Have you ever caught yourself thinking about the Roman Empire recently? This seemingly out-of-context question dominated social media last week, going viral on TikTok and old Twitter.
Although it seems unusual, the “Roman Empire” trend has spread across the world and captured the imagination of many, leaving everyone wondering why.
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The emergence of the trend
It all started in August this year, when a Reels video from the Swedish Instagram account (@gaiusflavius) introduced the intriguing question: “How often do you think about the Roman Empire?”
The video suggested that women were unaware of how much men thought about their lives. Roman Empire and challenged them to share their thoughts on the topic.
Posts with answers began to spread across TikTok last week, surprising many by revealing that the Roman Empire was a constant reflection for many men.
Some responses revealed that they thought about the Roman Empire at least once a week, and others even daily.
The trend quickly spread around the world, leading people to ask the same question to their parents, siblings, friends and colleagues.
(Image: disclosure)
On TikTok, the hashtag #romanempire has already accumulated more than 1.1 billion views, showing that this trend is not limited to history videos.
It didn't take long for the question to invade discussions on social media in Brazil. A video by user @mariidefreitas on TikTok went viral on Twitter, leading more Brazilians to share their own experiences.
The subject soon became a meme, with people discovering that everyone had their version of the “Roman Empire” — a recurring thought on the subject or a historical event.
But why the Roman Empire?
Although it is difficult to pinpoint a specific reason for this trend, the relevance of the Roman Empire in the formation of “Western civilization” alongside Ancient Greece is undeniable.
Its influence is in areas such as law, militarization, religion, language and architecture of different nations.
The Roman period is a symbol of violence and conquest, represented by iconic images such as gladiators and the Coliseum, the largest public entertainment arena in the former empire.
It is also widely portrayed in popular culture, in films such as “Gladiator” and the series “Spartacus” and “Rome” being just a few notable examples.
Video games also explored this era, including titles such as “Assassin’s Creed: Brotherhood”, “Total War: Rome” and the “Civilization” franchise.
On social media, it is common to see symbols from this period in history exalted in relation to masculinity and “Western cultural values”.
Although the Roman Empire has always been a popular topic in historical studies, many people had no idea that so many others thought about it with high frequency.
