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Seriously, though. How often do you think of the Roman Empire? (lemmy.world)

submitted 1 year ago by 1bluepixel@lemmy.world to c/asklemmy@lemmy.ml

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I know this is a joke/meme, but I sincerely think of the Roman Empire a surprising amount of times. I find myself obsessing over how Roman citizens were living just as complex lives as we are today, or about Marcus Aurelius' life and philosophy, or about how the Republic fell and became a totalitarian state.

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[–] Jordan_U@lemmy.ml 10 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Almost never. When I do, it's probably most often because I'm thinking about concrete.

I have never felt less like a "man" (in terms of gender) than when I watched a bunch of videos of men explaining why they think about the Roman empire every day.

Actual quote, which was representative of the videos I saw:

"What you need to understand about men, is that we all feel the urge to conquer."

— Well, I guess I'm not a man then 🤷.

[–] afox@lemmy.world 3 points 1 year ago (1 children)

... need you to elaborate on the concrete bit?

[–] TotallyHuman@lemmy.ca 5 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (1 children)

The Romans were really, really good at making concrete. Like most "ancient secrets", it's been overblown by sensationalist pop-historians, but they were still really good at it. IIRC they figured out that if you mix volcanic ash in with your concrete, it becomes stronger when exposed to water, not weaker.

edit: exposed, not exposed

[–] afox@lemmy.world 1 points 1 year ago

Love it. Was learning about the ancient city of Ur. They had like indoor plumbing and stuff. Humans are incredible when external factors don't get in the way.