Myth v Reality: Roman Animals

When I was tasked with coming up with an idea for one of the Wednesday Wonders Handling Table I was initially anxious. Public speaking is not a strength of mine, but after coming up with the theme – ‘Myth vs. Reality Animals in Rome’ everything else just seemed to fall into place.

Animals were everywhere in Rome. Whether it was a household pet like a dog, or an animal mostly mentioned in myth like a Dolphin, animals were a part of most aspects of Roman life. I took this idea and found objects like a replica dog brooch and coins depicting animals in myth like Romulus and Remus and the she-wolf.

Finding objects was the most interesting, though at times, also the most frustrating part of organising my handling table. From navigating the stores to trying to find coins that could be recognizable gathering objects for the handling table was a miniature adventure. However at the end, I had an exciting range of 16 objects to show the public.

The handling table on Wednesday was even more of an unexpected experience. However, the end result was a table that I hope people enjoyed. Certainly many people stopped to hear about the myths, like Jupiter and Europa, or to handle the many different coins.

Some people were interested in the myths; more were interested in everyday Roman life. Though relating the fact that Hannibal of Carthage brought elephants to Italy to fight in the Second Punic War was a fact that almost everyone found interesting. And still other people were only interested in handling ‘real Roman coins’.

But hopefully, no matter the reason people had for stopping at the table, they left knowing something they hadn’t before.

Jessica: Leicester University MA placement