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Preface Rome sweet Rome. Fifteen hundred years after the end of the Western Empire, books, movies, and television are still infatuated with emperors, gladiators, and tales of intrigue. Why? For one, the United States based its system of government on the Romans, who overthrew their king and cre- ated a republic. Furthermore, historians, archaeologists, and philologists have devoted innumerable books and articles to narratives and examina- tions of their endeavors. Some scholars have focused on the more sensa- tional activities of the Romans, for example, militarism, oppression, slavery, scandalous emperors, out-of-control empresses, gladiatorial contests, excess, and so on. Others have noted the more positive aspects of the Roman Empire, such as aqueducts, baths, and roads that enabled them to communicate throughout a region that stretched from Scotland to the Middle East. Given the allure of the Romans and the vast amount of attention they have been given by scholars and avocational historians alike, it should come as no surprise that, over time, many misunderstandings have cir- culated about ancient Rome. Despite websites and articles that point out errors, these misperceptions continue, especially in media productions and sensational documentaries. Such rumors persist because they make the Romans sound fascinating. This book addresses these tall tales. Some people realize that not all of Rome’s emperors were crazy or perverted, yet readers might be surprised to learn that the emperor Nero was actually quite popular or that Livia was a beloved empress and not the evil stepmother 2.0. Many think that gladiators were slaves who fought to the death in the arena. Others fall for