The Ram has Touched the Wall (episode of Rome)
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| "The ram has touched the wall" | |
|---|---|
| ''''' | |
| Season | 1 (2005) |
| Episode | 5 (HBO; see BBC editing) |
| Air date(s) | September 25, 2005 (HBO) November 23, 2005 (BBC) |
| Writer(s) | Bruno Heller |
| Director | Allen Coulter |
| Setting | Rome and Italia |
| Time frame | Between Jan 10th - Feb 30th, 49 BC See also: Chronology of Rome |
| Link | HBO episode summary |
| Prev: Stealing from Saturn Next: Egeria |
|
"The Ram Has Touched the Wall" is the fifth episode of the first season of the television series Rome.
Pompey must stall for time, and his supporters urge for peace with Caesar. Caesar and Antony must balance that which is expedient with how their actions will appear to the people. Atia's jealousy of Servilia will lead to actions that spell humiliation for Caesar, and despair for Servilia. A sudden reversal of fortune forced Vorenus to choose whether it is to the Legions or the underworld of Rome that he will sell his integrity. Servilia's rage turns her into dark paths of revenge. Niobe faces the possibility of having to lose her son, and has her secret fall into the hands of those who do not know what to do with it. Pullo is retained to educate Octavian, but it is questionable as to who will teach and who will learn.
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[edit] Plot summary
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[edit] Memorable quotes
Titus Pullo: I've seen you kill. There's plenty of soldier in you.
Octavian: It's not the killing. It's the waving about of swords I find tedious. I daresay I can kill people readily enough, as long as they're not fighting back.
Titus Pullo: Never fear, young Dominus. We'll make a regular terror of you.
Octavian: At best I will be a middling swordsman.
Titus Pullo: That's better than nothing.
Octavian: There you're wrong. Graveyards are full of middling swordsmen. Better to be no swordsman at all than a middling swordsman.
Posca: Show such mercy to every man that deserts Pompey, you will pauperize yourself. There's dozens of them coming in every day.
Caesar: Judicious use of mercy is worth ten thousand men, and if my last coin buys me a throne, that's a fair price.
Posca: Throne?
Caesar: Poetic licence.
Mark Antony: ... the ram has touched the wall! No mercy!
Caesar: They say slaves talk of bravery as fish talk of flying.
Posca: They say that do they? How very witty of them.
Mark Antony: The poor sad wretch gives everything you ask for; the Senate will ratify your status, you get your Triumph, stand for Consul, and Pompey shall withdraw to Spain. He'll suck Posca's cock if asked nicely!
Cato: We're not men, we're worms.
Marcus Tullius Cicero: Worms is harsh. Worms cannot run away as speedily as we do.
[edit] Historical/Cultural background
- The title of the episode is a phrase used by Mark Antony advocating "no mercy" toward Pompey and the Optimates. The phrase is English translation of the Latin "Murum aries attigit" (see De Bello Gallico, Book II, Chapter XXXII). It refers to the policy of not allowing any mercy or surrender to the occupants of a fortification once the battering ram begins the assault on the gates. This policy was to act as a deterrant against resistance to those about to be besieged. It was an incentive for anyone who wasn't absolutely sure that they could withstand the assault to surrender immediately, rather than face the possibility of total destruction.
- Posca mentions that Caesar cannot allow his wife to divorce him - her family's influence is critical. Calpurnia was Calpurnia Pisonis, daughter of Lucius Calpurnius Piso Caesoninus. That would make her father an ex-consul of Rome, as well as an ex-proconsul of Macedonia - clearly a man of political experience and influence. It is also interesting to note that Lucius Calpurnius Piso Caesoninus was instrumental in having Marcus Tullius Cicero exiled from Rome for a period in 58 BC and 57 BC. This may explain part of the animosity Marcus Tullius Cicero bears towards Caesar and his family.
- A displeased Mark Antony reduces Lucius Vorenus's signing bonus to 9,000 sestertii - or 2,250 denarii when Vorenus returns to him. The value of the Denarius is discussed in How Titus Pullo Brought Down the Republic, but 2,250 denarii would be roughly equal to USD $225,000.
- Towards the end of the episode, Lucius Vorenus re-enlists with the 13th Legion, and is inducted into the ranks of the evocati, who were "career" soldiers that enlisted in the legions after their original "term of service" was up - usually at the request of their commander. The evocati tended to occupy the higher ranking postition within the Legion, were released from some of the more menial duties, and were awarded a certain level of respect.
- Mark Antony promotes Lucius Vorenus to the rank of "Prefect, of the first grade". It isn't clear what rank is being awarded here. The rank of Prefect within the legion was roughly that of a Lieutenant Colonel - they occupied positions of authority over a particular aspect of the entire Legion (Praefectus castrorum = camp commandant, Praefectus fabrum = officer in charge of engineers and artisans, Praefectus legionis = equestrian legionary commander, etc.). Regardless of his specific area of responsibility upon re-enlisting in the 13th, Vorenus' new rank is a three grade promotion.
- As part of his induction into the evocati, Vorenus - in full dress armor - sits a vigil in the temple of Mars, Roman god of War.
[edit] Inaccuracies and errors
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- Pompey didn't leave for Greece from some beach on the east coast of Italy. He sailed with his troops and the senators from Brindisium (Brindisi), while hard pressed by Caesar and his legions. It was a skilful withdrawal, while Brindisium was besieged. After Pompey went to Greece, Caesar returned to Rome.
- Cicero wasn't with Pompey. Cicero left Rome after Caesar crossed the Rubicon and went to his estate at Tusculum, because he couldn't choose. Only some months after Pompey went to Greece, Cicero made his choice and went to Pompey.
- The name Octavian is incorrect, and should be Gaius Octavius instead. In Latin the suffix '-ianus' indicates the original family name after an adoption, as a result of which the adoptive son received the full name of the adoptive father. Accordingly, C. Octavius changed his name to C. Iulius Caesar Octavianus after being adopted and made sole heir in his grand uncle's will (44 BC). As a matter of fact, the future emperor did not like and never himself used the epithet Octavianus, as it pointed at his not being born a patrician.
[edit] Character notes
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[edit] Plot notes
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[edit] Episode characters
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possibly incomplete
See also: Character appearances in Rome
