The Rome Rant

This past weekend, with far too much free time on my hands and in desperate search of something fun to do with my out of town company for the weekend, I quested to the local mall and proceeded to demonstrate to my good friend a particularly entertaining store that was contained within.

This store was full of cosplaying things - steampunk coats and pirate dusters and replica robes and Jedi robes and the like; as well as accouteraea such as Star Trek flasks and sonic screwdrivers. It was while showing my friend this wonderful store and bragging about the fact that his lousy Citadel mall in Charleston had nothing like this that I saw it: a stunning replica of a galea that might be worn with segmentata iorica behind a display case full of replica Civil War firearms and knives. In layman's terms, it was a Roman army helmet.

Now, those that know me as my good friend Elisabeth know me can tell you that I have something of a minor... major... obsessive fascination with Rome, both Res Publica Romana and Imperium Romanum. Hell, I'm even interested in the Basileia Rhomaion - that is, the Byzantine continuation of the Roman Empire - of the East. To see such a replica there before me was quite a treat, even if I had no Earthly way to afford such a thing.

I inquired with the shopkeep about the thing, in my haste forgetting that not everyone is as familiar with Rome as am I and drew a strange look from her. "I've never heard anyone actually call this thing what it actually is." She said, revealing that she was a fan of Rome on HBO and, despite her attempts to get into it, found the newer Spartacus series to be somewhat lackluster.

It was while discussing this that I suddenly felt a deep and unabating sadness in my heart. Rome gets nowhere near the attention it deserves in schools anymore, it seems. In American textbooks, when I was a child, Rome would get a passing paragraph in World History. Sure, we got to read all about the influences of Rome on our legal system and our society years later in High School, and this may all be able to be chalked up to a grievous deficiency in Southern United States education, but all the same it seems wrong.

The history of Rome is, in essence, the story of how we got where we are. Further, it serves as an invaluable mirror through which we may examine ourselves. For example, we would do well to remember the courage of Titus Herminius Aquilinus in keeping his homeland safe, the Roman virtues of Seneca, and, most important, perhaps - and perhaps the reason we teach history in the first place - the mistakes of Rome; arrogance, complacency, avarice. These are lessons which are seemingly forgotten by the newest generation of movers and thinkers - of which I am a part - that is moving swiftly to fill the shoes left to us by our forefathers.

Furthermore, is it too much to ask for Latin to return to schools? I remember listening with envy when my parents would describe taking Latin in school - public school. It gave my father an excellent starting point from which to learn Spanish and my mother derived much of her knowledge of French from that grand old tongue. Further, it is used in medicine, law, astronomy, and so many more sciences. An understanding of Latin can be a gateway to so much more.

It was as I pondered these things, leaving the shop, that I gave a sigh. We could be so much more, I think, if we were more aware of our past. It's why I take it upon myself to pour over all the information about Rome that I can get my grubby mits on and why you should, too.

Is there a point to this? Can I properly end an article where all I do is rant and muse?
The answer, friends, to both of these questions... is no. Ta!

This post was originally written on the 28th of February for my dear friend Elisabeth's blog: Shenanigans and Excitement! It is reprinted here to distract from the lack of new, meaningful content.