Epic Facts About Ancient Rome, History's Great Civilization
"I think he knows what Rome is. Rome is the mob. Conjure magic for them and they'll be distracted. Take away their freedom and still they'll roar. The beating heart of Rome is not the marble of the Senate, it's the sand of the Coliseum. He'll bring them death—and they will love him for it."—Gracchus, Gladiator (2000).
To put it simply, ancient Rome is probably the most epic civilization in human history.
What started in the eighth century BC as a small town on the bank of the Tiber River in what is now central Italy became one of the most powerful empires the world has ever seen.
It lasted more than a millennium filled with countless wars and military campaigns, and in that time, it came to encompass all of continental Europe around the Mediterranean basin, all of Britain, and a huge part of western Asia and northern Africa.
Few other civilizations can boast that longevity or totality of influence, making it one of the most fascinating historical subjects to learn about.
Ancient Rome Facts
46. Burn, Baby, Burn!
Nero (emperor from 54 AD-68 AD) is famous for singing and playing the fiddle while much of Rome burned to the ground during the Great Fire of Rome.
It was later speculated that this account was false, and that it was propaganda created by the next emperor. One key piece of evidence: the fiddle wasn't invented yet.
The story was probably invented by subsequent rulers as propaganda, to suggest at the opulence and decadence of emperors like Nero.
Life tip: if you're going to spread lies about your enemies, make sure they don't entail activities that would be quite literally impossible. It diminishes credibility.
Then again, the image is pretty funny.
Roman Soldier: "My Emperor! The city is burning! What do we do????"
Nero: "Hmmmmmmmmm. Did I play you my new single yet?"
45. Bloodsport or Speed?
Despite what Hollywood movies may have led us to believe, gladiatorial fighting wasn’t the most popular form of entertainment—although it was likely still the most bloody and barbaric. Modern archaeologists estimate that the Colosseum could accommodate 50,000 people, which, for perspective, is just a bit less than the capacity of Yankee Stadium.
This means that the Colosseum was dwarfed by the Circus Maximus, where 250,000 Romans could gather to watch chariot racing. That's more than twice as large as the biggest soccer stadium in the world, Rungrado May Day Stadium in Pyongyang, North Korea. Perhaps one of the reasons why chariot races were attended in such large numbers is because it was one of the few sports where women were allowed to join the audience as spectators—guess that letting the other half of the population participate is a pretty easy way to double your ticket sales!
Although chariot racing was less bluntly violent than gladiatorial combat, it was still incredibly dangerous for both horses and riders. The easiest way to get rid of opponents was, of course, to drive them into the median, creating a spectacular accident. As riders tied the reins around their waists, when anything at all went wrong, they would be dragged along by the horses until they could free themselves—that is, if they could free themselves.
44. Live Long and Prosper
As was the case in many ancient civilizations, most people weren't exactly just waiting out the years to retire at 65. Life expectancy in ancient Rome was only 20 to 30 years—but they didn’t all die young. The average life expectancy at the time was skewed by the large number of women who died giving birth, and by high infant mortality. If a Roman made it to maturity, they were likely to live as long as people in the modern Western world.
