Time for a Contest!
UPDATED: We pulled our favorite totally not at random fun facts (which actually were so much fun) and Ellie, Justice & Taylor-- keep your eyes peeled. We'll be sliding into your DMs to make sure we have the right addresses for you soon! xoxox
Thanks to everyone for participating!
Hello, Patreon supporters! Our friend Jenny Williamson from Ancient History Fangirl has wrote her first novel and we are errrmmm... running a contest (since we can't say the word that rhymes with shmive erray) for THREE OF Y'ALL to win!
So pop in the chat one of your favorite fun facts about the Ancient world and we'll choose three of our favorite (totally not at random) later this week!
Comments (35)
Tiberius Gracchus, a Roman senator, once murdered a fellow senator by beating him to death using his chair…Rome was wild
My favorite fact is that churches were built on temples which were built on older temples etc etc. in some places in Rome you can tour that stuff! I love a basement
This city has LAYERS
One of my favorite ancient history fun fact rabbit holes is the archery techniques of the horse riding Scythian culture! Also the ridiculous trash talk from disgruntled Roman men about how they drank unwatered down wine.
I know most people are aware of this, but it’s crazy to think about how there is less time between Cleopatra and present day than there was between her and the building of the pyramids of Giza. Everyone always thinks of Cleo and just lumps it in with the rest of ancient Egypt even though so much of Egyptian history was even ancient to her
what even is time? history was yesterday!
cleopatra was the first of her family to actually bother to learn the egyptian language. and girly was smart af, she knew so many other languages too. also cleopatra not being egyptian but greek-macedonian is always a fun fact to tell others
I find Roman concrete and Damascus steel so interesting. Like, what do you mean we don't know how to make it?? What do you mean scientists had to study the chemical composition in order to figure out the recipe??
so is it basically Valyrian steel??
Romans used urine to clean their teeth bc of the ammonia. They also used it for washing clothes, though they at least mixed it with water.
well... that certainly is a fun fact!
Hatshepsut just being a general badass and claiming the role of Pharaoh and literally dressing the part (history’s first drag king??) Her mortuary temple is gorgeous.
Def want to cover her soon
Caligula being little boots will always make me giggle
Not as exciting as other facts, but ancient Romans were able to have ice. They got it from the mountains, stored it in a cave and were used to cool drinks (I thought you’d guys find that interesting, I do), as well as too cool fevers. It, obviously was a luxury item.
oh wow! I'd never really thought about ice in the ancient world before!
In Ancient Greece and Rome unibrows were seen as beautiful and a sign of intelligence. If you didn’t naturally have one it was common to draw one in with coal or glue animal fur to your face. It’s nice to know I would have been in fashion at some point in history 😅
I have several follow up questions about gluing fur to your face
The fact that they used to be able to flood the colosseum for ship battles! That will never not be crazy to me!
Contrary to popular belief, gladiators did not fight to the death. They were too expensive and popular for that. They were like ancient history movie stars. It would be like Donald Trump ordering Matt Damon executed publicly during the filming of his next movie.
The earliest known female physician was a woman named Peseshet, who lived in ancient Egypt around 2600 BCE. She was part of an advanced medical system where women could train as doctors. Egypt was one of the few ancient civilizations where women could enter the medical profession, showing their advanced status in certain fields
wow, i didn't know that one at all!
Honestly one of my favorite facts that's well known to us history lovers but not so well known to the masses is that Cleopatra wasn't actually Egyptian! And that girlfriend spoke like nine languages. Can we say impressive?!
Cleopatra was such a over achiever, but we love her for it.
Ancient civilizations would sometimes bury beloved pets and write epitaphs to honor their memory. I show these to my high school students when I teach the Odyssey as a way to remind them that ancient people were, in some ways, not so different from us.
Yes! I've seen this. OMG makes me cry to think about how far back our bond to our animals go.
In ancient Egypt, cats were considered sacred and were often associated with the goddess Bastet, the goddess of home, fertility, and protection. Cats were so sacred that the Egyptians were afraid to hurt them and incur the wrath of Bastet. Anyone who harmed a cat, deliberately or not, would be sentenced to death. Many Egyptians had their cats mummified to accompany them in the afterlife.
In the words of terry pratchett, 'cats were worshipped by the Egyptians. They have never forgotten this.' That quote always makes me laugh 😂😂
Romans used to bring sacred chickens to battle and would consult the chickens to see if they should proceed.
I see this playing out as an SNL sketch in my head
King Tutankhamun's penis was mummified fully erect. His penis eventually broke off from his body after the mummy was discovered.
Well... that certainly is a fun fact.
My favorite fact is that adoption was always an option. Be it a man adopting a small child as an heir or the king adopting an adult to be the next king
The Colosseum used to be flooded to have ship battles!
My favorite fact about the ancient world is that there are some Roman aqueducts that still supply water to this day.