Fascinating History

As a young man Augustus was accused of various improprieties. For instance, Sextus Pompey jeered at his effeminacy; Mark Antony alleged that Julius Caesar made him submit to unnatural relations as the price of adoption; Antony’s brother Lucius added that after sacrificing his virtue to Caesar, Augustus had sold his favours to Aulus Hirtius in Spain, for 3,000 gold pieces and that he used to soften the hair in his legs by singeing them with red-hot walnut shells. Not even his friends could deny that he often commited adultery, though of course they said, in justification, that he did so for reasons of state, not simply passion – he wanted to discover what his enemies were at by getting intimate with their wives or daughters. Mark antonym accused him not only of indecent haste in marrying Livia, but of hauling an ex-consul’s wife from her husband’s dining room into the bedroom – before his eyes too! He brought the woman back, says Antony, blushing to the ears and with her hair in disorde

Octavian, or Augustus, as he is better known, was the first emperor of Rome. He was the adopted son of Julius Caesar, not because he didn't have a father already, but because Caesar took a liking to him and also left him two thirds of his estate. Octavian was born Gaius Octavius on 23d September 63 B.C. He was shrewd, astute and took a while to make up his mind about what to do, but once he made a decision there was no going back. He was only 18 when Julius Caesar was assassinated and by the age of 38 he was emperor. He was said to be extremely good-looking, with clear blue piercing eyes, he delighted when he starred young ladies out and they averted his gaze by looking to the floor, as if they were overpowered by him. Despite his stern reputation, he had several mistresses whose company he enjoyed immensely. However, there was only one woman Octavian is thought to have really loved and that was Livia. Livia was only 19 when Octavian practically abducted her from her husband Nero (

An actor performs in the modern Globe on the Bankside . Actors weren't always the softies they are now reputed to be. For instance, on a freezing, snowy December night in 1598, a troupe of them turned up at a recently vacated theatre in Shoreditch, armed with "swords, daggers, bills, axes and such like" as one contemporary account described it. The weather's contumely was such that the Thames had frozen over. Yet, with the aid of lanterns, this company of actors surrounded the area with guards and tore down the entire theatre in one evening. As the penumbra receded in the dawn hours, they began to load the stripped timber onto wagons, which they used to transport the timber to Southwark. Before getting into the reasons for this apparent lunacy, it bears remarking that the actors could do this because a) there was no regular police force in London at the time, and b) they were all trained in the use of weapons, as actors were obliged to be in the days before stuntm

It has been estimated that out of every one-hundered babies born alive, seventy would only live until their 1st birthday, while less than half lived past their 5th year. The mortality rate was extremely high and childhood was therefore very brief. As soon as a child was able to walk and mutter a few words, it was taught 'good manners'. The ideal child was seen and not heard, rising from their seats whenever their parents entered the room and addressing them as 'Sir' and 'Madam'. They would have to ask their parents for their blessing upon awaking in the morning as well as before bedtime. From the very begining, children were taught the importance of behaving in a humble and passive fashion towards their elders or betters (people higher up on the social scale, but not necessarily 'better' than them in modern terms). Men wore their hats almost all the time, even indoors, so special rules had to be invented to tell them when they should take them off. For e

We don't tend to associate early modern England with slavery but the fact is that slaves were very much a part of everyday life. In the 15th century, the Portugese had started using the west coast of Africa as a source for slaves and the English were soon to follow suit. By 1596 slave labour had become so popular in England, that Elizabeth I, on the basis that slavery was upsetting the labour market, decided all African slaves should be "sent forth of the land" to Spain or Portugal. By the 17th century though, many owners of colonial sugar plantations in Jamaica were bringing a few of their slaves with them back to London. The slaves were often stolen or they ran away. Therefore it would not be unusual to see an advert like this: "Lost or absented, a little negro boy of about 13 years of age in a grey livery with black and pink lace and a small cross in his forehead. He speaks Spanish and English indifferently well..." We can assume with a high level of certai

The streets of Rome were incredibly noisy all day. They were crowded with people and animals and ere not very clean either, in fact in modern terms we would be accurate if we said that they were filthy. Rome was full of people from all over the empire, most of them there to find their fortune and many had lost alot in the process or ended up as slaves. The majority of the people lived in high rise tenement flats (up to 6 stories high) which were usually very badly built. The buildings were almost entirely made of wood as well, which meant that they were extremely susceptible to fire. It was not unusual to see buildings like this collapse all of a sudden. Landlords would allow bad workmanship and would use cheap materials, as they could make alot of money by the whoel process of re-building. Most landlords were so corrupt like this and would also employ thugs which they would send to beat up unfortunate tenants who had not paid their rent. There were pleanty of baths to go to and it was

Gaius Julius Caesar was born on the13th of July 100 B.C to a well known patrician family. He was brought up in the Subura, one of the poor districts of Rome. There he learnt to mix with people of all classes and to speak Hebrew and Gallic dialects. Although his family were of a distinguished line, they were not rich. He was very close to his mother Aurelia. In 85 B.C. when he was only 15, his father died in Pisa, while on military duty. He was an epileptic and would often have seizures at awkward moments. He was extremely clever. As a young man, he left Rome to do his military service in Asia and Cilicia. During the battle of Miletus he showed great bravery and saved the lives of many legionaries, which led him to be awarded the corona civica (oak crown). This was the highest honour that could be awarded to a non-commander; when in public people would have had to stand up and applaud him. In 78 B.C. Caesar began his political career as an advocate in the Forum. He became notorious for

Commodus Commodus was the only surviving son of the emperor Marcus Aurelius. As emperor, he proved to be everything his father was not, maiking many enemies amongst the people and especially the senate. He was born in Lanuvium in A.D. 161 and there were rumours going around at the time, that he was in fact the product of his mother's passionate affair with a gladiator. As a child Commodus was fairly good natured, but as an adult he was anything but, which was good enough reason for many to suspect that Marcus Aurelius was not his real father. Despite all that, Marcus Aurelius raised Commodus as a future emperor, and in A.D.177, when the boy was only 16, he made him joint ruler, which shows he had lots of faith in him. When his father died in A.D. 180, near the Danube, Commodus became emperor. He was not interested in pursuing his father's plans of expansionism and not being particularly inclined towards the military lifestyel, he returned to Rome swiftly, leaving the campaign a

Templar knights In the early 12th century, nine French knights got together and dedicated themselves to protecting pilgrims on their way to Jerusalem. Because their weapons were stored in a building that was given to them by the monastery which stood on the site of the Temple of Solomon, they were called Templars. Within two-hundred years, the Templars had amassed enormous wealth via their activities and had made enemies in the Church. They styled themselves as the protectors of Christianity, but many accused them of being a law unto themselves. In 1208 Pope Innocent criticised them heavily. He was later followed by Henry III of England, who even went as far as to threaten them. In the meantime, the French King Phillip, spread rumours that the Templars were plotting to overthrow the Pope. Worse still, a Templar by the name of Squin de Flexian, after being expelled by the Order, accused them of being heretics and put together a long list of charges against them. Trouble was now looming

You wouldn't think there would have been much grave robbing going on in London during the 1700s but there was. Corpses were frequently 'stolen' from graves for educational purposes, for the would-be surgeons' anatomy lessons. There is a gruesome story of the body of a lady's husband having been found in the surgeon's house, soon after it was burried. Apparently, after having obtained a search warrant, she found worse than what she expected. She looked inside a big pot "which was almost full of boiling water...she took a stick and stirred it when to her great surprise she saw the head and part of the body of her husband" . I really don't know what was going on there but it does not sound like anatomy... Two men who stole a baby's body from a cemetary were sentenced to a public whipping and a year in prison. There is also a story of a gang of three who stole lead coffins to melt the lead and sell it.