Much of what most of the public thinks about Ancient Rome is because of what has been shown in the media. Most of us think they wore togas all the tim

Much of what most of the public thinks about Ancient Rome is because of what has been shown in the media. Most of us think they wore togas all the time, that they frequented vomitoriums, that Cleopatra was Roman and so much more. But these are all myths. If you want to know what the real stories are, keep reading. 1. Caligula’s Horse Was Never In Office Rome and its emperors sure were a fun bunch, so much so that many of them are still pretty famous today. Caligula, in particular, was known for liking all that was “bad” and he liked it in excess. While the rumors about his life are very hard to believe because of the insane things he was accused of doing, it’s quite impossible that he appointed his horse to office.  He did, however, gift the horse lavish gifts that it couldn’t use, like furniture and an ivory manger.   2. Nero Didn’t Play the Fiddle By now, nearly everyone has heard the story of how Nero fiddled away while Rome burned. It is said that he was a horrible, tyrannical emperor who neglected his responsibilities while his people suffered. And nothing reflected that better than him playing a musical instrument while his city was on fire. But that didn’t happen. For one, the fiddle was probably not even invented yet. Two, it is said that the emperor was actually at his home in Antium, more than 30 miles away from Rome. Historians say he returned as soon as he learned of the fire and tried his best to fight it.   3. Cesarean Sections Weren’t Named After Caesar The Cesarean section? Julius Caesar? Makes sense, right? The story goes that Caesar’s child was the first to be born using the method and so it was named the “Cesarean section” in his honor. But that’s just not true. The word Cesarean is from the Latin word “caedare” which means “to cut.” What’s more is that the method was being used before Caesar himself was born. And don’t even get us started on the Caesar salad!  4. Gladiator Fights Weren’t Always to the Death Movies and to a certain extent, history books, are to blame for people thinking that all fights had to end with someone’s death. It did make for good entertainment, if bloodbaths are your thing, but it wasn’t always like that; gladiator fights weren’t nearly as brutal. The fact of it all is that a gladiator was an investment- they needed to be trained in the art, housed, clothed, fed and transported, and they didn’t do it all themselves. A death during every match would have made it a complete waste of money.   5. Togas Weren’t Worn All the Time  Thanks to pop culture, people tend to think that all Ancient Romans wore were togas. While they certainly were part of the fashion at the time, it definitely wasn’t to the degree that Hollywood has made it out to be. The Roman Empire went on for a millennium- certainly fashion would have evolved to wearing more than just a bedsheet in those thousand plus years.

Common Myths About the Roman Empire

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