Posca (character of Rome)

Rome character
name= Posca


actor= Nicholas Woodeson
class= Slave / Freedman
family= Jocasta (wife)
allies= Caesar
enemies= None
appearances= 1-1 "The Stolen Eagle"
1-2 "How Titus Pullo Brought Down the Republic"
1-4 "Stealing from Saturn"
1-5 "The Ram has Touched the Wall"
1-6 "Egeria"
1-7 "Pharsalus"
1-8 "Caesarion"
1-10 "Triumph"
1-11 "The Spoils"
1-12 "Kalends of February"
2-1 "Passover"
2-2 "Son of Hades"
portrayed= Nicholas Woodeson
fate= Not known.

Posca [Going by Roman naming conventions, in season two his name would be Gaius Julius Posca] is a fictional character in the HBO/BBC2 original television series "Rome", played by Nicholas Woodeson. He is the body slave of Julius Caesar, yet is also his friend, aide-de-camp, and confidante in most things personal and professional. As a slave, he will seldom receive credit, but it appears that many of the more simple and elegant solutions to Caesar's problems come from the mind of Posca. Posca is freed and given a stipend in Caesar's will at the start of the second season but seems to have thrown his support behind Antony in later episodes. In episode 21, he flees Egypt along with his wife and, once in Rome, provides Octavian with Antony's final will and testament, which Octavian uses to rally the people of Rome against Mark Antony. That development gives Octavian a pretext to go to war against Mark Antony.

Personality

Posca is depicted as a practical, cynical man, with a dry sense of humor and a penchant for witty and memorable quips. [His sharp personality is in keeping with his name; the word "posca" refers to a sour wine drunk by Roman legionaries. Von Hassell, Agostino, Herm Dillon and Leslie Jean-Bart. "Beyond Hardtack: The Curious Lore of Military Food." "Military History Magazine". March 2007. p. 62.] He is as "pragmatically amoral" as his master and seems to share an unusually close relationship with him. Posca's unusually familiar, and often sarcastic and sardonic, interaction with many of the principal characters seems to indicate that he enjoys a status higher than that of many other slaves depicted. He is deeply saddened by Caesar's death which indicates a genuine loyalty and affection for Caesar. In the second episode of the second season, Mark Antony refers to him as a Greek, which is in keeping with his highly educated and influential position for a slave.

Notes