This World, Then the Visigoths

Over the past several days, no ad campaign has been as inescapable as the one hyping Food Network's recently aired "Super Chef Battle". The innumerable commercials and Web banners that ran in support of the event made it seem like a culinary version of a Thunderdome match, crossed with the Apollo Creed versus Ivan Drago bout from Rocky IV. P.T. Barnum would be proud.

But whenever one of the Food Network ads popped up, we couldn't help but think of the decline and fall of ancient...