The 5 Strangest Bans in Ancient Rome

When someone mentions Ancient Rome, almost always come to mind crazy orgy or a wonderful architecture, depending on the preferences of the interlocutors. But what almost no one mentions is some of the silly laws and prohibitions of the ancient Romans, especially if you look at it from a modern point of view.

Let's find out about all these prohibitions and condemn the ancient Romans (as if we are better than them!). Enjoy!

Prohibition of suicide

Simply put, if you would like to commit suicide in Ancient Rome, you need first to ask permission from the Senate. And it needs to be done in writing. In the letter the reason, why and how should be indicated. If the Senate considered your request worthy, you would be given a jar full of sweet relief. And this means poison, which will probably make you cough, and you will suffocate slowly and painfully until it kills you. Perhaps there is a mistake about this ban. Although we are not historians to draw conclusions.

Crying during a funeral

Let's not take everything to heart, because no one personally told about people who died in ancient Rome. There is evidence that they held huge parties to celebrate the demise of their comrades. They laughed and had fun from the heart, they hired actors to entertain people. But sometimes there were women who cried. Not all people liked crying women, because they obviously distracted everyone from fun, so in ancient Rome decided to forbid crying at the funeral. That's how strange these ancient Romans were.

Women were not allowed to deceive their men

In Rome there was a patriarchy, it's not a secret. But do not rush to approve such an order until you know how messy this system is. For example, if you were a married woman then and decided to change your spouse with another guy, you had better not even think about it, let alone decide on such a risky step. And all because if your hubby caught you red-handed, he would have divorced you, and he would have been allowed to kill your lover with whom you slept, with no consequences. The funniest thing is that if you caught your husband in bed with 10 other women, all you could do was join them.

Prostitutes were not allowed to dye their hair black

The subtitle to a large extent speaks of a ban. Yes, prostitutes in ancient Rome were not allowed to dye their hair in black or even in dark shades, they were allowed to be only blondes and redheads. Do you wonder why this is so? Well, Roman soldiers brought a lot of women from their European conquests, most of them were blondes and redheads. Needless to say, almost all "captured" women became slaves and prostitutes. That's why only black-haired girls were considered decent.

The ban on luxury

You've probably heard something about the countless feasts that were arranged by the Roman emperor Nero. But some time before his reign in Rome there was a very strange law that limited the excessive luxury of people in their daily lives. The Romans were allowed to take up to three people on weekdays, and no more than five on market days and holidays.

The Romans also tried to limit spending on food, had a limit on plates, cups and other kitchen utensils in their home. When Nero came to power, these prohibitions were lifted, and still he is a symbol of fear, horror, chaos.