Is this my nerdiest post? Yes. Anyway,

The Star Trek wiki had something interesting...

Paul Schneider modeled the Romulans on the ancient Romans, naming the species' homeworlds after the mythical founders of Rome, Romulus and Remus. "It was a matter of developing a good Romanesque set of admirable antagonists that were worthy of Kirk," Schneider related. "I came up with the concept of the Romulans which was an extension of the Roman civilization to the point of space travel, and it turned out quite well." (Captains' Logs: The Unauthorized Complete Trek Voyages, p. 34) D.C. Fontana reckoned that Schneider basing the aliens on the pre-existing Roman civilization was the cause for the writer receiving insufficient credit for creating the Romulans. ("Balance of Terror" Starfleet Access, TOS Season 1 Blu-ray) Gene Roddenberry, interested in ancient Rome himself, approved of the initial depiction of the Romulan species. "He loved Paul's having endowed the enemy-Romulans with the militaristic character of the ancient Romans," wrote John D.F. Black and Mary Black. (Star Trek: The Magazine Volume 2, Issue 11, p. 19) Roddenberry's original concept of the Romulans, however, was that they represented 1960s' Chinese Communists.

Yes, Romulans are somewhat based on the Roman Empire and are xenophobic conquerers, but Westerners often ignorantly attribute these traits to communist countries anyway.

Then there is the Klingons, again, the Klingons are nothing like communists, (they're a patriarchal empire) and yet I've seen people say they were based on the Soviets.

So what do you think?

  • Mardoniush [she/her]
    ·
    6 months ago

    I like Diane Duane's Rihannsu concept of the Romulans that merges both the Chinese and Roman mythos into something unique and actually interesting. Gene hated it but the Enterprise writers loved it and wanted to incorporate it where the Romulans militarised their entire society in panic upon first contact with humans (Vulcan first contact was an invasion by Orion Slavers and Romulan experiences during the exile didn't help) and stole the federation ship's warp drive, having fled Vulcan on sublight ships.

    Much of the fandom accepts Rihannsu as the "supercanon" Romulans and Star Trek Online uses them, with a fig leaf that some of the missing exile ships survived and formed similar factions that have all been conflated.