“How often do you think about the Roman Empire?” It's a question that became a viral trend back in 2023. Thanks to a Swedish influencer who curiously asked her followers to find out. Women all over were asking their men how often the ancient civilization popped into their heads. Surprisingly, many admitted to thinking about the Roman Empire a couple of times a week. Some even said "at least once a day."
Many men, and some women, have been long fascinated with what went on in Ancient Rome. There've been blockbuster movies like Gladiator and Troy, HBO’s Rome, and of course, the Netflix series simply titled Roman Empire. Whether you're someone who can't stop thinking about that ancient time in history, or you're just wondering why others are so fascinated with it, keep scrolling.
Bored Panda has put together a list of fun facts about how people lived back then. Next time someone asks you when last you thought about the Roman Empire, you might be able to impress them with some of the interesting tidbits you found here.
#1
The Romans put white shiny stones in some of their roads to increase visibility at night catching the moonlight.
Image credits: Wyzzlex
#2
Trivia is a Latin word! It combines "tri-" and "via" meaning "three roads”. In ancient Rome, the term "trivia" referred to the three-way intersections where people would gather to socialize and exchange information. Over time, the word evolved to refer to common or insignificant bits of information, which is how we use it today when talking about trivial facts or details. Romans invented the word for interesting facts!
Image credits: Laurel000
#3
There's a massive artificial hill in Rome called "Monte Testaccio" which is the result of the Romans dumping milions of used oil jars over the centuries as they could not reuse them due to the residue. The hill is still accessible today and it's literally a huge pile of thousands of layers of terracotta.
Image credits: sortaeTheDog
It is said that Rome wasn't built in a day... And if you've ever delved into Roman history, you might understand why.
According to the Franklin Templeton knowledge centre, it was an English playwright called John Heywood who first said that “Rome wasn’t built in a day, but they were laying bricks every hour.” The site explains that in the beginning, Rome was just a conglomeration of few hamlets. It then it became a city state (a sovereign state that consists of a city and its dependent territories), and eventually a vast empire.
"The grandeur that Rome achieved was a result of centuries of tireless effort and ceaseless energy devoted by her people. In picturing the empire that they eventually wanted, Romans did not forget that they will have to tirelessly lay each brick continuously over decades together," reads the site.
#4
Roman concrete has chunks of calcium in it called lime-clasts - they help self-heal the concrete.
Image credits: amartin141
#5
The famous “white” marble and stone statues of emperors, gods, and other individuals in most cases were actually painted and colorful. Archaeologists and art scientists found traces of the paint pigments upon closer examination in recent decades. The colorized Roman statues especially of Caligula can be quite creepy looking but it’s awesome.
Image credits: Odd_Bed_9895
#6
Emperor Octavian once bought a Raven from a merchant who taught it to say “hail Caesar!” (Ave Caesar!)
Image credits: reddit.com
The Ancient Romans contributed a lot to society, and thousands of years later, their influence is still visible. It's in our art, architecture, technology, literature, language, and law. We
If there's one thing the Romans were good at it was engineering. "They understood the laws of physics well enough to develop aqueducts and better ways to aid water flow. They harnessed water as energy for powering mines and mills," explains National Geographic. "They also built an expansive road network, a great achievement at the time. Their roads were built by laying gravel and then paving with rock slabs."
The Romans built such a massive road system that until today, we say that “all roads lead to Rome.”
#7
In the time of Julius Caesar, you could send a letter from Rome to Athens in nine days. Today, the Italian post can’t even come close.
Image credits: m_calpurniusbibulus
#8
Romans discovered a waterproof concrete made with “pozzolana” sand (from Pozzuoli). Waterproof as in, it magically dried under water and became hard as a rock. Without that, they couldn’t have maintained the huge net of aqueducts they’re famous for, and probably couldn’t build the lasting empire we know.
Image credits: DangerousKnowledge8
#9
They thought “soap” was gross and only used it for textiles and other industry! For cleaning themselves they used olive oil, lotions and perfumes then just scraped it all off with a bronze or wooden stick called a Strigil.
Image credits: Prof_Augustus
The Romans were also great farmers. They managed to figure out the climate, soil, and did deep-dives into how to make their plants prosper. Today, some of the ancient Roman techniques are still used by farmers around the world. We're talking things like crop rotation, pruning, grafting, seed selection, and manuring.
#10
Graffiti was a commonly used and popular political tool. If the Roman people were unhappy with something they would paint it on walls of buildings and it was just an accepted normal thing.
Image credits: Archereus
#11
The Romans had road side billboards just like us. Advertising a lot of different things, including fermented fish sauce Garum!
Image credits: KamikazeKricket
#12
The Roman temple of Janus, the two-faced god, had gates closed during peacetime, and open during war. They were once open for 400 years in a row, and hardly ever closed. The rare (and brief) times they were closed were accompanied by festivals, and new coins being minted to mark the occasion.
Image credits: cjhreddit
You don't have to be a history buff to have heard of the Colosseum. The ancient Romans built the large amphitheater somewhere between 70 and 72 CE. And today, it's one of the Seven Wonders of the World. Also known as the Flavian Amphitheatre, it's the largest amphitheater in the world, measuring 189m long, 156m wide and 50m high.
Again, we see influences of the Roman Empire in our world today. Think about the sports stadiums that host major matches... That oval shape and the tiered seating are based on the structures the Romans built back in the day.
#13
Julius Caesar and his advisors made the calendar that we use today, with minor adjustments by Pope Gregory. It's called the Gregorian calendar nowadays but Caesar really contributed more.
Image credits: reddit.com
#14
There were no stalls on Roman Bathrooms. Everyone was just sitting there staring at each other as they did their business and then cleaned themselves with community sponges.
Image credits: _whydah_
#15
The roman "ketchup" Garum was used in almost everything. Very much like tomato ketchup nowadays. Only... It was made of rotten fish guts...
Image credits: Nixie_Five
What's truly remarkable is that the Colosseum still stands today, thousands of years later. It's arches are made out of cement. The ancient Romans made the super strong building material with what was available around them: volcanic ash and volcanic rock. And its for this reason modern scientists believe the Colosseum hasn't crumbled.
#16
The fall of Constantinople in 1453 closed the Silk Road and other trade routes to Europe. This forced Europeans to sail west to find new trade routes and accidentally discover (/rediscover) the new world.
Image credits: MrBeer4me
#17
Romans loved doves that were in the streets and they were associated with Venus. Unlike now when we dislike their decendants the pidgeons in the cities.
Image credits: Additional_Meeting_2
#18
Romans had special terracotta containers called Glirarium to raise dormice so they could eat them.
Image credits: wikipedia
"Roman underwater structures proved to be even sturdier," reports National Geographic. "Seawater reacting with the volcanic ash created crystals that filled in the cracks in the concrete. To make a concrete this durable, modern builders must reinforce it with steel. So today, scientists study Roman concrete, hoping to match the success of the ancient master builders."
#19
Recent research suggests that the xylospongium/tersorium was used as a toilet scrub.
Image credits: wikipedia
#20
The founder of Rome, Romulus, and his brother, Remus, were both supposedly raised by a wolf mother. This, of course, after being born by a human mother and the god of war, Mars. That’s the story we have at least.
Image credits: Icemayne25
#21
The Middle Ages started with the fall of the Roman Empire and ended at the fall of the Roman Empire.
Image credits: MagicLion
#22
Romans used to bring sacred chickens to battle with them and would “consult” the chickens before battle to see if they should proceed.
Image credits: reddit.com
#23
The Rostra, the platform in Rome where people would give speeches, has the Rams of enemy Warships from the Latin Wars built into it. (Rostrum = a warships ram)
Image credits: MrBeer4me
#24
After 286 AD, Rome was no longer the capital of the empire. Instead, Mediolanum (todays Milan) became capital for the WRE. It was moved again in 402 AD to Ravenna.
Image credits: qndry
#25
Rome had contact and trade with Sri Lanka and called it Taprobane.
Image credits: ministryoftimetravel
#26
All the baths, at least in Bath, England, were lined in lead, so all the Romans who thought they were having a nice relaxing dip in the hot tub were exposing themselves to lead poisoning.
Image credits: reddit.com
#27
Julius Caesar invented newspapers, and Augustus published his autobiography as a gigantic wall called Monumentum Ancyranum.
Image credits: coffyrocket
#28
Romans were in direct contact with China - not just through trade. Embassies are attested by several sources. A roman embassy reached China in 166 AD. Even the presence of a roman legion is reported.
Image credits: DangerousKnowledge8
#29
The battle of lake Trasimene in 217BC is still to this day the largest military ambush in human history. Military historian Basil Liddell Hart called the Battle of Trasimene “the greatest ambush in history.” The Roman losses were at least 15,000.
Image credits: MagicLion
#30
Christianity was officially recognized by the empire in 380 AD by Theodosius through the Edict of Thessalonica.
Image credits: Friendcherisher
