Yesterday, Meta CEO and Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg turned 40. He posted photos of his extravagant birthday party showing that he wore a shirt that said “carthago delenda est” and a gold chain.
His shirt’s message—which translates to “Carthage must be destroyed”—caught many people’s eyes, so much so that online t-shirt retailers are already selling replicas of the shirt.
In an Instagram post yesterday, Zuckerberg shared photos of his party and the small recreations his wife, Priscilla, made of important places in his life. The photos show Zuckerberg sitting in the replicas, which include that of his Harvard dorm (where he invented Facebook) and the apartment he lived in before Facebook had 100 million users.
Also prominently featured is the shirt Zuckerberg wore during his birthday festivities, which seems to be a part of his new makeover—recently, he’s traded in his nondescript blue t-shirt look for designer clothes worn with chain necklaces.
“Carthage must be destroyed” is a Latin phrase coined by Cato the Elder, a famous Roman soldier who lived between 250 BC and 140 BC. At that time, Carthage was an ancient city in Northern Africa—if it existed today, Carthage would have existed in Tunisia. Roman soldiers destroyed the city in the Third Punic War.
The phrase’s significance to Zuckerberg is unclear, and some were puzzled by his shirt.
“A Roman rallying cry for the complete and total destruction of Carthage due to its wealth and threat to the Roman Empire. Attributed to Cato,” an X user tweeted. “Who is Carthage now.”
That said, others appreciated it.
“Zuck coming out as a Rome Appreciator, getting into fighting sports, and now flexing a wholesome family, chain, & Carthago Delenda Est’ in his latest Instagram post,” tweeted another person. “Idk what PR strategy this is, but the rebrand is working.”
And, as per usual with viral phrases, people immediately put it onto a t-shirt and sold it: Online retailers are now selling replicas of Zuckerberg’s shirt, a day after he was photographed wearing it.
Both Corner Prints and One Rockin now sell Mark Zuckerberg Carthago Delenda Est Shirts.
The devil works hard, but online t-shirt retailers work harder.
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