cptlouis

Oh yes, they did excellent job with Antonius. But i dont like the fact that they didnt show the speech of Antonius on funneral of Caesar. The speech wich made the crowd mad. Actually, I loved the fact they didn't show the speeches. First and foremost, no historical source exists that preserves the actual speeches. While the show has proved they are not excessively concerned with history, they are concerned with good story telling. And that brings me to the other reason why I like that they didn't show the speeches: it could never compare with Shakespeare! Think about it. The majority of people know everything they know about Julius Caesar because of Shakespeare. And as a friend of mine is fond of saying "Shakespeare gets an 'A' for literature but a 'D' in history." Any speeches the writers could have come up with would have been based on Shakespeare's formula, but they would have fallen far short of his brilliantly written words. Therefore, in order to avoid a situation where the show whould draw unreasonable comparison with Shakespeare, they simply opted to avoid it and fill in the blanks with the reactions of the "man on the street." I choose to see it as a brilliant homage to the great works of William Shakespeare. While you are more than deserving of your opinion, it seems to me that the writers of the show were smart enough to avoid stepping on a small, yet critical landmine. Kudos to the producers, writers, actors and everyone else involved with Rome. As a community theater director and a fan of the historical period in question, I am impressed with how well they are telling these intricate stories. I do not believe they are ultimately trying to make us prefer any character (other than Pullo!). The characters are somewhat true to their historical namesakes and the overall story is compelling and entertaining. I cannot wait for the next episode.

Without hijacking the thread, Roman law was very pliable and flexible. If you recall, GJC adopted Octavian in his will. Adoptions were the easiest thing in the Roman world. At the end of the day, the only thing that mattered was whether or not you inherited any money or property. No one cared if your parent's weren't married. The only stigma in Rome was being poor. In some sources, many believed that Brutus was Caesar's son! What mattered was how he was treated by his family, and in turn, society treated him the same.