Within the bustling streets and rolling countryside of ancient Rome, the domestic architecture tells a story not just of engineering and design, but of the daily lives, social structures, and cultural values of its people. Roman houses, from the grand villas dotting the landscape to the densely packed insulae of the urban centers, serve as …
In a Roman household sex was in plentiful supply. Except, so it seems, between the actual married couples. The existence of slaves in the house naturally mean that, particularly the men, but also the women (although with the risk of pregnancy and disgrace), had access to sex whenever they so required. Roman sexuality in its …
Flavius Gratianus (AD 359 – AD 383) Gratian was born at Sirmium in AD 359, the son of Valentinian and Marina Severa. Granted the position of consul by his father in AD 366, he was proclaimed co-Augustus by his father at Ambiani in AD 367. Gratian became sole emperor of the west when his father …
Flavius Julius Valens(AD ca. 328 – AD 378) Valens was born around AD 328, as the second son of a native of Cibalae in Pannonia called Gratianus. Alike his brother Valentinian he made a military career. He eventually came to serve under Julian and Jovian in the household guard. When Valentinian became ruler in AD …
Gaius Julius Caesar(100-44 BC) Gaius Julius Caesar was born on 12 July 100 BC in Rome, son of Gaius Caesar and Aurelia. Governor of Gaul 58-49 BC. Appointed dictator for ten years in 47 B, for life on 14 February 44 BC. Married initially to Cornelia (one daughter, Julia), then to Pompeia, alas to Calpurnia. …
Flavius Julius Constantius(AD 317 – AD 361) Constantius II was born in Illyricum in August AD 317, the son of Constantine the Great and Fausta, and was proclaimed Caesar in AD 323. In AD 337, at the death of his father Constantine, he acceded to the throne together with his two brothers Constantine II and …