Obsession with the past can take many forms. Aside from the righteous fanaticism that poisons the historically obsessed mind, there are other, stranger, less threatening forms this can take. In fact, they're a bit quaint, yearning for a mythical Golden Age.

Some people have become enamored and mesmerized by Old Rome. I must admit I have always had a weak spot for the old Roman Republic, the age of Real Latin. The early empire was OK too, but after the first hundred years or so, I began to lose interest. Still I am not quite sure I would want to go as far as these people are going. Of course, they are not trying to recreate the exact conditions of the Roman Republic, as they are leaving out minor details like slavery. It is hard to see how it might be possible to recreate the essence of Roman society without these elements. There's a half-hearted attempt at creating a patrician class in Nova Roma, but the patricians don't have any more rights than the others. So that is a bit of an empty shell too. It's more a of modern reinterpretation of Rome might have been like in this day and age rather than a real throwback to old Roman times.

The attempt to resurrect the old Roman religion is also interesting. They're rather vague on whether anyone actually practices the religion, or whether it is put up just for show. I've always liked the idea of the Graeco-Roman pantheon with its many gods and semi-deities. So much more fun than Christianity. And the relationship between morals and gods was different; whereas in Christianity the relationship is very hierarchical, the Romans had gods you can look in the eye and argue with. You could get hurt really badly if you picked the wrong fight but on the other hand, you could also play politics with the pantheon. Seems a much healthier attitude to take to one's deities, if one is to believe in any. But that's a whole different story.

I wish Nova Romans good luck, but I won't be joining.