The sack of Rome must have been sexy as fuck.

For me, it all started with Raven from Teen Titans… No chance after that, I’m afraid.

Best reason to care about the Romans tbh.

Assuming I wasn’t trolled by a historian, the name goth for our post-modern mortality-celebrating Cure-listening well-dressed counter-culture comes from the Romans, not because the barbarians at the gates were wearing black lipstick, but because Romans were prone to call any counter-culture in Rome gothic.

Rome was sacked by Visigoths more than once, and rebuilt again. So gothic was a term of derision by conservatives who liked classical styles and not these new-fangled buildings that were erected when the old one burned down, or for that matter, these new-fangled liberal ideas the kids go on about. A prime example is Ogival architecture (tall spires and flying buttresses) called Gothic for being the new Roman style by those who longed for the pre-sack skyline.

We see similar effects with other regional groups. Bohemians (the absinthe-drinking free-loving artists) only started with migrating creatives from Bohemia inspiring a (goth-adjacent) counter-culture celebrated across Europe. Also the attribution of French stuff typically having to do with sex or cooking e.g. French post cards (NSFW pin-up women) or French fries (julienned potatoes) much of which doesn’t originate from France, but might have gained popularity in Paris.