01-20-2012, 07:42 PM
What you describe is accurate. And it's one of the greatest difficulties in getting people out in the field doing Things Roman. It just isn't US history, and the great majority of folks simply look puzzled and ask, "Why?". Recruiting is an uphill struggle...perhaps akin to getting a Ghengis Khan Mongol warband together in Dublin. Romans lived in Britannia for around 500 years. None ever came to Virginia, as far as we know.
Most of the time, when we put on a public access outing, people are interested, but when a group of us marches up, we hear, "Look, Dad! Knights", or "Is this the armor that the Greeks wore at Thermopylae?", or "Hey, it's gladiators...which one is Spartacus?". Our classics departments do nearly no job at all in teaching Roman History. It's touched on in the 12 year old history in some school districts, but that's about it. Until you get to university, nothing much else is said. So basically, the public is completely ignorant of Rome, Rome's input into the foundation of Western Culture, how Roman society was structured, what they ate, or anything else. Recruiting is an uphill struggle for that reason. Now and then, though we can interest someone, and we're glad.
Most of the time, when we put on a public access outing, people are interested, but when a group of us marches up, we hear, "Look, Dad! Knights", or "Is this the armor that the Greeks wore at Thermopylae?", or "Hey, it's gladiators...which one is Spartacus?". Our classics departments do nearly no job at all in teaching Roman History. It's touched on in the 12 year old history in some school districts, but that's about it. Until you get to university, nothing much else is said. So basically, the public is completely ignorant of Rome, Rome's input into the foundation of Western Culture, how Roman society was structured, what they ate, or anything else. Recruiting is an uphill struggle for that reason. Now and then, though we can interest someone, and we're glad.
M. Demetrius Abicio
(David Wills)
Saepe veritas est dura.
(David Wills)
Saepe veritas est dura.
