“The Roman Empire” Trend and Masculinity in the Modern Era

A group of men roleplaying as Roman warriors. Credit: Hans Splinter via Flickr

In 1992, novelist Donna Tart wrote in her novel “The Secret History:” “‘Are we, in this room, really very different from the Greeks or the Romans? Obsessed with duty, piety, loyalty, sacrifice? All those things that are to modern taste so chilling?” While Tart’s novel from which this quote is sourced is a satire on elitist college students in the northeast, it contains a nugget of truth within the modern day: an interest in the societies of the past. 

The Internet remains fickle, as within the past weeks a new topic has been sweeping social media platforms such as TikTok. Titled the “Roman Empire trend,” most videos involve people, particularly women, asking the men in their lives how often they think about the Roman Empire. This seemingly innocuous question caught the public eye when TikTokers began to receive fascinating responses. 

“Three times a day,” reported one man on the TikTok account of actress Kira Kosarin. “There’s so much to think about!”

While it would appear those who frequently think of the Roman Empire would be outliers in the general public, this trend has revealed how common these thoughts are to most men. Even celebrities such as Paris Hilton and Lisa Rinna participated, asking their respective partners the now viral question.

While the trend remains entertaining, it also begs the question: why is the Roman Empire so captivating to men in particular? Though it appears unanswerable at first, we can begin to draw conclusions by examining the values and behaviors of ancient Romans, as well as considering the implications placed on that period of history by modern depictions in pop culture.

It is no secret that the Roman Empire has intensely influenced our modern world. From arches to aqueducts, they revolutionized technology in the time period and successfully launched history into a modern age. While these inventions are worthy of admiration, it feels as though there is another factor at play when it comes to the male infatuation of the time period.

In a time when the world is shifting away from its former patriarchal stance and instead focusing on garnering equality for suppressed groups, many men feel “neglected” by this societal shift in culture. With so many advancements in the way of gender equality coming to fruition within the last half a century, the way our society has operated has shifted dramatically in an extremely short amount of time. As written by Andrea Hsu in NPR, “It's very hard for our ideas of fatherhood, motherhood, masculinity, femininity, family life to adapt as quickly as the fundamental economics have changed.”

It’s due to this drastic change that researchers have observed a significant withdrawal from men within the work force. The NPR article notes that 97% of men between the ages of 25 and 54 being employed in August 1962 dropping to approximately 88% of men in that age group being employed in October of 2022. While a 10% drop occurring at a steady rate over 60 years may not be harrowing, it can be indicative of a societal withdrawal men experience as society shifts from focusing on them to examine the lives of more oppressed groups such as women, LGBTQIA+, and people of color. 

Perhaps harkening back to a time when powerful men were at a societal center is a means for men with fragile masculinity to cope with the climate of the modern day.

Enter the Roman Empire, a time period where masculinity reigned supreme. With rulers like Julius Caesar setting the standard of masculinity for the time period. Caesar’s reputation has become larger than life, with his likeness being immortalized in a Shakespeare play and many film adaptations. A man ruling all is a common theme in history, though Caesar did it with a certain violent flare that seems to capture the imagination of many modern men.

Roman soldiers and rulers alike have been immortalized in film countless times in the past century. Films like “Gladiator”, “Spartacus” and “Ben-Hur” serve to illustrate Roman brutality yet romanticize their violence. Within this is a fundamental misunderstanding of what masculinity is that lies both with the audience and the filmmakers. While many associate the idea of a man as being a bloodthirsty, authoritarian figure, we must in the modern day draw a line between what was demanded of men during war-laden eras of history and what a modern man really is.

The deceptive truth is, there is no such thing as a “man” at all. While masculinity surely exists, it does not lie with these so-called “great men” and Romans of the past. Masculinity is not determined by one group or era within history, but is a representation of trends displayed by men throughout all time. It is a gradient of all men of history. The peasants, the farmers, the innovators, and yes, the typical soldier or gladiator. Any man has the potential to represent masculinity, so limiting our view of masculine traits to those of bloodshed and violence only further perpetuates toxic masculine ideals of men being made for combat.

Tart was not far off when she described Roman values of chilling in the modern day. These past ways of living are chilling, captivating, and horrifying. The bloodshed that bred the innovation of the Roman Empire should not be ignored. The Romans should be appreciated, not glorified for being a figurehead of this elusive idea of masculinity. Instead, we must see all eras of history, 

Romans or not, with respect rather than adoration, because the sad truth is, no empire or figure in history is pure enough to be adored. We must employ a modern perspective and not let the past define the present.