Perhaps the most obvious way of approaching The First Man in Rome is to compare its complex historical situation with that of the present day. How are the politics of Republican Rome like those of the modern world? How are they different? What events in the novel have parallels in modern world society?

1. Does McCullough paint her characters in a way that is notably different from depictions of twentieth-century persons? That is, do Gaius Marius and Sulla seem as if they could be modern persons? Or could they only exist 2000 years ago?

2. Compare the dichotomy of points of view between Sulla and Marius: on the one hand, an uncomplicated New Man; on the other, a dissipated nobleman. What are the things in their backgrounds that make each man what he is?

3. Is the attitude of Julilla toward Sulla one that can be seen in modern relationships...