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Virgil61

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Ahh, me. All seems quiet tonight because of the reruns. Well, here is a question I have about one of the earlier episodes. In episode two before Pullo hits the brothels of Rome, he paused before an altar of a black, grotesque looking statue. What diety was that ?

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Ahh, me. All seems quiet tonight because of the reruns. Well, here is a question I have about one of the earlier episodes. In episode two before Pullo hits the brothels of Rome, he paused before an altar of a black, grotesque looking statue. What diety was that ?

 

I think, and I'm not sure, that it might be the Egyptian god Bes.

 

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pre season trailer was screened here last night and first episode to be screened next week , certainly looks good from the selected scenes I saw .

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But why would Pullo care to pay homage to Bes?

 

Bes was actually popular in Rome as both a military god and a god of fertility and sexual pleasure. So, it makes sense in that respect. I think Pullo is more opportunistic when it comes to prayer, and I figure he saw the shrine to Bes on the same street and figured it wouldn't hurt to give him a nod. His opposite would be Vorenus, who acts as a family patriarch, and is devout to the gods because he lives with the private religion.

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Dont forget the Romans were keen to adopt additional Gods on the very practical basis that they didnt wish to offend any that existed elsewhere and might be powerful. This didnt mean pushing any existing deities out ,especially traditional Roman ones or even identifying a foreign god with a native one (though that did occur if the properties and attributes were very similar).Bacchus and Liberwere worshipped as distinct deities the former being far more dangerously potent the latter more homely and jolly but worthy of reverence.

So Pullo might have been hedging his bets .

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Ah interesting, I had no idea.

 

You know it just occured to me, Titus Pullo will be for Octavian, and Lucius Vorenus for Antony in times to come. Season 2? What do you think?

 

Indeed, that seems to be setting up quite nicely. Even though Vorenus seems adverse to Antony's methods his sense of duty and honor should force his loyalty. Definately interesting plotlines to come it seems.

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the article says Mkidd's next project is the movie 'the last legion' is this an adaption of the Manfredi novel?

 

It's a late Roman epic in which I play a fundamentalist Visigoth who single-handedly destroys Rome," he explains. "He takes the final step to kill the Caesar bloodline. That was very weird for me because in Rome I'm a staunch Roman supporter.
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I presume im covering very old ground if I recount the original teext about the two protaganists?

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There were two couragous centurions ..Titus Pullo and Lucius Vorenus.They quarrelled continually about who came first in ran and every year fiercely contested the most important posts. When the fighting by the ramparts was intense Pullo said "why hesitate Vorenus? What chance of proving your bravery are you waiting for ? this day will decide our contest" So speaking he left the defence and charged where the Gauls were thickest.

excerpt Caesar gallic War

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Salve Citizens,

 

I was at a dinner in Hollywood Friday with some industry execs and the scuttlebut was HBO is disappointed with the number of viewers to Rome. WHen I mentioned that they ordered a second season, they said they did it to justify the very expensive price tag and hoping it will find it's audience. I know some series like The Sopranos and Star Trek Next Generation took two seasons to gather a wide audience. I just hope a show as smart as Rome doesn't fall so soon. Make sure and tell your friends to tune in to HBO's Rome and get their numbers up.

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Interesting the other shows you named Plautus as reviewers I have read prior to seeing the series have commented that The Sopranos is actually Roman dynastic power politics in contemporary dress.

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That's disappointing news for sure. I do hope that it grows with time.

 

The recent episode (Utica) delves more into the soap opera nature of the plot, but it continues with a believable and entertaining story. Octavian's savvy continues to impress me and the conflict between Servilia and Atia should blossom into outright personal war in the near future. I'm applauding the writers ability to maintain historical persepctive while developing plausible details.

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