# Men: How often do you think about the Roman Empire? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [September 15, 2023, 8:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/men-how-often-do-you-think-about-the-roman-empire/990182 "2023-09-15T20:38:49Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Terminus\_Est](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terminus_est/32/3087_2.png) [@Terminus\_Est](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Terminus_Est)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2023, 3:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/men-how-often-do-you-think-about-the-roman-empire/990182/41 "2023-09-16T03:53:06Z")
If I’m playing _Crusader Kings_ or _Europa Universalis_, I’ll probably be thinking almost continually about whether I should attempt to reform the Imperium Romanum. (Not that I’ve ever accomplished such a feat.) ---
**Author:** ![eschereal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eschereal/32/18939_2.png) [@eschereal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eschereal)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2023, 4:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/men-how-often-do-you-think-about-the-roman-empire/990182/42 "2023-09-16T04:17:31Z")
I watched _The View_ segment and came to the conlusion that this is some sort of sly lateral code for “_How often do you think about sex?_” ---
**Author:** ![Babale](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/babale/32/15666_2.png) [@Babale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Babale)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2023, 4:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/men-how-often-do-you-think-about-the-roman-empire/990182/43 "2023-09-16T04:31:03Z")
> [@Terminus\_Est](#): > > I’ll probably be thinking almost continually about whether I should attempt to reform the Imperium Romanum Closest I’ve ever come was in Crusader Kings 3, started as Matilda and managed to take all of Italy (including Rome - I forget if I kicked out El Papi or vassalized him) and then took over Burgundy and Bavaria through marriage. From there I got my heir elected Holy Roman Emperor and started alternatively fighting France and the Byzantines. A couple generations later I took over major parts of France, Hungary, Bulgaria, and most of Greece. I was at war with the Byzantines for Anatolia, defending crusader states I’d conquered, and starting to think that I might be hetting close to a Roman restoration. That was when disaster struck. Half the princes of the HRE went into open rebellion, and the Caliphate in Iberia attacked my western flank. Then my character was assassinated leading to a succession crisis. Man, I need to play Crusader Kings again. ---
**Author:** ![Novelty\_Bobble](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/a3d4f5/32.png) [@Novelty\_Bobble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Novelty_Bobble)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2023, 5:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/men-how-often-do-you-think-about-the-roman-empire/990182/44 "2023-09-16T05:36:22Z")
Fairly often, On my walk to work I can see a Roman fort so it is hard to avoid thinking about what that must’ve looked like in its heyday. ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2023, 6:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/men-how-often-do-you-think-about-the-roman-empire/990182/45 "2023-09-16T06:15:45Z")
I guess I do think about it a little when I’m doing some Bible reading in the New Testament, but that’s about it. ---
**Author:** ![susan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/susan/32/17537_2.png) [@susan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/susan)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2023, 6:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/men-how-often-do-you-think-about-the-roman-empire/990182/46 "2023-09-16T06:37:47Z")
I’m a woman and think about the Roman Empire several times a week. Today I was pondeting the fate of Herculaneum. ---
**Author:** ![PatrickLondon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/patricklondon/32/4422_2.png) [@PatrickLondon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PatrickLondon)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2023, 8:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/men-how-often-do-you-think-about-the-roman-empire/990182/47 "2023-09-16T08:38:33Z")
I don’t see the point. I mean, what have the Romans ever done for us? ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2023, 9:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/men-how-often-do-you-think-about-the-roman-empire/990182/48 "2023-09-16T09:39:39Z")
Yeah, daily. I live in Dorset. Every time I drive anywhere, I find myself looking down a _very straight_ section of road, or driving past a place called Blandford Forum or Minterne Parva or Canford Magna or Toller Porcorum (That last one means ‘Valley of Pigs’) ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2023, 11:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/men-how-often-do-you-think-about-the-roman-empire/990182/49 "2023-09-16T11:34:11Z")
I mean, I think about a lot of things. My mind is always bouncing from one thing to another. How often does it bounce to the Roman Empire? I’d say fairly often - but then ,you could say that about thousands of other subjects, too. ---
**Author:** ![Q.Q.Switcheroo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/q.q.switcheroo/32/5713_2.png) [@Q.Q.Switcheroo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.Q.Switcheroo)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2023, 11:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/men-how-often-do-you-think-about-the-roman-empire/990182/50 "2023-09-16T11:40:38Z")
> [@PatrickLondon](#): > > I don’t see the point. I mean, what have the Romans ever done for us? Wome is your fwiend! ---
**Author:** ![eburacum45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eburacum45/32/8690_2.png) [@eburacum45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eburacum45)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2023, 11:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/men-how-often-do-you-think-about-the-roman-empire/990182/51 "2023-09-16T11:47:55Z")
Often. Even my user name is in Latin. _I Claudius_ is being repeated on BBCi Player and we are about half-way through. Note; I often think about the Republic as well; you do know that Spartacus was set during the Republic, don’t you? ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2023, 3:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/men-how-often-do-you-think-about-the-roman-empire/990182/52 "2023-09-16T15:13:52Z")
> [@eschereal](#): > > I watched _The View_ segment and came to the conlusion that this is some sort of sly lateral code for “_How often do you think about sex?_” If so, the OP’s poll should have included entries for “constantly”, “hourly”, and “several times per day.” And I bet the results would skew very differently too. 😉 I know _my_ vote would be different 😁 :leer: ---
**Author:** ![Pardel-Lux](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pardel-lux/32/20182_2.png) [@Pardel-Lux](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pardel-Lux)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2023, 5:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/men-how-often-do-you-think-about-the-roman-empire/990182/53 "2023-09-16T17:04:13Z")
Asterix makes me think of Rome again and again, around 44 BC, shortly before Ceasar’s death. And once upon a time I had a girlfriend named Sabine, which… huh, complicated story, that was, but the relation to sex was once there. So I used to think about ancient Rome (pre-Empire, mostly) more often than I do now. ---
**Author:** ![Babale](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/babale/32/15666_2.png) [@Babale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Babale)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2023, 6:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/men-how-often-do-you-think-about-the-roman-empire/990182/54 "2023-09-16T18:00:11Z")
> [@Pardel-Lux](#): > > So I used to think about ancient Rome (pre-Empire, mostly) more often than I do now. When I lived in Israel, like others here, I saw evidence of the Roman Empire all around me on a daily basis (the town next door was called Caesaria and the beach I often went to was littered with the ruins of Roman aqueducts - the name translates as “Beach of Arches”). So I used to think about Rome more often than I do now. (Also, when Trump was in offices and violating historical norms every Tuesday and Thursday, I often wondered whether he’d reached his Rubicon). ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2023, 6:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/men-how-often-do-you-think-about-the-roman-empire/990182/55 "2023-09-16T18:02:11Z")
> [@Czarcasm](#): > > Occasionally, when I see a Trojan advert. Well, it was cool when Hector led those elephants over the Alps. ---
**Author:** ![HoneyBadgerDC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/honeybadgerdc/32/1033_2.png) [@HoneyBadgerDC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HoneyBadgerDC)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2023, 6:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/men-how-often-do-you-think-about-the-roman-empire/990182/56 "2023-09-16T18:06:39Z")
i think about it often but not very deeply and not for very long. I just find it crosses my mind a lot. ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2023, 6:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/men-how-often-do-you-think-about-the-roman-empire/990182/57 "2023-09-16T18:08:22Z")
Literally, only when I come across it doing research. Did you realize the Romans had something like a Swiss Army Knife, for eating, consisting of a blade, a spoon, an opener for containers and a pick for taking snails out of their shells? Figuratively, all the time. ---
**Author:** ![Babale](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/babale/32/15666_2.png) [@Babale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Babale)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2023, 6:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/men-how-often-do-you-think-about-the-roman-empire/990182/58 "2023-09-16T18:18:01Z")
> [@Voyager](#): > > > [@Czarcasm](#): > > > > Occasionally, when I see a Trojan advert. > > Well, it was cool when Hector led those elephants over the Alps. While @Czarcasm is “wrong” in that Trojans were Anatolians who historically had nothing to do with the Romans, the logo on Trojan brand condoms or Trojan mascot for USC are based on Roman helmets. This is because we have basically no idea what Trojan equipment look like (although it is safe to assume that it didn’t look like the equipment Romans used the better part of a millenia later). However, the Roman myth regarding their own founding - the story of Romulus and Remus - traces their legitimacy as rulers back to descent from a Trojan prince who escaped the Trojan War. There’s absolutely no reason to believe that anything like this actually took place, but the myth did create the Roman-Trojan connection in our culture, and is the reason for the Trojan logos using a Roman design. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2023, 6:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/men-how-often-do-you-think-about-the-roman-empire/990182/59 "2023-09-16T18:55:59Z")
I attended USC. I always wondered about that Trojan / Roman connection. Thank you. It’s interesting how many of the lingering practically unanswerable questions of our youth now easily succumb to a Google, wiki, or an excellent SDMB post. But until that sleeping question is somehow called to mind it just sits dormant in the historical sludge in your (well my) head. Young folks now won’t later have that reservoir of ancient then-unanswerable questions we did / do. They won’t even know what they’re missing. Yet another “generation gap”. Hmmm. ---
**Author:** ![Cardigan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cardigan/32/187_2.png) [@Cardigan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cardigan)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2023, 7:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/men-how-often-do-you-think-about-the-roman-empire/990182/60 "2023-09-16T19:08:22Z")
Something between weekly and monthly (I chose weekly for the poll). I tend to read a fair amount of history, with much of that history being the western European ilk. It’s kind of inevitable when discussing various institutions. I’m not sure what the whole _gender_ angle is here. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/men-how-often-do-you-think-about-the-roman-empire/990182.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/men-how-often-do-you-think-about-the-roman-empire/990182.md?page=4)