How did Romans and people of that time greet one another?

by BirdsLikeSka

Was thinking about the high five today. I know we have waved, lipped hats, shook hands, hugged, nodded, etc.

How would a roman around 300-0 BC greet someone? Would they do it the same as other countries they may trade with? I know it probably still kind of depends on your relationship with that person, but is there any record of what would be common?

gynnis-scholasticus

You might be interested in some links to earlier adjacent topics on here. In this thread, u/mythoplokos describes bowing/prostration among Romans (as well as Greeks), and here, u/Astrogator and others write about handshakes in Ancient Rome. There is also this answer by u/Georgy_K_Zhukov on the "Roman salute" (that the Romans did not actually use), and the use of gestures in general has been discussed here by u/bigfridge224 and u/Tiako (among others) and here by u/XenophonTheAthenian