Fun Facts About Romans…For Real
From Great Emperors to the average Roman peasant — here are some weird facts about Romans that you may or may not know.
The Roman empire was vast, covering much of Europe. Their legacy lasts even today, with some of the oldest road routes, glass windows and even cats.
But there are some things about the Romans that aren’t as frequently talked about — partly because I generally include this knowledge in my “useless facts I never get to impress people with” part of my brain.
So here you go…
Caligula’s Love for His Horse
Ancient Roman emperor Caligula was known for being a bit of a nut and a pretty cruel man. But we’re going to focus on the fact that he was a bit…strange.
It’s said that he loved one of his horses so much he even mixed gold fakes into the oats the horse was fed. He gave the horse a jewel collar and even had stable built for it, made entirely out of marble.
It’s even said that he had plans to make the horse one of his consuls, the highest elected official in the Roman Republic— but he was assassinated before that could happen.
Seeing as he was, overall, not a nice guy, there’s a good chance that some of these stories were fabricated by writers of that time who didn’t like him. But it’s fun to imagine that some of it could be true!
No Toilet Paper, No Problem
We all have those weird thoughts sometimes…no? Just me?
Like, what did people use before toilet paper? We’d guess things like leaves, or even just using your hand maybe…but in ancient Rome they had their own system.
They used a sponge on a stick! This sponge would be placed into a bucket of water, and then use to wipe after using the toilet.
Due to lack of knowledge about sanitation, chances are that the sponge-sticks were shared, and who knows how often the water was cleaned — gross! But at least now you know what Roman’s used before the invention of toilet paper.
An aside: People used to socialise in these public toilets — and Rome had many of these public toilets where people would visit to hang out.
Elephants are Scary
When Roman’s invaded England, they arrived at the Dover Cliffs. These large white cliffs can be intimidating, as they are beautiful and extremely tall. This didn’t stop the Romans though!
They arrived in England with a large fleet of ships — and a tactic they used to scare the people living there was… Elephants!
This is before the internet (obviously) and before the printing press — meaning that books were rare and the chances of anyone in England having seen or even having heard of an elephant before that moment was pretty much zero.
This tactic was successful and Roman’s conquered England and made it a part of the Roman Empire.
The Colosseum Wasn’t Just for Gladiator Fights
The Colosseum is one of the most famous buildings left by the Romans. We often associate this stadium with gladiator fights — where men who were taken as slaves were forced to fight to the death in hopes of living long enough to gain their freedom.
In actuality, the Colosseum was used for other types of events as well. One of the most interesting was Ship Battles! They used to flood the Colosseum and bring ships into the stadium. They would stage epic battles in the stadium for onlookers.
Wealthy Roman’s Could Always Eat More
When we imagine a Roman “dinner table” we tend to picture a lot of juicy looking meat or fish and colourful fruits and vegetables — needless to say, these were meals for the wealthy.
We also see loads of images with Romans lying on their sides when eating. This is because they did! We sit upright, usually, to eat at a dinner table, while Roman’s would have laid on their sides, enjoying their meal.
With all that food, how did they manage not to waste? Well, it was a common practice, especially among the elite in the Roman empire to have a feather at the dining table.
This feather would be used to tickle the back of their throats, to help them throw up. This way they could continue eating, without getting full.
Smelling Like Pee Was Probably Normal
Although this isn’t unique to Roman’s only, throughout history many different people used urine to wash their clothes.
It’s said this was common practice because the ammonia in urine would take out stains and clean clothes much better than just using water.
Keep in mind that soap, as we know it today, wasn’t invented at that time. People did not bathe in water and soap, but would put scented oils on their skin and scrape them off with something called strigil.
Needless to say, people probably smelled pretty terrible back then!
You Could Be Imprisoned for Being Too Tall
During Julius Caesar’s reign, it was made illegal to be taller than he was, and for this, you could have been imprisoned or put to death. This might sound crazy, but we know that many rulers and leaders could be very vain.
This wasn’t about Caesar's height — it was about his hair!
He was balding and so embarrassed about it! He hated that he was going bald, and so he put a law in place that would make it illegal for anyone to be taller than him, that way no one could look down on his head and see his thinning hair.
Roman’s Were People Just Like Me and You!
The Roman Empire has impacted so much of the world and in so many ways. We also imagine these god-like characters, with incredible wealth and strength, but if we think critically, we know that it wasn’t always the case.
It’s always good to look at the weirder side of Roman history, to remember that they were real people, and not just figments of our imagination!
