The Time I Learned Greek Scholars Are Canonically Hotter Than Roman Scholars

"It started with a book launch in 2021. I'd been living in London as a social media journalist when I asked my then-publication's culture editor to send me to one of these exclusive-sounding events, as 1) I'd never been and 2) I just really wanted to be a person who "has a book launch to go to." Thankfully, there was one that exact day-and he put my name on the list for the release of Mary Beard's Emperor of Rome. Huzzah."

"In addition to pounding five to six glasses of (free) red wine, which inspired me to loudly yell, "hear hear!" when Beard gathered the attention of everyone in the room to raise a toast for her husband's birthday (please don't mock me more than I've mocked myself for this), the one detail that has remained with me is that the room seemed visibly divided."

"The difference wasn't subtle-it was binary. You either had people in bulky sweater vests, long-sleeved polos, or rimless glasses with the energy of someone who has strong opinions about aqueduct maintenance, or people with bold lipstick, colored tattoos, and at least one piercing (think Portland meets San Francisco). And when I recognized this difference out loud (again, I blame the booze), I learned-from a Greek scholar-that that's the palpable (stereotypical) difference between someone who studies Ancient Rome and someone who studies Ancient Greece."

A social media journalist attended a 2021 London book launch for Mary Beard's Emperor of Rome. The event included free red wine and a toast for the host's husband. The room showed a stark visual divide between two groups. One group wore bulky sweater vests, long-sleeved polos, or rimless glasses and projected an aqueduct-maintenance–nerdy energy. The other group sported bold lipstick, colored tattoos, and piercings, evoking a Portland–meets–San Francisco aesthetic. A Greek scholar told the journalist that this visual split reflects a broader stereotype: Ancient Greek specialists tend to be perceived as hotter and more fashion-forward than Ancient Roman specialists.

Read at Jezebel