Are Men Obsessed With the Roman Empire? Yes, Say Men.
Women are asking the men in their lives how often they think about ancient Rome. Their responses, posted online, can be startling in their frequency.
The Roman Empire began in 27 B.C. and fell in A.D. 476.
And in A.D. 2023, it went viral on TikTok.
In posts shared on social media, women have been asking the men in their lives how often they think about ancient Rome. “Constantly,” one husband responded. “Like, every day,” said a boyfriend. As of Thursday night, a thread on X, formerly known as Twitter, went on like this for MDCLXXIX messages. (Sorry, that’s 1,679.)
“I’m starting to get sick of being asked about this,” said Kevin Feeney, a faculty fellow at New York University who teaches an introductory class on Roman history. By his estimation, enrollment is about 60 percent male.
Ancient Roman society was “extremely, extremely patriarchal,” he said, and was dominated by such alpha males as Julius Caesar and Augustus, its first emperor.
But that’s far from the whole story of Rome, or of its scholars, he added. Roman society influences everything from the United States’ form of government to its language to its architecture
Many women have been shocked by the enthusiasm men display for the ancient empire.
The trend seemed to really take off last week after Kelsey Lewis Vincent of Wilson, N.C., was scrolling through social media one night when she came across an Instagram Reel mysteriously suggesting that men the world over were hiding a secret: “Ladies, many of you do not realise how often men think about the Roman Empire.”
Judith Hallett, an emeritus professor of classics at the University of Maryland, described ancient Rome as “a place where there were many different definitions of masculinity.”
But after first being exposed to the civilization in middle and secondary school, Dr. Hallett added, many men continue to consume Roman history through mass media.
In recent popular culture, Roman history has been told through entertainment media like “Gladiator,” winner of the 2000 Oscar for best picture, and the TV show “Spartacus,” which focus on battles and often appeal to male audiences. “The games you play and what TV shows you watch are informing a new audience of Roman fans,” she said.
Still, it’s not as if ancient Rome is all that men talk about, Mr. Vincent said.
“We’re not necessarily cracking open beers talking about the Roman Empire,” he said. “But it does kind of come up when we talk about who would win in a fight — a gladiatorial fight — between Thanos and Captain America.”
https://www.nytimes.com/2023/09/15/style/roman-empire-men-tiktok-instagram.html
Women are asking the men in their lives how often they think about ancient Rome. Their responses, posted online, can be startling in their frequency.
The Roman Empire began in 27 B.C. and fell in A.D. 476.
And in A.D. 2023, it went viral on TikTok.
In posts shared on social media, women have been asking the men in their lives how often they think about ancient Rome. “Constantly,” one husband responded. “Like, every day,” said a boyfriend. As of Thursday night, a thread on X, formerly known as Twitter, went on like this for MDCLXXIX messages. (Sorry, that’s 1,679.)
“I’m starting to get sick of being asked about this,” said Kevin Feeney, a faculty fellow at New York University who teaches an introductory class on Roman history. By his estimation, enrollment is about 60 percent male.
Ancient Roman society was “extremely, extremely patriarchal,” he said, and was dominated by such alpha males as Julius Caesar and Augustus, its first emperor.
But that’s far from the whole story of Rome, or of its scholars, he added. Roman society influences everything from the United States’ form of government to its language to its architecture
Many women have been shocked by the enthusiasm men display for the ancient empire.
The trend seemed to really take off last week after Kelsey Lewis Vincent of Wilson, N.C., was scrolling through social media one night when she came across an Instagram Reel mysteriously suggesting that men the world over were hiding a secret: “Ladies, many of you do not realise how often men think about the Roman Empire.”
Judith Hallett, an emeritus professor of classics at the University of Maryland, described ancient Rome as “a place where there were many different definitions of masculinity.”
But after first being exposed to the civilization in middle and secondary school, Dr. Hallett added, many men continue to consume Roman history through mass media.
In recent popular culture, Roman history has been told through entertainment media like “Gladiator,” winner of the 2000 Oscar for best picture, and the TV show “Spartacus,” which focus on battles and often appeal to male audiences. “The games you play and what TV shows you watch are informing a new audience of Roman fans,” she said.
Still, it’s not as if ancient Rome is all that men talk about, Mr. Vincent said.
“We’re not necessarily cracking open beers talking about the Roman Empire,” he said. “But it does kind of come up when we talk about who would win in a fight — a gladiatorial fight — between Thanos and Captain America.”
https://www.nytimes.com/2023/09/15/style/roman-empire-men-tiktok-instagram.html
