Philippi (Rome)

Rome episode
title=Philippi


caption= Cassius and Brutus at the Battle of Philippi
season=2 (2007)
episode=18
air_date=February 18, 2007 (HBO)
July 8, 2007 (BBC)|
writer=Eoghan Mahony
director=Roger Young
setting=Macedonia
time_frame=42 BC
link= [http://www.hbo.com/rome/episode/season2/episode18.html HBO episode summary]
prev=Heroes of the Republic
next=Death Mask

Philippi is the sixth episode of the second season of the television series "Rome". The episode portrays the civil war between the Second Triumvirate and the combined forces of Marcus Junius Brutus and Gaius Cassius Longinus, murderers of Julius Caesar. The Battle of Philippi is featured in this episode.

Plot summary

The episode begins with Brutus and Cassius on their march through Greece with their army of 100,000 soldiers to challenge Octavian. Cassius is worried about the grain supply for their army, whereas Brutus is cheerful and talking about saving the Republic.

In Cisalpine Gaul Marc Antony, Lepidus and Octavian are devising a plan to surprise Brutus and Cassius. They believe their enemies do not know that they are reunited and hope to overcome Brutus and Cassius with an unexpectedly large army. Octavian comes up with a list of supporters of Brutus in Rome and proposes to send the list to Lucius Vorenus and order him to have them killed. Lepidus objects to the killing of some of the most honorable men in Rome but is turned down by the prospect of the money the killing would bring to them. They resolve to march to Greece and leave Lepidus in Rome.

In Rome, Lucius Vorenus divides up the names from the list among the gangs he controls. He makes them an offer to loot the houses of each victim and take as much as they can carry. Titus Pullo gets the order to kill Cicero, but Vorenus insists on "no looting on this name" to show some respect. He also asks the gang leaders about what to do with the expected wealth, and proposes to distribute fish and bread to the people as a gesture of good will by the collegium. After some debate (and Memmio speaking in favor of the proposal) it is accepted. Meanwhile Vorenus' daughter Vorena is receiving gifts from a stranger who obviously has an order from Memmio to date her.

While Titus Pullo prepares for the killing of Cicero, he is teased by Gaia. When asked about it by his wife Eirene, he suddenly proposes to take her and Vorenus and his whole family to the lovely countryside where Cicero is living. Just as the company starts their picnic, Titus and two men are leaving them to get their job done. While playing with his children, Vorenus wishes him good luck.

Cicero receives news of Mark Antony and Octavian being reunited, and immediately begins scribbling a message to Brutus just as Titus Pullo arrives at the front door. He manages to finish the messages just before Pullo finds him. When Pullo enters, both men exchange pleasantries in an extraordinarily respectful manner. Cicero briefly tries to bribe Pullo, but he declines with a smile. Cicero asks for a few minutes to console himself and while he is watching an eagle in the sky. Pullo amicably asks for some of the peaches growing in the atrium of Cicero's estate, then quickly kills him with a single stab. The messenger Cicero sent is stopped by Vorenus, and almost killed for nearly trampling little Lucius, but then allowed to go on his way—he has, however, dropped his vital letter from Cicero, which Vorenus does not see, but the children find it and fold it into a paper crown.

In Rome, Octavian and Agrippa are debating some additional names to be added to their killing list on the wishes of Mark Antony. When Octavian rejects them, stating he would prefer not to appear as a butcher, Agrippa leaves in disgust. Outside, Agrippa meets Octavia, and after solving some misunderstandings, they kiss for the first time and later have sex. The next day, Octavian and Agrippa set off with their troops to Greece to meet Brutus and Cassius.

An assembly of Jews discusses the attempt of Herod to bribe the Romans, depending on which side wins the civil war. Levi, the brother of Timon, strongly objects to such plans. The assembly ends in a turmoil with Levi jubilating in his alleged success.

Titus Pullo is ashamed about not participating in Octavian's campaign because he feels himself to still be a soldier. Vorenus tries to console him, envisioning great things that they both could do, but Pullo remains wary. Later on, he discusses the topic with his wife Eirene, but resolves to stay in Rome. Eirene then reveals to Pullo that she is pregnant.

Brutus and Cassius are in their camp near Philippi in Greece, and receive word from the scouts that the combined force of Mark Antony and Octavian is only a day's march away. Moreover, they are outnumbered, with their 14 legions to Octavian's and Antony's 19 legions. Cassius immediately orders to break camp and begin the retreat. Brutus objects and convinces Cassius to accept the battle, there and then.

The armies are about to engage, and Mark Antony commences the fighting with the words: "Let's have some fun." In the ensuing bloodbath, Mark Antony and Octavian prevail. A mortally wounded Cassius is brought to Brutus whose remaining forces begin to disintegrate. After Cassius dies, Brutus tells one of his soldiers to "give his mother his best" and to say "something suitable." He then kisses his father's ring, looks to the gods, and resolves to commit suicide. He then strips off his armor, and walks alone towards the advancing forces of Mark Antony, seeking the same death as Caesar. He is killed by several stabs.

Mark Antony and Octavian ride over the battlefield and indulge in their victory. They hope to recover the bodies of Brutus and Cassius, but only the latter is found—the former has had his ring looted by a local beggar as the two ride by unawares.

Historical and cultural background

* Marcus Tullius Cicero delayed, then briefly attempted to flee Italy before being overcome and decapitated by his pursuers on December 7 43 BC at Formia. His head and hands were displayed on the Rostra in the Forum Romanum. He was the only victim of the Triumvirate’s proscriptions to be so displayed. According to Cassius Dio, Antony's wife Fulvia took Cicero's head, pulled out his tongue, and jabbed it repeatedly with her hairpin.
* There were actually two battles of Philippi in this campaign. In the first battle, fought on October 3 42 BC, Antony defeated Cassius who committed suicide and Brutus' troops took Octavian's camp. The second battle - fought twenty days later - went the triumvirs' way and Brutus committed suicide as well.

Inaccuracies and errors

*Octavian does not object to Mark Antony's desire to proscribe and kill Cicero whereas historical sources indicate that Octavian only very reluctantly went along with Antony's wishes after two days of arguments and objections.

*Pullo tells his wife that if he rejoins the army he could be made Primus Pilus or even Legate. The Primus Pilus was the ranking centurion of a legion, however Legates were invariably senators or aristocrats and there is no way a man of Pullo's low social standing could ever achieve such a post (although perhaps Pullo was aware of that, as he did claim he was only "talking").
*Brutus and Cassius committed suicide; they were not killed as shown in this episode. Brutus's body was cremated and Antony showed respect for him, sending his remains with military honors back to Rome; however, Marcus Porcius Cato (II), the son of Cato the Younger, was reportedly killed at Philippi in a manner similar to the way Brutus's death is portrayed in the episode.

* Marcus Tullius Cicero tried to get to Greece and unite with Brutus, but during his flight one of his slaves betrayed him to his pursuers, leading to his decapitation at the hands of men who hated (and were not indifferent to) him.

* The episode gives the impression that, at the time of the battle at Philippi, Octavius Caesar (Octavian in the series) had no military experience hence his need to rely on both Antony and Agrippa. Besides being in command of the Roman troops in Mutina after Pansa and Hirtius were killed, he had military experience working with Julius Caesar himself during the (also omitted by the series) campaign in Hispania to defeat Pompey's son Gnaeus. After all Caesar was grooming him to become his heir, and military experience was a key asset for an aspiring politician.

* The portrayal of Jewish history and ritual in this episode and the series in general is problematic. The contempt of Judean-born Jews for Herod and his popularity in the Diaspora are accurate, as is the general ideology of religious nationalism attributed to Levi. He appears to be a member of the sicarii or a similar proto-organization of Jewish radicals. The general issues and discontents which would eventually lead to the Great Revolt against Rome are also accurately treated, as is the split between radicals and moderates within the Jewish camp. However, the portrayal of Jewish religious rituals and synagogue life are problematic, as the Jewish oral law was not codified at this time. The series portrays Jewish religious ritual as largely indistinguishable from its modern counterpart, which may be a deliberate anachronism on the part of the filmmakers. Terms such as "rebbe" are also employed in the series, which did not exist for another few decades (though the pronunciation "Rebbe" as opposed to "Rabbee" is not accurate). The Jews of Rome most likely spoke Judean or Babylonian Aramaic or some local variant of it amongst themselves. When speaking in Hebrew, the series presents the Jews using the modern Sephardic pronunciation, which is mildly anachronistic (though fairly close to the original).

External links

[http://www.hbo.com/rome/episode/season2/episode18.html HBO Summary]