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A MAXIMALIST’S JOURNEY TOWARD LESS
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4 MUST-HAVE SAVINGS ACCOUNTS TO SECURE YOUR FUTURE HOW TO ENSURE YOUR WILL IS SAFE AND ACCESSIBLE QUESTION AND ANSWERS SPINACH, LENTIL, AND ROASTED BEET SALAD
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RIDICULOUS RULES FROM ANCIENT ROME
P eculiar L aws of the A ncient E mpire ROMAN RULES
While ancient Rome may be known for gladiators, grand conquests, and fashionable togas, a surprisingly intricate legal system kept their civilization in line. They had many laws — some familiar, others bizarre — that dictated the everyday lives of millions of Roman citizens, enslaved people, and soldiers across a vast empire. Here are three of the most outrageous and interesting laws Romans enacted as a republic and an empire. DRESS CODES AND PARTY FOULS Beginning in around 215 BC, the Roman Republic began instituting what was known as sumptuary laws, which restricted the clothes people could wear, foods they could eat, and the maximum number of attendees at parties. They created these, in part, to reduce the costs of banquets, festivals, and other Roman ragers. Some examples were enacted in 213 BC when it became illegal for women to wear colorful dresses — unless they were
celebrating a ritual sacrifice — to wear more than a half ounce of gold or even to ride around in carriages. However, they soon repealed these laws because they considered them antiquated . SHOCKING STATUTE Tough luck for those who like hanging out on tall metal poles — if a lightning strike killed someone in Rome, the law forbade families from burying them! This is because Romans believed lightning strikes were divine retribution from the king of the Roman pantheon, Jupiter. SEE YA LATER, GLADIATOR! Romans “borrowed” the idea of gladiatorial games from their (conquered) neighbors, wherein people would fight — sometimes to the death — for the public’s amusement and began holding them back in 264 BC. However, because only 3 of every 5 people
made it to their 20s at the time, only about 10% of those bouts involved actual fatalities. Many slaves, prisoners of war, and Christian martyrs fought as gladiators in the arena, but if they were already sentenced to execution, they had no hope of survival. One peculiar law involving gladiators was that they would fight until an injured combatant put down his shield and lifted his index finger to ask for mercy. At that point, it would come to an abrupt halt — though the emperor, if in attendance, would make the final decision.
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