Salve!

I’ve always wanted to write about Ancient Rome.

Well, since I was about 12, anyway. That was when I took my first Latin class, and I swiftly became obsessed. I think Rome was the perfect mixture of familiar and strange. The people whose writings I translated seemed larger than life. And perhaps most of all, there were so many mysteries to solve, so many things that were unknown.

It’s about time I do this.

There has always been a reason for me to not write about Ancient Rome. First, I didn’t even think of it as a career option when I was younger. Then, there were always roadblocks. I didn’t have the formal history education, even though I spent a lot of time studying on my own. Despite having won awards for my Latin, I was convinced my translations still weren’t good enough. Then, when I did go to school for history, COVID hit and I couldn’t quite focus on the things I wanted to for many reasons, ranging from schools not accepting people to professors being away. Despite it all, I got my history master’s, focusing on public history so I could accomplish my goal of writing for the public rather than for academic audiences. But still, I developed major imposter syndrome. I didn’t have a PhD. I wasn’t a professor. It seemed like every book I picked up was by a professor at Cambridge or something. Who was I to write about Ancient Roman history? Yes, I understand that this doesn’t really make sense. Of course I didn’t get a PhD if I didn’t want to teach or be part of academia. I went to grad school, I wrote a thesis, I got grants and fellowships, and I worked extremely hard. Still, imposter syndrome is not rational! But I’m tired of letting doubts rule my life. It’s about time I make this dream come true. I have studied this for over thirty years. I know my stuff, and it’s time I shared my expertise.

Let’s build an awesome community!

I’m going to be writing articles and doing some other fun things, and I’d love for you all to be a part of it. Even if you know nothing about Ancient Rome but are just curious, this place is for you! I’ll be talking about all aspects of Rome, from the legends of the founding through it’s final sacking and its legacy. While of course I’ll discuss some of the more “popular” topics and people, I’ll also focus on some lesser known things, and will be specifically looking at how to discover the voices of people who were silenced by time.

How will this be different from other Roman content?

For much of this project, I will look at ancient Rome through the lens of spectacle. Romans loved sport and spectacle just as much as we do today, and I think this is a great way to frame content in an interesting way that allows us to feel closer to the subject. Oddly enough, I’m not a huge sports fan myself, but I do find the enthusiasm of fans to be fascinating. And there are so many different examples of spectacle from the ancient world, truly something for everyone. Spectacle allows us to look at everything from politics, social life, gender, economics, art, sexuality, and more. I think this will be fun, and I really look forward to sharing my work with you.