A place to meme about the glorious ROMAN EMPIRE (and Roman Republic, and Roman Kingdom)! Byzantines tolerated! The HRE is not.
RULES:
No racism, sexism, homophobia, transphobia, bigotry, etc. The past may be bigoted, but we are not.
Memes must be Rome-related, not just the title. It can be about Rome, or using Roman aesthetics, or both, but the meme itself needs to have Roman themes.
Follow Lemmy.world rules.
Not sure where to start on Roman history?
A quick memetic primer on Republican Rome
A quick memetic primer on Imperial Rome
Explanation: It is commonly said that the common people of Rome in the Imperial era cared little for the withering of their political power, so long as they received Panem et Circenses - bread and circuses (or races, or games). The reality is more nuanced, but it is certainly true that Roman authorities used free (or reduced price) food and public entertainment to tamp down on unrest in the city of Rome.
Still holds up. If you told Americans they could have healthcare forever but they'd have to give up football for 1 year, they'd riot. The NFL alone generates like $40 billion in revenue, add college, and all other football tiers, merchandise, etc. It's gotta be a hundreds of billions dollar industry
I read a study a long-ass time ago on people living in near-starvation conditions and it was discovered that people set aside some resources (not necessarily in the consciously budgeting sense, but in the actual usage sense) for recreation even in incredibly desperate circumstances.
Human beings are funny creatures.
Prolonged suffering or going out happy.
You need some way to enjoy life in some eay I suppose.
If you don't, then what's the point?
Fair. I too like bread and games.