Did You Know - Roman History Edition

Hello! Welcome to a new series!
Today we are starting with Ancient Rome!

~ Gladiator blood was a medical prescription - 

The blood of a gladiator was recommended by Roman physicians to aid various ailments, including epilepsy and infertility.

~ Fake News - 

The Roman Emperor Caracalla slaughtered 20,000 Egyptians because they made a play mocking him

~ Claudius the (non)threat - 

 Claudius was a roman from a noble family and had severe disabilities. He survived the assassination of his family because nobody thought he was a threat, they were wrong... He would go on to become Emperor after Caligula's death. He was responsible for beginning the conquest of Britain and as gone down in history as a great ruler of Ancient Rome

~ Purple clothing was a status symbol - 

         
The color purple was reserved for Emperors and Senators only. To achieve the color, a dye was made from murex seashells. It was considered to be treason for anyone other than the emperor to dress completely in purple.


~ Togas - 

Togas were not for everyone. Only free-born Roman men were allowed to wear togas. Roman women wore togas until the 2nd century BCE. After this date women began to wear wore a garment called a stola. Wearing a toga became disgraceful for women, only prostitutes or adulterers did that. 

~ Emperor Caligula often appeared in public dressed in women’s clothing - 

Caligula is one of the most notorious Roman Emperors. Not often viewed in a positive light, for a variety of reasons, he has gone down in history as a short lived Emperor that terrorized both friends and family. Caligula was also a cross dresser. During his teenage years he often cross-dressed, wore blonde wigs, and long robes that were designed to cling to a woman's body.

~ Hygene - 

Romans were extremely hygienic but they did not use soap. Instead, they would apply perfumed oils to their skin and then scrape it off with a tool known as a strigil. Contrary to what might be assumed, this process was generally performed by men. Ancient Rome included public baths, toilets, and exfoliating cleansers. When it came to the bathroom they would use a communal sponge (supposedly always thoroughly washed) since toilet paper was not invented until 1857.

~ Hair dying was popular among women - 

          By the time of the Roman Empire (27 BCE - 476 BCE) the simplicity that charachterized early Rome was mostly gone. Romes interaction with the rest of the world opened up the doors for a variety of hair colors, red and blonde were the most popular colors. Dye colors were achieved through different ingredients, like goat fat, beech wood ashes, henna, saffron, and bleach. The wealthiest Romans powdered their hair with gold dust.


~ Gaius Valerius Catullus -
          

In the first century BC, the poet Gaius Valerius Catullus addressed two of his critics, another poet Furius, and a Senator Aurelius, in a poem considered to be so vulgar and obscene that it was not translated outside of Latin until the 20th century - you can check it out here http://www.vroma.org/~hwalker/VRomaCatullus/016x.html - Please be warned, this poem will widen your eyes, ALOT, for its vulgarity.


~ Wealth isn't always fun - 

Wealthy Romans would have extravagant and decadent banquets that lasted for hours; in order to continue eating, they would induce vomiting.