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Debunking Five Enduring Myths About the Roman Empire
When in Rome…
Perhaps no period of ancient history captivates our attention as much as the time of the Roman Empire. It even creeps in at Christmas, given that Mary and Joseph are traveling to Bethlehem in response to a census decreed by Roman Emperor Caesar Augustus. But when you were the greatest empire in world history, myths are bound to creep in with the history, and debunking those myths is important if we’re going to remember history right.
There is no question that the vast majority of us have formed our impressions of the Roman Empire not from history books but from countless Hollywood “sword and sandal” films, from Ben Hur to Spartacus to Gladiator to the popular HBO series Rome. These have all cemented what we “know” about the time of the Caesars, but as is often the case when Hollywood gets involved, we’re wrong about pretty much all of it.
So, with apologies to Charlton Heston and Russell Crowe, here are some of the biggest myths about the Roman Empire.
1. “Et tu, Brute?” Julius Caesar’s famous last words at his assassination were not what we’ve heard all our lives. According to Suetonius, his last words weren’t even in Latin, but in Greek, and they were: “Kai su teknon?” This translates to “Even you, son?” and was spoken to Brutus, the son of Caesar’s…
