Ancient Rome as a masculinity script

Historical ideals of manhood—Cicero's stress on self‑control and 'virtus' as civic courage—are actively recycled by modern actors (influencers, commentators, political figures) as a template for what men should be. The Roman model is flexible: it can be invoked to justify martial dominance, stoic restraint, or civic responsibility depending on who borrows it. — Shows that appeals to antiquity are not neutral history but live cultural scripts that shape contemporary gender politics and status signalling.