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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.
The Latin phrase – furor teutonicus (“Teutonic fury”) – was used to describe the aggressive actions of the Germanic peoples. It first appeared in Lucan’s Pharsalia to convey the qualities he attributed to the Teutons: cruelty and battle frenzy. At the end of the 2nd century BCE northern Italy was invaded by the Germanic tribes of the Teutons and Cimbri, whose invasion threatened Rome’s sovereignty.
A slave in ancient times is a captive man, considered a subsistence animal because it benefits the owner. The food expenditures allocated to him are returned with the use of the slave’s energy and work.
Roman thermal baths were certainly one of the favourite places where a Roman could relax his body. Tepidarium was probably the first place visited by bathers and was a kind of introduction to further hot (caldarium) or cold (frigidarium) baths.
Distinguishing species of animals similar to each other, for example, all kinds of felids (and biodiversity was then, i.e. in the times of Pliny the Elder much greater than it is now), posed many difficulties.
Constantine the Great, as he was officially the first Christian emperor, is seen today as a good ruler. It should be emphasized, however, that he had many lives on his conscience.
Constantine the Great after assuming imperial power tried in every possible way to emphasize his dominant position. A huge statue of the emperor was set up in Rome, the surviving fragments of which (head and foot) give an idea of the size of the monument. There is also a triumphal arch – one of the three preserved to our times.
The only ancient source of information about masks that were used in ancient times during theatrical performances is Julius Pollux, a Greek scientist from the 3rd century CE, who wrote the work Onomasticon. In his work, he lists a total of 44 different comic masks that could be used during the performance.
Introducing and killing wild animals for entertainment in amphitheatres or for expensive ivory or fur has led to a significant decline in species numbers across the Empire.
