It’s easy to picture the modern concept of luxury as being something that has always existed in the same way. Yet, by looking back on how ancient cultures lived, we can see how high-wealth individuals enjoyed their lives in different ways.
Roman Treasures in Museums
The Roman Empire was one of the richest and most luxurious cultures in history. The Emperors, Generals and other high-ranking officials enjoyed a lifestyle that we can see today by looking at the incredible objects they left behind.
Museums around the planet contain jewellery, art and trinkets that let us imagine the comparative extravagance with which they lived to their less fortunate counterparts.
While most of the older buildings in Rome are now in ruins, in some parts of the former Empire we can still find extravagant tiled floors largely intact, with one of the most recent discoveries in Shropshire in the UK.
Our fascination for the Roman love of luxury is one of the reasons its legacy lives on in popular culture. Movies like Gladiator and Ben Hur show the rougher side of life in Rome, but they also give us some glimpses of the style with which the richest could live. Ancient Rome is a popular theme in online slots too.
Titles like Rome Fight for Gold Deluxe and Gladiator: Mega Cash Collect are based on the characters and settings from this era. These games use classic images of Rome to create the right atmosphere, giving us that same mixture of luxury and grittiness seen in the movies mentioned earlier.
The Iconic Gold Mask and Perfumes of Egypt
Ancient Egypt was another of history’s most powerful and long-running empires, so it’s no surprise to find that it contained some of the greatest luxuries the world has ever seen. Major museums like the British Museum contain incredible items.
The legendary gold mask used on King Tutankhamun’s mummy is on display at the Egyptian Museum in Cairo, where visitors can see that gold, quartz and obsidian were among the materials used to create this iconic item.
Recent research has shown that perfumes and cosmetics were among the luxury items used by the rich and powerful in Ancient Egypt. This look at historical perfumes explains how experts were able to recreate the perfume known as Nenúfar or the Sacred Scent of Cleopatra.
Based on the bluewater lily, some modern reviewers suggest that it’s not as exotic or surprising as they had expected it to be.
Explore the Idea of Luxury in Ancient Greece
Ancient Greece has a reputation for being more austere and less luxurious than the other famous cultures we’ve looked at. Perhaps one of the reasons for this is that many of the buildings and sculptures are now stripped of the colourful paint and objects that once covered them.
The BBC series Guilty Pleasures: Luxury in the Ancient Greek and Medieval Worlds shows us how the people from this culture have influenced our idea of luxury, despite the change in attitudes to some aspects since then.
These ancient cultures can teach us a lot about how people have enjoyed spending their wealth and showing their status to the world. Perhaps the biggest lesson we can learn is that luxury has always existed and is always like to exist, even if our views on what exactly this means might change over time.
