There is a legitimate problem offline, at least, with the mentality that Classics should remain the exclusive privilege of those who dedicate their lives, and often thousands of dollars, to learn the field.
I am not, however, overly surprised by this. It makes me really disappointed to see that people, particularly those not enroled in a post-secondary institutions for it or with the means to study the languages, are feeling excluded from the Classics community on tumblr. He even killed someone by pouring molten gold down their throats! To add to his bad assery he also used to take small amounts of a wide variety of poisons in order to build up an immunity. Huge in stature and a powerful warrior Mithridates managed to rally the warlike and highly independent Greeks (Dothraki). So what we are looking for here? Large, eastern king who has a wanton disregard for the dangers of infection? Look no further than Mithridates. I think it is fair to assume as well that Claudius had a very hot mistress. To the shock of his family he managed to acquit himself well! His numerous achievements include bringing Britain into the Roman Empire and trying to purge the judicial system of corruption and cruelty! Sound familiar? Think about Tyrion period as Hand of the King. However when Claudius found himself emperor after his nutter nephew Emperor Caligula, the ancient worlds answer to Joffery was assassinated. He had a charismatic elder brother (Germanicus) who constantly upstaged him with his battle prowess and good looks. Claudius was widely mocked for his terrible stutter and bookish ways. The annoying lack of wise cracking dwarfs in Roman history means we have to think a bit outside the box with this one. Stern and honour-bound, despite Stark contrasts in fate (one beheaded & one old age), both presumably had broad Sheffield accents. Both patriarchs of their respective families (Stark/Agrippa) help their best friends (Robert/Octavian) to achieve the crown/emperorship. The similarities are clear between these two generals. However due to her lack of Dragons, she was defeated in 273 CE.
It was from across the Narrow Sea (in this case the Aegean) that she built up a splinter empire to rival the greatness of Rome. She moved on the key province of Egypt, and it was that bold move that brought the ire of the then current emperor, Aurelian.
Unlike Miss Targaryen she didn’t waste a whole series bumming around in Meereen. Zenobia was the Queen of Palmyra and took control of the east of the Roman Empire in the 3 rd century CE. Both were over shadowed by their warrior husbands until their deaths bought them both to prominence. The Mountain rose to prominence in series one by cutting out the tedium of racing a horse and simply cut the head off. Maximinus rose to prominence when he ran alongside the emperor’s horse keeping pace mile after mile, going on to win a wrestling contest at the end. However, if one is looking for rage and terrifying athleticism then look no further than these two. Standing a pathetic 7ft11 compared to Thrax’s 8ft6 Ser Gregor would need to do some growing up before he could compete with the big boys. The Mountain that Rides would be more like “the mole-hill that skips” compared to everyone’s favourite Thracian emperor. Little did we know that the characters we love so much have been sitting in annals of Roman history for two millennia! So we are all loving a bit of Game of Thrones/ Ice and Fire at the moment.