Ancient Rome (ローマ帝国, Rōma Teikoku), also known as Grandpa Rome, Roma Antiqua, Roman Empire, or simply Rome, is a supporting character in the series Hetalia.
Appearance[]
Chibi Rome from Axis Powers Volume 4
Ancient Rome is a man with a muscular build, olive skin,[Note 7] short, messy brown hair and amber eyes. His hair has two protruding cowlicks, one at the top of his head, and another on his left side, a feature he shares with Italy Veneziano and Italy Romano as well as with in-universe Roman Emperors. Occasionally, a third cowlick juts out from the right side of his head.
In his first appearance in the Chibitalia[2] strips, he is shown as an elderly man with a mustache, but in the Prologue[3] to the first volume and Episode 01, he appears much younger. In an early colored illustration, he was depicted with blue eyes.[1]
In Hetalia☆Collezione, Himaruya said that he has been trying to draw Rome as a "retired playboy", but it turned out to be quite hard.
Personality and Interests[]
Once the great ruler of the Mediterranean Sea, Ancient Rome is a confident, megalomaniac warrior, though his bragging tends to show a childish lack of self-awareness rather than any ill intent. Because of his past glory, he loves fighting and is said to get very excited at the sight of "strong people" (potential foes to fight against).[4][5][6] He has been notably fighting a lot with Germania.
On the flip side, he is very fond and proud of his grandchildren, even though none of them inherited his success. For in-depth information, see the relationships section.
Ancient Rome is known to be quite hedonistic. His likes include baths,[Note 8] arts such as music, paintings and sculptures,[4] but he also indulges in alcohol, food and women. The last point seems to be the one Rome himself is the most passionate about; he is said to have fallen in love with both Ancient Greece and Ancient Egypt at first sight. He's also bluntly open about his sexual experiences, musing about what he got around to do and what he wished he had tried while he was still alive (as shown in Together with Grandpa Rome[7] adapted in Episode 32 and later in Episode 60).[Note 9]
However, Rome does not seem to understand what happened for him to fall from grace. In Together with Grandpa Rome[7] (and Episode 32), after being directly asked by Germany, he remains elusive about the exact circumstances of his disappearance, although he does acknowledge that he was foolish and thought glory and wealth would last forever. It is possible that he kept his answer vague on purpose.
Similarly, he does not seem to fully grasp how much the world has changed ever since he disappeared, despite his many visits to Earth from the afterlife. In Together with Grandpa Rome[7] (and Episode 32) as well as in Grandpa Rome’s Visit Home[8] and miscellaneous doodles, he can be seen wearing modern clothes, but in Grandpa Rome’s Visit Home he starts throwing a tantrum after finding back the location of his former house, a mere public bench now standing in its place. In World☆Stars Chapter 54,[9] he appears in Italy's dreams to help him through a dispute with Romano, but most of the advice given by Rome is based on his outdated experience of the world, much to Italy's chagrin.
Biography[]
WIP.
Relationships[]
Germania[]
- Main article: Germania
At some point Germania was a bodyguard for Rome,[10] but the two then became enemies. Despite that, they still had to occasionally unite for military purposes, which lead to a peculiar love-hate relationship. Germania allegedly delivered the fatal blow to Rome, and died himself sometime after. In later strips, it is shown that they are once again friends in the afterlife.[11][8]
Unlike Rome, Germania is rather down-to-earth, calm and collected, but Rome enjoys trying to get a reaction out of him (especially if it can lead to a brawl).[12]
In Together with Grandpa Rome[7] (adapted in Episode 60), Germania interrupts Rome's musings to ask him to talk about something else than seducing women, drinking alcohol and fighting, as he is not interested whatsoever. In a similar way, in Grandpa Rome’s Visit Home,[8] Germania has to step in to cut short to Rome's tamper tantrum upon discovering what happened to his former house. Whereas Rome was quite pessimistic about his legacy, Germania reminded him of how much he left behind for people to remember, and also that he can now finally enjoy the gift of eternal peace.
Germany[]
- Main article: Germany
Germany considers Rome as one of his most respected figures,[7] going as far as doing tedious research about ancient Roman history to debunk some theories and make new discoveries.[13] Because of that, when he first stumbles upon Italy Veneziano during WWI (events of Hetalia Chapter 1[14] adapted in Episode 01), he is quite confused to find out that Rome's descendant did not inherit much of his skills on the battlefield.
Germany meets Rome in person after waking up to him one night, as Rome came to visit his grandson (Together with Grandpa Rome[7] adapted in Episode 32). They have an awkward discussion at the end of which Rome proclaims he must be a saint for not engaging in certain sexual acts. They later have a short talk about ancient Roman history, in which Germany proves himself well-versed, improving Rome's opinion of him.
Throughout the series, Germany alludes to how he aspires to be a great nation like Rome was.
Italy Romano[]
- Main article: Italy Romano
The oldest of Rome's known[Note 4] grandchildren. He received much less attention from Rome than his younger brother, and is seen complaining about how he inherited few of his attributes, including his looks.[citation needed][Note 10] Despite that, Rome cares about him just as much and is sad to see him constantly argue with his brother.
Romano acts in a very ambiguous way in the presence of his grandfather. In a blog post[15] from 2011, Romano is said to cry happy tears when he sees Rome and because of this, he is too embarrassed to actually face Rome (and denies his request to take a picture together). Later, in World☆Stars Chapter 54,[9] Rome appears to his grandsons in their dreams and asks Romano to be nice to his younger brother, but Romano only panics and urges Rome to leave.
Italy Veneziano[]
- Main article: Italy Veneziano
In many aspects, Italy is considered to be the "luckiest" or "favorite" one of Rome's grandchildren. He is the one who spent the most time with Rome, since he spent a considerable amount of time living and travelling with his grandfather as a child (as shown in Chibitalia[2] and Episode 01); that lead Italy to inherit most Rome's physical attributes[citation needed][Note 10] as well as his talents in music and arts, which were passed on to him before his grandfather died.
Due to what happened to Rome, Italy refused Holy Roman Empire's proposal for an alliance to become a new Roman Empire (events of Chibitalia[2] adapted in Episode 11), even tearing up at the prospect of another loved one ending up like his grandfather.
Rome is shown to be very affectionate for his grandson, returning from the afterlife on multiple occasions to visit him (like in Together with Grandpa Rome[7] adapted in Episode 32, or World☆Stars Chapter 54[9]), gushing over how big he's grown and how cute he is. On his end, Italy still looks up to his grandfather and is always thrilled to see him, even though so far he only "reunited" with Rome through dreams (World☆Stars Chapter 54[9]) or supernatural phenomena (Episode 18).
Romania[]
- Main article: Romania
Romania claims to be a descendant of Rome, though the truth is unknown and Italy Romano firmly rejected the idea on the basis that Romania does not have the signature hair curl inherited from Rome.[16]
Persia[]
WIP.
Appearances[]
Manga[]
- Chibitalia[2]
- Christmas 2011 Event[17][11]
- Grandpa Rome and Spartacus[18]
- Grandpa Rome’s Visit Home[8]
- Halloween 2011 Event[19][20]
- Persia and the Two Kings[21]
- Prologue[3]
- Together with Grandpa Rome[7]
- World☆Stars Chapter 21[5]
- World☆Stars Chapter 28[22]
- World☆Stars Chapter 47[23]
- World☆Stars Chapter 48[24]
- World☆Stars Chapter 52[25]
- World☆Stars Chapter 54[9]
- World☆Stars Chapter 55[26]
- World☆Stars Chapter 56[27]
- World☆Stars Chapter 81[28]
- World☆Stars Chapter 163[16]
Other[]
- Grandpa Rome [Request][29]
- Love? Hate? [Request][12]
- Hetalia☆Collezione
Anime[]
Ancient Rome in Episode 01
While he was portrayed as an older man in the manga version of Chibitalia,[2] he is shown much younger in the anime; his skin tone is also much lighter[Note 7] and his eyes were changed to an amber color.
For a complete list of his anime appearances, see this page.
Songs[]
Character Image Songs[]
- "Ren・Ren・Renaissance♪" (featured)
- "Roma Antiqua"
Insert Songs[]
Notes[]
- ↑ When exactly he was born is unknown, but it is likely that he represents all eras of Ancient Rome. When exactly he died is also unknown. Though his death has been mentioned at various points in the series, the exact circumstances have never been said and it has only been discussed vaguely.
- ↑ His exact physical age has not been stated, however it is known he is an adult because of several factors, such as that he has several descendants.
- ↑ Rome has directly displayed his attraction to women multiple times, and even fell in love with Ancient Greece and Ancient Egypt. He also has implied attraction to men, for example emphasizing how much he likes strong men multiple times in his Hetalia☆Collezione profile.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 This is not listed in Rome's profile, however it is said in Romania's. Romania confidently claims to be one of Rome's descendants, though the truth is not known for certain.
- ↑ A luxury dessert tart in Ancient Rome made from a combination of various nuts, such as pine nuts, almonds, walnuts, etc., being chopped, roasted, and then mixed with honey, pepper, liquamen, milk, eggs, oil. Click here for more information and a modern rendition of the recipe, and click here and here for ancient recipes.
- ↑ Seafood was a staple of the Roman diet, with tuna being one of many different types of fish that were eaten. Cooked fish were often served with garum, a fermented fish sauce that was used as a condiment. Click here and here for more information and recipes.
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 In early colored illustrations, his skin was tan. Seasons 1-4 of the anime (Axis Powers and World Series) used the same light skin tone for most of the cast, erasing pre-existing diversity (which was also noticeable in Himaruya's art, namely in the Axis Powers Volume 4 chibis where all mediterranean Nations were given very light skin tones). However, from The Beautiful World onwards, many characters regained their darker skin tone to mirror Himaruya's efforts to improve character diversity.
- ↑ Thermae were a big part of ancient Roman life.
- ↑ In the Japanese dub of Episode 60 as well as in the matching segment of original strip, Rome moreso talks about flirting with a cute girl. He only explicitly references sex in the English dub.
- ↑ 10.0 10.1 The exact blog post where Himaruya stated this currently seems to have been lost.
References[]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Himaruya, Hidekaz. July 11, 2007. Old Blog File Archive, Ancient Rome Tag.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 Himaruya, Hidekaz. August 20-November 26, 2006. "ちびたりあ [Chibitalia]". Japanese. English.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Himaruya, Hidekaz. March 28, 2008. "Prologue" Axis Powers ヘタリア 1 [Hetalia: Axis Powers 1]. Gentosha. ISBN: 978-4-3448-1275-8(JPN), 978-1-4278-1876-8(ENG). English.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Himaruya, Hidekaz. December 10, 2008. "ヘタリアと愉快な仲間たち [Hetalia and Funny Friends]". Axis Powers ヘタリア 2 [Hetalia: Axis Powers 2]. Page 22. Gentosha. ISBN: 978-4-3448-1514-8 (JP), 978-1-4278-1887-4 (EN). English.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 Himaruya, Hidekaz. August 28, 2014. "21話 [Chapter 21]". ヘタリア World☆Stars [Hetalia World☆Stars] English.
- ↑ Himaruya, Hidekaz. July 3, 2015. ヘタリア World☆Stars 2 [Hetalia World☆Stars 2]. Shueisha. ISBN: 978-4-0888-0440-8 (JP) English.
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 7.3 7.4 7.5 7.6 7.7 Himaruya, Hidekaz. December 10, 2008. "ローマじいちゃんと [Together with Grandpa Rome]". Axis Powers ヘタリア 2 [Hetalia: Axis Powers 2]. Gentosha. ISBN: 978-4-3448-1514-8(JPN), 978-1-4278-1887-4(ENG). English.
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 8.3 Himaruya, Hidekaz. October 20, 2013. "ローマじいちゃんの里帰り（＋大胸筋） [Grandpa Rome’s Visit Home]". Japanese. English.
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 9.2 9.3 9.4 Himaruya, Hidekaz. April 3, 2015. "54話 [Chapter 54: Grandpa Rome Appears in Their Dreams…!?]" ヘタリア World☆Stars [Hetalia World☆Stars] English.
- ↑ Himaruya, Hidekaz. December 10, 2008. "ヘタリアと愉快な仲間たち [Hetalia and Funny Friends]". Axis Powers ヘタリア 2 [Hetalia: Axis Powers 2]. Page 23. Gentosha. ISBN: 978-4-3448-1514-8(JPN), 978-1-4278-1887-4(ENG). English.
- ↑ 11.0 11.1 Himaruya, Hidekaz. January 3, 2012. "リクエスト4コマ まとめ１ [2011 Christmas – Requests Page 1]". Japanese. English.
- ↑ 12.0 12.1 Himaruya, Hidekaz. February 6, 2015. "【リクエスト】すき？きらい？ [Request] Love? Hate?]". Japanese. English.
- ↑ Himaruya, Hidekaz. October 20, 2014. "古代ローマとドイツさん [Ancient Rome and Mr. Germany]". Japanese. English.
- ↑ Himaruya, Hidekaz. July 6, 2006. "ヘタリア１話 [Hetalia Chapter 1]". Japanese. English.
- ↑ Himaruya, Hidekaz. April 5, 2011. "超次元シンデレラかんちゃん". Japanese. English.
- ↑ 16.0 16.1 Himaruya, Hidekaz. April 18, 2016. "[163話]ヘタリア World☆Stars [[Chapter 163] Hetalia: World☆Stars]". Japanese. English.
- ↑ Himaruya, Hidekaz. January 3-7, 2012. "リクエスト4コマ まとめ２ [2011 Christmas – Request Strips Page 2]". Japanese. English.
- ↑ Himaruya, Hidekaz. March 5, 2011. "ローマじいちゃんとスパルタカス [Grandpa Rome and Spartacus]". Japanese. English.
- ↑ Himaruya, Hidekaz. November 4, 2011. "はみ出しハロウィーン 2ページ目 [2011 Halloween Overflow – Page 2]". Japanese. English.
- ↑ Himaruya, Hidekaz. October 26, 2011. "ハロウィーン何の仮装する？ [What will you dress up as for Halloween?]". Japanese. English.
- ↑ Himaruya, Hidekaz. October 28, 2014. "ペルシアさんあーんどふたりの皇帝 [Persia and the Two Kings]". Japanese. English.
- ↑ Himaruya, Hidekaz. December 26, 2014. "28話 [Chapter 28]". ヘタリア World☆Stars [Hetalia World☆Stars] English.
- ↑ Himaruya, Hidekaz. March 26, 2015. "47話 [Chapter 47". ヘタリア World☆Stars [Hetalia World☆Stars] English.
- ↑ Himaruya, Hidekaz. March 13, 2015. "47話 [Chapter 48". ヘタリア World☆Stars [Hetalia World☆Stars] English.
- ↑ Himaruya, Hidekaz. March 27, 2015. "55話 [Chapter 52: The Unknown History of Gladiators]" ヘタリア World☆Stars [Hetalia World☆Stars] English.
- ↑ Himaruya, Hidekaz. April 6, 2015. "55話 [Chapter 55: Persia and the Two Kings]" ヘタリア World☆Stars [Hetalia World☆Stars] English.
- ↑ Himaruya, Hidekaz. April 10, 2015. "56話 [Chapter 56]" ヘタリア World☆Stars [Hetalia World☆Stars] English.
- ↑ Himaruya, Hidekaz. July 6, 2015. "81話 [Chapter 81]" ヘタリア World☆Stars 2 [Hetalia World☆Stars 2] English.
- ↑ Himaruya, Hidekaz. December 26, 2011. "リクエスト「ローマじいちゃん」 [Request “Grandpa Rome”]". Japanese. English.