Do men often think about the Roman Empire? Yes, they really do.

OK, so there’s this guy in Sweden who calls himself “Gaius Flavius” who uploads videos of himself on social media dressed as an ancient Roman legionnaire.

Last month, Flavius wrote on Instagram: “Ladies, many of you do not realize how often men think about the Roman Empire. … You will be surprised by their answers!”

In response, women have been posting TikTok videos in which they ask men the frequency of their Roman reveries. The question, as worded, didn’t speak to nonheterosexual couples.

Before you could say, “Et tu, Brute,” celebrities like Paris Hilton, regular folks in Queen Village, and even the Philadelphia Eagles, all got in on it. On Tuesday, TikTok videos that were tagged #romanempire had amassed a staggering 1.4 billion views. By Wednesday morning, it was 1.5 billion.

Viral videos, like viruses themselves, can mutate. And now people are so aware of the meme, they’re apparently flipping the script.

“You’ve been seeing on Instagram reels how men are reversing things,” said Charlie Huemmler, 25, a city planner from Fishtown.“They’re actually studying up a bit, so if someone does ask them about the Roman Empire, they’re just ready to rattle off facts about it.

“They do it as a joke, exaggerating how much they think about it.”

Paige Regan, 35, a 3D tech designer from Queen Village, agreed.

“I heard about the TikTok, and I asked my boyfriend immediately how often he thinks about the Roman Empire, and he said, ‘Every day.‘ Now, I know he’s big into Roman Stoicism [promoting virtues like piety] and Marcus Aurelius [emperor and Stoic philosopher]. And every guy’s favorite movie is Gladiator.

“But I doubt he’s thinking of it every day. I think it’s more of a joke.” Regan’s boyfriend declined to clear up the mystery.

No less a male role model than Philadelphia Eagles center Jason Kelce wondered whether this all is a goof. Asked on a YouTube video how often he thinks about the Roman Empire, he answered, “My wife asked me this question. Never. I don’t know how this became a thing. I don’t know if it’s a big joke everybody is playing.”

For the record, offensive tackle Fred Johnson said that he thinks about Rome “usually three times a week.” He added, “Is that weird?”

When Paris Hilton put the question to her husband, Carter Milliken Reum, he said he considers the Roman Empire “all the time.” What specifically comes to mind? “Togas,” he said.

It’s hard to know how much of this is a put-on and how much is a concept that taps into something authentic in the collective consciousness, said Frank Farley, emeritus Temple University psychology professor.

“Let’s face it, there’s not a lot of deep intellectual processing on TikTok,” he said. “But if I were guessing, I’d say people relate ancient Rome to a mix of hedonism, authority, and masculinity.”

Cam Grey, a professor of Roman history at the University of Pennsylvania, said the Rome most of us think about is filtered through Hollywood. “It’s your Rome, not mine,” he said, laughing. “I loved the Gladiator film. It was wildly, historically inaccurate. But a great film.”

The Roman meme floating through cyberspace, he added is “awesome, hilarious, ludicrous, and weird.”

It suggests “manly men doing manly stuff,” Grey said, and is quite alluring for some. However, he said, despite “not being racist, and being incredibly diverse, the Rome of antiquity was a pretty brutal, awful place to live.”

You had malaria, tuberculosis, gangrene, stomach worms, and epic diarrhea, Grey said, adding, “and people lived until maybe, 50.”

It’s not surprising that the old empire would appeal to guys pining for the trappings of an established patriarchy “on the heels of the Barbie movie, which presents a strong matriarchy,” said Daniel Singley, founder of the Center for Men’s Excellence, which offers therapy in San Diego.

Rome can be a sort of shorthand: “Probably libertine sex and gladiators stabbing each other,” Singley said. “Women aren’t asking men if they’re wondering about being accountants during the Roman Empire.”

The meme speaks to “precarious manhood,” said men’s psychologist Daniel Ellenberg of Marin County, Calif. “Masculinity is hard to prove, easy to lose, and must be demonstrated in public. What better way than to be a gladiator?”

Beyond that, “Rome persists,” he said, referencing still-standing statues, aqueducts, and (part of) the Colosseum. “Engineering and the outer world appeal to men,” Ellenberg said. “Guys learn not to look inward.”

Ultimately, said Tim Allen, 49, of East Passyunk, a principal software engineer at the Wharton School at Penn, the “how-often-do-men-think-of-the-Roman-Empire” question has been “a bit more on my mind than most.” That’s because, he added, “it would please my mom, who taught Latin.”

As someone who first wrote code at age 6, Allen said, “I’m always interested how things go viral.”

And this meme has been contoured perfectly for that purpose:

“It’s got to be almost nonsensical and come out of nowhere,” he said. “It’s got to be catchy.

“And it must be ridiculous.”