Sergius Orata
Encyclopedia
Sergius Orata was a famed merchant and hydraulic engineer of the Roman Republic
Roman Republic
The Roman Republic was the period of the ancient Roman civilization where the government operated as a republic. It began with the overthrow of the Roman monarchy, traditionally dated around 508 BC, and its replacement by a government headed by two consuls, elected annually by the citizens and...

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Sergius was well-known by his contemporaries because of the breeding and commercialization of oyster
Oyster
The word oyster is used as a common name for a number of distinct groups of bivalve molluscs which live in marine or brackish habitats. The valves are highly calcified....

s, in which he can be considered a pioneer. Orata wanted to take advantage of Romans' taste for shellfish, so he developed a new system for breeding oysters. He constructed channels and preys to control sea tides, as well as high vaults over Lucrine Lake
Lucrinus Lacus
Lucrinus Lacus, or Luctrin Lake is a lake of Campania, southern Italy, about three kilometres to the south of Lake Avernus....

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He is also credited with the invention of the hypocaust
Hypocaust
A hypocaust was an ancient Roman system of underfloor heating, used to heat houses with hot air. The word derives from the Ancient Greek hypo meaning "under" and caust-, meaning "burnt"...

, although this is not fully confirmed. All we know for sure is that he invented a certain type of hanging baths ("balneae pensiles"), some kind of relaxing thermal baths; they are usually considered to be hypocausts. He commercialized them as successfully as the oysters, becoming a sign of distinction among patricians. He used to buy villas
Roman villa
A Roman villa is a villa that was built or lived in during the Roman republic and the Roman Empire. A villa was originally a Roman country house built for the upper class...

, construct the baths, and then resell them at higher prices.

The Romans said of Sergius that he could breed oysters on the roof of his house. Sergius Orata grew rich on his inventions; he was distinguished for his love for luxury and refinement. "The orata," Festus
Sextus Pompeius Festus
Sextus Pompeius Festus was a Roman grammarian, who probably flourished in the later 2nd century AD, perhaps at Narbo in Gaul.He made an epitome in 20 volumes of the encyclopedic treatise in many volumes De verborum significatu, of Verrius Flaccus, a celebrated grammarian who flourished in the...

noted, "is a kind of fish so called for its golden color (aurata, "golden," also spelled orata). ... Because of this, it's said about the very wealthy Sergius that they called him orata, because he wore two big rings of gold. Some authorities assert that his nickname just comes from the commercialization of those fishes."
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