And Caesarâs spirit, raging for revenge,Â
With AtĂ«â by his side come hot from Hell,Â
Shall in these confines with a monarchâs voiceÂ
Cry âHavoc!â and let slip the dogs of war.
-- William Shakespeare, Julius Caesar
The rise and fall of the Roman Empire has long fascinated historians and artists, and for good reason. An empire rich in culture and invention, philosophy and science, appeared, became incredibly powerful, and crumbled from within, slowly, over hundreds of years until it finally succumbed to its enemies. Something very significant happened, but it was so subtle, so ubiquitous, that it evaded our notice at the time and our understanding ever since. Western civilization, orphaned child of Rome, stands in a dubious position as long as the gradual decline of its predecessor remains a mystery. This is especially significant now as the apex of this Enlightenment may well be passing us by as all we have worked for falls to forces beyond our understanding.
The historiography of antiquity, product of the understandings of its time after all, doesnât contain the information we need to find out what happened. Diplomatic, economic, and political history all grant an insightful view into Ancient Greece and Rome, but without a social history, our view into the nature of our past is obscured beyond understanding. Thus, to explore the relationship of the Roman empire with modern Western civilization, we must make leaps beyond provable fact. To probe the omnipresence of the past, we will explore in the following pieces an alternative historiographic interpretation.
Greek Mythology and the Origins of Hubris
Christianity and the Dark Ages
Ancient Rome and the Modern Imperialist Monoculture
The Hubris of Nationalism
The Achillesâ Heel of Democracy
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