romanorum) of Mark Brutus and Cassius – the killers of Julius Caesar.

Suetonius mentions in his “Lives of Caesars” that the so-called Nero’s Golden House had a special dining room that moved day and night, like a celestial vault. In 2009, a building was found that fits the ancient descriptions, and which dates back to the reign of Nero (54-68 CE).

Marcus Aurelius, Roman emperor in the years 161-180 CE, was one of the most eminent and best educated Roman emperors. Because of his unusual interest in philosophy, he was called a “philosopher on the throne”. Many of his thoughts have survived to our times, which we can find in his “Meditations”. One of the most beautiful is the following.

Gladiators were extremely popular and therefore popular with women. There was even a situation when sweat of Roman gladiators were mixed with dirt and olive oil scraped from the skin with a special tool strigil and then sold in vials as aphrodisiac.

Hibernia is the Latin name of Ireland (also known as Britannia Hibernia), given to it by the Romans. The Roman name was transformed into Hibernia because of its similarity to the word hibernus – “winter”.

Masinissa was the first king of Numidia (present-day eastern Algeria and western Tunisia) in 202-148 BCE and an important ally of the Romans¹ in the second Punic war against Carthage. It was in the battle of Zama in 202 BCE that the Numidian cavalry largely determined the defeat of Hannibal.

Gladiators enjoyed great fame – we know some of them by name thanks to Roman writers. Martialis, a Roman poet, mentions in his poem a man named Hermes, who specialized in wielding all types of weapons and his spectacular fights “brought” crowds to the stands of the amphitheaters.

Julius Agricola, a Roman commander from the 1st century CE, significantly contributed to Roman expansion in Britain and broke the strength of the Caledonian tribes for a generation. After the victorious battle of Mons Graupius Agricola gave the prefect of the fleet an order to sail along the coasts to the north, which made it clear that Britain was an island.

There is a widespread belief that Roman legionaries were short and compensated for their poor physical conditions, e.g. in clashes with Gauls or Germans, with great discipline, organization and equipment. How was it really?

Hunting was staged in the amphitheater arenas, where a tunic warrior stood in front of a wild animal, armed only with a sword or spear. Sometimes he was accompanied by a venator equipped with a bow, whip or spear, which he often fought for money or glory.