Ever heard about something called the,’Past World Charm’? It is an unusual attraction towards the things and events of the past. Being an avid reader, I now and then stumble across many a fascinating things. During one of such diggings in the books of yesterday, I came across the fancy ancient Romans. They have given us so many things, the Julian calendar (with the name of the months we use till this day), civil engineering (arches & columns ,domes,sculptures,frescoes,mosaics...) , romance languages ( Latin language and descendants) , roman alphabets(a widespread writing system) , festivals(Christmas , carnivals etc ) ,stadiums( modern day amphitheaters), republic and senate(inspiration for modern democracies), roman legal system (basis of many European legal system to this day), the three course meal ( starter, main ,dessert) ,aqueducts and viaducts(the world’s first bridges to cross valleys),Wine making(creating a lasting tradition in France, Italy , Spain..),thermal baths ,central heating and floor heating , concrete/mortar/cement.
They were skilled engineers and politicians and had a penchant for socializing and feasting. Having said so many good things about the Romans, I now want to bring to your attention some of their idiosyncrasies, and we are lucky, as the Romans had many!
1) The Romans were early risers. The Roman bedroom was a small, simple room, not made to encourage anyone made to stay in bed any longer than what was thought necessary. The Romans believed that to be awake is to be alive! Anyone who slept for too long was looked upon with contempt and was suspected to be a drunken lout! (Huh ! And you thought going out on a Friday night and then staying late in bed the next day made you look cool!)
2) The Romans liked to bathe and they built a lot of public baths in almost all their cities. These baths were recreational centers and consisted of spas, gyms, libraries, hot and cold rooms, oil and massage centers and were even the stage for huge conspiracies against the ruling emperors. The Romans used to discuss business, household matters and politics while enjoying a hot shower. So , to conclude, Romans' idea of bathing was more than just cleaning and relaxing. Oh ! I almost forgot , the baths had some slaves dedicated solely for the purpose of plucking armpit hair.(Imagine for a second ,some slave working on yours , plucking one at a time.)
3) The Romans had a sweet tooth. It is debated whether or not sugar was known to them, but in either case they preferred honey. Dormouse pie was a delicacy in ancient Rome. This pie consisted of meat from dormice which had been fed exclusively with figs, hence their flesh was considered sweet. ( Anyone going to catch some rats today for a hot home cooked pie !!)
4) The Romans built public lavatories as they built public baths. The important thing to be noticed here is that when the Roman say public, they mean it.To be more clear, it means that there were no enclosed spaces and hence no privacy. They believed in socializing, and when they agreed upon bathing as a social activity, they probably wondered,”Why not defecating?” (Creepy isn’t it?)
5) The Romans were famous for their extravagant banquets .There were multiple courses and a lot of wine to be consumed and the feasting lasted all night. But how did the Romans managed to eat all night? According to Seneca, the Romans vomited so they could eat and they ate so they could vomit. Apparently, according to Cicero, Julius Ceasar dodged an attempt to be assassinated when he decided to go to his bedroom to vomit (Yuckk !!) instead of the bathroom where his assassins were waiting in anticipation.
6) The Romans enjoyed games which involved a lot of blood .They built huge amphitheaters which catered to their unique interests. The entry to these amphitheatres was nominal so that all the citizens could enjoy the games. The games involved gladiator combats, gladiator fights with wild animals like lions and tigers, public executions and more often than not animals were trained to copulate with humans for public enjoyment. (What can I say?)
7) Homosexuality was very common in ancient Rome. It was acceptable for a Roman male to be interested in both women and young boys as Roman Society defined sexuality not based on gender but based on the role acquired (‘penetrator’ or ‘penetrated’) in the sexual relationship.Although male homosexuality was acceptable, female homosexuality was frowned upon. Women were considered inferior and were supposed to show no interest in sex whatsoever , if a female showed any kind of pleasure while having sex , she was considered disgusting and this served as a very common ground for divorce. Julius Ceasar openly had relations with both men and women and was notoriously known as :-Every woman’s husband and every man’s wife. (I want to put it out there that I didn’t know this about Ceaser ).
8) During Roman Emperor Nero’s tenure transparent clothing was in vogue. Women wore sheer clothes with nothing underneath. Seneca with his usual elegant turn of phrase wrote in a letter to his mother ,"Never have you fancied the kind of dress that exposed no greater nakedness by being removed." The sheer clothes had to be banned later as women complained that they don’t have anything to show to their husband which he hasn’t already seen on the streets.(Wow ! The streets of Rome were perhaps the inspiration behind the playboy mansion)
9) Roman emperors were infamous for their orgies and weird interests. Roman emperor Nero was rumored to be sleeping with his mother and married a boy named Sporus after castrating him, Tiberius had erotic paintings in his bedroom in case a performer need to be told want needs to be done , Caligula opened a brothel in his palace , raped whomever he wished , reported on the woman’s performance to her husband , committed incest(incest was rather common as the Romans believed that they have Royal blood and it should not go out of their family) , killed for greed and thought he should be treated as god. Elagabalus would often dress in women’s clothing and requested his doctors to turn him into a woman(he perhaps was the first transvestite !!) There are many more emperors and all the more filthier acts of deceit , lust , debauchery and corruption , but they are so unethical and disgusting that even mentioning them will make me look improper.
10) The ancient Romans used their urine to get their white tunics cleaned and bleached .Of course, the ammonia contained in urine did the trick. No doubt the smell of the urine didn’t just leave the clothes after the wash. Ancient Romans smelt really ‘pissy’. (Is anyone in the mood for laundry ?)
Oh ! I have written 10 fascinating facts about them in almost no time. I will write some more sometime later. But for now, think about the saying,” When in Rome, do what the Romans do.” ;-)
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