Strange Superstitions and Curious Customs of the Ancient World

€12.99

A compilation of the oddest, most eccentric and truly bizarre customs, laws and superstitions of our forefathers. Alicia and Matheos Chrysosthoun have combed the planet to bring you the very best of the very odd.

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Strange Superstitions and Curious Customs of the Ancient World

When husbands from the oriental province of Pem left home on a journey of longer than twenty days duration, their wives were entitled to take another husband in the interim.

According to the ancient Irish Brehon laws, a wife could annul her marriage if her husband was obese, or if he was a gossip who would brag of his bedroom antics.

Spartans going into battle ensured their hair was combed and well groomed as they considered it improper to die with untidy hair.

The Romans used a plaster composed of spiders’ webs soaked in oil and vinegar to staunch the flow of blood from minor gashes.

In one ancient Ethiopian tribe, the wives of tribal members were shared. Anyone committing adultery with the wife of the tribal chief, however, was fined a sheep.

Description

A compilation of the oddest, most eccentric and truly bizarre customs, laws and superstitions of our forefathers. The people of Cathay demanded such a huge level of respect by children towards their parents that a specific department of state existed solely to punish those upsetting their parents in any way! People through the ages have had their own particular customs and traditions and have always looked with some amusement on those of their neighbours. These customs can evolve and change radically, and traditions which were commonplace 2,000 years ago now appear bizarre or hilarious. This book transcends eras and cultures by uniting them with the common theme of superstition and custom, proving that perhaps we are not so fundamentally different from our most ancient ancestors, no matter how sophisticated we think ourselves.

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