Why are the romans remembered with such sentimentality when they were complete and utter b*st*rds?

Question

Why are the romans remembered with such sentimentality when they were complete and utter b*st*rds?

Answer 1

Because, as the victors, they wrote the accounts of the time, naturally showing themselves in a good light.

See Terry Jones' book "The Barbarians" for more info.

Answer 2

You make a good point.  The British have distanced themselves from Rome ever since the time of Constantine the Great, one time Governor of Britain and then Emperor of the Eastern [Orthodox] Empire.

The worst crime committed by the Romans here in Britain was to hack off the right hand of every male of 16 and over of the Icani - Boudicca's supporters.

Someone once said, when thinking of ancient Romans, just think of the Mafia. Same thing.

Total and unmitigating b******s.

Answer 3

Hello

the romans had a major impact on modern society .....

Roman numerals are still used today. You can see them on clocks, in books and even on the television if you look carefully

Roman Law, particularly the Corpus Juris Civilis collected by order of Justinian I, is the ancient basis on which the modern Civil law stands

Latin as a language never really disappeared. It combined with neighboring Germanic and Celtic languages, giving rise to many modern Romance languages such as Italian, French, Spanish, Portuguese, Romanian and Romansh. Latin also influenced Germanic languages such as English, German, and Dutch. It survives in its "purer" form as the language of the Roman Catholic Church (the Mass was spoken exclusively in Latin until 1969) and was used as a lingua franca between many nations. It remained the language of medicine, law, diplomacy (most treaties were written in Latin), of intellectuals and scholarship

The Latin alphabet was expanded with the letters J, K, W and Z and is the most widely used alphabetic writing system in the world today

so i think the romans brought civilisation to europe (admittedly brutal), and their impact on us today cannot be denied

:)

Answer 4

I don't know . . . serious weren't they? I've always liked the Greeks better.  

Answer 5

people forget the past easily. that romans wrote much of the history of their time also helps a lot to sanitize their historical legacy. also much of western culture traces its roots to the romans so one could not really expect people to curse their ancestors.

Answer 6

I think the fundamental answer is - so far as the English speaking world is concerned - that when the British Empire began to expand in the 18th century, educated Britons - who had received an almost exclusively classical education, learning Latin and Greek - saw that Empire as some kind of successor to the Roman Empire. They had read, and probably learned by heart, their Caesar, Tacitus, Cicero etc etc and saw the Romans as a noble people who should be emulated. Building were erected in the Roman style - in London, in Washington and in cities greater and lesser throughout Europe and the western colonised countries.

In more recent times, there has been an upsurge in interest in things like archaeology and people love to here about new finds on TV programmes such as Time Team

I think 'sentimentality' is probably the wrong word to use, however. I think the downside of the Roman Empire is well enough known. Perhaps it's more a question of viewing the past through rose tinted specs.

Answer 7

your guess is as good as mine,they were nothing more than bullboys,murdering anyone who got in their way

Answer 8

I think it is more fascination than sentimentality.

People are often fascinated with fame, glory, power, and wealth.  They also often delight in the fall of the mighty.  Rome fits the bill.  There is also the never-ending cycle of fame feeding upon itself.  Romans were the victors for a very long time.  Their versions of history survived.  Each new generation creates works that build upon that legend.  Hollywood just adds to the mix with epics like Ben Hur.