Aerin’s Reviews > Miracula: Weird and Wonderful Stories of Ancient Greece and Rome > Status Update

There are two days on which a woman pleases most: the day when someone marries her and he carries her into his house, and the day when her husband carries out her dead body. -Hipponax

Har har. I’ve heard the same sentiment expressed in modern times, except it was about owning a boat.

This is a lot of fun, but it should have been edited down. For instance, there’s a section called “Rabies and Tetanus” which is one sentence long and just states that those diseases were common in Rome. Ok? Not sure how that’s a “weird and wonderful story”; it’s not even quoting an ancient author. This kind of non sequitur is all over the place in this book. Makes for a bumpy reading experience.

The peony should be dug up at night, for, if a man does it in day-time and is observed by a woodpecker while he is gathering the fruit, he risks the loss of his eyesight; and, if he is cutting the root at the time, he gets a prolapsed anus.

The more you know.