Authencity of "Rome" tv show?

[ziegenpeter]

Hi folks!
I'm not an expert of roman history, but right now I'm watching the 2nd season of "Rome" and there a some questions I have about this show. Right now I wont remember all, so there are more to come.
1. Why is Cato the only one not weaaring the typical senator toga?
2. Was it at these days inapropriate for a women of the upper class to participate an an orgy? (Octavia S2e05)
3. What kind of weapon is that?

thx so far

[athanaric]

3. What kind of weapon is that?

From what I can see, it's definitely a type of halberd.


Apart from some inaccuracies (and too much sex), the series is good IMO, and far more historically correct than any other commercial stuff about the Roman world I've seen so far.

[Skullheadhq]

Hi folks!
2. Was it at these days inapropriate for a women of the upper class to participate an an orgy? (Octavia S2e05)

OF course it was, and it was inappropriate for women of lower classes as well

[Watchman]

As for #3, those are some very Medieval-looking halberds right there...

[ziegenpeter]

OF course it was, and it was inappropriate for women of lower classes as well

Ok, orgies were only for men and slave women?

From what I can see, it's definitely a type of halberd.

Authentic or fantasy? It plays in bithynia. But that looks rather late medieval.

[athanaric]

Authentic or fantasy? It plays in bithynia. But that looks rather late medieval.

Like Watchman said, halberds like these are Medieval. I somehow doubt they were around at that time. I've never read or heard about halberds being used in Mikra Asia or other parts of the Hellenic/Roman world. Maybe the Chinese used some time of halberd at that time (the distinctively shaped halberds from around the Warring States period comes to my mind*), but those would have looked different. Good eye though, I didn't notice that myself when watching the series.

*

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

[Watchman]

The Chinese had their peculiar "dagger-axes" and light halberds, but those looked *very* different - the latter were basically spears with an usually crescent-shaped separate blade affixed to the shaft below the tip, for example.

Actually AFAIK the whole idea of combining the axe-blade, spear-tip and reverse-side hook/spike en bloc didn't occur to weaponsmiths before the later part of High Middle Ages or thereabouts, plus I understand it was slightly structurally tricky. AFAIK knights had been fitting spearheads atop their battleaxes for quite a while before that (to improve the versatility of the weapon), but that's obviously rather different.

TL;DR - somebody in the props departement made a wee bit of a screw-up.

[athanaric]

The Chinese had their peculiar "dagger-axes" and light halberds, but those looked *very* different - the latter were basically spears with an usually crescent-shaped separate blade affixed to the shaft below the tip, for example.

Yup, edited my post to show some of the Chinese ones.

[Aemilius Paulus]

TL;DR - somebody in the props departement made a wee bit of a screw-up.

Meh, they probably got a whole load of props used in some past film for a pence, due to the lack of demand for them. Same stories happen all the time. You would not believe how many times those Starship Troopers armour suits were re-used.

Speakign of inaccuracies, by the end of the series, Octavian's troops are wearing a peculiar bronze-looking variant of Lorica Segmentata, which was not even invented until much later, not to mention the date at which it became widespread.

[Cimon]

1. Why is Cato the only one not weaaring the typical senator toga?

If I remember correctly, one of the ancient authors/sources mentions that Cato often wore black, I think as a method of "mourning" the current status quo of the Roman state. Not surprising for someone who was (at least apparently) so dedicated to the republican ideals, given the amount of corruption that occurred in his day.

Anyone remember which author it was?

[Tartaros]

3. What kind of weapon is that?

Could it be a fasces???
could be the only explanation outside of an medieval hellebard...

[Skullheadhq]

A fasces doesn't exist. Fasces is plural

[Tartaros]

singular fasces
verbum plurale fascis

more common today:
plural subject fascismus
it´s not fascesmus

[Fluvius Camillus]

I really love the series! Awesome characters, and for a commercialized serie, very accurate.

The best characters:

1. Mark Anthony, definately!!! The extreme dick attitude of him made me laugh so much. His foul political play and his jokes are awesome... Who does not remember the scene where he starts peeing in a plantpot, during one of his threatenings to Cicero (S01E04, if not mistaken). And his disrespect for anything suits him so well.

2. Atia, the extremely cunning woman (probably not too realistic). (I swear on Jupiter's black stone that I did not kill your husband - Atia talking to Octavia, denying she murdered Octavia's husband).

3. Vorenus, the serious, fast to anger man, who has much suffering but has an amazing story.

Another good actor, Octavian, his personility really looks like the view I have about Aemilius Paulus, no offence meant if you take that. If you dont understand why, I will go into further detail if necesary.

Battles, GREAT fights, Pullo in the arena, great. Phillipi, awesome! And not to forget the Aventine street fight where Pullo rips out Memmio's tongue.

Amount of sex, it was good, some nice scenes, and probably made more people view (then making more people know the basics of the Romans evolving into an Empire). I really liked the scenes, but that is not the reason I viewed the series.

I probably forgot other points where I express why this serie is so great. I am watching the series a third time and still enjoying!

~Fluvius

[pezhetairoi]

I have to beg to differ with Fluvius on one small point though--I thought Phillipi the most ridiculous Roman battle re-enactment ever. And the battle of Alesia a close second behind. Both were also possibly among the most inaccurate re-enactments in the modern day.

Watching Alesia at the start of the series I went weak at the knees at the fact they were dressed ACCURATELY--then I realised that at Alesia they were supposed to be fighting on ramparts, not in the open field--and then they did that stupid front-row-rotation thing and I realised something was very fishy.

Then came Phillipi, a set-piece battle (apparently) with only a whole bunch of Romans walkinginto each other. Seriously. If you don't throw pila that's fine enough--but already bad enough. But not even bothering to charge? Which army walks to the attack? Not to mention the Romans were in far, FAR too deep a formation. It was just one solid block of men.

Yeah maybe it's because I've studied too much ancient history and played too much EB, but the battles were very much worse than the rest of Rome--which was awesome. And, of course, the fact that there's a voulge (I think that's what it is) in Caesar's tent means that when I get back my access to my Rome discs I shall have to look out for it just so I can chuckle at it.

[keiskander]

The little ive read is that Cato most likely did not wear a black toga but rather a purple one since he was abit of a snob.

The series Rome itself i enjoyed alot though.

[IrishHitman]

The little ive read is that Cato most likely did not wear a black toga but rather a purple one since he was abit of a snob.

The series Rome itself i enjoyed alot though.

Purple is a royal colour, I don't think he'd be caught dead wearing purple...

[IrishHitman]

1. Why is Cato the only one not weaaring the typical senator toga?
2. Was it at these days inapropriate for a women of the upper class to participate an an orgy?
3. What kind of weapon is that?

1. Cato wore black to demonstrate his complete commitment to Roman values of being simply dressed, hardened and completely masculine.
2. Not really, though Octavia doing so might be a bit dodgy. Orgies weren't a thing you'd declare you'd been to in public unless you already had a reputation for such a thing, but they weren't socially repulsive to anyone except the ultraconservative lot. Such as Cato.
3. A halberd I think. A mistake I suspect.