Philippi (Rome)
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| Philippi | |
|---|---|
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| Brutus and his army of men at a crossfire between Antony and Octavian's men | |
| Season | 2 (2007) |
| Episode | 18 |
| Air date(s) | February 18, 2007 (HBO) |
| Writer(s) | Eoghan Mahony |
| Director | Roger Young |
| Setting | Macedonia |
| Time frame | 42 BC See also: Chronology of Rome |
| Link | HBO episode summary |
| Prev: Heroes of the Republic Next: Death Mask I | II | III | IV | V | VI | VII | VIII | IX | X | XI | XII |
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Philippi is the sixth episode of the second season of the television series Rome.
Philippi was also a city in Macedonia (in what is now modern Greece) where the two battles of Philippi took place. The town was abandoned in the 14th century after the Ottoman conquest. The present municipality Filippoi is located near the ruins.
[edit] Plot Summary
Spoiler warning: Plot and/or ending details follow.
[edit] Historical and cultural background
- Marcus Tullius Cicero delayed, then briefly attempted to flee Italy before being overcome and decapitated by his pursuers on December 7, 43 BC at Formia. His head and hands were displayed on the Rostra in the Forum Romanum. He was the only victim of the Triumvirate’s proscriptions to be so displayed. According to Cassius Dio, Antony's wife Fulvia took Cicero's head, pulled out his tongue, and jabbed it repeatedly with her hairpin.
- There were actually two battles of Philippi in this campaign. In the first battle, fought on October 3, 42 BC, Antony defeated Cassius who committed suicide and Brutus' troops took Octavian's camp. The second battle - fought twenty days later - went the triumvirs' way and Brutus committed suicide as well.
[edit] Inaccuracies and errors
- Brutus and Cassius committed suicide; they were not killed as shown in this episode. Brutus's body was cremated and Antony showed respect for him, sending his remains with military honors back to Rome; however, Marcus Porcius Cato (II), the son of Cato the Younger, was reportedly killed at Philippi in a manner similar to the way Brutus' death is portrayed in the episode. Cicero tried to get to Greece and unite with Brutus, but during his flight one of his slaves betrayed him to his pursuers, leading to his decapitation at the hands of men who hated him (and not indifferent to him).
