Curiosities of ancient Rome (Unknown facts)

Arena and the audience of the Colosseum were covered up with a giant sail (velarium), which was supposed to protect viewers from the sun and rain. It was attached to large columns on the Coliseum Mountain and anchored to the ground with large ropes.

Gladiators received cash prizes for their win. In the event of a decisive and effective victory, the warrior additionally received a laurel wreath. The greatest reward was the release from fighting in the arena, which was shown by handing over a wooden sword. In contrast, convicts and criminals, forced by the authorities to fight, were given freedom if they survived more than three years of fighting.

Pliny the Elder said that scorpions are a terrible plague. They are almost as venomous as vipers, but their venom causes much more torture to the victim who dies in painful agony lasting up to three days. In turn, the Roman writer Claudius Aelianus clearly emphasized that scorpions are hated, and that they hide in the desert under every stone and clod of sand.

In the 1st century BCE Roman poet Gaius Valerius Catullus (c. 84 – c. 54 BCE) wrote a poem that was addressed to two critics of his work: another poet Marcus Furius Bibaculus and senator Marcus Aurelius Cotta Maximus Messalinus. The text was so vulgar and obscene that it was not translated from Latin until the 20th century.

Romans were not racists at all and not rated by skin colour. Seneca the Younger claimed that people with black complexion were not a surprise in Rome.

In 215 BCE Roman Republic was experiencing a powerful political and economic crisis. The defeats suffered by Hannibal in the Second Punic War cost Rome a great deal of lives and money. Therefore, the Senate began to look for different ways to save the state.

On August 9, 378 CE near Adrianopol (once Thrace, now the province of Edirne in Turkey) there was a great battle, the result of which Saint Ambrose summed up with the words: “the end of all humanity, the end of the world”. The goths who were admitted to the Roman lands defeated Valens army and directed the fate of the Roman Empire to decline.

The words of Julius Caesar “Veni, vidi, vici” felt after a quick victory over king of Pontus. In 47 BCE Pharnaces II of Pontus challenged Rome. The matter was resolved by Caesar during the quick campaign ended with the victorious battle of Zela (47 BCE).

O tempora, o mores!, meaning “Oh the times! Oh the customs!” – these were the words Cicero uttered against Catilina.

The kiss plays an important role in many cultures to this day. It was no different in ancient times. Ancient Romans used it as a sign of friendship, respect or even greetings (salutatio) of the client’s patron.