Utica (Rome)

Rome episode
title= Utica


caption= Titus Pullo and Eirene
season=1 (2005)
episode=9 (HBO; see BBC editing)
air_date=October 30, 2005 (HBO)
December 21, 2005 (BBC)
writer=Alexandra Cunningham
director=Jeremy Podeswa
setting=Rome, Thapsus, and Utica
time_frame=February 6, 46 BC (the date of Battle of Thapsus), possibly into the beginning of 45 BC
link= [http://www.hbo.com/rome/episode/season1/episode04.html HBO episode summary]
prev=Caesarion
next=Triumph"Utica" is the ninth episode of the first season of the television series "Rome".

"With Scipio and Cato defeated, Caesar returns home to a hero's welcome. Vorenus and Pullo's showdown with local thug Erastes gets an unexpected reprieve from Caesar. Servilia's plan to use Octavia to unearth a secret about Caesar backfires."

Plot summary

Historical and cultural background

* The Battle of Thapsus, which occurs just prior to the opening of this episode, was the end of the Optimates' influence in Africa. The resistance to Caesar was not yet broken: Gnaeus Pompeius and Sextus Pompeius would rally the Optimates' cause in Hispania, where the Optimates would challenge Caesar for the last time at the Battle of Munda.
* In this episode Caesar appoints Octavian a Pontiff. Whether this actually occurred is unclear, but what "is" clear is that Caesar made Octavian his adopted heir in 46 BC. This would have far-reaching consequences after Caesar's death, as Octavian's legitimacy would lead to the Second Triumvirate, and eventually to the Principate, with Octavian becoming Augustus. The adoption is not mentioned in the first season of the series.
*Caesar makes the comment that he has the authority to appoint whomever he chooses to the College of Pontiffs. This is because Caesar had been elected Pontifex Maximus for life. While this might seem a historical footnote given all the other offices and powers Caesar acquired, the religious orders determined the calendar. Caesar introduced the Julian Calendar, which would stand until 1582, when Pope Gregory XIII adjusted it to make the Gregorian Calendar in common use today.
*The poem Octavian reads to Octavia of the Julii is Carmen 2, written by Gaius Valerius Catullus (84–54 BC). The sparrow (Latin "passer"), which is the subject of the poem, is often taken to be symbolic of the poet's penis. It is sometimes even stated that "passer" was an actual slang word for the male member, although if this is so, it is not attested elsewhere.

Inaccuracies and errors

* Cato committed suicide in Utica, after hearing of the defeat at battle of Thapsus. He was not present at Thapsus as depicted in the episode. Cato initially cut his stomach to commit suicide and was found by a slave who took him to a doctor to be stitched back up. Cato then requested some time alone, during which he tore open his new stitches and bled to death. His body was also not cremated, but buried near the sea by the people of Utica.
* Although shown as being assisted in suicide by his aide, Scipio was actually killed during the battle of Thapsus or drowned while trying to escape, depending on the account.
* Titus Pullo tells his slave Eirene that he too was born a slave. However, this is not possible, because only Roman citizens could enlist in the legions. Non-citizens (free men from allied states, freedmen, foreigners) could join the "auxilia" and receive citizenship upon honourable discharge from service.
* Timon explains his unusual headgear in the episode's final scene as an element of his observance of the Jewish festival of Yom Kippur. This presumably refers to the well-known custom among Jewish men of covering one's head as an expression of reverence for God; however, the practice of wearing a skullcap uniquely designed for this purpose (also known as a kippah or a yarmulke) was not devised until the Middle Ages. Although Timon's preference for a skullcap of this sort is not necessarily inaccurate, the intimation that he would own such a hat is anachronistic. On the other hand, it is true that Jews are attested to have covered their heads in worship from the Biblical era on. Moreover, priests kohanim in the Temple in Jerusalem covered their heads as a matter of course.
* In the same scene, Timon's companion sarcastically refers to Timon as a rabbi. Use of honorific term Rabbi, which means "my master" in Hebrew, is not attested to in the 1st century BC, and appears to have developed in Judaea. The earliest known evidence of the term's use in Italy is a late 4th- or early 5th-century epitaph recovered in the Campanian town of Brusciano. However, Rabbinic Literature is rife with reports of Judaean rabbis visiting Italy.
* Throughout the series, depictions of Octavia and Octavian are highly fictionalized versions of their respective historical counterparts, Octavia Thurina Minor and Octavianus. This fictionalization includes their incestuous affair depicted in this episode (however siblings brought up together would normally be protected from incestuous desires by the Westermarck effect).

External links

*imdb episode|episode=Utica|id=0688360
* [http://www.hbo.com/rome/episode/season1/episode09.html Plot Summary] at [http://www.hbo.com/ HBO]