Why is Ancient Rome never portrayed in a positive light?

[smahala1991]

I just started a series called “For Those About to Die” which is about Ancient Rome and the gladiators, every thing I have heard about Ancient Rome always sounds bleak and they never say anything positive about The Roman Empire.

[CupcakeTheDestroyer]

The Roman Empire was an empire, it was the city of a race of conquering colonizers that experienced uprisings, riots, rebellions, and attempted coups at least once every decade throughout it’s 1000 year reign before it fell. While Rome is arguably the beginning for most of Western Civilization, that doesn’t mean it was anymore a pleasant time to live in if you lacked money and resources, same as now. They had upper class and lower class and there was a clear hierarchy which allowed the “betters” to treat their “lessers” like shit legally, and that’s not even getting into the legal slavery, which a lot of gladiators technically fell under, if they weren’t prisoners sentenced to fight to the death, they were contracted fighters. They didn’t make money off of the fights, more often they made money off of sponsorships like most athletes do today. It gave them an easy leg up being an entertainer but not necessarily considered a real warrior, same as I wouldn’t expect a professional wrestler to serve well in the army. Rome has both positive and negative aspects as all of this went on along with the birth of democracy as a form of government, along with the colliding of famous philosophical minds such as Plato and Aristotle. But you’re also most likely watching a tv show full of historical inaccuracies that wants to play up the grittiness of the realities of the negative aspects of living in such a place. Maybe you should watch children’s media about Rome if you want a happy depiction rather than a show for adults.

[juliaanita]

Wow! I was going to write something, but I think you hit all the talking points :)

[Knightwatch27]

This is an incredibly one sided and biased review which ignores some key points of the Empire.
1. The Pax romana is still one of the longest periods of peace in human history.
2. Social mobility was incredible in the Roman Empire compared to anywhere else in the contemporary world where it didn't even exist.
3. Citizenship was attainable by anyone inside the Empire, again something you can't say for any other power of the time.
Yes, Rome had both good and bad aspects that I agree with. But your first passage does not do their accomplishments nor their historical context justice.

[CupcakeTheDestroyer]

It’s enough general knowledge for a tv show to make a gritty gladiator series off of, which is what OP is complaining about.

[Knightwatch27]

That really wasn't neither here nor there to what I wrote.

[CupcakeTheDestroyer]

Do you want me to say something specific in reference to it?

[Knightwatch27]

An admission that your comment did not reflect the full truth of the Roman empir would be nice.

[CupcakeTheDestroyer]

Okay, I was erroneous in my depiction of the roman empire on my internet comment that holds no weight to anyone significant

[Alli112]

I mean, a) it used to be for a really long time so now humanity is producing the counter narrative but b) it low key wasn't a very nice place in a lot of ways and we've studied it enough to be relatively sure of that much.

[RebelinSteel]

There are some positives, however overall it was a fairly brutal time. If it’s a tv series, a movie or even a book, you need to keep the viewer, reader entertained. There were years of not much happening in Italy, frontier wise, it was always in conflict as the empire expanded.

within the Roman Empire you needed to keep ahead of everyone else, or you would find your family lining the Appian Way, with an elevated view.

[lightbulb27]

founding an empire on the rumor of a dog that feeds romulus and his brother from it's milkers... what the heck...

I have no idea, but there was a lot of bad going on. It wasn't the wonderful place maybe you are imagining. but maybe it was better than most at the time?

[Alexandrubaschet08]

The Roman Empire whas the biggest empire that had ever existed, reaching a population of 1 milion people in the capital, with hundrets of yares before Londinium (London todday).
Bet even with its inovation in art, infrastructure, army and political structure, the Roman Empire was still an acient civilization who enslave, kill, steal from others, forcing tributes to other nations and invading nations that didn't want to obay theyr will. Forcing theyr languace and culture evreywhere they conquerred. Destroing other civilization and posibilitys of lifestiles. Greek been a big exception because of theyr advance tehnology and culture.

[hahahmm]

Why would they say something positive? To say something positive implies that our ancestors weren't idiots and that maybe we should keep some of their traditions. People today want to pretend that they know everything & know best which social experiments to run.

When I was a kid you did hear positives about the Roman Empire.

[WhitneySnow]

I think I’ve seen it portrayed in a very positive light. The Republic is the basis for our modern system of democracy.

[paledreams]

I thought Rome had emperors 👑 and a senate and counsels

[WhitneySnow]

@paledreams Rome was a Republic from 510 BCE to 27 BCE. As a Republic, it was governed by a Senate and consuls, among other officials. After 27 BCE, it was an empire.

[paledreams]

So a monarch as an empire? Which was better, Empire or republic? Hahahaha 😂🤣

[WhitneySnow]

@paledreams I think the Republic was better but it had its problems too

[paledreams]

@WhitneySnow maybe one day America will become a monarchy or empire lol - after all, it seems Rome knew republics were so so, emperors were superior lol King 👑 I'm glad I live in a country with a king

[paledreams]

I for one like their terms like Senate and I like their food unless pasta and pizza didn't exist. I also like their form of government was about monarchy and having a senate.
Uhh.
I also like how those roman soldiers often seemed to patrol like cops and kept the communities safe like modern cops :) surely these are all positive societal attributes

[DrPepper12]

The fall of an empire greatly lends it till itself to a narrative then the rise of an empire. Rome had some outstanding achievements during the classical era, but they don't hold a candle to the Persian Achamenid & Selucid empire, Gupta & Mauyra in India and the inventor of the modern world, Qin and Han Dynasty in China. It may have been the Dark Ages for Europe afterwards but the rest of the world had blazing sunlight.

[Knightwatch27]

You don't sound very informed. The Romans have almost always been painted in a positive light for countless innovations in art, architecture, military and legal systems. Just watch Monthy Python's sketch "what have the Romans ever done for us". And what you refer to is a movie, not a series, and it's an abominable woke continuation of the first Gladiator movie classic. Nothing more.

[Snakeyes7]

Some good things came from Rome but these people did not have the same moral framework as we do now. That kind of philosophy didn't come until many many centuries later.

If Rome appeared again today, it would be extremely barbaric to us.

[MisterWack]

I don’t think people would truly find historically correct Rome interesting, majority just like gladiators / soldiers also enhanced masculinity perhaps. It is just designed to get butts in theaters.

[NathanDavis]

why would you want to romanticize brutality even more...

oh wait... it's the romans...

[DryGermanGuy]

„l’ve seen much of the rest of the world. It is brutal and cruel and dark. Rome is the light.“
- Maximus Meridius, Gladiator

[Billlewis]

My question is, why aren't we recognizing the eerie similarity between Ancient Rome and the present day?

[DarkLegacy]

Society was built by the Romans, education, justice, democracy, transport links etc. Snowflakes like to ignore these things a bit like with the British Empire.

[provokeesmokee]

Bro why don't you just read up on Ancient Rome in history books?

[thegreenyogi]

Because the Romans did what they had to to conquer their empire regardless of the cost.

[MrGSpotHer]

Well probably the day they forced the will of the empire on people like join them or die way of thinking, even for all the good they did there's always possibly more negative effects they did

[najekim]

Because things from the past are mistakenly judged by today's standards and social ilk. Not by what was considered normal at the time.

[FreyaRed]

Success awakes jealousy

[NamerOfStars]

... go read Plutarch. Then get back to me.

[strangeatcircleK]

Plumbing and mythology comes to mind for me 🤔

[RedInnocent69]

Well, it was big, I guess…

[Twalli]

The decline and fall was pretty bad

[MemeSupreme]

bc draaaamaaaaaaa