Ancient Rome Quotes From History

As the title suggests, this article offers the best Ancient Rome quotes.

Here you can find some of the most interesting quotes on the topic worthy to share. 

In addition, we also talked about Ancient Rome and its downfall.

If interested, please continue reading!

You may also enjoy reading these related quotes:

• Rome Quotes
• Spartan Quotes
• Julius Caesar Quotes

An Intro to Ancient Rome

Ancient Rome is known as an influential and powerful civilization.

The Roman Empire started its humble journey as a tiny village near the Tiber River.

As it grew, Rome turned into a mighty empire.

The rule of this empire was spread throughout three continents and lasted for more than ten centuries. 

When Rome was Founded

Rome came into being in 753 BCE.

It all started with the passion of twin brothers Remus and Romulus to rule the empire.

Legend tells that a she-wolf raised both these brothers. 

Although this story appears to be a myth, archaeological evidence does make it clear that Rome was founded in the 8th century BCE.

Due to its strategic location, Rome grew quickly. 

About Early Rome

Initially, Rome used to be a republic. 

This suggests that elected members governed it. 

So, there was no emperor or king concept in the Roman Republic. 

However, this period is marked by a wide array of social and political unrest. 

The Roman Republic was eventually converted into Roman Empire due to the following reasons:

• Struggle for power between plebeians and patricians 
• Extremely powerful military generals such as Julius Caesar
• Inability of the people to fight for their rights

The Roman Empire

It was in 27 BCE when Rome was officially declared a Roman Empire.

At that time, the adopted son of Julius Caesar, Octavian, became the first Roman emperor. 

He took the title of Augustus and started governing the empire under his rule.

During this time, Rome gained prosperity and peace. 

Outstanding engineering and architectural marvels like the construction of the Aqueducts and Colosseum mark this era.

Fall of Rome

Even after such achievements, the Roman Empire started to witness its decline in the 3rd century CE. 

A wide range of factors contributed to the fall of the Roman Empire. 

A few of these include:

• Corruption  
• Economic instability 
• External pressures

The 5th century CE marked the fall of the Western Roman Empire.

However, the Eastern Roman Empire reached its demise in the 15th century.

Top 10 Ancient Rome Quotes 

These are the top Ancient Rome quotes from our entire compilation that you would also like to share.

1. “Ancient Rome was a violent place.” — James Purefoy

2. “I found Rome a city of bricks and left it a city of marble.” — Augustus

3. “I’m sure when they partied when Rome was burning, that was a really great party.” — Adam McKay

4. “Ancient art was the tyrant of Egypt, the mistress of Greece and the servant of Rome.” — Henry Fuseli

5. “Rome used to have good public art in ancient times. There is nothing like West of Rome in Italy.” — Emi Fontana

6. “I write about times and places I would visit in a time machine, like ancient Rome or the Wild West.” — Caroline Lawrence

7. “I love Paris for its wide boulevards and cafes, and Rome for the ancient history, as seen at the Forum.” — Alan Titchmarsh

8. “Ancient Rome declined because it had a Senate, now what’s going to happen to us with both a House and a Senate?” — Will Rogers

9. “Fit men walking around and bathing, it would be just like being in Ancient Rome [on a footballers dressing room].” — John Barrowman

10. “War may be the game of kings, but, like the games at ancient Rome, it is generally exhibited to please and pacify the people.” —  Arthur Helps

Fact-Based Ancient Rome Quotes 

Following are some detailed Ancient Rome quotes that explain further facts about ancient Rome.

11. “In ancient Israel and Rome, the judge had appeared as a stand-in for the divine, and corruption was a blinding of the representative of the divine.” — Peggy Noonan

12. “OVATION, n. n ancient Rome, a definite, formal pageant in honor of one who had been disserviceable to the enemies of the nation. A lesser “triumph”.” — Ambrose Bierce

13. “If we were living in ancient Rome or Greece, I would be considered sickly and unattractive. The times dictate that thin is better for some strange reason, which I think is foolish.” — Gwyneth Paltrow

14. “Although the modern image of the imperial city is dominated by the ruins of the Coliseum and the Forum, the economic life of ancient Rome centered on side streets filled with apartments, shops, and horrea.” — William J. Bernstein

15. “Even during the period when Rome lost much of her ancient prestige, an Indian traveler observed that trade all over the world was operated with the aid of Roman gold coins, which were accepted and admired everywhere.” — Paul Einzig

Life in Ancient Rome Quotes

Learn more about what it was like to live in Ancient Rome.

16. “We stand today before the awful proposition: either the triumph of imperialism and the destruction of all culture, and, as in ancient Rome, depopulation, desolation, degeneration, a vast cemetery; or the victory of socialism.” — Rosa Luxemburg

17. “Women [in ancient Rome] were condemned to the perpetual tutelage of parents, husbands, or guardians; sex created to please and obey was never supposed to have attained the age of reason and experience.” — Edward Gibbon

18. “Putting gloves on the fighters was a symbolic change that suggested that we were now making it a civilized sport, and it was no longer this crazy gladiatorial throwback to ancient Rome.” — Jonathan Gottschall

19. “I would be literally patrician in the sense that the senators in ancient Rome were called conscript fathers, paters, from which comes the word patrician. So if you come from a senatorial family, you are literally patrician in that sense, but that doesn’t mean that you couldn’t be Billy Carter, you know, of recent memory.” — Gore Vidal

20. “Geological facts being of a historical nature, all attempts to deduce a complete knowledge of them merely from their still, subsisting consequences, to the exclusion of unexceptionable testimony, must be deemed as absurd as that of deducing the history of ancient Rome solely from the medals or other monuments of antiquity it still exhibits, or the scattered ruins of its empire, to the exclusion of a Livy, a Sallust, or a Tacitus.” — Richard Kirwan

Realistic Ancient Rome Quotes 

Check out the following charming Ancient Rome quotes that reflect the realism and wisdom of a bygone era.

21. “The causes which destroyed the ancient republics were numerous; but in Rome, one principal cause was the vast inequality of fortunes.” — Noah Webster

22. “Ancient Rome was as confident of the immutability of its world and the continual expansion and improvement of the human lot as we are today.” — Arthur Erickson

23. “The biggest difference between ancient Rome and the USA is that in Rome, the common man was treated like a dog. In America, he sets the tone. This is the first country where the common man could stand erect.” — I. F. Stone

24. “It was with the utmost difficulty that ancient Rome could support the institution of six vestals, but the primitive church was filled with a great number of persons of either sex who had devoted themselves to the profession of perpetual chastity.” — Edward Gibbon

25. “From food trucks to hot dog stand to county fair favorites, ‘street food’ has enjoyed a rich and storied history in American cuisine. However, street food has been around for thousands of years. In fact, street food is believed to have originated as far back as Ancient Rome.” — Homaro Cantu 

26. “If you spend time in Washington, you’ll find nerds. What happens is most of them sublimate their fixations with comics, baseball cards, or 1960s British comedies to policy minutiae and political arcana. But, like Christians in ancient Rome, you can still spot them if you know the signals.” —  Jonah Goldberg

Quotes Sharing about Ancient Rome

These quotes give more insight into Rome in the past.

27. “In ‘Roma,’ I wanted to get across the idea that underneath Rome today is ancient Rome. So close. I am always conscious of that, and it thrills me. Imagine being in a traffic jam at the Coliseum!” — Federico Fellini

28. “Our own country furnishes antiquities as ancient and durable, and as useful, as any; rocks at least as well covered with lichens, and a soil which, if it is virgin, is but virgin mold, the very dust of nature. What if we cannot read Rome or Greece, Etruria or Carthage, or Egypt or Babylon, on these; are our cliffs bare?” — Henry David Thoreau

29. “Christianity enhanced the notion of political and social accountability by providing a new model: servant leadership. In ancient Greece and Rome, no one would have dreamed of considering political leaders anyone’s servants. The job of the leader was to lead. But Christ invented the notion that the way to lead is by serving the needs of others, especially those who are the neediest.” — Dinesh D’Souza

30. “No slave system has ever been able to continue to function on the slaves provided by its own biological reproduction because the rate of human reproduction is too slow, and the expense from infant mortality and years of unproductive upkeep of the young make this prohibitively expensive. This relationship is one of the basic causes of the American Civil War, and was even more significant in destroying ancient Rome.” — Carroll Quigley

Ancient Rome Quotes that are truly Inspirational

Discover the timeless inspiration of Ancient Rome with the following quotes, which will surely motivate and empower you.

31. “Internationally, ancient Rome and Greece cultures are just so fascinating. I don’t think audiences will ever tire of it because it’s such an advanced society.” — Jeremy Bolt

32. “Rome – the city of visible history, where the past of a whole hemisphere see moving in funeral procession with strange ancestral images and trophies gathered from afar.” — George Eliot

33. “My mother’s father taught English literature. When I was about ten or eleven, I could recite Macaulay’s ‘Lays of Ancient Rome.’ While other kids were playing pedestrian war games, I’d be Horatius keeping the bridge.” — Bernie Taupin

34. “… all his faces were designed to express rage or loathing. Now that something had happened which really deserved a face, he had none to celebrate it with. As a kind of token, he made his Sex Life in Ancient Rome face.” — Kingsley Amis

35. “As the profoundest philosophy of ancient Rome and Greece lighted her taper at Israel’s altar, so the sweetest strains of the pagan muse were swept from harps attuned on Zion’s hill.” — Edward Thomson

More Ancient Rome Quotes to Enjoy

These quotes share more reality of ancient Rome.

36. “Oh, river! darkling river! what a voice Is that thou most utter while all else is still– The ancient voice that, centuries ago, Sounded between thy hills, while Rome was yet A weedy solitude by Tiber’s stream!” — William C. Bryant

37. “Going after a part in Hollywood is like being a gladiator in ancient Rome. When it comes down to getting a role, you don’t have any friends, you’re incredibly competitive and any actor who tells you differently is lying.” — Jonathan Rhys Meyers

38. “We don’t usually think of what we eat as a matter of ethics. Stealing, lying, hurting people – these acts are obviously relevant to our moral character. In ancient Greece and Rome, ethical choices about food were considered at least as significant as ethical choices about sex.” — Peter Singer

39. “I read mostly historical fiction – lots of stuff set in ancient Rome and ancient Greece. I also liked sci-fi and fantasy: David Gemmell and Raymond E. Feist. It’s a nice escape from the world. As much as I do love real-life stories, they can often make you hurt in a way I’d rather not hurt.” — Henry Cavill

40. “I like things that are kind of eclectic when one thing doesn’t go with another. That’s why I love Rome. The town itself is that way. It’s where Fascist architecture meets classic Renaissance, where the ancient bangs up against the contemporary. It has a touch of everything. That’s my style, and that’s what my work is about.” — Giambattista Valli

Nostalgic Ancient Rome Quotes 

Nostalgic Ancient Rome quotes will make you feel nostalgic about the old city of Rome, and you will enjoy these quotes.

41. “Football is controlled violence, but it is violence, which people have loved to watch since the gladiatorial contests in ancient Rome.” — Michael Mandelbaum

42. “And here we encounter the seeds of government disaster and collapse – the kind that wrecked ancient Rome and every other civilization that allowed a sociopolitical monster called the welfare state to exist.” — Barry Goldwater

43. “In the Classical tradition, deriving from ancient Greece and Rome, beauty was perceived as the means by which the artist captured the viewer’s eye in order to engage the viewer with truth and so inspire goodness.” — John Walford

44. “[In ancient Rome] why did the senate after killing Caesar turn around and give the government to his nephew? Why did France, after they got rid of the king and that whole system turn around and give it to Napoleon? It’s the same thing with Germany and Hitler.” — George Lucas

45. “It was stone carvers in ancient Rome, scribes in the Middle Ages, all the way through Gutenberg to the present day. That’s a pretty long track record. More likely, we may reach a point where each one of us is a typographer with our own custom proprietary typeface.” — Michael Bierut

Quotes About the Roman Empire and More

Learn more about the Roman Empire and history with these quotes.

46. “I am praetor of the legion,” Reyna said. “I judge this to be in the best interest of Rome.” “To get yourself killed? To break our oldest laws and travel to the Ancient Lands? How will you even find their ship, assuming you survive the journey?” [Octavian] “I will find them,” Reyna said.” — Rick Riordan

47. “But, ancient Greece and ancient Rome… People believed that creativity was this divine attendant spirit that came to human beings from some distant and unknowable source, for distant and unknowable reasons.” — Elizabeth Gilbert

48. “When Edward Gibbon was writing about the fall of the Roman Empire in the late 18th century, he could argue that transportation hadn’t changed since ancient times. An imperial messenger on the Roman roads could get from Rome to London even faster in A.D. 100 than in 1750.” — Walter Russell Mead

49. “In the second century of the Christian era, the Empire of Rome comprehended the fairest part of the earth and the most civilized portion of mankind. The frontiers of that extensive monarchy were guarded by ancient renown and disciplined valor.” — Edward Gibbon

50. “I think the greatest truths, the ones you find in every culture that has any sort of history of reflection of writing, the greatest truth is that there’s nothing good or bad, but thinking makes it so. That’s the way Shakespeare put it. But you get basically the same idea from Buddha, from the Bhagavad Gita in India, and from the Stoics in ancient Greece and Rome.” — Jonathan Haidt

Which One of these Ancient Rome Quotes is your Favorite? 

The Ancient Rome quotes above are interesting as well as informational.

Although collecting the most authentic and relevant Ancient Roman quotes was difficult, we tried to offer you the best possible options.

Hence, you can share these quotes via Instagram or any other social media platform.

If you have found your favorite Ancient Roman quotes, do share them with us via the comments section.

We would love to know your choice.