How Titus Pullo Brought Down The Republic - Historical and Cultural Background

Historical and Cultural Background

• Caesar's proconsulship in Gaul was about to expire, which would mean a loss of immunity against prosecution by his political enemies. He had faced the same situation five years prior, but at that time his command had been extended with the help of his allies Pompey Magnus and Marcus Crassus. This time, however, Pompey was against him, and Crassus had been killed in 53 BC. Caesar instead has to rely on Mark Antony for his political maneuvering: newly elected to the office of Tribune of the Plebs (tribunus plebis).
• As part of his investiture as tribunus plebis, Antony sits a (very impatient) vigil in the temple of Jupiter Optimus Maximus. Given that this was the God of Laws, Social Order, and Rome itself, it seems an appropriate god to appeal for favor to when one is becoming a high government official.
• During the fight in the Senate, Mark Antony appears to have been unharmed. This was because, as Tribune, any attempt to harm Antony would have been considered a capital offense. Thus, when Antony and the Thirteenth are driven from Rome and Caesar recounts the events to his army, he says of the attack on Antony, "Can you imagine a more terrible sacrilege?!"
• As Antony is about to wash his face before going out in public, Caesar stops him, telling him he looks like "Leonidas at Thermopylae". He is referring to the Spartan king Leonidas I, who fought the Persian Empire in the Battle of Thermopylae in 480 BC
• This was the year that Caesar finally moved openly against Rome, crossing the Rubicon in January of 49 BC, at the head of the 13th Legion (Legio XIII Gemina). It is here he is said to have made the comment "alea iacta est" ("The die is cast"). There are some variations on what he actually said. Suetonius wrote that the comment was "Iacta alea est" and Plutarch wrote that he said in Greek, "anerriphtho kubos" ("The die must be cast" – Latin trans. "iacta alea esto"), a quote from a play by Menander. Appian, too, gives "Ho kubos anerriphtho". This alleged quotation is left out of the series, although the game of dice does play a significant role in the episode.
• After a rather bloody bit of surgery on Titus Pullo, the doctor recommends a sacrifice to Spes, Goddess of Hope.
• The surgery performed on Pullo (trepanation) was based on surviving descriptions of actual surgical techniques in implementation during that period, including the circular bone saw and the metal plate used to replace the section of Pullo's shattered skull.
• Lucius Vorenus tells Niobe that his "official spoils" should clear "10,000 Denarii". It is extremely difficult to estimate the exact value of the Denarius, as it changed with the times (as do most currencies), and was part of an economy totally alien to us; however, the "classical rule of thumb" is that a Denarius was the daily wage of a skilled worker. This would mean that about 350 Denarii would be a "middle class" working wage. Lucius Vorenus has brought home approximately 25 years' wages of someone living at their standard of living.
• Regarding the monetary units frequently mentioned in the series, one Denarius (a silver coin) was equal to four sesterces (a bronze coin). The gold piece mentioned occasionally was worth 25 Denarii.