Caesarion (episode of Rome)

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"Caesarion"
Cleopatra VII Philopator, Queen of Egypt
Season	1 (2005)
Episode	8 (HBO; see BBC editing)
Air date(s)	October 16, 2005 (HBO) December 14, 2005 (BBC)
Writer(s)	William J. MacDonald
Director	Steve Shill
Setting	Ptolemaic Egypt and Rome
Time frame	Fall 48 BC through June 47 BC See also: Chronology of Rome
Link	HBO episode summary
Prev: Pharsalus Next: Utica I | II | III | IV | V | VI | VII | VIII | IX | X | XI | XII

"Caesarion" is the eighth episode of the first season of the television series Rome.

Caesarion is also the name of a historical figure, arguably the last ruler of Ancient Egyptian civilization, the last pharaoh of the Ptolemaic Dynasty, and the son of both Cleopatra and Julius Caesar.

Having pursued Pompey into Egypt, Caesar arrives in Alexandria and meets the boy king Ptolemy XIII, who offers the general a surprise gift. Vorenus and Pullo play liberators again, freeing Ptolemy's incarcerated sister, Cleopatra. Caesar seeks payment from Egypt for past debts, and ends up forging a strategic union to ensure his legacy.

Contents 1 Plot summary 2 Memorable quotes 3 Historical and cultural background 4 Inaccuracies and errors 5 Character notes 6 Plot notes 7 Episode characters 7.1 Main cast 7.2 Guest stars 8 External links

[edit] Plot summary

Caesar and the legions arrive in Alexandria. Caesar, Marc Antony, Titus and Vorenus enter the Ptolemy palace. Young Ptolemy presents Caeser with a box containing Pompey's head. Ptolemy plays with the head, which brings Caesar's rage. Caesar then sends Vorenus and Pullo to find Cleopatra. She is seen living in the desert in exile smoking opium. Ptolemy and his decadent allies know her location and dispactch a group of assassins. Vorenus and Pullo secretly follow the assassins and arrive at the same time. They quickly dispatch the hit squad of five men. Pullo impresses Cleopatra in the process. They travel back to Alexandria and Cleopatra, sensing that she is ovulating ("between the flood"), tries to seduce Vorenus in order to have a son to present to Caesar as his own, so as to bind Caesar to herself. He declines and sends Pullo instead. Pullo and Cleopatra are then seen in a very wild sexual encounter. The two smuggle her into the palace in a carpet. Caesar begins to eliminate Ptolemy's allies and has their heads placed on stakes outside. Caesar sends Marc Antony back to Rome. Caesar and Cleopatra plan a revolt and are besieged in the Palace. A year goes by and Caesar and Cleopatra are victorious. At the celebration they present to the legion a child. Vorenus looks at Pullo, who seems proud.

[edit] Memorable quotes

Julius Caesar: (after a lengthy pause) Shame on the House of Ptolemy for such barbarity. Shame.
Pothinus: But… you're enemies –
Julius Caesar: He was a Consul of Rome! A consul of Rome… to die this sordid way? Quartered like some low thief? Shame!

Mark Antony: Cato and Scipio are still at large. Given time, they will raise another army.
Julius Caesar: And when they do I shall crush them.
Mark Antony: I'm glad you're so confident. Some, would call it hubris.
Julius Caesar: It's only hubris if I fail.

Posca: Post mortem interests of this type are legally entailed to the presiding consul, i.e. Gaius Julius Caesar. It's… law.
Pothinus: Roman law.
Julius Caesar: Is there some other form of law, you wretched woman?

Julius Caesar:: I have conquered Gaul! I have defeated Pompey Magnus, I think I can handle a small boy and a eunuch.

Titus Pullo: Yeah, right. I've seen their gods. Titus Pullo isn't scared of a bastard with a dog's head on him.
Lucius Vorenus: The more fool you. These gods are old and powerful. Egypt was a great nation long before Rome.
Titus Pullo: Was it? Mumped it up now, then, haven't they?

[edit] Historical and cultural background

• At the time of Caesar's arrival in Egypt, it was undergoing a dynastic dispute among the various siblings of the Ptolemaic Dynasty. Ptolemy XIII (who was probably being manipulated by his regent Pothinus), Arsinoe IV, and Cleopatra VII, were all contesting for the rulership of Egypt.
• Caesarion - whom we only see as a naked infant in the last scene - was the son of Cleopatra VII and Julius Caesar (although events in the episode insinuate that may be in doubt).
• The god that Titus Pullo finds so unimpressive, the "bastard with a dog's head on him", is the Egyptian god Anubis.
• The bit of statuary that Lucius Vorenus is sharpening his sword on while he and Pullo wait, wears the "Double Crown" of Upper and Lower Egypt. This means that it is a depiction of a Pharaoh - presumably a fragment of some long-lost royal monument.

[edit] Inaccuracies and errors

• The dynastic dispute in Egypt, like many political situations in Rome is simplified. The claims, and the person of Arsinoe IV herself, are ignored in the series.
• The appearance of the Egyptians is also unrealistic. The ancient Egyptians never wore heavy face paint, and the elaborate wigs were uncharacteristic of Egyptian wig styles.
• Cleopatra and Ptolemy seem played up as significantly younger than they actually were, Cleopatra looks and acts as a teenager (she was a full 20), and Ptolemy, by looks and voice seems to be about 8 or 9 while he was 14 at the time of Pompey's death.
• Cleopatra is gazing at a coin with Caesar's likeness (and plotting to seduce him), but these coins are not minted until later in Caesar's life.
• While the episode depicts Pullo and Vorenus dumping Cleopatra, laced up in a bag, in front of Caesar, Plutarch records that she had herself rolled up in a Persian carpet and had it presented to Caesar by her servant.

[edit] Character notes

None yet

[edit] Plot notes

None yet

[edit] Episode characters

possibly incomplete
See also: Character appearances in Rome

[edit] Main cast

[edit] Guest stars

Cleopatra played by Lyndsey Marshal.

[edit] External links

• "Caesarion" at the Internet Movie Database
• Plot Summary at HBO