Many people believe that without technologies and modern day amenities ancient people led pretty boring lives. But despite what you may think, some ancient civilizations were quite advanced, even more than modern countries! Women, for instance, used to have much more freedom and power than they’ve had during the past few centuries. Did you know they even invented a type of bikini in Rome? There’s just so much we don’t know about them! Here are 5 amazing and 5 bizarre facts you didn’t know about ancient women.
Size did matter back in the day
Beauty was just as important for ancient women as it is for modern ones. What wouldn’t they do to make their breasts bigger! Some women just used coconut oil to keep skin healthy, yet others went as far as enlarging their breasts via implants. The first ever surgery of such kind was performed in 1895 when a German Bohemian doctor removed a breast tumor and tried to make up for it. Since then all kinds of materials were used starting from glass balls and rubber and ending with ivory.
Royalty in Ancient Egypt
Women may have had some gender equality troubles during the last few centuries, but in Ancient Egypt women had as many rights as men did. They could even become rulers of the country! No matter what gender the child of a ruler was, he or she could easily inherit the throne. This was pretty unusual even for those times!
Animal dung medicine
It’s a well-known fact that ancient people used dung to create medicine. Egyptian warriors used to treat their wounds with dung, while in Scotland people used sheep droppings to cure smallpox. As for women, in Ancient Greece they used crocodile dung as a type of contraceptive. They believed it to be quite powerful!
Roman Barbies
It turns out girls have been playing with dolls since the beginning of times. In the 19th century, archaeologists found an Egyptian sarcophagus that belonged to a young girl. Inside there was a type of Barbie, although, with more true-to-life features – she had round hips and wasn’t as picture-perfect as the modern-day doll. She also had a box packed with stylish outfits.
Athletic women
Ancient Rome was advanced beyond imagination. Not only did Ancient Romans enjoy all kinds of sports, but women liked to enjoy athletics as well! On this mosaic you can see them with dumbbells and what seems to be a throwing disc. A type of an ancient gym, perhaps?
Indian women enjoyed more freedom
It’s hard to imagine Indian society without the institute of arranged marriage, but back in the day Indian women had much more freedom than they do now. Not only could they choose a person they want to marry freely, they could also receive education and study Vedas whenever they felt like it.
A Chinese wife could be abandoned for chatting
Things were much more different in Ancient China. Women had close to no rights at all and had to obey their husbands in everything. All marriages were arranged and more often than not women met their husbands right at the wedding ceremony. A man could easily divorce his wife if she couldn’t bear children, was disrespectful to him or his parents, or even talked too much.
Women were supposed to cry at funerals
When a rich person passed away in Ancient Rome, a huge procession was gathered for the funeral. As a rule, special weeping women were hired to accompany the procession with their lamenting. These ladies tried to imitate grief as much as possible, often scratching their faces and ripping their gorgeous hair. The more respected the citizen was, the more weeping women he had.
The sulfur hair dye
Ancient women liked to experiment with beauty just as much as we do today. That includes changing hair color! Roman and Greek ladies used concoctions that included sulfur to dye their hair. Italian women went as far as soaking their locks in corrosive solution to get that pretty golden color Sulfur powder was also used by European women to create breathtaking looks.
Ancient bikinis
Ancient Roman men had no problem in showing some skin, and the same goes for Roman women as well! A set of mosaics was uncovered at the Villa Romana del Casale in Rome, depicting women playing sports games and just enjoying themselves in general. What made those mosaics so special is the fact that ancient women wore bikinis! Or at least something that really looks like them. They seem quite stylish even today!
