"Passover" is the first episode of the second season of the television series Rome

Rome (TV series)

Rome is a British-American–Italian historical drama television series created by Bruno Heller, John Milius and William J. MacDonald. The show's two seasons premiered in 2005 and 2007, and were later released on DVD. Rome is set in the 1st century BC, during Ancient Rome's transition from Republic...

 and is an Emmy Award winner in the category Outstanding Cinematography for a Single Camera Series photographed by Alik Sakharov, A.S.C.

Plot summary

In the aftermath of Gaius Julius Caesar's assassination

Assassination of Julius Caesar

The assassination of Julius Caesar was the result of a conspiracy by approximately forty Roman senators who called themselves Liberators. Led by Gaius Cassius Longinus and Marcus Junius Brutus, they stabbed Julius Caesar to death in the Theatre of Pompey on the Ides of March 44 BC...

, Posca attends to his master's corpse while Mark Antony staggers out of the Senate House, struggling to come to terms with what has happened. However, he is soon forced to run for his life when Quintus Pompey

Quintus Valerius Pompey

Quintus Valerius Pompey is a fictional character in the HBO/BBC2 original television series, Rome, played by Rick Warden. He is described as the "natural son" of Pompey. The basis for this character is unclear. There is no historical mention of a Quintus Valerius Pompey, but the character may be...

 and a number of thugs attack and try to murder him. Anthony flees and takes refuge at the Julii villa. Brutus, meanwhile, staggers back to his family home, traumatised by what he has done. Servilia

Servilia of the Junii

Servilia of the Junii is a character from the HBO/BBC/RAI original television series, Rome, played by Lindsay Duncan. The mother of Marcus Junius Brutus, lover of the married Julius Caesar and enemy of Atia of the Julii, Servilia is depicted as a sophisticated and regal Roman matron who follows her...

 consoles him, assuring her son he has done the right thing, but Brutus is too haunted by Caesar's death to take comfort from Servilia's assurances he has both redeemed their family name and saved the Republic.

At his home, Vorenus grieves over the body of Niobe; when his children appear, Vorenus turns on them in his grief and rage, knowing that they hid the knowledge of his wife's affair and secret child from him - in his fury, Vorenus curses his family and then storms out into the back alleys of Rome; his loss, combined with his discovery that Caesar is dead (an act he could have prevented) cause Vorenus to collapse where he stands, overwhelmed.

At the home of the Julii, Antony angrily threatens retribution on all Caesar's killers, as well as Vorenus for abandoning them; Atia

Atia of the Julii

Atia of the Julii is a fictional character from the HBO/BBC/RAI original television series Rome, played by Polly Walker. The niece of Julius Caesar and mother of Octavian/Augustus and Octavia, she is depicted as a cheerfully amoral and opportunistic manipulator...

 reminds him that Servilia is the driving force behind the murders, and informs him that Vorenus was lured away. Antony advises Atia and her family to flee Rome with him to the north, where he can assemble an army to fall upon the Liberatores; however, they are stopped as they try to convince Caesar's widow, Calpurnia

Calpurnia Pisonis

Calpurnia Pisonis , daughter of Lucius Calpurnius Piso Caesoninus, sister of Lucius Calpurnius Piso, "the Pontifex", was a Roman woman and the third and last wife of Julius Caesar. Calpurnia was the great-granddaughter of a lieutenant of Lucius Cassius Longinus, whose name was Lucius Piso...

, who insists they must attend to Caesar's will. In it, Caesar has left a substantial sum of money to every citizen of Rome, frees Posca, and leaves his estate and title to Octavian, whom Caesar refers to as his son in the will. Knowing that he will get nothing if Brutus and his allies declare Caesar's death tyrannicide

Tyrannicide

Tyrannicide literally means the killing of a tyrant, or one who has committed the act. Typically, the term is taken to mean the killing or assassination of tyrants for the common good. The term "tyrannicide" does not apply to tyrants killed in battle or killed by an enemy in an armed conflict...

 (which would make all of his acts null and void), Octavian convinces Antony and Atia to cut a deal with the assassins, since if Brutus and his allies do so, they also lose all the positions and power Caesar bestowed on them.

The next day, Antony heads to Servilia's villa to put the proposal to Brutus and Cassius, arriving as Cicero

Marcus Tullius Cicero (Rome character)

Marcus Tullius Cicero is a historical figure who features as a character in the HBO/BBC2 original television series Rome, played by David Bamber. He is depicted as a moderate politician and scholar, who is challenged with trying to save the traditional Republic from the ambitions of the various...

 is in the middle of a speech praising them for their act. The group settles into a meeting, with Cicero acting as arbitrator (though Antony orders Quintus to leave, informing the others of Pompey's attempt to murder him; while Brutus denies involvement, Cassius remains silent). Antony comments that Caesar was beloved by the people, and they will hate his murderers for what they have done. He also reminds the group of what Octavian told him: that if they declare Caesar a tyrant, they lose all the power and influence he gave them. Antony proposes a solution: an amnesty in which Caesar is not declared a tyrant, nor are the Liberatores declared murderers, all his acts and his will stand, a funeral is held for Caesar, and then everything carries on as normal. After Antony leaves to give the others time to think over his offer, Brutus angrily remonstrates with Cassius for trying to kill Antony against his wishes. While Cicero, Cassius and Servilia urge him to kill Antony, Brutus refuses and agrees to the proposal. Antony departs, though not before killing Quintus as revenge for his attempted murder.

However, at Caesar's funeral, Antony uses his eulogy as an opportunity to incite the people against the assassins. Antony advises Brutus, Cassius and the others to leave Rome (which was his intention all along), but Servilia will stay (as a hostage to ensure their co-operation). However, when they refuse, and Cassius arrogantly sneers that the Senate and the 'men of quality' are with them, Antony's temper finally gets the better of him and he angrily bellows at Cassius "And I have an angry mob, that will roast and eat your men of quality in the ashes of the Senate House!". Cowed by Antony's fury, Brutus and Cassius, along with their allies, reluctantly depart Rome.

Still on their excursion to the countryside, Pullo asks his former slave, Eirene to marry him; though clearly surprised, she accepts. But when they hear the news of Caesar's death they immediately return to Rome. They search for Vorenus, only to find him in a terrible state and his children missing. Pullo consoles a distraught Vorenus that since he didn't seal the curse, he can easily lift it when the children return. However, after several days, and Niobe's funeral, the children still have not returned. After some investigation, they discover that their old enemy, Erastes Fulmen

Erastes Fulmen

Erastes Fulmen is a fictional character in the HBO/BBC2 original television series Rome, played by Irish actor Lorcan Cranitch. He is depicted as a ruthless businessman, who over the course of the first season becomes one of the leading figures in the Roman underworld.-Personality:While wearing the...

 has taken the children. Vorenus and Pullo storm into a bathhouse, slaughter the men guarding him and interrogate Fulmen. Realising he is dead whether he speaks or not, Fulmen tells Vorenus that he took the children as payment for Vorenus's many "slights" against him, raped and killed them, then dumped the bodies into the Tiber. Furious, Vorenus beheads Fulmen and with Pullo, storms out of the bathhouse, carrying Fulmen's head with him.

Differences from historical events

Julius Caesar

Julius Caesar

Gaius Julius Caesar was a Roman general and statesman and a distinguished writer of Latin prose. He played a critical role in the gradual transformation of the Roman Republic into the Roman Empire....

 had not been murdered in the Curia Iulia

Curia Julia

The Curia Hostilia was one of the original senate houses or 'curia' of the Roman Republic. It is believed to have begun as an Etruscan temple where the warring tribes laid down their arms during the reign of Romulus . During the early kingdom, the temple was for the use of the Senators who acted as...

, where the Roman Senate

Roman Senate

The Senate of the Roman Republic was a political institution in the ancient Roman Republic, however, it was not an elected body, but one whose members were appointed by the consuls, and later by the censors. After a magistrate served his term in office, it usually was followed with automatic...

 usually met, because the building was undergoing renovation at the time. The Senate meetings took place in the Curia of the Theatrum Pompeium

Theatre of Pompey

The Theatre of Pompey was a structure in Ancient Rome built during the later part of the Roman Republican era. It was completed in seven years, starting from 55 BC, and was dedicated early in 52 BC before the structure was fully completed...

 where the assassination took place.

• Marcus Antonius was not engaged in a sword fight outside of the Curia after the murder. Instead he fled and hid at first; however, several senators were wounded and killed in the fierce assault and the ensuing chaos, and many Roman civilians and foreigners were killed immediately after the assassination outside of the building by the gladiators, who had been hired by the conspirator Decimus Iunius Brutus
  Decimus Junius Brutus Albinus
  Decimus Junius Brutus Albinus was a Roman politician and general of the 1st century BC and one of the leading instigators of Julius Caesar's assassination...
  
  .
• The portrayal of Marcus Iunius Brutus
  Marcus Junius Brutus
  Marcus Junius Brutus , often referred to as Brutus, was a politician of the late Roman Republic. After being adopted by his uncle he used the name Quintus Servilius Caepio Brutus, but eventually returned to using his original name...
  
   as being afraid and shaken by his actions is incorrect. The assassins immediately addressed the Roman citizens outside of the Senate house with verve and self-confidence.
• Marcus Brutus and the other assassins did not return to their homes. During their address to the people they were met with rejection by the Roman citizens. Confused by this reaction they climbed the Capitoline Hill
  Capitoline Hill
  The Capitoline Hill , between the Forum and the Campus Martius, is one of the seven hills of Rome. It was the citadel of the earliest Romans. By the 16th century, Capitolinus had become Capitolino in Italian, with the alternative Campidoglio stemming from Capitolium. The English word capitol...
  
  , accompanied by the gladiators of Decimus Brutus, where they remained entrenched almost until the day of Caesar's funeral.
• The important role of the magister equitum and later pontifex maximus and triumvir
  Second Triumvirate
  The Second Triumvirate is the name historians give to the official political alliance of Octavius , Marcus Aemilius Lepidus, and Mark Antony, formed on 26 November 43 BC with the enactment of the Lex Titia, the adoption of which marked the end of the Roman Republic...
  
   Marcus Aemilius Lepidus
  Marcus Aemilius Lepidus (triumvir)
  Marcus Aemilius Lepidus , was a Roman patrician who rose to become a member of the Second Triumvirate and Pontifex Maximus. His father, Marcus Aemilius Lepidus, had been involved in a rebellion against the Roman Republic.Lepidus was among Julius Caesar's greatest supporters...
  
   and his soldiers in the aftermath of Caesar's assassination, especially his measures for pacification, is not dealt with in the episode's plot.
• Caesar's dead body was brought back to his house by three servants carrying him in his sedan, not wheeling him on a pushcart. (The fourth servant was missing, because he had either fled or had been killed in the fights outside of the Curia.)
• Gaius Octavius
  Augustus
  Augustus ;23 September 63 BC – 19 August AD 14) is considered the first emperor of the Roman Empire, which he ruled alone from 27 BC until his death in 14 AD.The dates of his rule are contemporary dates; Augustus lived under two calendars, the Roman Republican until 45 BC, and the Julian...
  
   ("Octavian") was not in Rome at the time of Caesar's murder and funeral, but studying in Apollonia
  Apollonia, Illyria
  Apollonia was an ancient Greek city in Illyria, located on the right bank of the Aous river . Its ruins are situated in the Fier region, near the village of Pojani, in modern-day Albania...
  
  , Illyria
  Illyria
  In classical antiquity, Illyria was a region in the western part of the Balkan Peninsula inhabited by the Illyrians....
  
  , where he was part of the advance party for Caesar's planned war campaign against the Parthia
  Parthia
  Parthia is a region of north-eastern Iran, best known for having been the political and cultural base of the Arsacid dynasty, rulers of the Parthian Empire....
  
  ns. Octavius, Marcus Agrippa
  Marcus Vipsanius Agrippa
  Marcus Vipsanius Agrippa was a Roman statesman and general. He was a close friend, son-in-law, lieutenant and defense minister to Octavian, the future Emperor Caesar Augustus...
  
   and Gaius Maecenas
  Gaius Maecenas
  Gaius Cilnius Maecenas was a confidant and political advisor to Octavian as well as an important patron for the new generation of Augustan poets...
  
   sailed back to southern Italy after the news of Caesar's murder had reached them, smuggled themselves into the country in secret, not knowing if Caesar's assassins would target them next.
• After it had become clear that the "liberators" had no interest in him, Octavius raised a private army, met up with some of Caesar's veterans, and marched on Rome. Therefore the whole subplot of Atia and "Octavian" discussing whether they should leave the city is pure fiction. Nevertheless it was Atia, who upon Octavius' return to Rome at first discouraged her son to pursue his political career as Caesar's heir.
• The Jew Timon mentions to Octavian and Atia that the city is all quiet, which was not correct. Some citizens barricaded themselves in their homes or fled to the roofs, but others were on the streets, some even looting in the Senate house. Crowds bribed by the hiding assassins gathered in the Forum, trying to speak out for the conspirators' cause. They were joined by important politicians, who also held speeches, like the praetor Lucius Cornelius Cinna
  Lucius Cornelius Cinna
  Lucius Cornelius Cinna was a four-time consul of the Roman Republic, serving four consecutive terms from 87 to 84 BC, and a member of the ancient Roman Cinna family of the Cornelii gens....
  
   and Publius Cornelius Dolabella
  Publius Cornelius Dolabella
  Publius Cornelius Dolabella was a Roman general, by far the most important of the Dolabellae. He arranged for himself to be adopted by a plebeian so that he could become a Tribune.. He married Cicero's daughter Tullia Ciceronis...
  
  .
• Marcus Antonius never visited Atia's house. He also did not plan to go north to levy troops for revenge, because Lepidus and his army were already in Rome. Instead he immediately tried to gain control over the situation together with Lepidus. (According to one historical source, Antonius had even been warned of the assassination. Whether this claim is correct and whether he put up with Caesar's planned murder in order to gain political power himself, cannot be validated.)
• The character of "Atia" is highly fictionalized in the TV series. In reality she had never had an affair with Marcus Antonius, and according to Suetonius
  Suetonius
  Gaius Suetonius Tranquillus, commonly known as Suetonius , was a Roman historian belonging to the equestrian order in the early Imperial era....
  
   she had been a pious and caring person.
• Atia would not have planned to leave the city, because it was her duty to join the funeral preparations and rituals for Caesar.
• Marcus Antonius' anti-Jewish remark against Timon fits general Roman hostility towards the Jews, but is implausible coming from a Caesarian - many Jews had fought for Caesar in the civil war under Antipatros
  Antipater the Idumaean
  Antipater I the Idumaean was the founder of the Herodian Dynasty and father of Herod the Great. According to Josephus, he was the son of Antipas...
  
  , support for which Caesar and his men were grateful, and Jews present in Rome (possibly including Jewish veterans) mourned for many consecutive nights at Caesar's funeral site.
• The depiction of the private funeral ceremonies at Calpurnia's house is incorrect:
  • The raising of the arms during prayer was common for a supplicatio, not for a funus.
  • Instead, the mourning women smote their breasts, also as a rhythmic figure accompanying the dirges (neniae) sung by the praeficae.
  • The dirge singers were usually accompanied by one or more tibiae-players; however, the women are only monotonously repeating a spoken ritual prayer.
  • The private funeral preparations, including the cleaning of the corpse, were performed by women. So it is implausible that Calpurnia complains about none of the "friends and family" coming to visit, because access was restricted for many outsiders.
  • Another reason for the restrictions was the Caesarians' fear that Caesar's enemies would forcefully enter the house to drag his body through the streets of Rome and throw it into the Tiber
    Tiber
    The Tiber is the third-longest river in Italy, rising in the Apennine Mountains in Emilia-Romagna and flowing through Umbria and Lazio to the Tyrrhenian Sea. It drains a basin estimated at...
    
    , as was the usual Roman practice for declared tyrants. (This reason is also why there was a vigil of the body in Calpurnia's house.)
  • In addition it was unclear for most of the time, whether Caesar would receive a public state funeral. Eventually the whole funeral was rushed and improvised, lasting much shorter than a usual Roman funus.
• Caesar's will was also presented to the public and not only read in private. (The private reading occurred before the public presentation in the house of Marcus Antonius.)
• Piso
  Lucius Calpurnius Piso Caesoninus
  Lucius Calpurnius Piso Caesoninus was a statesman of ancient Rome and the father-in-law of Julius Caesar through his daughter Calpurnia Pisonis...
  
  , Caesar's father-in-law, who was one of the key people responsible for the Senate's granting of a public funeral service as well as for the preparation of the funeral itself, is ignored by the screenwriters. He was also the one in possession of the will, which was finally presented to the public two days after the murder during an assembly of the citizens summoned by the consuls (apparently in the Forum).
• During the reading of the will in the episode, Octavian is called Gaius Octavian, which is not correct. His real name was Gaius Octavius. After the formal adoption he changed his name to Gaius Julius Caesar, even avoiding the additional Octavianus. (Some inscriptions include the filiation Gai filius, i.e. "son of Gaius".)
• Octavian was never Caesar's "sole heir". Instead Caesar had appointed several substitute heirs, including none other than one of the conspirators: Decimus Brutus.
• On the day of Caesar's murder, Antonius had (at the request of Calpurnia) transferred Caesar's war chest from the temple of Ops
  Ops
  In ancient Roman religion, Ops or Opis, was a fertility deity and earth-goddess of Sabine origin.-Mythology:Her husband was Saturn, the bountiful monarch of the Golden Age. Just as Saturn was identified with the Greek deity Cronus, Opis was identified with Rhea, Cronus' wife...
  
   on the Capitol as well as Caesar's legal papers (excluding the will) to Calpurnia's house for security reasons. Since Octavian was not in Rome at the time, this was a huge advantage for Antonius. So all discussions concerning who would finally receive Caesar's money, were irrelevant at the time, because it was in the hands of Antonius.
• Antonius states in the episode that the law is with "Brutus and his minions". A few scenes later Servilia says that the city is theirs. In reality the assassins were at their wits' end and did not even dare to take part in the Senate meeting on March 16. Antonius and Lepidus were in charge of the political situation, exchanging hostages with the assassins, summoning the Senate meeting in the temple of Tellus
  Terra (mythology)
  Terra or Tellus was a goddess personifying the Earth in Roman mythology. The names Terra Mater and Tellus Mater both mean "Mother Earth" in Latin; Mater is an honorific title also bestowed on other goddesses...
  
   and working toward a general amnesty. In addition, Antonius and Lepidus dropped any plans to avenge Caesar during an address to the people gathered in the Forum.
• Antonius' remark about "Brutus and his minions" is generally inaccurate, because Cassius Longinus
  Gaius Cassius Longinus
  Gaius Cassius Longinus was a Roman senator, a leading instigator of the plot to kill Julius Caesar, and the brother in-law of Marcus Junius Brutus.-Early life:...
  
   was the head of the assassination plot against Caesar. Marcus Brutus joined the conspiracy rather late. (In addition, the historians have always put Decimus Brutus on top of the list, although he was not directly involved in the deadly assault. But since he had been a close friend of Caesar's, his betrayal outweighed the other conspirators' bloodshed.)
• It was not Octavian who came up with the idea of the full amnesty. This idea was brought up during the Senate meeting in the temple of Tellus.
• Cicero
  Cicero
  Marcus Tullius Cicero , was a Roman philosopher, statesman, lawyer, political theorist, and Roman constitutionalist. He came from a wealthy municipal family of the equestrian order, and is widely considered one of Rome's greatest orators and prose stylists.He introduced the Romans to the chief...
  
  's dialog with the assassins is based on the letter he wrote to Trebonius
  Trebonius
  Gaius Trebonius was a military commander and politician of the late Roman Republic, a trusted associate of Julius Caesar who was later among those instigating the plot to assassinate the Dictator.-Biography:...
  
   in 43 BC. It is unclear whether he actually visited the assassins to congratulate them on the tyrannicide. According to some sources, he was (like the conspirators) not present at the Senate meeting on March 16. According to another source he did join the Senate meeting after hearing about Antonius' decision on the amnesty, where he also held a speech. On March 17 Cicero held a long speech on the Forum praising the amnesty.
• Cassius Longinus tells Cicero that the conspirators have 2000 men under arms and that Caesar's people have fled the city. Both remarks are incorrect. Most Caesarians including the veterans stayed in Rome. Those who had fled the city returned after Lepidus' troops had calmed the situation. In addition the law forbade any armed forces inside the city and the citizens themselves to carry any arms. All the conspirators had at their disposal were the hired gladiators. The only real troops belonged to the Caesarian Lepidus, who had relocated them into the city to secure the situation and to post guards all over Rome during night before.
• The assassin Cassius would have been called either Gaius or by his cognomen Longinus, seldom by his nomen gentile Cassius.
• Unlike in the TV episode, the conspirators were never in the position to decide on the amnesty or on Caesar's legacy themselves, because they were not present at the Senate meeting.
• The herald announcing Caesar's funeral reproduces an order that no actors are allowed to attend the ceremony. In reality an archmime (archimimus) and several other performing artists including singers and musicians (probably from the Etruscan guild or from the technitai of Dionysos) were an integral part not only of the procession (pompa), but of the whole stage ceremony at Caesar's public funeral.
• Servilia
  Servilia Caepionis
  Servilia Caepionis was the mistress of Julius Caesar, mother of one of Caesar's assassins, Brutus, mother-in-law of another Caesar assassin, Cassius, and half-sister of Cato the Younger.-Life:...
  
  's visit to Calpurnia's house is not mentioned in any of the historical sources and is implausible. The women responsible for the private funeral were Calpurnia, Atia and probably Fulvia
  Fulvia
  Fulvia Flacca Bambula , commonly referred to as simply Fulvia, was an aristocratic Roman woman who lived during the Late Roman Republic. Through her marriage to three of the most promising Roman men of her generation, Publius Clodius Pulcher, Gaius Scribonius Curio and Mark Antony, she gained...
  
  .
• At the morning of Caesar's funeral Marcus Antonius had not been sleeping late, but had already been in the Forum since daybreak, attending the assembly of the consuls and the people.
• Caesar's corpse was not brought to the funeral site on a simple bier, but in a luxurious replica model of the temple of Venus Genetrix, who was his divine mother according to the mythological past of the Julian family.
• In the down-angle long shot of the improvised cremation neither the replica Venus temple nor the funeral stage or the Rostra
  Rostra
  The Rōstra was a large platform built in the city of Rome that stood during the republican and imperial periods. Speakers would stand on the rostra and face the north side of the comitium towards the senate house and deliver orations to those assembled in between...
  
   nor the tropaea
  Tropaion
  A tropaion , whence English "trophy" is an ancient Greek and later Roman monument set up to commemorate a victory over one's foes. Typically this takes the shape of a tree, sometimes with a pair of arm-like branches upon which is hung the armour of a defeated and dead foe...
  
   and/or the mêchanê
  Mechane
  A mechane or machine was a crane used in Greek theatre, especially in the fifth and fourth centuries BC.Made of wooden beams and pulley systems, the device was used to lift an actor into the air, usually representing flight. This stage machine was particularly used to bring gods onto the stage...
  
   nor the wax effigy of Caesar (simulacrum) are visible on the Forum.
• In the tavern a Roman recounts that Brutus spoke before Antonius at the funeral ceremony, as he did in Shakespeare's adaptation
  Julius Caesar (play)
  The Tragedy of Julius Caesar, also known simply as Julius Caesar, is a tragedy by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written in 1599. It portrays the 44 BC conspiracy against...
  
  . In reality this never happened, because the assassins had already left the city before the funeral.
• The Roman also says that Marcus Antonius held Caesar's blood-stained Toga during the funeral ceremony and finally threw it into the crowd of mourners. In reality Antonius raised the Toga from inside the replica temple with a spear and waved it about over his head. (The Suetonius-source slightly differs in that the robe was already covering parts of the Roman victory cross at the head of the replica temple.)

External links

• "Passover" at the Internet Movie Database
  Internet Movie Database
  Internet Movie Database is an online database of information related to movies, television shows, actors, production crew personnel, video games and fictional characters featured in visual entertainment media. It is one of the most popular online entertainment destinations, with over 100 million...
  
  
• HBO Summary