HBO's Rome: The Grittier Side of the Late Republic

Depictions of Rome on film and television usually focus on the grand, and glamorous. Cities of bright, white, marble, and crimson banners. Men in togas wondering the grand open square in front of the Senate. Or possibly the Colosseum, where gladiators fight to the death for the entertainment of thousands in the stands. HBO’s Rome, however, gives viewers a glimpse at a city we have never seen before. The dark, seedy, underbelly of Rome, where gangs run the streets, and murders done in plain sight go unpunished. This two season show focuses on the rise and fall of Caesar, followed by the ascension of Augustus. We will look at how HBO’s Rome depicts the city, and its portrayal of the rise and assassination of Julius Caesar, followed by an examination of the available texts. From there we will determine which text served as the primary source.

The first season of Rome focuses on the story of Julius Caesar’s rise to dictatorship, and later assassination. Like most HBO dramas, it tells this story from the perspectives of a wide cast of characters. Most of these characters are wealthy and politically affluent, such as Pompey, Brutus, and Caesar himself. These perspectives are balanced out by the presence of two semi-fictional characters, Titus Pullo, and Lucius Vorenus. These two characters are briefly mentioned by Caesar in The Gallic Wars.[1] Through all these characters we see Caesar’s rise and fall from the perspectives of those who favored and rejected him. The series begins with the death of Crassus, leaving only Caesar and Pompey to compete for power. The Senate sends an ultimatum to Caesar to either disband his army and return to Rome, or face civil war. Caesar is waiting for the Tribunes loyal to him in Rome to be killed or driven out of the city, thereby giving him a casus belli for war. This occurs, giving Caesar an excuse to take his army in Gaul and marches on Rome. The first half of the season centers on the war between Caesar and Pompey, and the occupation of Rome by Caesar’s army. After Pompey is defeated and killed in episode X, the remainder of the season is spent on Caesar solidifying his power over Rome, ending in his assassination.[2]

When talking about the life and career of Julius Caesar, the two main texts come from Plutarch and Suetonius. Other writers contemporary to Caesar in different writings reference him, in particular Cicero. However, most fictionalized portrayals of Julius Caesar are based on Plutarch and Suetonius. This is because those are the only ancient sources that tell the story of Caesar as a whole, rather than as scattered fragments. Plutarch and Suetonius are contemporaries of each other, and are both writing about the life of Julius. Caesar over a century after his assassination, doing so during the reigns of Trajan and Hadrian. Both writings are very similar, differing only seldom. This is probably due to the two of them using many of the same sources, including Caesar’s own writings. Both writers are, for the most part, neutral on the events of Caesar’s life, at least up to the point of Caesar crossing the Rubicon. Plutarch speaks of both Pompey and Caesar plotting to remove the other from power long before they came to blows. [3] It is the civil wars, especially the ones with Pompey’s sons, that they show a bias against Caesar. [4]

The creators of the show have not been forthcoming with the specific sources of the show. It is not mentioned in any interview, or in the special features of the home releases. Because of this, it is probably safe to assume that the writers of the show are using Plutarch or Suetonius, and supplementing it with other sources such as Cato and Cicero. The show focuses more on political events and maneuvering rather than on administrative or social reform. Because of this it is more likely that the creators are using Plutarch than Suetonius. Both give a detailed account of Caesar’s life before the civil war with Pompey, but after that point the similarities end.[5] [6] Plutarch’s work focuses more on the timeline of events around Caesar, while Suetonius focuses more on political and economic reform, such as debt relief for the poor, or giving land to soldiers who fought with him.[7]

One important area where the creators of the show differed from Plutarch was the portrayal of Brutus. At the beginning of the series, Brutus is portrayed as having solidly chosen the side of Pompey, and that this was the obvious choice for him. [8] Plutarch, however, paints a different picture. “When the Roman state split into two factions… it was generally expected that Brutus would choose Caesar’s side.”[9] Brutus was expected to pick Caesar’s side because Pompey had Brutus’ father put to death years before.[10] The show puts a good deal of emphasis on Brutus needing to be involved in the plot to kill, Caesar, with Cassis saying “A Brutus needs to hold the sword.”[11] This is most likely in reference to a statue that Plutarch describes, “Marcus Brutus was a descendant of that Junius Brutus in whose honor the ancient Romans erected a statue of bronze… They represented him with a drawn sword”.[12] Junius Brutus is credited with dethroning the Tarquins. Because of this, only someone from the Brutus family could be given the benefit of the doubt when killing a sovereign in Rome.

An important element of Rome is showing the conflict from not just the perspectives of political rivals, but also from the perspective of lower classes. This is where Titus Pullo, and Lucius Vorenus come in. The two of them are historical figures, but very little is known about them. Caesar mentions them once in book five of The Gallic Wars. They are described as being competitive with each other.[13] In the show, however, Titus Pullo is portrayed as being more subservient to Lucius Vorenus, or at least socially he is. Their lives in Rome are Semi-fictional. Because there is nothing written about these two after Caesar crosses the Rubicon, they are serviceable in portraying a wider social spectrum. They are used to show how the political conflicts of Caesar, Pompey, and Brutus impact the lower classes. The city of Rome is portrayed as being dirty and cramped. Murders go on in plain sight, and gangs control the slums. Both Vorenus and Pullo are recruited at different points by gangs to serve at street enforcers.[14] [15] We are shown the impact of some of Caesar’s governmental reforms when he gets Vorenus elected to the position of Magistrate, as part of his plan to reward his supporters, and ingratiate himself among the plebs.[16] Vorenus is characterized in the show as an honest man, who wants to please the gods and preserve the republic, while Pullo is characterized as a simple man, who is finding it difficult to adjust to life outside the army. As characters, they are meant to serve as the representatives of those watching, common people whom have little to no impact on the great game of politics being played by the upper classes, but are none the less impacted by them.

HBO’s depiction of Rome and the assassination of Julius Caesar is not like the others we have seen. HBO’s emphasis on political drama, and showing the grittier side of conflict, make it an excellent depiction. And its use of Plutarch as its main source allowed them to portray this conflict in a more neutral tone than most accounts.

 End Notes

[1] Julius Caesar, The Gallic War, (Mineola, New York: Dover Publications, 2006), 90

[2] Rome, “Kalends of February”, Episode 12, Directed by Alan Taylor, HBO, November, 2005

[3] Plutarch, Fall of the Roman Republic, Translator: Rex Warner(Victoria, Australia: Penguin Books, 1958) 240-242

[4] ibid, 248-249

[5] ibid, 217-240

[6] Suetonius, The Lives of the Caesars, Translated by J.C. Rolfe (New York: Barnes & Noble, 2004) 25-41

[7] ibid, 41-45

[8] Rome, “Stealing from Saturn”, Episode 4, Directed by Julian Farino, HBO, September, 2005

[9] Plutarch, Makers of Rome, (Baltimore: Penguin Books, 1965) 225

[10] ibid, 225-226

[11] Rome, “The Spoils”, Episode 11, Directed by Mikael Salomon, HBO, November, 2005

[12] Plutarch, Makers of Rome, (Baltimore: Penguin Books, 1965) 221

[13] Julius Caesar, The Gallic War, (Mineola, New York: Dover Publications, 2006), 90

[14] Rome, “The Ram has Touched the Wall”, Episode 5, Directed by Allen Coulter, HBO, September, 2005

[15] Rome, “The Spoils”, Episode 11, Directed by Mikael Salomon, HBO, November, 2005

[16] Rome, “Triumph”, Episode 10, Directed by Alan Taylor, HBO, November, 2005

Originally published November 16, 2016