Rome 1.02 - How Titus Pullo brought down the Republic

One thing to remember about the series "Rome" is that the events are sometimes more stretched out than they appear. The second episode follows seamlessly from the first, but the historical events in the episode actually take place two years later.

The Roman Senate distrusts Julius Caesar. He's a consul, a political position which makes him immune from prosecution, but consulship usually only lasts one year. By special dispensation the consulship of Caesar and Pompey has been extended to five years, but this is due to expire within a month. The senator Cato wants to charge Caesar with waging an illegal war in Gaul. In my limited understanding of the Republic's constitution, the consuls commanded the army, but the Senate had to allow the army's use in any conflict.

Caesar knows that Pompey supports the Senate, so he sends bribes to make the people of Rome vote for his friend Mark Antony as tribune. In the Roman Republic, the tribune was a person who supported the rights of the common people. Among other things, the tribune had the right of vetoing any motion made by the Senate. This was necessary, because the Senate was made up almost entirely of patricians, i.e. noblemen.

Lucius Vorenus and Titus Pullo return to Rome. It's the first time Lucius has seen his wife for eight years, so he's shocked to see his wife Niobe with a small baby on her arm. Niobe tells him it's his grandson, the son of his 14-year-old daughter, but we later find out that Niobe is lying.

Octavian invites Lucius and Titus into his mother's house, calling them his friends. Atia is unwilling to accept commoners into her home, but Octavian insists. The two men are completely different. Lucius knows how to behave in the company of nobility, only speaking when he's spoken to. Titus is uncouth and gives his opinion on how Caesar should take care of Rome. Atia is refreshed, because his words are what she thinks but is too discreet to say aloud.

Lucius and Titus have returned from Gaul as wealthy men. A soldier's wages were low, but they could keep the spoils of war, anything they stole from their enemies. As a higher ranking officer, Lucius has collected more spoils. He tells Niobe that he has treasure worth 10,000 denarii. A denarius was the usual daily earning of a skilled labourer. Lucius invests his money by buying slaves. Titus goes into a gambling den and loses all his money. When he's about to leave he sees that one of the other men has been cheating and kills him. A brawl breaks out, and Titus staggers into Lucius' house to wait for a doctor.

In recent years we've grown used to the magnificent arenas in "Gladiator" and similar films. This is what the arenas in Rome really looked like. The gladiators weren't highly trained fighters. They were usually men who had been sentenced to death. Anyone who defeated his opponents was allowed to carry on living.

Pompey and Cicero meet in the arena to discuss politics, in particular how they should deal with Caesar. Pompey loves the fighting, whereas Cicero looks on critically.

There's a motion in the Senate to declare Caesar an enemy of Rome. Cato and Cicero belong to opposing factions, and when they both support the motion their factions follow them, so the motion is carried almost unanimously. Mark Antony wants to veto the motion, but a fight breaks out in the Senate before he can speak. He has to delay his veto until the Senate convenes again the following day.

Now we come to a recurring theme in the series. Lucius and Titus may just be commoners, but their actions determine the history of Rome. The history books tell us that Mark Antony was ambushed on the way to the Senate by a mob made up of Pompey's supporters. The episode doesn't contradict the historical accounts, but details are added. Mark Antony walks to the Senate, flanked by Lucius and Titus, followed by a retinue of men loyal to Caesar. Pompey's followers stand peacefully as they pass, until a friend of the man that Titus killed sees him. The man attacks Titus, but everyone assumes he's trying to attack Mark Antony, so a large battle ensues, and Mark Antony never reaches the Senate.

When Caesar hears of it, he claims that Rome has fallen into disorder. He says that Pompey himself has arranged for a tribune to be assaulted, so he needs to put things right. He takes his army into Italy. This in itself is a crime. No army is allowed to enter Italy, whether or not it's heading towards Rome. As soon as Caesar crosses the River Rubicon, the border between Italy and Gaul, the Roman Civil War has begun.

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