Vomitorium

Vomitorium Nîmes amphitheater

As Vomitorium ( lat. , From vomere : vomit, vomit), an access to the rows of seats in Roman theaters , amphitheatres and circi called because there is for the observer on the stage and the arena the impression that the copious viewers would spewed from Vomitorium .

According to a widespread legend, in antiquity there was a crushing room in the villas of rich Romans, which was also called a vomitorium. This was allegedly used at large meals to empty the stomach by deliberately vomiting so that one could continue to eat. Such spaces cannot be proven by archaeological finds, however, the Romans went to the latrina to vomit .

In addition, “Vomitorium” is the Latin foreign word for emetic, alongside the Greek emetic .

See also

• Food culture in the Roman Empire
• Cuspidor

Web links

• Caillan Davenport, Shushma Malik: Mythbusting Ancient Rome - the truth about the vomitorium, article on the myth of the vomitorium as a "breaking room", in: HeritageDaily from January 2017 (English)

Wiktionary: Vomitorium  - explanations of meanings, word origins, synonyms, translations