The Roman Empire conundrum is taking the Internet by storm, and it has these editors wondering: why are so many men obsessed with the Roman Empire? If you don’t already know about this trend, it essentially revolves around the discovery that many men, at least according to TikTok, anyway, think about the Roman Empire quite frequently in their day-to-day lives. It’s a realization that has puzzled many women.
When asked how often they think about the Roman Empire, our editors’ responses had some mixed results. Our female editors all seemed to be on the same page: literally never.
One editor responded, “I can’t say I’ve thought about the Roman Empire ever since I read Julius Caesar in my freshman year of high school. So, not a lot.”
Another agreed, adding, “To be so honest, I don’t think much about the Roman Empire at all. I feel like the only times I really do think about it are when I see a TikTok relating to it on my FYP or when I see someone wearing gladiator sandals. Other than that, I can’t say that I’m an avid Roman Empire thinker.”
Our male editors, on the other hand, agreed that they think about this historical dynasty on a regular basis. “I always think about the Roman Empire every second of the day,” reflected one editor. “It’s the first thing I think of when I wake up, and the last thing I think of before bed.”
Another editor was of the same opinion, commenting, “I think about the Roman Empire at least two to three times a day.”
So, what can account for men’s strange fixation on the Roman Empire?
“I think most men view the Roman Empire and romanticize it as the peak of organized civilization. Men also use it to compare the current state of the U.S. to the fall of Rome,” one editor explained.
“Men are very simple human beings,” expressed another. “We like what we like, and that can be characterized by various different things such as swords, trains, fighting, and working out. Once we have an interest in something, we are hooked. Similar to how girls love true crime shows.”
One editor was a little more puzzled by this pattern. “I have no idea why so many men are thinking about the Roman Empire,” they began. “It honestly freaks me out. I think it is just a random event that men, for some reason, find super fascinating. I asked two of my closest male friends if they think about the Roman Empire a lot, and they said no.”
Another editor is in the same boat as the latter. They wrote, “I think for the men that do think about the Roman Empire often it’s just something that piques the male interest. I don’t necessarily think it reveals anything about the social conciseness of some men, I would just say it’s a random interest. I think everyone has those types of niche interests.”
The popularity of this trend had us questioning why there seems to be an almost hivemind effect for seemingly random things like this.
“I believe this trend is a thing because, for one, it’s funny, and secondly, because people like to join in on things that become popular, such as when people were skateboarding while drinking cranberry juice or taking ghost photo shoots with pumpkins,” reflected one editor.
Regardless of whether or not this trend stands to reason, it had the editors wondering what our own “Roman Empires” are, or something we think about as often as many men are apparently thinking about this time period.
“I would say my ‘Roman Empire’ would be the Salem Witch trials or true crime, specifically the JonBenét Ramsey case,” one editor shared.
Another editor reflected, “My ‘Roman Empire’ is definitely the Woodstock Festival of 1969. That is a historical event I am so fascinated by that I think of it constantly and have seen every documentary about it.”
“My ‘Roman Empire’ is unabashedly the Renaissance and 17th century Europe but also the American Revolution,” began a third editor. “I am also strangely infatuated with the establishment of the Catholic Church (the Holy Roman Empire, which is a shocking similarity) and its derived religions despite not being religious myself.”
One editor summarized the conundrum perfectly, stating, “I think, at the end of the day, people are all fundamentally the same. We tend to find joy, sorrow, excitement, etc. from similar aspects of life, so it is somewhat unsurprising that even our thoughts line up in the most disconcerting of ways.”
