Curiosities of ancient Rome (Unknown facts)

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Unknown Facts are curiosities revealing little-known, surprising, or rarely discussed information from the world of ancient Rome and antiquity. This category includes unusual details, curiosities, and facts that offer a less obvious perspective on the Roman Empire.

Even slave in army

After the tragic defeat of the Romans at Cannae in 216 BCE Rome was so deprived of recruits that there were even enlisted slaves to the army. They were called voluntarii or volones. In a…Więcej

Ancile – shield of Mars

Ancile was the oval shield of the same the god Mars, which Jupiter offered to the king Numa Pompilius, the second in the history ruler of Rome. According to the messages, the capital city was…Więcej

How to catch monkey?

Elian Claudius, a Roman writer and rhetoric teacher who lived in the times of Septimius Severus, noticed that if someone is wearing a shoe, the animal behaves exactly the same. Hunters wanting to catch an…Więcej

Cats in ancient Egypt

Cats in ancient Egypt were sacred. In the middle of the first century BCE Diodorus Siculus witnessed how the Egyptian crowd lynched a member of the Roman embassy who accidentally killed a cat. People did…Więcej

Antinous, Hadrian’s lover

Antinous was a Greek youth from Bithynia (he was born in Claudiopolis – the current city of Bolu, in Turkey), who when was 12 years old was taken in by the court of Hadrian. Emperor…Więcej

Voting in ancient Rome

Ovile was a separate space on the Campus Martius in Rome, where votes were cast. The name literally means “sheep’s farm”. Originally, the place to vote was a wooden structure, which in time was replaced…Więcej

Chamber pots in ancient Rome

Chamber pots in ancient Rome were not designed for both sexes equally. Both men and women had their own versions: the female sex was using scaphium when gentlemen matella. The larger chamber pots on the…Więcej

Roman patrician beds

Roman patrician beds (lecti cubicidares) were located in the bedroom (cubiculum), usually in niches. They were high, so as needed a stool (scamnum) to climb them. The Roman going to sleep usually put his sandals…Więcej

Stuttering was also in antiquity

October 22 is the World Day of Stuttering People. Stuttering is a fluency disorder that occurs among children, adolescents and adults, which has already occurred in ancient Rome. A great example is the emperor Claudius…Więcej

Roman way for hangover

Romans recommended a cold drink from the mixed raw owl’s eggs, the fried intestines of the sheep, spiced with milk thistle extract and charred bread.Więcej

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