Triumph (Rome)
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| "Triumph" | |
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| Caesar's Triumph | |
| Season | 1 (2005) |
| Episode | "10 (HBO; see BBC editing)" |
| Air date(s) | November 6, 2005 (HBO) December 28, 2005 (BBC) |
| Writer(s) | Adrian Hodges |
| Director | Alan Taylor |
| Setting | Rome |
| Time frame | April of 45 BC ( April 12 being the date of Julius Caesar's famous "Gallic Triumph") See also: Chronology of Rome |
| Link | HBO episode summary |
| Prev: "Utica" Next: "The Spoils" I | II | III | IV | V | VI | VII | VIII | IX | X | XI | XII |
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"Triumph" is the tenth episode of the first season of the television series Rome.
Unanimously proclaimed Dictator by the Senate, Caesar pronounces the war over, and proclaims a "triumph", five days of military pomp, feasting, and games honoring his victories. No longer an enlisted soldier, Pullo eyes a pastoral future with Eirene; Vorenus runs for municipal magistrate, with Posca's help; Octavian retrieves Octavia from her self-imposed exile; and Servilia invites a revenge-minded Quintus Pompey into her home, to Brutus' dismay.
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[edit] Plot summary
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Please help improve this article or section by expanding it. Further information might be found on the talk page or at requests for expansion. (September 2007) |
[edit] Historical and cultural background
- The Battle of Munda – which occurred March 17, 45 BC in Hispania – would have occurred between episodes #10 and #11, although it is not mentioned in the series. It was the last military action in "Caesar's Civil War", and the end of the Optimates military opposition to Caesar.
- The only other man to be granted such sweeping powers over Rome – at least while it was still a Republic – was Lucius Cornelius Sulla Felix, who used the power to turn the Republic into a bloodbath. This might explain why there has been so much resistance to Caesar gaining such power. Ironically, a young Julius Caesar himself had to flee the city while it was in Sulla's power, and Sulla himself commented in his memoirs that he regretted sparing Caesar's life because of the young man's notorious ambition.
- Vercingetorix, "King Of The Gauls", is supposed to depict Vercingetorix, who was defeated by Caesar at the Battle of Alesia in 52 BC. Upon his defeat, Vercingetorix was paraded through the streets of Rome and imprisoned for five years, before finally being publicly executed during Caesar's triumph.
- The almost total lack of regard for human life demonstrated towards slaves is probably accurate (see Slavery in ancient Rome). Though later emperors increasingly protected the rights of slaves (under Nero, slaves were given the right to complain against their masters in court), such laws were not introduced until later.
[edit] Inaccuracies and errors
- Although Cicero proposes in the Senate that Caesar be awarded the title of Imperator, this seems to be an error on the part of the writers. While any Roman magistrate or military commander (especially Caesar) was said to be imbued with the quality of Imperium ("the power vested by the state in a person to do what they consider to be in the best interests of the state"), this is not what the title of Imperator means. The title "Imperator" – in republican times (its meaning would change during the Empire) – was a military honor granted by a Legion to its commander, and was a required honor for a Roman general to be able to petition the Roman Senate to be allowed to hold a triumph. Caesar would already have received this honour, as he was being granted a triumph. The office which embodied the powers that the Senate seems to be offering Caesar – and what Cicero probably should have said – is Dictator.[1]
- Historically, this was not the first time that Caesar was voted the office of Dictator. After the defeat of the Optimates at the Battle of Munda, however, he was elected to the office for 1 year, which was quite unusual; dictatorial appointments were for six months, and usually ended much sooner (see Cincinnatus). Caesar would go on being voted in as Dictator by the Senate repeatedly, which was also unusual, until he eventually was appointed Dictator for Life. This had only ever been done once before, when Lucius Cornelius Sulla seized Rome and, unlike Caesar, had many of his enemies killed and exiled. In the series, the writers skip over the details and simply have the Senate offer Caesar the office of Dictator (or "Imperator", see point above) for 10 years, and then have one senator mention to another in passing that Caesar is now Dictator for life.
- Vercingetorix of the Gauls is depicted as being executed as part of the Triumph, although this does not seem to have been the practice. Such captives were held, or executed at the Tullianum, usually by strangulation, and not in public as part of the ceremony. It is generally assumed that Vercingetorix was executed by strangling in the Tullianum after around 6 years of incarceration (though the possibility he may have been publicly executed at the Gemonian stairs is not completely excluded). Sallust describes the tullianum as "about twelve feet deep, closed all round by strong walls and a stone vault. Its aspect is repugnant and fearsome from its neglect, darkness, and stench."[2]
[edit] References
[edit] External links
- "Triumph" at the Internet Movie Database
- Plot Summary at HBO
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