Rome

Titus Pullo was written as a poor horseman, since most Romans were quite bad riders. However, according to Bruno Heller (on the DVD commentary), Ray Stevenson turned out to be the best rider of the cast, so they dropped the idea of Pullo being a bad horseman.

Octavia of the Julii: Some historical liberties The character of Octavia of the Julii is based on the historical person of Octavia Thurina Minor: ( 69 - 11 BC.). As such, it's clear that the show's writers have taken some artistic liberties with her. Octavia Thurina Minor was not the scared young woman, depending on her mother, and divorced from a "nobody" for political maneuvering, depicted here. She is thought of as one of the most prominent women in Roman history - although many of the historically significant events and roles that she played take place in the future of the current show. She was known for her loyalty, nobility and humanity, and for maintaining traditional Roman feminine virtues. At the time that Rome occurs, Octavia would have been married to Gaius Claudius Marcellus, to whom she would be married until his death in 40 B.C. - after the death of Julius Caesar, or all through the first season on the series, at least. Octavia and her husband also had three children, although the years of their births are 44,43, and 42 B.C.E. - so the eldest would not be born until the same year as the assassination of Julius Caesar. If the show was true to history, Octavia's eldest child might be born in the last episode of the season. Octavia would go on to be wife of Mark Anthony and mother of his children as well. - travelling with him over much of the Empire. She was noted for advising and mediating between Anthony and Octavian/Augustus. She was one of the first Roman women to have coins minted in her image. During her life, Augustus built two monuments for his public works program in her honor:: The Colonnades of Octavia and the Paragon of Virtue. She died a rather sad death, retreating into mourning and isolation at the death of her son Marcus Claudius Marcellus. Her brother Augustus gave her the highest posthumous honors; he built the Gate of Octavia in her memory, declared her as a goddess and built temples for her.

Vorenus and Pullo: More than fictional characters It is interesting to note that Lucius Vorenus and Titus Pullo are not inventions of the show's creators. They are explicitly mentioned in the De Bello Gallico, Caesar's history of his Gallic wars. In fact, the scene in this episode with Titus Pullo charging into the line of the Gauls, and being rescued by Vorenus is clearly inspired by - but not identical to - the anecdote of Vorenus and Pullo described in Book 5, Chapter 44 of De Bello Gallico.

Vercingetorix:

Early in the episode we see Vercingetorix subdued, required to kiss an eagle. Vercingetorix was leader of a recently beaten tribe of gauls.
Vercingetorix was the inspiration behind "Asterix the Gaul".

Goof: In the 8th minute of the 1st episode after Julia had died you can actually see her swollow.

There's a missing Roman! The show implies that there are two contenders for power in Rome, Pompey and Caesar - when in fact there should be three. At the time Caesar was wrapping up his Gallic wars, Pompey and Marcus Licinius Crassus were Consuls together, and not, as it's implied, Caesar and Pompey. Crassus, Pompey, and Caesar had more-or-less total control of Rome between the three of them, prior to the events of the first episode - a period known as the First Triumvirate. A short time after the death of Julia (Pompey's wife and Caesar's daughter) - an event that occurs within the time frame of the series - Crassus decided he wanted military glory to compare with Caesar's and Pompey's. He decided to campaign against the Parthian Empire - and proceeded to get himself killed, losing 30,000 troops in the process, and having the standards of all his Legions captured (something that this episode deems very important). This was one of the worst Roman military disasters to date. There is no mention of Crassus, or the war with the Parthian Empire within the series, even though they are part of the historical background, and are events that are occurring (historically) along with the events depicted in the series. However, as Crassus is only "alive" for the first episode, it seems clear that he just go 'written out' to make things simpler. It might be noted that the loss of 30,000 Roman soldiers sometime in the first couple of episodes might also explain why Pompey is having such a hard time 'scraping up' Legions to meet Caesar with later.

The Tribunes of the Legion Anthony tell Vorenus that "the Tribunes" have noted him for his intelligence. The rank of Tribuni Angusticlavii was similar to the modern rank of Lieutenant Colonel, and were officers who had often commanded one or two Cohorts of about 480 men, comprised of 6 "centuries" each lead by a Centurion - Voresnus' rank. Not only had Vorenus caught the eye of his superior officer, but had distinguished himself to all the Tribunes - standing out amongst the 60 or so Centurions of the Legion. He must be a superlative officer.

Sacrificing to Magna Mater Atia sacrifices - or has sacrificed - a white bull (a very great traditional Roman sacrifice) to "Great Mother" to ensure Octavian's safety in Gaul. This is presumably "Magna Mater" - the Roman goddess of Nature? This would seem to fit, as the rites of Magna Mater were said to include, " drumming, clashing of shields and spears, dancing, singing, shouts, all at night." - which seems to fit the scene.

Ironic Foreshadowing Brutus' speculation that the Senate would be more interesting if they just resorted to swords and daggers ("in the German style") is ironic, considering that Brutus will eventually be one of the conspiritors that will stab Caeser to death in the Senate.

The discipline of the Legions The brutal discipline of the Legions is alluded to by Pullo's public flogging, and death sentence. It seems unlikely that he would really have been imprisoned to be shipped back to Rome for execution - the Legions were usually much more brutal than that. Falling asleep on sentry duty, for example, was punishable by being publicly beaten to death with clubs by the rest of your squad. However - had Pullo been summarily and historically accurately dealt with, he wouldn't be around for the rest of the series, and that would be a shame!