In ancient Rome - one of the largest empires in the world - there was a place for everything: love and hatred, tragedy and laughter, justice and lawlessness. Rome was the center of historical events - in this ancient capital, wars unfolded and a truce was built. The majestic city was famous for its gladiators, who fought in the arena like tigers. Legionnaires of Ancient Rome were famous for their pride and ruthlessness. Particular attention should be paid to how people saluted in one of the greatest capitals of the world.
Early Roman Greetings
The ancestor of such a gesture is the Slavic worship of the sun. The ancient Slavs worshiped the Sun or Yarila. A lot depended on the sun in their work: a good harvest, well-fed cattle. The Slavs associated the sun with warmth and goodness, it symbolized life. That is why the farmer, leaving early in the field, greeted the still not rising sun. This is one of the versions where Roman greetings come from.
The opinion of historians
According to the historian Guido Clemente, who was born in Italy, the Roman salute was given mainly to noble people, but not to common people. Basically, the commanders, senators and other noble people gave greetings to the crowd. The emperor also saluted his people, thereby expressing appreciation and gratitude for the fact that he supports him.
The problem is that describing the classic Roman greetings of those times is quite difficult. There are no specific sculptures, images or casts greeting the Romans. The widespread method of Roman salutation was first depicted in the painting “The Oath of Horace”, painted in 1784 by Jacques-Louis-David, a French teacher and painter.
In the 20th century, a scandal erupted over Roman greetings. Sergio Bertelli, a professor at the University of Florence, suggested that the Roman salute, in fact, was coined by the director of the film Cabiria, released in 1914. People decided that the gesture seen in the film inspired Benito Mussolini so much that he specifically remembered it and later began to use it as an official greeting to his own fascist party.
Roman greeting Ave
One of the most famous expressions of ancient Rome is the word Ave. Probably many of you have heard the song Ave, Maria. With these words begins the text of the prayer of Catholics to the Virgin Mary. Translated from the ancient Roman language, this prayer can correctly be translated as "Hello, Mary" for ave from the Latin language meant "hello."
This phrase is derived from lat. avere (hello) and was used in imperative form. Usually the greeting of the Roman legionnaires was pronounced to Julius Caesar or to other officials. The writer Guy Suetonius Tranquill in his books mentioned that the gladiators addressed Caesar just before the fight with the help of the greeting ave. It sounded like this: Ave, Caesar! Morituri te salutant! (Ave, Caesar, those who go to death greet you!).
There is also a German counterpart to the Roman salute “Ave!”. It sounds like "Heil!" This greeting was often used by the Nazis when referring to higher ranks. The difference between the Roman and Nazi salutes lies not only in the sound of the word, but also in the gesture.
The inhabitants of ancient Rome greeted, raising his right hand with his elbow up, she was slightly bent. The fingers were relaxed and the gesture itself was generally considered friendly. In Nazi Germany, the chief was greeted with an outstretched arm and slightly upward, the fingers were straight and tightly clenched. The gesture was more direct and harsh than in a city on seven hills.
How did Guy Julius Caesar greet his subordinates?
The famous Roman commander was famous for his friendliness in relation to his subjects. The great emperor greeted each inhabitant of his state and called him by name. This is evidenced by the ancient Greek philosopher and writer Plutarch.
But in response to the greetings of his military, who shouted “Ave, Caesar!”, The emperor answered, smiling and raising his hand up: “Ave to me!”
How in ancient Rome greeted relatives
The great Greek historian Polybius testified to what Roman greetings between close relatives look like. They happened with a kiss on the cheek. The roots of this tradition came from the ancient tradition of Rome, which forbade women from consuming wine. As the ancient Greek historian Dionysius of Halicarnassus reports in “Roman Antiquities,” the whole point is that intoxication in that era was put on a par with adultery. In such cases, the judge was relatives on both sides and the woman’s husband. However, another source of information, the historian Polybius says that there was nothing like this. At that time, instead of wine, a sweet drink was prepared for the fair sex, based on raisins.
It was Polybius who noted that in order for a woman not to be able to drink wine secretly, they came up with a special rule. It stated that the lady should have kissed all her relatives, including children, cousins. Thanks to this slightly unusual method, it was impossible to hide the woman's drinking.
Polybius’s version is more plausible, as the accepted rule with welcoming kisses indicates that sometimes women still succumbed to the temptation and allowed themselves to drink a glass or two of wine. However, it is unlikely that they would be punished with death for this, as King Romulus demanded. Most likely, the punishments for the crime were different and more sparing.
Roman handshake
The exclamation of "Ave!" Legionnaires welcomed their commanders and the emperor. But they would hardly begin to raise their hands and say hello to their colleagues.
So how did the Romans say hello? To do this, they came up with a special greeting, which in our days is called a Roman handshake.
It is carried out by shaking hands, but not hands, as is customary in most cases in modern society, but wrists. This was due to the fact that the ancient Romans carried weapons, knives and daggers not on the side in the scabbard, but in the sleeves of clothes. Therefore, squeezing each other's forearms, the soldiers showed a lack of weapons and good intentions. Below you can see a photo of the Roman greeting
Features of a Roman handshake
It was also of great importance with what force and duration shaking hands occurs. The sharper and more strongly the comrade’s wrist was compressed, the more confident and successful he appeared in front of society. Conversely, a weak and timid handshake characterized the person as weak and powerless.
There is a handshake theory, which indicates that the compression of the palm or wrist of the interlocutor sends special signals with the help of receptors to some areas of the cerebral cortex. They act on the consciousness so that the person in front of us is seen in a more friendly light. Perhaps the ancient Romans knew about this and used this technique.
How were analogues of Roman greeting used in other countries?
In the United States, from the 19th to the 20th centuries, greetings similar to Roman were seen. So, at the Columbus Day, the Oath of Allegiance to the U.S. flag was pronounced. It was demonstrated by Francis Bellamy as follows: while pronouncing the words: “I swear loyalty to my flag,” he raised his right hand to his chest, then sharply raised it up and pointed it directly at the flag. Such a ritual was subsequently widely used in scout organizations under the name Salute Bellamy.
In 1942, this greeting was canceled due to the fact that the gesture very much resembled the greeting of the Nazis. The US Congress decided to pronounce this oath, not raising his hand up, but putting it on his heart.
Acceptance of the Roman Salutation by the Nazis
The Italian politician Benito Mussolini adopted this gesture in a sign of a revival of Roman traditions. In another sense, this could be interpreted as restoring Italy's connection with the great past.
The Roman greeting became official for the National Fascist Party. Following Italy, Germany also adopted it, using the National Socialist German Labor Party as a gesture. In 1926, a greeting became mandatory for its members. In 1937, a Roman greeting was accepted by Spain. Generalissimo Franco ordered all citizens of Spain, except military personnel, to use this greeting as official. In 1945, the decree was repealed.
Knowing the history of the Ancient World is very important. So the connection with our ancestors is strengthened, the intellect is increased, the horizons are expanded. Now you know how the ancient Romans greeted each other, with military leaders and with the emperor himself. And also about how he answered his subjects.