Curious about what’s trending on TikTok these days?
Here’s something: a peculiar but interesting obsession with the Roman Empire. Not really. In recent weeks, the “What do you think of the Roman Empire?” The trend has taken over TikTok. Mostly women ask their husbands or boyfriends how often they think about the historical period, and they receive extremely enthusiastic responses.
People wonder why something like this is suddenly gaining popularity. Fortunately, historian Tom Holland has an idea that definitely sheds some light on this trend.
In its Time In a magazine article, Holland explains that the Roman Empire was “the apex predator of antiquity: powerful, terrifying, box-office.” The fact that the Roman Empire was several years ago suggests that modern audiences are not as disturbed by the cruel acts that history teaches us.
“Romans, like dinosaurs, are not just glamorous: they are also safe from extinction,” Holland said.
Holland also writes that there is more than meets the eye when analyzing the trend. “The Romans, more than any other ancient people, seem to offer America a distorted reflection of itself,” Holland suggested. At first it seems a little questionable, but the more Holland explained, the more things started to make sense.
“Just as today’s American conservatives look nostalgically to the Founding Fathers as sponsors of an era of rugged independence and virtue, so the Founding Fathers looked nostalgically to the early years of Rome.
“There, for any nascent republic victorious in a war against a great monarchy, could be found a moral tale that could hardly help but serve as inspiration.
“The Romans, like the Americans, had originally been ruled by a king; then, determined to no longer live in servitude, they had dared everything in a heroic and ultimately successful campaign to expel him.”
Rome and the United States have had their share of “political vendettas pursued in the courts” and “the rise of radicals who preach that the last will be first and the first will be last, to the enthusiasm of many and the dismay of many.” others.”
“When Americans think of Rome,” Holland concludes, “they are thinking of a civilization that is both ‘strange and familiar’; terrifying and glamorous; extinct and the image of themselves.”
That’s a lot to take in. Do you often think about the Roman Empire? People of this period definitely had cool clothes, traditions, and hobbies to be proud of, but constantly thinking about ancient Rome is a bit of a stretch. When they are in Rome, they say let’s do what the Romans do. Maybe we’ll leave this trend to those who are true history buffs.
Categories: Biography
Source: vcmp.edu.vn