Translated from French with ChatGPT (please notify us of errors) Its name might sound like a punk band: garum. But in reality, it’s quite different, even if its ingredients might suggest a “no future” vibe. Garum was a condiment characterized by the fifth taste (neither salty, sweet, sour, nor bitter), what the Japanese call Umami […]
Gleukos, a sip of must?
Translated from French with ChatGPT (please notify us of errors) Not to be confused with the grape juice from our supermarkets. Living in a wine-producing region, one sometimes has the opportunity to taste, during the harvest season, a must freshly out of the press. A golden, cloudy beverage that quickly becomes slightly fizzy and frothy […]
Rome Burns: A Look Back at Ancient Heatwave Rituals
Translated from French with ChatGPT (please notify us of errors) – Article en français Heatwaves are sweeping across Europe. Interestingly, the ancient Romans too grappled with stifling summers. They referred to this sweltering period with a Latin term we still use today: “canicula.” The heatwave’s history is written in the stars. Over 3,000 years ago, a […]
At Calidius’, everything is hot
Article en français Translated from French with ChatGPT (please notify us of errors) The reproduced stone depicted here, dated from the late 1st century AD and found in Aesernia, 170 km southeast of Rome, was evidently designed to catch the eye of the traveler. It starts with the dedication: “In memory of Lucius Calidius Eroticus […]
The Shedeh: Tuthankamon’s Mysterious Nectar
Article en français Translated from French with ChatGPT (please notify us of errors) Our winemaking tradition often evokes its Greco-Roman heritage. However, the cultivation of vines and the tradition of wine extend far beyond this geographical area and trace back to an even older past. To remember this, one needs only to think of the […]
A spicy sauce by Apicius
Article en français / Versione in italiano Translated from French with DeepL & ChatGPT (please notify us of errors) Among the five hundred Roman recipes that have miraculously come down to us thanks to the uninterrupted copying of Apicius’ cookery book, the one we are talking about here is rather innocuous in appearance. But did […]
Valentine’s Day or the end of the Lupercalia
Translated from French with DeepL & ChatGPT (please notify us of errors) On this day in Rome, there were reports of naked men running unrestrained through the streets, wielding goat thongs to whip any woman they encountered. The purpose of this crude ritual was to supposedly enhance the women’s fertility. These youthful messengers were dispatched […]
The SATOR square or the magic of words
Article en français: Le carré SATOR, ou la magie des mots / Versione in italiano: Il quadrato di SATOR o la magia del verbo Translated from French with DeepL (please notify us of errors) The SATOR square, also known as the magic square, has been a popular subject for over 2000 years. Its mysterious nature […]
Before Jesus eclipses the Sun
Translated from French with DeepL (please notify us of errors) At the end of the third century AD, the Roman Empire was a collection of peoples with multiple traditions that tended to break up, while power was also in crisis. In an attempt to bring it back together, the emperor Aurelian (270-275) had an idea: […]
Saturnalia, Roman society upside down
Translated from French with DeepL (please notify us of errors) The houses and streets witness a joyous outburst: the crowd goes out to form festive processions, the servants are served by their master, they can criticize the authority without fear. Work and all public activity cease. In the houses, which are decorated with holly, mistletoe […]