I find it really interesting how the Julio-Claudians, those emperors we all know so well had this sort of legendary legacy towards the Romans who lived in later times.

Almost no dynasty gets referenced as much as them. Nero being the most famous together with Messalina, Germanicus, Agrippa, Maecenas, Augustus, Livia, etc...

It's like the later Romans really 'romanticized' this era, no pun intended. Something you don't see with the Antonines

You'll notice how folks in the Constantinian and Theodosian eras hardly ever mention Caracalla, Elagabalus, and the other Severans.

Trajan and Titus get honorable mentions but thats because their monuments were still very present in the city. But out of all the Flavians, it's really Domitian that gets a lot of buzz, probably because of how Martial, Juvenal, and Tacitus portrays him.

But it's funny how so many emperors and earlier Ronans are basically ignored or forgotten. How often do you hear folks talking about Cicero and Catiline in the 3rd century?

How often do you come across later Romans mentioning Antoninus Pius and Marcus Aurelius other than Julian?

Marcus Antonius and Cleopatra manage to keep hanging in there for a long long time and folks love referencing Pyrrhus and Hannibal.

But how often do you hear later Romans mentioning Gallienus and Valerian?

People mention Romulus, Numa, and King Tarquin, but hardly ever any of the other ones.

It's just sort of interesting how many Romans love referencing the Julio-Claudians and their circle so much.

Why wasn't there as much referencing of the Antonines by later Romans? Where they just seen as boring or something?