This article published on Tripcrazed's frontpage on 30092009 LINK 

In Rome, I was walking on the street, someone walked near to me and hold my arm in sudden. I was wowed and sheer perplexed. I loathed and leered lasciriously at him. He is a  young man dressed up like an ancient Roman soldier. "Can I take a photo with a pretty lady like you?" he asked benevolently. I look at him bewilderly without uttering a word. "But you have to pay me Euro 4." he continued. "Oh, that's cheap! Because if you want to take picture with me, you will have to pay me at least Euro 10." I said. He was stunned and looked at me with a pair of big round eyes. Then, we laughed together.

Man who dressed up like ancient Roman soldier walked around Rome especially nearby the tourist spots. They catered the phototaking service for the tourists. Definately, you have to pay for it. " In order to show that I'm a nice guy, I will take picture with your boy friend for free" he said. As a result, I paid Euro 4 for both Lexson and I.

In Roman history, Roman soldiers were very strong and tough, they had to march over 20 miles a day with heavy things to carry. They had to carry equipment such as tents, food, cooking pots and weapons as well as wearing all their armour. They are divided into two categories as legionaries and auxiliaries.

(1) Roman Legionary
The Roman legionary was a soldier who was a Roman citizen younger than 45 who had Roman citizenship. Legionaires served in the army for 20 years. They were well-armed and great fighting men They also served as engineers and craftsmen to build roads, bridges and forts.

(2) Roman Auxiliary
The Auxiliaries were non-Roman citizens. They were recruited from tribes that had been conquered by Rome or were allied to Rome. Roman Auxiliaries served in the army for 25 years. And, they were paid less than the legionaires. After the service period, then only they can become Roman citizens.

Today, I saw ancient Roman soldiers passed by Rome.