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September 16, 2006
Rome: Great TV
We just finished watching the entire first season of HBO’s Rome on DVD and I have to say: it’s the best thing I’ve seen on TV in a long while. It’s probably the first ever truly authentic depiction of what the city of Rome was like during the time of Julius Caesar. The acting is top-notch, the sets are fantastic, and the brutal reality is what you would expect from HBO.
I think the most fascinating part—and probably the biggest omission from all past attempts at telling any story from this period—is the religious influence. At the height of Rome’s power, religion and morality were completely separate concepts. Religion was a superstitious, pagan affair that permeated day-to-day life in often bloody, ritual form. On the other hand, morality was a personal affair that seemed quite nebulous and up for interpretation.
Rome developed a society that essentially mirrors our own today—in fact, it probably shaped it. But, it achieved all of this without any of the Judeo-Christian moral values that permeate today’s western world. Rome, in all of it’s glory, predated the rise of Christianity, Islam, and Judaism. It’s almost as if we have been in decline ever since.
Anyway, rent the DVD. It’s really great historical fiction. Better than anything Hollywood has produced so far.
Geoffrey sez:
I only made fun of your pirate books!
You make a good point on the massive scale of the carnage, but that stuff happened long after Julius Caesar was in charge. When Gaius Julius was perfecting the fine art of tyranny, The Colosseum wasn’t even built yet. It was a violent time to be sure, but not yet on that massive scale.
What I find interesting is that the Romans eventually gave up on the old gods, like you said, but essentially replaced them with a single invisible superhero god/tyrant which, to me, had a similar influence on the course of history.
Monotheism caused just as much violent death as the Colosseum—in the form of the crusades and the like. And it still continues to inspire war and intolerance this very day.
I’d like to know what would have happened if monotheism never surfaced. Would the western world have mellowed? Would they have replaced gladiators with football and boxing? Would religion have remained separate from morality?
Constantine was right to legalize Christianity and put a stop to the whole human sacrifice business, but it’s not like the blood stopped flowing. It just found another venue.
I picked up this biography on Julius Caesar and it’s a great read so far. That whole time period is endlessly fascinating. And if they have that Rome DVD in BKK get it. It’s great stuff!
Posted at September 17, 2006 2:34 PM
crazyvirgo sez:
Um, plus, there’re LOTS o’ naked men. Hubba hubba Marc Antony!!!! Serously, show him naked one more time. All nakedness aside, breath-taking show. I’m hooked. Bravo once more to HBO. I’d love to jump into your monotheism discussion, but I’m gonna go watch Mark Antony naked on DVD…again.
Posted at September 20, 2006 11:50 AM
Geoffrey sez:
Yeah, Marc Anthony is pretty impressive in the well-oiled buff. Plus, he likes to sit around and watch naked girls sword-fight. You gotta admire that.
Posted at September 21, 2006 8:26 AM
dave sez:
The carnage is amazing for both humans and animals. Part of the “shows” that were held on public holidays (and there were a lot) involved widescale massacre of man and beast. 5,000 animals were killed in one day when Titus inaugurated the Colosseum in 80 A.D. How do you kill 5,000 animals in a day? Gladitorial events involved thousands of men fighting over periods of 2-3 months - mostly slaves hoping to win their freedom. Yeah, I’ve got your freedom, buddy, right at the end of my sword! It was actually the advent of the Christian emperors who put a stop to it - Constantine in 326.
So it’s a tough call on those Judeo-Christian moral values. Christianity was just a mystery religion that might have died out if Rome wasn’t massacring its innocents by the thousands - for entertainment no less!
Rome had its heyday, but as soon as people stopped taking the old gods seriously, the moral vacuum started to wear on them and eventually sent them into decline.
And you used to make fun of me for reading this crap!
Posted at September 17, 2006 8:11 AM