Social media has been a source of wonder and amusement this week as a viral post revealed the hidden obsession of men the world over... Photo / Getty Images
Social media has been a source of wonder and amusement this week as a viral post revealed the hidden obsession of men the world over... Photo / Getty Images
Ladies, have you asked your other half The Question yet? You know which one. Or at least you should, because social media is awash with women asking their menfolk just how often they think about the Roman Empire.
The answers are hilarious and informative. Because we had no clue. None. Although maybe I did, based on the fact there are no fewer than seven bookshelves devoted to the Roman Empire, Byzantium and so forth in my sitting room. The original post on the platform formerly known as Twitter, X, (I know, but try stopping me) on September 6 was from Kelsey Lewis Vincent, an associate pastor in North Carolina.
At the time of writing, that post has received upwards of 7.7 million views and the trend has gone viral. All over social media, women are discovering what rich internal lives their husbands have.
Britt (@listenwithbritt) was surprised to discover her husband thinks about the Roman Empire “all the time”, and pointed out that he had in fact “just mentioned” this very subject to her. “Every boy you’ve ever met is like, ‘I wonder if I could survive in the Roman Legion?’,” he told his wife.
Meanwhile, Jenna (@asifitwerentfunny) confided on TikTok that her husband casually informed her he thinks about the Romans “in some capacity, probably every day”.
I can only assume it has something to do with all the stuff the Romans gave us, like straight roads, plumbing, currency and cabbages. But, weirdly, none of these men think to elaborate.
Italians dressed as gladiators parade to commemorate the 2,768th anniversary of the founding of Rome on April 19, 2015. Photo / Getty Images
Over on Mumsnet, a user by the name of SatelliteStomper said her husband thinks of the Roman Empire a relatively modest “couple of times a week” and “definitely not every day”. And I laughed aloud at Highlyfavouredgravy, whose husband said he “never does”, but added: “Now, if you’d asked me about the Abyssinian Empire, it would be a different matter.”
As poor CatamaranViper wailed, “I think my DH [dear husband] is broken, he says never!”, Crostini was left bemused when hers confidently assured her that he probably thinks about the Roman Empire “better” than all the other men because they would be thinking about the east, while he would be thinking about the west.
This stands in direct contradiction to my own spouse, however, who believes longer equals “better” - and, yes, we are still talking about the Roman Empire.
As he includes the Byzantine Empire, which did not end until May 29, 1453 (around 11.20am, since you ask) with the fall of Constantinople, he has more Roman Empire to think about, ergo he thinks longer and definitely harder than other men. Aren’t I lucky?
What is unexpectedly intriguing is that a great many of the men asked simply answered the question: “How often do you think about the Roman Empire?” without enquiring further – although ExtraOnionsreported that her husband wondered if it was a dementia test, and BendingSpoons’ replied: “Quite often, of course.”
And it is those two little words – “of course” – that bring us to the nub of the issue. Obvious to men and the inestimable Mary Beard, not so obvious to the rest of us. I think it’s quite cute in an impenetrable way. Plus, it does provide us with the useful insight that when all else fails, the way to a man’s heart is through his tattered copy of Edward Gibbon.
