Learning About Ancient Rome

One reason for the astronomical success of the HBO series Rome (a television series that may be the best ever made) is creator Bruno Heller's consideration of the world view of the ancient Romans and his ability to bring that perspective to life in his characters. Ordinarily when we hear the sordid tales of the Caesars, senators and common citizens we think to ourselves, well that figures, how else would you expect Romans to behave?, as though the Romans were no better than spoiled children. We never stop to think that the men and women who were born and died in Rome had the same basic physical and psychological equipment as modern human beings. What accounts for the startling difference between ancient Romans and modern Americans is the absence of two perspectives in the ancients: Judeo-Christian morality and the Enlightenment concepts of modern democracy espoused by men like Rousseau, Locke and Montesquieu. Bruno Heller is perhaps the first director to treat Roman history as more than Shakespeare in togas. Heller stripped off the varnish of modern thinking to reveal the characters as human beings whose often horrific actions make sense within the context of their own society. Heller's ideas in creating Rome are laid bare in the free podcasts available on i-tunes that detail the making of the BBC-HBO collaboration.

"The Death of Caesar."

Credit: Vincenzo Camuccini

Copyright: Public Domain