Is Rome On The Rise?

[Viggen]

Just a thought here...

 

When we started Unrv.com there wasnt much talk in the media or in the public in general about ancient Rome, looking back the last couple of months, its Rome everywhere, from television series upcoming movies, political talks, books from main stream authors, Rome, Rome Rome....

 

is it just me or do you also feel there is something going on here?

 

cheers

viggen

[Favonius Cornelius]

I think there has been a gradual increase in awareness of Roman history since the movie Gladiator. Say what you will about it, a lot of people love it and has caused them to look into the Romans.

 

These days, I would not be suprised if some folks jaded over America's actions the past years has caused some 'fall of empire' contemplation, whatever your view on all that may be.

[Primus Pilus]

These days, I would not be suprised if some folks jaded over America's actions the past years has caused some 'fall of empire' contemplation, whatever your view on all that may be.

 

That's true... such commentary routinely shows up in the mainstream press. Regardless of one's personal feelings about the matter, it can't do anything but help awareness of history, and therefore this particular discussion forum.

[Pantagathus]

I think it does have a lot to do with current brouhaha over the preceived and/or real aspects of American Hegemony and its future.

 

Like P-P, regardless of the reason, I love it.

[Gaius Paulinus Maximus]

I remember when i was younger the only Roman related films we used to watch were re-runs of either Ben Hur or Sparticus and oddly they only seemed to be shown at christmas????

But now a days with such advances in special effects and cinematography i think the makers of the modern epics such as Gladiator, Troy and Alexander realised that they can finally do the stories justice using the technology that wasn't available ten or fifteen years ago, they are now able to show all the battle scenes in their true glory, with the help of computer imagery they can now have battles consisting of hundreds of thousands of soldiers instead of just a few hundred extra's re-enacting battle scenes, they can show us how Rome would have looked in all its glory or the walls of Troy for instance.

[DecimusCaesar]

Maybe a little of this intrest in Rome and history in general exists strongly now because we are living in the first decade of the new millennium. In the run up to the Millennium a series of historical documentaries and books were released because people were feeling increasingly nostalgic and wanted to know how far we had come since the beginning of the last millennium (and even before that). Gladiator might have been released during the first year of the new millennium to reflect that, which has led to a resurgence of intrest in history, including that of Ancient Rome. It has of course been fuelled by the release of more and more books, TV shows, documentaries and Films.

[Ursus]

The "classics" had been almost dead in Western, or at least American, culture for a while. I think part of the resurgence is that people were getting tired of the post-colonial, multi-cultural atmosphere that pervades Western intellectualism, and wanted to get back to their own heritage. Nonetheless, the fact that the methods of post-colonial studies can still be applied to the Classics means there has been no end of academic treatises on Rome in recent years.

[Julius Ratus]

Rome had been the guiding star of the west since the fall of the Empire. Throughout history there have been phases of Roman interest. Just 70 years ago or so Mussolini wanted to resurect the Roman empire. Napoleon, likewise, emulated Rome with his golden eagles and Imperial ambitions. What was the Rennaisannce if not a ressurection of Greco-Roman culture?

[Virgil61]

The "classics" had been almost dead in Western, or at least American, culture for a while. I think part of the resurgence is that people were getting tired of the post-colonial, multi-cultural atmosphere that pervades Western intellectualism, and wanted to get back to their own heritage. Nonetheless, the fact that the methods of post-colonial studies can still be applied to the Classics means there has been no end of academic treatises on Rome in recent years.

 

My first thoughts were similar to your post. A good read is the "Closing of the American Mind" by Allan Bloom. Love it or hate it it was one of the first to lament the abandonment of a traditional 'liberal education' which included more classical elements.

Edited October 4, 2006 by Virgil61

[Krackalackin]

I personally have become interested in Classical History lately for a reason that has a lot of bearing on this thread. I first did because I gained an interest for Alexander the Great but t continued. The reason why I'm still very interested in Classical history is because it was back then that things made much more sense than today and it's frankly, a more attractive period than ancient and medieval.

 

What I mean when I write things made sense is that literally, things made sense back then. If you were an Egyptian, you hated the Persians, if you were a Greek, you believed in Zeus and Heracles. You worked all day and were extremely loyal to the state and family and war was considered a luxury to participate in. Things were the way they should be back then. It was before the arrival of the Industrial Revolution which has now successfully turned the world upside down and abdicates that everything is subservient to the Global Economy. I envy the people that lived in those days. They may have been illiterate and never traveled more than twenty miles but they held dear traditional things such as culture and integrity that is no longer so common or important. The greatest thing back then was that National Unity and Purity was considered imperative for the safety of the Regime. War was inevitable, sure, but war was always sought after anyway. Today, it seems the leaders of the world (especially the richer, more powerful ones) believe the way to avoid this is to interbreed everyone and destroy national feelings. Also, the world should work together for personal gain and this will inhibit countries from going to war.

 

It's really just a complete mess and it's hard for me to sort out, principally. I'd rather things still made sense.

 

As for the connection between my America and Rome, it has no place on this thread but I agree. I believe the best days of this country are over and is now in decline. I don't know how long each cycle will take but I believe we're in the period of selfishness.

[M. Porcius Cato]

Ah, yes, Allan Bloom...In my opinion, the decline of the liberal arts in favor of math, science, and engineering has paradoxically helped the liberal arts, including the classics.

 

Clearly the classics are not as popular (proportionately) as they once were, but the quality of the work today is just amazing. So, while it's true that kids today haven't the same background in the classics as the kids did back when Shakespeare was in school, no one in Shakespeare's day had the training in archaeology, linguistics, papyrology, genetics, prosopography, and other methods that would have allowed them to go beyond the surviving written words that were left to them.

 

Also, the fact that fewer uninterested people are forced to waste time on the classics is a good thing. I'd rather that people like Bill Gates and Steve Jobs had the freedom to focus on personal computers than that they had spent the same time puzzling out whether Caesar was born in 102 or 100. Thanks in part to their DISINTEREST in Rome, mere mortals like us have got the computer and the internet, which makes all kinds of classical education possible that would otherwise be impossible, including this very forum. Thanks to the much lamented decline in classical education in favor of science and engineering, Romanophiles like me can find three scholarly articles on the lex Gabinia in less than 3 minutes. And examples like that aren't difficult to find.

[Tobias]

Perhaps the West is going through a stage of nostalgia? Maybe the idea of a universal Roman culture now seems not too bad compared to the way things are now?

 

Seriously though, I believe Cato makes a good point. We now have more access to knowledge via computers etc. This access is educating more and more people; people actually know now about Rome, instead of it being one of those things you've heard of but don't know anything about. With this increase in access to knowledge comes a thirst for more; the people want more things to do with their past, now that they know more about it and can find more out about it.

[Virgil61]

Ah, yes, Allan Bloom...In my opinion, the decline of the liberal arts in favor of math, science, and engineering has paradoxically helped the liberal arts, including the classics...

 

Well of course, God bless the science geeks. But my thoughts aren't of the zero sum variety, liberal arts suffering at the gain of the sciences, but rather what constitutes a common core of an educated individuals knowledge. I don't think there's anything particularly wrong with works from the classical era making a reappearance in a common-core curriculum.

[Horatius]

It's a good thing that all of us with a common interest can communicate so easily.

Edited October 5, 2006 by Horatius

[M. Porcius Cato]

Well of course, God bless the science geeks. But my thoughts aren't of the zero sum variety, liberal arts suffering at the gain of the sciences, but rather what constitutes a common core of an educated individuals knowledge. I don't think there's anything particularly wrong with works from the classical era making a reappearance in a common-core curriculum.

 

No argument here. I'm a big fan of the common-core, and the study of the ancient mediterranean should be a part of that. For someone to graduate from college without reading Perikles' funeral oration...well, I just shudder.

 

I guess I was more reacting to the Allen Bloom/Mortimer J. Adler-types who seem to think that knowledge came to a halt in the 19th century and that an intellectual can thrive while being completely ignorant of disciplines that were virtually non-existent in the 19th century (e.g., statistics, economics, modern biology, cognitive science, etc). These bright and idealistic students who end up in so-called "Great Books" colleges are really missing out on a lot.