From The Wind Tunnel

The fans and dehumidifiers have been running since Friday. I'll get some relief this afternoon.

My friends, Michael and Cindy, invited me over to their house last night for dinner and to watch the HBO series, Rome. As with so many of these history dramas, they like to change the history to what they think is better. They totally screwed up the series, Caesar, a few years back. What gets me is the real history is actually better. The late Roman Republic history is fascinating, brutal, and full of sex and violence.

So what did they screw up last night?

Pompey's wife Julia did not die in 52 BC. She died in 54 BC. After her death, Caesar offered to have Pompey marry his grandniece, Octavia, and he would marry one of Pompey's daughters from a previous marriage. Since Pompey turned the deal down, Ocatavia didn't divorce her husband. They got the husband wrong also. She was married to Marcellus and stayed married to him until Augustus made her marry Marc Antony. One of her children by her first husband was Marcellus, to whom Augustus married his daughter Julia. He was to be Augustus' heir until he died. We are now in I Claudius territory.

Caesar's standards were not stolen and Octavius didn't go to Gaul. Octavius was born in 63 BC which would have made him 9 years old in 52 BC. Also, he didn't become Octavian until after Caesar's death. When one was adopted in Rome, he took his father's name and appended his name afterward. In Latin, that would make the appended name Octavianus, which when anglicized becomes Octavian.

Pompey is actually Gnaeus Pompeius Magnus. Most people called him Magnus, which would mean Great One. He was a boy wonder general and became Great One (or The Great) at a very early age.

Marc Antony is actually Marcus Antonius.

Are y'all learning anything?

In the first Senate meeting, last night, someone referred to Caesar as Pompey's co-consul. Caesar was actually a pro-consul and his province was Gaul. Caesar wanted to run for consul, in absentia, in 49 BC and the Senate would not let him. I'm now getting ahead of the series so I'll stop there.

What they did get right was Cato. Didja notice his naked shoulder and chest exposed under his toga? That was historically correct. Cato had this thing about honoring the Romans who kicked out the last king and evidentally they didn't wear tunics under their togas.

Cato's half sister is Servillia, who is Brutus' mother and Caesar's mistress. Caesar was like Bill Clinton in that he liked to boink lots of women. Married or single, he didn't care. Caesar did have better taste than Clinton. If we get lucky they'll show the scene in the Senate where Caesar gets a scroll and Cato demands that he read it in front of the entire Senate. Without a word, Caesar hands the scroll to Cato. It's a love letter from Servillia.

Now you've had a nice little history lesson. I think I'll do this again next week.

Posted by denny at August 29, 2005 02:42 PM