HBO's Rome - Historically Accurate?

[Yavin4]

For those who are watching HBO's "Rome", how historically accurate is it? Can you provide a link to the best website on Roman history?

[aint_no_life_nowhere]

1. I saw something on History Channel about the Roman sewers

There's a scene in Rome a few episodes back where they torture nd kill a man in the sewer and then come out of a manhole in the middle of the street. Apparently, Rome actually did have a relatively modern type of sewer system in certain parts of the city, according to a program I saw on the History Channel.

[Fleshdancer]

2. I've wondered the same thing.

I was surprised to learn that Ceasar did have epilepsy...I never knew that before.

Either way, the show is wonderful.

[Lex]

These are the books that got me interested in Roman history.

Historically accurate but not as stuffy as straight-forward history texts:

http://www.stevensaylor.com/RomaSubRosa.html

Read them in order.

[eyepaddle]

3. I'm almost motivated to start digging in and researching,

my one classical history class was taught by a philosopher so it was 98% Greek.

They seem to be getting all the names right, although obvioulsy the Vorenas and Pullo characters are fictitious as so little "history from the eyes of commoners" exists.

It took the series a while to get going--but I am hooked now.

[Lex]

4. The Vorenas and Pullo characters are named by Caeser in his writings

as a matter of fact.

They were in fact extraordinary soldiers and the only 2 specifically named by Caeser in his writings.

Much of the stuff they show them doing is made up for the story, however.

[eyepaddle]

6. Well, I'll be damned.

I don't have time for another burning curiousity right now--but I can feel one coming on!

[WCGreen]

5. A great place to start is by reading the Masters of Rome

series by Colleen McCullough...

Although the narative is fiction, the author did painstaking research and dwelves into the day to day life of romans as well as trying to provide a little insight into the motivations, passions and desires of the nobility....

From the Editorial revue repeated in Amazon.com....

This is the first book....

From Publishers Weekly
If nothing else, this hefty tome, the first of a projected series, proves that McCullough ( The Thornbirds ) can write a serious historical novel that edifies while it entertains. Evoking with impeccably researched, meticulous detail the political and social fabric of Rome in the last days of the Republic, McCullough demonstrates a thoroughgoing understanding of an age in which birth and blood lines determine one's fate, and the auctoritas and dignitas of the Roman family mean more than any personal relationship. When the narrative opens in 110 B.C., this rigidly stratified social order has begun to erode. The protagonist, Gaius Marius, is the symbol of that gradual change. He is the embodiment of the novel's title, a genuine New Man who transcends his Italian origins and earns the ultimate political accolade--the consulship--for an unprecedented six terms. A brilliant military leader, Marius defeats the invading barbarian German tribes. Wily, shrewd and pragmatic, Marius is not above using bribery and chicanery to achieve political ends. Nor, indeed, are his fellow officials, whose sophisticated machinations are in odd juxtaposition with their penchant for jeering at one another, which leads to fisticuffs, brawls and even assassinations. As usual, McCullough tells a good story, describing political intrigue, social infighting and bloody battles with authoritative skill, interpolating domestic drama and even a soupcon of romance. The glossary alone makes fascinating reading; in it, for example, McCullough reasons that Roman men did not wear "under-drawers." The narrative's measured pace, however, is further slowed by the characters' cumbersome names, which require concentrated attention. Those willing to hunker down for a stretch of close reading will be rewarded with a memorable picture of an age with many aspects that share characteristics ontemporaneous with our own. Maps and illustrations by the author. 300,000 first printing; BOMC main selection; author tour.

[AngryAmish]

7. may I also suggest Plutarch "Parellel Lives"

[WCGreen]

8. McCullough claimed to have based much of her story

on Plutarch....

[GrpCaptMandrake]

9. The whole of McCulloch's series

is magnificent and fairly honest. Her portrait of Sulla is an excellent study in social ladder-climbing.

Watching Caesar grow from boy to man is also a convincing exercise.

Her asides about the Brothers Grachii are very reminiscent of a certain political family of the 20th century.

There are several books in the series, and well-worth the time it takes to consume them.

[Lex]

10. Have you read Steven Saylor's series too?

Also well worth the read. I actually prefer his writing better than McCullough's.

http://www.stevensaylor.com/RomaSubRosa.html

[GrpCaptMandrake]

11. I Haven't But Am Calling The Library

to order them this morning. There is so very much to be gleaned from a knowledge and understanding of the past.