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Roman History
Rome supplies the vocabulary of politics, ambition, and empire โ irreversible decisions, distracted publics, and assassinations in the senate.
13 entries
All Roads Lead to Rome
Many different approaches end up at the same destination.
Crossing the Rubicon
Making an irreversible decision.
Et tu, Brute?
An expression of shock at being betrayed by a close friend.
Julius Caesar
The Roman general turned dictator whose assassination ended the Republic.
Nero Fiddled While Rome Burned
Doing something trivial or self-indulgent while a crisis you should be managing unfolds.
Pyrrhic Victory
A win so costly it amounts to a defeat.
Trojan Horse
Something that looks like a gift but conceals a hidden attack.
Veni, Vidi, Vici
A boast of a quick, decisive win.
Bread and Circuses
Cheap distractions used to keep a population content and politically passive.
Marcus Aurelius
The philosopher emperor whose private notebook became a foundational Stoic text.
Pax Romana
A long period of stability imposed and enforced by a dominant power.
Spartacus
The escaped gladiator who led a slave revolt against Rome โ the canonical symbol of rebellion against an oppressor.
The Ides of March
March 15 โ by extension, a day of doomed reckoning.