# Rome 11/6--No spoiler tags **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [November 7, 2005, 2:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rome-11-6-no-spoiler-tags/329863 "2005-11-07T02:53:19Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Can\_Handle\_the\_Truth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/6a8cbe/32.png) [@Can\_Handle\_the\_Truth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Can_Handle_the_Truth)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2005, 2:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rome-11-6-no-spoiler-tags/329863/21 "2005-11-08T02:28:22Z")
> [@Can Handle the Truth](#): > > That was standard headgear for standard-bearers. [Here’s a good picture.](http://www.aeroartinc.com/roman/12.htm) [This series of paintings](http://www.aeroartinc.com/roman/default.htm) is an excellent record of how the Roman army looked over its 1000+ years of existence. ---
**Author:** ![fiddlesticks](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fiddlesticks/32/18129_2.png) [@fiddlesticks](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fiddlesticks)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2005, 2:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rome-11-6-no-spoiler-tags/329863/22 "2005-11-08T02:39:24Z")
> [@John Mace](#): > > Is that a Britishism, or an attempt to latin-ize the dialogue? I take it as a easy to drop-in Latin-ism, to add to the atmosphere. “Bona Dea” is a another one they like to drop in, and I can’t forget my personal favorite, “Cac!” ---
**Author:** ![Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e99b99/32.png) [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diogenes_the_Cynic)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2005, 2:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rome-11-6-no-spoiler-tags/329863/23 "2005-11-08T02:39:49Z")
> [@John Mace](#): > > Right. I got that mixed up with Attia’s slave. > > Mark Antony calls Posca “Caeser’s creature”. Both of those guys get some of the best lines in the show. > > How about all the use of “nay?” or is it “ne?” as in “Caesar better keep on eye on Brutus; nay?” > Is that a Britishism, or an attempt to latin-ize the dialogue? It’s not a Britishism that I know of but _ne_ in Latin is a negative particle used in questions. Usually it comes at the beginning of a sentence rather than the end but is basically has the same effect as sticking a “…no?” at the end of a sentence. ---
**Author:** ![ISiddiqui](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/97f17d/32.png) [@ISiddiqui](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ISiddiqui)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2005, 4:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rome-11-6-no-spoiler-tags/329863/24 "2005-11-08T04:35:45Z")
Pullo seems to be heading for rough times. I can see him end up as the muscle in a ‘trade’ operation. He’s got nothing now, and I wonder if him and Vorenus ever make up (ie, Pullo saves Vorenus’ life) or if they go seperate ways, the wedge driven in deeper when Octavian and Antony are on opposite sides. ---
**Author:** ![Captain\_Amazing](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/6de8d8/32.png) [@Captain\_Amazing](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Captain_Amazing)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2005, 4:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rome-11-6-no-spoiler-tags/329863/25 "2005-11-08T04:39:19Z")
> [@levdrakon](#): > > According to the official website, it’s Posca. Strange name. But then, he’s a strange character. Posca is vinegar mixed with water. Does the character have a sour disposition? ---
**Author:** ![Tamerlane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tamerlane/32/7602_2.png) [@Tamerlane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tamerlane)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2005, 6:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rome-11-6-no-spoiler-tags/329863/26 "2005-11-08T06:12:14Z")
> [@Captain Amazing](#): > > Does the character have a sour disposition? He’s sort of perpetually exasperated and sardonic - it fits :). - Tamerlane ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2005, 6:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rome-11-6-no-spoiler-tags/329863/27 "2005-11-08T06:24:28Z")
> [@Captain Amazing](#): > > Posca is vinegar mixed with water. Does the character have a sour disposition? I think he’s the only one who really understands the bigger picture, and he often lets it show. What language is “Posca” from? ---
**Author:** ![Tamerlane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tamerlane/32/7602_2.png) [@Tamerlane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tamerlane)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2005, 7:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rome-11-6-no-spoiler-tags/329863/28 "2005-11-08T07:23:08Z")
> [@John Mace](#): > > What language is “Posca” from? Latin, presumably, since posca was a Roman drink, the beverage of the legionaire: [http://home.comcast.net/~rthamper/html/body\_romanfooddrink.htm#Drinks](http://home.comcast.net/~rthamper/html/body_romanfooddrink.htm#Drinks) - Tamerlane ---
**Author:** ![Liberal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/848f3c/32.png) [@Liberal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Liberal)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2005, 12:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rome-11-6-no-spoiler-tags/329863/29 "2005-11-08T12:03:12Z")
> [@Diogenes the Cynic](#): > > Interesting imagery with the execution of the King of the Gauls. Vaguely allusive of the Passion. Vaguely, hell. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![levdrakon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/49beb7/32.png) [@levdrakon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/levdrakon)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2005, 5:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rome-11-6-no-spoiler-tags/329863/30 "2005-11-08T17:37:20Z")
> [@Liberal](#): > > Vaguely, hell. 😃 No spoilers! I’m hoping Jesus gets away this time! ---
**Author:** ![Honey](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/honey/32/5074_2.png) [@Honey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Honey)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2005, 8:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rome-11-6-no-spoiler-tags/329863/31 "2005-11-08T20:08:39Z")
> [@levdrakon](#): > > I like Brutus. Sometimes when he gets angry and scrunches up his face just right, he reminds me a bit of Patrick Stewart. Anyway, he seems like a good guy. Has Rome’s best interests at heart. I think he rather resembles a rodent. Very rat-like. Hmmm. ---
**Author:** ![Spoke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a88e57/32.png) [@Spoke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoke)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2005, 8:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rome-11-6-no-spoiler-tags/329863/32 "2005-11-08T20:28:51Z")
> [@Baker](#): > > Octavia probably was at a temple of Cybele. I was thinking it might be a temple of the cult of Isis, popular among Romans of the time. From [Wikipedia](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Isis#Isis_outside_Egypt): > [@](#): > > Tacitus writes that after Julius Caesar’s assassination, a temple in honour of Isis had been decreed; **Augustus suspended this, and tried to turn Romans back to the Roman gods who were closely associated with the state**. The highlighted language makes me think the show’s writers were referencing Isis. Also from Wikipedia there’s this: > [@](#): > > For many Romans, Egyptian Isis was an aspect of Phrygian Cybele, whose orgiastic rites were long naturalized at Rome, indeed she was known as Isis of Ten Thousand Names. So I suppose we may both be right. ---
**Author:** ![Spoke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a88e57/32.png) [@Spoke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoke)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2005, 8:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rome-11-6-no-spoiler-tags/329863/33 "2005-11-08T20:36:40Z")
By the way, hats off to the casting director for this series. I think all of the roles are perfectly filled. ---
**Author:** ![levdrakon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/49beb7/32.png) [@levdrakon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/levdrakon)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2005, 8:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rome-11-6-no-spoiler-tags/329863/34 "2005-11-08T20:38:18Z")
According to the website, Octavia took a self-imposed exile at the Temple of Cybele. **Honey** , Patrick Stewart gets beady mouse-eyes too. I think it’s kinda cute. ---
**Author:** ![Honey](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/honey/32/5074_2.png) [@Honey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Honey)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2005, 9:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rome-11-6-no-spoiler-tags/329863/35 "2005-11-08T21:24:05Z")
> [@levdrakon](#): > > According to the website, Octavia took a self-imposed exile at the Temple of Cybele. > > **Honey** , Patrick Stewart gets beady mouse-eyes too. I think it’s kinda cute. In the case of Brutus, it’s actually something about his teeth/mouth area that makes me see a rat. I agree about Patrick Stewart. Yowza! Cutie pie. ---
**Author:** ![Liberal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/848f3c/32.png) [@Liberal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Liberal)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2005, 10:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rome-11-6-no-spoiler-tags/329863/36 "2005-11-08T22:26:29Z")
> [@Honey](#): > > I think he rather resembles a rodent. Very rat-like. Hmmm. I don’t like Brutus. I don’t trust him. He betrays himself by cowering to people he despises. To me, that means he will be more than willing to betray others. I don’t know any of the history beyond Shakespeare, and I reckon that’s not very accurate. But I wouldn’t be surprised at all if a lot of people died to make Brutus’s assassination possible. And I bet that that itself was a sneak attack from the back. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2005, 2:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rome-11-6-no-spoiler-tags/329863/37 "2005-11-09T02:10:50Z")
I watched this episode again, and damn if Posca isn’t a distinctly Rovian figure. Watching him tutor Vorenus and advise him on the election process is downright creepy! ---
**Author:** ![levdrakon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/49beb7/32.png) [@levdrakon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/levdrakon)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2005, 2:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rome-11-6-no-spoiler-tags/329863/38 "2005-11-09T02:37:29Z")
> [@John Mace](#): > > I watched this episode again, and damn if Posca isn’t a distinctly Rovian figure. Watching him tutor Vorenus and advise him on the election process is downright creepy! The amount of influence and relative privilege (and let’s face it, outright power) he enjoys as a slave is fascinating. Even Atia & Servilia as free noblewomen, bound to power by birth, don’t have the authority & influence this guy’s got. If this show had balls, I’d say he must be Caesar’s lover. ---
**Author:** ![Captain\_Amazing](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/6de8d8/32.png) [@Captain\_Amazing](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Captain_Amazing)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2005, 1:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rome-11-6-no-spoiler-tags/329863/39 "2005-11-09T13:06:04Z")
Slaves could be pretty powerful and inflential, able to dominate and influence their masters. On the other hand, they could also be completely powerless and abused, ---
**Author:** ![BobT](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/8e8cbc/32.png) [@BobT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobT)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2005, 5:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rome-11-6-no-spoiler-tags/329863/40 "2005-11-09T17:29:44Z")
Did Roman senators actually represent districts as the show implies? Or did they just take a bunch of guys in Rome and let them “govern”? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rome-11-6-no-spoiler-tags/329863.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rome-11-6-no-spoiler-tags/329863.md?page=3)