For centuries, Ancient Rome ruled the world. The incredibly powerful Roman Empire united the world in a way that no other state before or after it did. However, we mainly know the facts from the lives of the upper class and rulers, while the interesting nuances of the daily life of other Romans remain little known. Various studies can give us an idea of the life of the different classes and people who lived at that time.
Parasites were a common problem
Compared to other civilizations, the sanitary system of Rome was advanced, but this did not save the inhabitants from infections.
Rome boasted an impressive sanitation system compared to other civilizations, but her responsibility was more than just ridding people of bad odors. After examining 2,000-year-old faeces found in several historical sites, scientists found that the problems with parasites in the Roman period were even worse than in earlier times, which are considered not as hygienic as the Bronze or Iron Ages.
While most Romans had access to clean food and drink, the water in their bathroom provided a breeding ground for parasitic infestations. The water was always warm and rarely renewed - which made it an ideal breeding ground for parasites of all kinds. This, along with the use of human feces as fertilizer, has led to massive outbreaks of disease.
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Most Romans ate like animals
Only the upper class had access to high-quality and varied food.
Ancient Rome is known for its incredible gluttony, but celebrations with exotic delicacies were available only to the upper class. The rest of the population of Rome sat on a forced diet, consuming mainly cereals such as millet: its grains were the cheapest and were perceived as food for livestock - which means that most of the inhabitants literally ate like animals.
Despite living near the sea, the lower classes in Rome rarely ate fish and had only cereals at their disposal. This diet led to a variety of health problems, including anemia and oral diseases. Most of the city dwellers ate well, but the further from the center people lived, the poorer their food was.
Air pollution in ancient Rome
The level of air pollution in the Roman Empire was almost the same as in the modern world.
As a result of tests of glaciers in Greenland, climatologists have established that the level of methane in the atmosphere began to increase in ancient times. Methane was at its natural level until 100 BC, after which it rose and remained at a high level until 1600. This peak in methane emissions corresponds in time to the heyday of the Roman Empire.
During this period, record methane emissions were recorded - about 31 million tons per year, which is only 5 million less than the current level of emissions in the United States. In order to feed the entire empire, a huge amount of livestock was required - cattle, as well as sheep and goats. This, as well as the growing population of the Roman Empire in the West and the Chinese Empire in the East, contributed to air pollution.
Roman wrestling
Bribery was widespread among ancient Roman athletes.
Wrestling as entertainment is common in many countries, and this tradition came to us from ancient Roman competitions. A papyrus dating from 267 AD, found in the Egyptian city of Oxyrinh, represents the first documented fact of bribery in sports: a wrestler was willing to pay about 3,800 drachmas to win a duel - enough to buy a donkey. This amount is relatively small, but the competition on the Nile was spectacular, so there is no doubt that other wrestlers had the opportunity to sign a similar agreement.
Bribery was widespread among Roman athletes, but the punishment was severe. It is said that the statue of Zeus at Olympia was built at the expense of fines from bribe-takers. The Greek philosopher Philostratus once spoke of the state of athletics, stating that coaches "have nothing to do with the reputations of athletes, but have become their advisers in buying and selling in order to make a profit."
Bestiary show at the Colosseum
The battles of gladiators over time became more and more brutal and sophisticated.
Roman gladiatorial battles date back to 247 BC, when two brothers decided to celebrate the inheritance from their father by fighting between slaves. Over the years, the game has improved and became more perverse and violent to satisfy the desires of the fastidious Romans.
Gladiator fights began with the famous Caligula and gained fame thanks to the bestiary Karpophorus - they were designed to demonstrate the cruelty of man and the world. The bestiaries were supposed to train animals for the show - for example, train eagles to eat the insides of a defeated gladiator. Karpophorus was the most famous bestiary of his time. He not only trained his monsters to kill the poor fellows in the Colosseum in the most sophisticated ways, but he also fought them himself. The most shocking act that Sarpophorus taught the animals was the rape of prisoners by gladiators on command, which caused shock and awe to the Colosseum audience.
Gladiator energy drinks
Athletes used energy drinks back in the Roman Empire - however, ancient drinks were exclusively natural.
Energizers are widespread among modern athletes due to their ability to increase endurance. These drinks are also popular with fitness enthusiasts. But this is not at all an invention of the modern world. Gladiator energy drinks have existed for centuries before the advent of gatorade.
The gladiatorial drinks contained ash extract, which is rich in calcium, which stimulates the strengthening of bones. Elevated calcium levels were indeed found in the remains of gladiators, so this idea is not so implausible. What was the ancient energy drink like? Considering the drink was just ash and water, it should have been incredibly bitter, but the vinegar might have made it taste better.
Ancient texts on the study of Latin
In ancient Latin textbooks, there were not only words, but also game dialogues that helped to better learn the language.
Most of the inhabitants of the Roman Empire spoke Greek and its dialects, but if anyone wanted to learn Latin, he turned to colloquia. These books not only taught the Greeks the Latin language, but also told about a variety of situations and how to get out of them most profitably.
Of the original manuscripts, only two have survived, dating from the second and sixth centuries. Some of the situations described in them tell about the first visit to the public baths, about what to do if you are late for school, and how to deal with a drinking close relative. These texts were widely disseminated and accessible to the rich and the poor alike. It is believed that these situations were described for role-playing learning games where students could feel the material and speech.
Roman tavern
One of the oldest taverns of the Roman Empire was discovered in the ancient city of Lattara on the territory of modern France.
In Lattare, a historic site in France, there is a 2,000-year-old tavern dating from the Roman Empire, where animal bones and pins were found for visitors to use. This place was probably popular among the local population in 175 - 75 BC, during the capture of the area by the Roman troops. In addition to drinks, the tavern had a large selection of dishes, including flatbread, fish, and lamb and veal tenderloins.
At one end of the kitchen were three large ovens, at the other a millstone for making flour. In the service area there was a fireplace and soft armchairs, which created a cozy and comfortable atmosphere in the tavern - just like we would like to see bars today.
Infanticide
The ancient Romans did not particularly appreciate the life of newborn children - their murder was not considered something immoral.
It's wild to us to hear about this, but in ancient Rome, infanticide was quite common. Before effective contraception, a woman could get rid of her child if she wanted to. Boys were valued more than girls, but archaeological research suggests that the number of children of both sexes killed is about the same.
In ancient Roman texts, there is even a mention of the practice of infanticide, which indicates that the life of newborns was not particularly appreciated in Roman society. At birth, the infant was not yet considered human. A child could bear this title only upon reaching certain stages of development - the ability to speak, the appearance of teeth and the ability to eat solid food.
How Rome was built
Ancient Roman builders showed amazing imagination and an inventive mind, working on the greatest city in the history of mankind.
In 2014, archaeologists began excavating the alleged Temple of Fortune, the first temple built by the Romans. Since the temple was built in the seventh century, the geographical landscape has changed greatly since that time. According to the description, the temple was built on the Tiber River, but it was discovered thirty meters from it and was several feet below the water table. Other surprises awaited archaeologists, though: the ancient Romans went to great lengths to build the perfect city.
The builders had to level the hills, fill in the swampy areas, even change the direction of the city's waterways with the further spread of buildings. They understood that in order to build the city and its further development, they would need to make changes to the natural landscape in order to meet their needs. Such sophistication and engineering talent fascinates us to this day - as a result of these complex works a city emerged, which became the center of the Western world, proving that all the efforts of the Romans were not in vain.
Mankind still admires the Roman Empire as the ideal not only of ancient civilization, but of civilization as a whole - its authorities, inhabitants and workers were progressive and ahead of their time. Modern people have a lot to learn from the ancient Romans - with the exception of cruelty and violence.