Curiosities of ancient Rome (Unknown facts)
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Teutonic fury
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 ... Read more
Slave like animal
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. He and his labour were ... Read more
Baths – place of meetings of Romans
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. ... Read more
First plebeian emperor
Pertinax was the first emperor (January 1, 193 – March 28, 193 CE) of plebeian origin. He was the son of a freedman trading in timber. He made a career in the army, where he was a military commander. As ... Read more
Differentiation of species in antiquity
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. The term panther and pardus ... Read more
Partridges in world of Romans
Ancient Romans valued partridge meat very much. The partridge was an expensive bird, however. Martial mentions it in his “Epigrams”, which says that only the rich could afford them. Interestingly, however, preserved eggshells were found in Pompeii, which was subjected ... Read more
Constantine – good as Christian?
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. In Constantine’s biography, you can find the murders of ... Read more
Constantine’s domination
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 ... Read more
Theatrical masks in antiquity
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 ... Read more
Wild animals from all over Empire
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. As early as 50 BCE, Cicero, as governor of Cilicia (southeastern Turkey), wrote ... Read more
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