7 Myths on Roman Window Shades

The myths of Roman window shades show how people were attached to their gods and ensuing impacts on their lives. These seven myths have been critical in bringing out crucial views, designs, and emboldening creativity in shades design.

• Manes, (one of the ancient Roman ghosts) was benevolent and did not harass the souls of the dead. The ghost, which was also referred as a blind by Seneca Apocolycyntosis was receptive and even protected the souls of those who were kind in their lives. Though there lacks a consensus on when Manes would visit, some historians indicate that lovely window covers were used to make him happy.

• Ancient Romans held a holiday of the shades of the dead. During this holiday, beans were used to please the ghosts and avoid bad luck. One of the holidays was Lemuria and a big festival was initiated by Romulus (a ghost) to please the ghost of his brother who was murdered. During the festivities, some ghosts such as Lemures demanded people to keep their windows covers open as a sign of respect to them. This has been central in development of window blinds that are transparent.

• In private living rooms, divine house hold gods were treated with veneration such as penates and hidden from strangers using window blinds. To bring luck to the family, portraits of great family members were kept in the room, fire burnt in the fireplace continuously and roofs made in a slanting mode. The blinds had to be kept neat by cleaning them regularly and replacing them after aging. To appease the god, the house owner could also replace the blinds with new models once they were discovered.

• Because Romans were not well acquainted with chimneys in their houses, the bellowing smoke was taken in bad faith. To remedy the problem, the Romans anointed their fuel wood and closed the windows using blinds made by plates of horns and sewn together with wood shutters. Though the effect of this has been in contention because smoke still came out of the chimney, the opaque covers made people inside the house not to see what was happening in the outside. This myth was responsible for slow development of transparent blinds especially those made of glass.

• Installing a good blind was strongly regarded because it signified show of respect to Fortuna, the goddess of luck. This mythology made many people in the ancient Roman Empire to beautify their houses with blinds because they believed fortune would befall them. The interpretation of this has at times differed. Some psychologists in classic history interpreted the colourful blinds to psychologically enhance a good relaxing and re-energizing environment. However, a significant population in Italy and some countries that were conquered by Roman Empire still hold to the belief that luck would be on their side when they install good window blinds.

• A house without window blinds was believed to be a major risk to family members who lived in it. Seneca Apocolycyntosis indicated that every dead person in a family would come back in form of a spirit or blind to guard reward or harmed him/her. When a family failed to install blinds on the windows, the ghosts could come and still harm them even if they were good when he/she was alive. On the other hand, the ghost could reconsider harming the family members even if he/she was offended after finding lovely blinds on the window. This myth has been associated with seasonality of weather in Europe which could result to damages in winter or summer when windows were not covered appropriately.

• Romans in ancient Rome believed that their leaders could talk to gods directly and communicate to the people. While this practice closely mimics the religious practice especially in the Roman Catholic Church, some people hold dissenting views about it. It was believed that the premises used by leaders and even their homes had to be covered by window blinds for gods to come. In some roman communities, the gods were considered to work through spirits of dead family members. Special rooms had to be set and maintained to avoid being harmed by gods.

These myths on Roman window shades have been central to development of window blinds and their use in Italy, Europe and the entire world. They have particularly been critical in redefining creativity in design of window covers and enhancing complete revolution on interior designs.

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