How often do you think about the Roman empire? That was the question posed by a highly popular TikTok trend from last year. Women the world over were surprised to find out that, for many men, the answer is “every day”, or at least “several times a week”. A resulting social media frenzy led to wide range of commentary and op-ed pieces speculating about why this is the case .
Irrespective of how often you personally think of Rome, its influence in the modern world is undeniable – and we need only look at our televisions to prove this. Storytellers have long embraced the Ancient Roman world as a vessel to explore a variety of themes. Amazon Prime’s recent series Those About to Die is just the latest example.
Meanwhile, cinephiles and fans of the genre are waiting to see whether Ridley Scott can recapture the magic of the Oscar-winning film Gladiator (2000) in its forthcoming sequel. These new and upcoming productions provide the perfect opportunity to reexamine the many stories of Ancient Rome that have graced our screens through the decades. Those About to Die The most recent ten-episode Roman historical epic is based on Daniel P.
Mannix’s 1958 novel of the same name (and which helped inspire the screenplay for Gladiator). The series focuses on the power struggles in Imperial Rome at the time of the construction of the Flavian amphitheatre (the Colosseum) under the ailing emperor Vespasian (Anthony Hopkins) and his competing sons Titus (Tom Hughes) and Domitian (J.
