Pax Romana

I have started watching a program called Rome that came out a while ago. I saw the ads for it and thought ugh! It will be all blood and guts and poking out of eyes and other delights that the Romans liked to do for a relaxing evening out. I was right! It is a totally disgusting program full of really good British actors doing, in their guise as Romans, truly horrible things to each other.
I have avoided anything to do with the Romans all my life. I was born in a land conquered by them and walked along Hadrian's Wall for picnics when I was a kid. My Dad drove along Roman roads. The one we used a lot is called the A 12 now but still arrow straight to the destination. We all knew Newcastle's name was Corstopitum which made us laugh. I can't think why. So growing up I felt that I had had a basin full of the Romans and to top it all off there was a lot of merry making when relatives got together on how we were descended from these nasty people. When they weren't guffawing about marauding Danes. Take your pick!
We were studying our invaders at school and as the list of their wicked ways grew I became more and more convinced that I was merely an ancient Briton. There I was cooking my woad and tending the kiddiwinks and had not a drop of Roman DNA in me never mind that shower across the North Sea.
I am not sure when the Romans became the flavour of the age but "I Claudius" drew an admiring crowd and now we have "Rome" in all its vulgarity and brutality. It makes "The Sopranos" look like little lambs frolicking, tra la. Pax Romana indeed! Can't wait for next week. Must be the fascination of horror.