Ancient Rome: A place or concept?

Rome is an idealized concept in the West, and since we focus on this more than Rome as a civilization or people, there are lessons from the realities of everyday life in Rome that we oftentimes ignore and we have a romanticized ideal in our heads.

Roman culture pervades western society in language, art, and culture. The legacy of Rome has been kept alive by those who cling to its glory. One example of this is our calendar. The Julian calendar is the ancestor for the calendar we use today. Every four years is a leap year, where we add an extra day just so the math adds up. This being said, it can be inferred that this way of quantifying time isn’t the most accurate today though it was remarkable at the time (unrv.com). Yet, we still accept and embrace it 1600 years later. How this backing proves your warrant: This is just one small example of how Rome was the blueprint for modern western civilization. It could be argued that this is the calendar we are “used to” and never thought to change, but it just goes to show how we idealize Rome so much that we use its calendar for how we quantify something so important as time.

Roman artifacts and remains are prized in places well beyond Italy. One very good example of this is Britain, where there is the city of Bath, Hadrian's wall, and multiple aqueducts. These three examples are prized tourist attractions and the people there don’t look at it with distaste, for they actually embrace it as part of their history. This is particularly interesting because places like Britain were conquered brutally, so it would be plausible to think that they would not have favorable views of it (Mattingly, 2020). There is, however, a statue of Boudicca in London, meaning that the British have not forgotten their history. They still honor her, but that doesn’t mean that they consider the Roman Empire a bad point in history. Eutropius in book 7 of his work considers the conquest of Britain a “triumph”, and this showcases his personal bias naturally, but as it is a very full account of Roman history, it reinforces the idea that any victory by Rome was a victory for everyone.

Regarding the monarchy, the title “king” became stigmatized in Rome after the removal of Tarquin the Proud (Gill, 2019). This culture of wariness also became prevalent after the American Revolution. In fact, the city of Cincinnati, Ohio, was named for George Washington, because he was analogized to Cincinnatus, rejecting the title of king. The distaste for absolutism that stemmed from the monarchy had pervaded other cultures years later who used Rome as a cautionary tale.

Gladiatorial combat is an extremely romanticized concept in pop culture. This can be seen in the movie Gladiator starring Russell Crowe as well as the STARZ show Spartacus. This started during the republic in the year 294 BC, and became especially prevalent after the revolt of the actual Spartacus in 73 BC (UChicago). This cultural contribution of the republic is glamorized, and oddly enough, sometimes even sexualized today. Gladiator sandals for women even became a trendy accessory in the mid 2010’s. Once again, this shows just how even brutality and slavery of conquered people is not seen as horrible or taboo, but rather celebrated in the West. Once again, if our idea of Rome was truly about its people and civilization, then fetishizing such an ugly part of it would likely be unacceptable in today’s society.

In the Empire, starting with Caesar Augustus, there were multiple contributions to culture. In the Res Gestae by Augustus himself, there is much listed regarding temples and other cultural structures. Under Hadrian the Pantheon was built. Aside from being a major tourist attraction today, it was also the inspiration for later structures such as the Jefferson and Lincoln memorials and the Capitol Building in Washington DC (Mark. 2020). The strides in architecture and culture that the empire specifically made are synonymous with professionalism (columns and arches often on banks, courts, government buildings and secondary education buildings).

Roman culture is revered in the West. We use its architecture and language to denote seriousness, such as in the law, academia, and medicine. We take its entertainment, make it palatable, such as in a Hollywood movie, and then use it for our own entertainment. Any remnants of it—even in places where the natives were conquered and enslaved by force — are a source of pride and many times are tourist attractions meant to convey the advancement that Romans brought.

We don’t think of Roman conquest as “ugly” like we do other conquests, such as the conquest of the Americas by the Spanish, British, Portuguese and French in the 16th century. As discussed in Mattingly (2020) Roman exploitation and slavery of “barbarians” isn’t looked at with disgust by conquered people, it is actually appreciated. There is a perceivable difference in today’s climate of how Roman conquest such as the Gallic wars, and the conquest started with Christopher Columbus, for example, is viewed. Much of this has to do with outcomes, but there is undeniably a part that has to do with the way that we think of Rome.

Rome was notorious for Christian persecution up until the point of Constantine. Yet, the Catholic Church does not look upon Rome with distaste, it actually embraces it as well, for example the early church mimicked the structure of the empire and Latin is used still in prayer and other rites (Gay, 2019). Even though Pontius Pilate killed Jesus himself for the sake of Rome, and Christian persecution was rampant, the Catholic Church embraces Roman culture. This in itself speaks volumes. It proves that the people or society of Rome are not what we remember and focus on. History remembers a great opulent empire that fell and seemingly the world plunged into darkness, characterized by the medieval period.

During Rome’s monarchy, there was little expansion, but significant wars. Priscus Tarquinius defeated both the Etruscans and the Sabines as according to Eutropius Book 1 (Bohn, 1853). The defeat and kidnapping of the Sabines was immortalized in a few paintings, and for this reason, the conquest and kidnapping of the Sabine women is remembered as a tragedy rather than a stunning victory. Artist adaptations of history undoubtedly shape the perspective of viewers, and this is no exception. What can be inferred from this is that because by and large, Rome is portrayed as an opulent and expansive empire, their methods are not perceived as barbaric.

The Republic was the time period of many important wars, such as the Pyrrhic wars, The Punic Wars, and the Gallic Wars. In particular, Hannibal Barca can be considered one of Rome’s greatest adversaries and one of history’s most iconic generals. Much of this has to do with how he was able to hold his own against Rome, and stave off their control of Carthage for so long. Had Rome not been thought of as so great, then Hannibal’s survival wouldn’t be so respected. Hannibal ultimately lost his fight and Carthage to Roman control. It is because we think of Rome as this infallible, and powerful entity that we respect Hannibal so much for surviving as long as he did.

Perhaps during the years of the empire, one of the most prevalent examples of history romanticizing the concept of Rome and conquest was in its long struggle with Egypt, and especially its last pharaoh, Cleopatra. Exemplified by her Hollywood portrayal by late actress Elizabeth Taylor as well as multiple others, Cleopatra is remembered by history as a beautiful, headstrong seductress who charmed her way into agreements with Rome and saved her people. However, historically speaking, many argue that she was not conventionally beautiful, and her charm was mainly in her drive and intelligence. This Roman propaganda has survived for centuries, and though we can almost guarantee she was no exceptional beauty, it seems history would rather remember her as a harlot in a headdress than a leader fierce and intelligent enough to go up against the mighty Julius Caesar and the even mightier Rome. The glamorization of Cleopatra is not really a compliment, you see, French philosopher Blaise Pascal made the assertion that had her nose only been shorter the face of the earth would look different (Van oppen, 2018). . It is possible that beauty standards at the time were different, but the fact still remains that her physical appearance has been attributed to the power she was able to hold. If it were a force other than Rome who struggled against her, perhaps her legacy would be remembered differently.

The price of glory in Rome gets overlooked. It seems like no matter what, we as a Western society simply can’t bring ourselves to dislike Rome. The value that this civilization brought to the world is invaluable, so this is not necessarily a bad thing or a cultural flaw, but so far much of what we feel about Rome is through the lens of its perceived greatness. If we were concerned about the daily life of Roman citizens and conquered people, then Rome surely would not be having the impact today that it has.The romanticization of Rome has much to do with how we interact with its legacy. The modern ideas constructed around these examples show that Rome is a synonym for “great” or “powerful” or “opulent” rather than an actual place that had both good sides and bad sides.

It could be argued that because we have an idealized version of Rome in our heads we simply emulate its style and not substance. However, we have carried more than just art and literature with us. We’ve tried to emulate Rome in ways that aren’t just concerned with looks and entertainment.

In the USA, our constitution is based on Roman structure. The idea of separating powers, especially into three parts, was largely inspired by Rome’s triumvirate. The collective appreciation is not just for Rome’s facade. Rome is thought of as synonymous with success and greatness, so western culture seeks to imitate it in many forms. The founders and framers of the USA also added a senate and House of Representatives as well as the idea of a republic with the intention of emulating Rome (Ames & Montgomery, 1934).

It is discussed at length in Kumar (2012) that British conquest was very much inspired by Greece and Rome, because they are considered the “parents” of western civilization. Britain tried to emulate the greatness and power of Rome. The Roman Empire is symbolic with this example, because the British wanted to “spread civilization”, just like they felt the Romans did. At one point, the Celtic tribes were the “uncivilized” ones, and yet the British at the time must have thought that Rome benefited them overall.

The monarchy ended with Tarquin the Proud. History has remembered him as a cruel tyrant ever since. Beyond his own legacy, the monarchy also set the stage for the ideals of personal freedom spread in the Renaissance and the idea of free conscience that spurred the Protestant Reformation. (Lewis, 2011). The denial of personal rights and centralized power was something that scarred Western minds for centuries afterwards up until today. In this way, the Roman monarchy was more of a “what not to do”, but still, the decentralization of power in response to the failed monarchy was emulated.

In the republic, structures like the senate and the council of plebs existed (National Geographic Society, 2018) which served as a basis for the constitution of the USA. This topic has been touched on previously but what is important to understand is that these men were extremely educated and really understood the history of Rome (Ames & Montgomery, 1934). They thought the republic was the best part of Rome’s history and sought to emulate that. The USA is sometimes known as an experiment, or a type of government that has never been tried before. With this in mind, we can infer that the founders could not have come up with the constitution unless they idealized Rome. It is hard to say whether they personally appreciated Rome as a place or concept, but it is safe to say that they too, believed Rome was a symbol of success and prosperity.

Regarding the empire, its emulation has been attempted many times. For those who tried to emulate the empire, we will be speaking of Napoleon Bonaparte. His military strategy mirrored that of the Roman Empire. He made his French army march under an eagle banner. He kept his French army and his foreign armies separate. He also thought it was natural for a military commander to be a political leader, though that was not the cultural norm of his time. Napoleon was presented wearing togas and laurel wreaths in coinage and art, and he built triumphal arches similar to that of Rome. He didn’t just have an appreciation for Roman culture, he also wanted to emulate the way the military was run and wanted France to be the new Rome (Knighton, 2016). Napoleon was just one example of the many who wanted to form an empire like that of Rome. What is specifically telling about this is that he focused so much on military strategy. He wasn’t trying to write the next Aeneid or build the next Colosseum. To him, Rome once again was a metaphor for power and expansion, even though much of what made Rome great was the cultural diffusion and ability to create, not just conquer.

It could be argued that maybe we just like the looks and not the history of Rome, but it doesn’t seem like this is the case. It seems that we genuinely have a favorable view of Rome overall. Even conquered people such as the British and Gaulish tribes who are the modern-day French wanted to emulate them and were willing to refer to their own origins as “uncivilized” and “savage” to justify the imperialism they spread to other places in the world with the idea of emulating Rome.

Roman culture is ubiquitous in western culture. When we say culture, some reduce that to art, literature, and language. However, it is important to realize that this is simply not the case, because military and governing strategy was also heavily imitated. Former enemies of Rome such as Gauls and Britons became some of its greatest imitators later on. It is highly unlikely, for example, that modern-day Maya would want to emulate Spanish conquistadors. There is a double standard when it comes to Roman conquest for the most part. That being said, the question is why. With the examples listed, it is safe to say that Rome in the modern Western view is more of a concept than an actual historical place and time. It is a metaphor for excellence, prosperity, and an empire that “had it all”, in other words, able to have conquest and economic success as well as a rich culture and not neglect one for the other. The idolization of the concept of Rome is well-deserved because it truly was the strongest empire of its time. However, we cannot discount what it was like for the average Roman to live, because that also plays into the definition of “great”, and it is something often forgotten on the quest to greatness. Nothing has been able to match Rome even though it has been imitated so many times, and that is because they didn’t really understand the specific conditions for Rome to work, and probably also didn’t know what it meant to actually “work”. It seems that so many were chasing an unattainable ideal under the impression that it was once a reality, and to understand history in full, we must separate the conceptual from the factual.

Sources

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