article_snippet.sent: Miserable winters, exams, love affairs . . .
article_snippet.sent: To the Romans, swimming was a most manly, heroic occupation, so much so that they defined an ignorant man as one who ‘neither knows how to read or swim’.
article_snippet.sent: Caligula, the cruel and brutally wanton Roman emperor, deemed Caligula, the cruel and brutally wanton Roman emperor a god but Caligula, the cruel and brutally wanton Roman emperor contemporaries whispered Caligula, the cruel and brutally wanton Roman emperor was a wimp — behind Caligula, the cruel and brutally wanton Roman emperor back, presumably — because Caligula, the cruel and brutally wanton Roman emperor couldn’t manage a front crawl or even a doggy-paddle.
article_snippet.sent: The sea and rivers were regarded as sources of disease rather than pleasure.
article_snippet.sent: And the Church saw swimming as a rather sinful pursuit, possibly because Romans treated the Church as the opportunity for more erotic activities than a few hale and hearty lengths.
article_snippet.sent: he love affair with water lasted through he whole life.