I heard it a few times, mostly about Caesar's funeral. Every time the person talking/writing about it has the tone of "look at these crazy people giving in to hysteria." I couldn't say it's definitely true, not my area.

You're completely right on how they're portrayed generally. Storytellers will regularly mention generals making a fortune out of loot and slaves, neither the teller not listener will ask what that entails or how moral it is. Folks read Cicero proudly talking about being a slumlord and not bat an eye, at this point I wonder if they just compartmentalise it all, turn off major parts of their brain when the subject of certain ancient peoples comes up.

[–] Alaskaball@hexbear.net 4 points 2 days ago

Friend I think you'd really enjoy reading "The Assassination of Julius Caesar" by Dr. Michael Parenti. It's a nice book that touches on everything we've seen here and a bit more.