Beards and Axes and Hell, Oh My!

Last night, my wife and I watched the much anticipated film Valhalla Rising on DVD, as I asked her for it for Christmas. If you know anything about the Vikings, you'll know where the title comes from, and how it pertains to the indie film about brutality, religion, and superstition (Valhalla is the Viking version of heaven). Broken up into six very poignant chapters, Valhalla Rising shows the journey of a slave in an unnamed Scandanavian country, crossing the paths with two very different tribes of Vikings, the second changing his life forever. Viking movies, those deemed respectable anyway, are pretty few and far between, and these are the sort of movies I enjoy very much, as my great great grandfather came to the US from Sweden - a hotbed of Viking activity. This is one of the reasons why I've been looking forward to seeing this movie for so long.

We're introduced to a mute slave known simply as One Eye (he has only one eye), as he provides entertainment for a tribe of pagan Vikings. They place bets on his life in fights to the death against other slaves. Each time before he fights, One Eye is chained to a pole with no shirt, and he shivers leading up to each altercation. The film does well to make the viewers want to shiver as well, each scene coated with desolate Northern landscapes, intense fog, and layer upon layer of mud. All the Vikings are clothed in frayed rags, toting axes and broad swords everywhere they go. The only compassion shown to One Eye comes in the form of Are, a blond slave boy who proves even more distant from the Vikings than One Eye does - leaving the viewer to wonder exactly just what his relationship is to the bearded, brutal men.

One day while bathing in a pool of water, One Eye comes across an arrowhead that he places in his mouth, seeking to strike at his captors when the time is right. And when that time is right, he lashes out with a vengeance in all its gory detail (he guts one man like a fish and decapitates another before placing his head on a pike). Are, scared but feeling as if he's far safer with One Eye than with anyone else, follows the Norseman around the Scandanavian countryside, over one desolate hillside after another. They eventually come across another band of Vikings, clutching crosses and swords. We think there's going to be trouble, as one man draws his sword when he sees One Eye, the latter gripping firmly the axe he took from the men who enslaved him. But, we come to find out that these new men are Christian Vikings, just about to set off for the Holy Land in order to reclaim it for God. One Eye is far from a Christian, and when asked where he's from, Are, who always answers for the mute warrior, tells the men that One Eye rose up from Hell. Despite the cryptic salutations, the Christians believe One Eye to be a mighty warrior, and ask him to accompnay them on their ship towards Jersusalem. Without a word, One Eye accepts.

The journey is seemingly a long one, and the fog from the Scandanavian hills falls second behind the one the follows the men aboard their ship. They can see nothing beyond the boat, therefore cannot use their oars. They begin to go partially mad, and some of the Vikings truly believe that One Eye has been sent by the Devil, that he had purposefully led them astray from their destination. When the fog passes, One Eye dips a cup into the water and drinks, and this probably alarms his fellow Norsemen even more. But we find he's not crazy and that the ship has drifted into fresh water.

Far from Jerusalem.

They land upon a heavily-wooded area, which, since I used to live there, looks like the more rural parts of South Carolina. We do come to assume it is the New World where they've land, as they encounter hostile natives, who, before we see them, are taking out the Vikings one by one. Most of the Northmen believe they've landed in Hell, and all seem to experience this in their own personal ways before meeting the heavily-painted natives (one man uses the cross-shaped hilt of his sword to continuously pray, another wallows in the muck, while One Eye finatically stacks rocks, as if building an idol to protect his soul or stacking his way to Heaven). This conclusion is completely left up to your own interpretation, and this is just one example of that sort of thing. The entire movie can be left to your own interpretation. One Eye seems to represent Hell, and Are perhaps represents the innocence of children and those who truly inherit Heaven. The film is definitely a commentary on religion and repentence. The brutality and whimsical killing of One Eye seems to combat that sense of repentence and piety on the scales on right and wrong. His dreams, scenes drenched in red, show us hints of what will come to fruition before it happens, which in turn eventually shapes the fate he chooses for himself.

Valhalla Rising is smart and gory. It's thought-provoking throughout. Despite the picture I've painted, it's slow and trippy with more scenes of the Norsemen staring into the distance than those of action and adventure. The biggest sense of this is seen in the quick, ultra-violent outbursts of One Eye, a warrior who knows that the only thing he's good at is delivering death. Valhalla Rising is one of kind, and surely not for every viewer, especially one\es expecting the action of other Viking films such as The 13th Warrior and Pathfinder. It will be awhile before I watch it again, but I will in fact watch it again. After all, it breaks the mold of the historical Viking-era film with its innovativeness.

The Other Brotherhood of the Wolf

I've found an interesting trend as of late. Stemming from the ancients, there was and still is an enormous sense of pride among those hailing from Italy's capital city.

All the stories tell us that the city of Rome was founded by brothers Romulus and Remus, who were abandoned by their mother but were fed and raised by a female wolf, or a lupa.

Sport stars of the modern age and simple inner city symbolizism reflect this great sense of pride in a city-state that transformed the world when it conquered most of it. Look at where modern Romans claim their heritage from. The levels of pride for Irish people and Mexican people are amazingly high in the United States. The same can be said of Italian people, whose families hail from all over the peninsula. But most modern Romans are so engrained in their culture that they don't even branch out to live anywhere else. They simply love their city and their culture far too much to venture away from it.

Francesco Totti                                                                                                                      Daniele De Rossi

I watch a lot of professional Italian soccer. The team I support most, and have supported the most for many years, is AS Roma (Atletico Sportivo Roma). Their team symbol is the one seen above - Romulus and Remus being fed by the she-wolf. They have two team nicknames - the Giallorossi (the yellow and reds) and The Lupi (the wolves). Two of their stars, team captain Francesco Totti, and "Il Futuro Capitano" (the future captain) Daniele De Rossi, are Roman through and through, and have been exclusively faithful to their club in a soccer world that sees players leave their teams for higher paychecks. Other teams have repeatedly attempted to buy their services, but always to no avail. They are loyal to their team - because they are loyal to the city of their birth. Totti even wears a tattoo of a Roman legionnaire on his right arm. On the other, he has one that reads "veni, vidi, vici," a Latin phrase coined by Julius Caesar, translating to "I came, I saw, I conquered."

AS Roma manager (coach basically), Claudio Ranieri, is also a true Roman, and along with Totti and probably De Rossi too, speaks Romanesco, a Roman dialect unique to the region. Ranieri is very well respected, and he commands as much with his mannerisms and his stone-cut but grandfatherly face. For a few years, Ranieri was the manager for Italian soccer team Juventus. When the Roma manager at the time, Luciano Spalletti, resigned, Claudio Ranieri jumped at the opportunity to manage the team he felt born to lead as a true Roman. The team is all the better for it, finishing second in the Serie A (Italian league) last season, and claiming a crucial win against a strong AC Milan team, just today.

I closely follow several sports, another one them being mix martial arts and the UFC (Ultimate Fighting Championships). One of the fighters, Alessio Sakara, hails from Rome, speaks Romanesco, and claims as his moniker is "Legionarius." Suffice it to say, he also take great pride in his Roman upbringing, and his Roman culture. In the latest issue of UFC magazine (which I buy from Wal-Mart every two months), there is an article featuring Sakara, where he explains some of his Roman pride and where it comes from. He says that "So much of our history is important and inspiring - and not just to Italians. But my personal interest - and my name - comes from the fact that my ancestors were part of the Roman Legion in Egypt. When I was living in Brazil, my teammates used to call me the Gladiator, but gladiators in the Roman Empire were slaves. I explained I was more like a legionnaire, which was a free and respected soldier. Because of my family's origns, I have always been interested in history." Romans not all that into the subject of history still find themselves fascinated and in love with their own.

I was in Rome in 2004, and one of the most fascinating things about the trip was the fact that even the manhole covers to the city sewers bear the letters "S.P.Q.R." This was basically the trademark of the Roman Republic in the BCs and the Roman Empire in ADs, meaning "Senatus PopulesQue Romanus" - "Senate and People of Rome." You see this on the ruins and on modern edifices - even. as I said, on the manhole covers. The Irish-Americans and the Scandanavian-Americans, where I claim my roots, surely have our sense of pride in our strong histories and our willingness to pull together during times of struggle. But I dare say we rival the pride and the history of the Romans, who were not always just in their cause, but surely possessed the means to change the known world forever through their culture, their military might, and their innovation.

Top 5 Best Alternate History Films

Alternate history films can be defined by what-if scenarios, giving rise to how historical events would've played out had 'A' happened instead of 'B.' It can also be defined by a film that's obviously in a historical setting, but takes place without actual historical figures, in fictional civilizations and fictional elements of such. Though they don't have much to do with actual history, they are innovative and intriguing the same, worth at least one blog post.

5. Inglourious Basterds
Another Quintin Tarentino outing, Inglourious Basterds was a movie people either hated or loved. I cast my lot with the latter, as the movie very well done in terms of rich charactization, snappy dialogue, and the best villian I've seen on camera since Daniel Day-Lewis in Gangs of New York. There are several stories going on at once, and I enjoy coming across this element in movies. Lt. Aldo Raine (Brad Pitt) and his crew of Jewish-American "Basterds" carves German foreheads and scalps Germain hairlines on the warpath against the Nazis. Jewish-French Shosanna Dreyfus plots an elaborate scheme to toast a German audience in a scene reminiscent of the end of Carrie. British Lt. Archie Hicox (Michael Fassbender) seeks a scheme in which a taut session around a drinking table results in a bloody shooutout for the ages. All three scenarios are brought together by means of Bridget Von Hammersmark (Diane Krueger) and the show-stealing Nazi colonel, Hans Landa (Christophe Waltz). The Inglourious Basterds alter history forever when they make Adolf Hitler's face into Swiss cheese.

4. Underworld: Rise of the Lycans -
I'm a huge fan of the Underworld trilogy. Rise of the Lycans, the third in the series (shown in prequel form), is set in the time of swords and double axes, vampire kings with castles and muddy Lycan forest dwellings (bringing to mind the Roman Empire's battles against the barbarian tribes of Germania, Britannia, and Gaul). The cinematography is dark and foreboding, the vampires clad in all assortments of black leather. The vampires, led by Viktor (Bill Nighy) and his daughter, Sonja (Rhona Mitra), use Lycans, or werewolves, as their slaves in a caste system sort of medieval society. One of the vampire-favored Lycan slaves, Lucian (Michael Sheen), has fallen in love with Sonia, which is a huge no-no because of his status and because he's a werewolf, deemed the inferior species. When they are found out, Lucian establishes himself as a leader among the Lycan slaves and leads a long overdue rebellion against their bloodsucking foes. With her love for Lucian, Sonja soon fights for the Lycans and her and Lucian's freedom to love as they choose. The Lycans wield axes and rusty, pointy objects when they fight in human form, their ravenous fangs and claws when pillaging as werewolves. Of course, the vampires nor the Lycans belong to a particular actual medieval civilization, but promote medieval tendencies in terms of dress, weaponry, and overall Dark Ages feel. Great flick, and an even greater trilogy.

3. Red Dawn -
Red Dawn gives us a scary what-if scenario, as Russian and Cuban allied forces infiltrate US borders, and in the particular scenario given to our protagonists (high school kids), paratroop their way to the plains of Calumet, Colorado. The Russians open fire on teacher and student alike at the local high school, and a lucky ragtag crew of teenagers are wisked away to the safety of the mountains by way of the pick-up truck driven by Jed Eckert (a young Patrick Swayze). Loading up on rifles, bows and arrows, non-perishable foods, and sleeping bags at the local surplus store, the teens make it to high ground where Jed, a year out of high school, assumes the position of leader as the oldest of the group. After seeing their fictional town become a concentration camp and the parents killed off via firing squad, the group assumes the name of their high school mascot, the Wolverines, before fighting back with a vengeance. At first, they use their shotguns and bows, but soon incorporate the dress and automatic weapons of their Russian and Cuban enemies. The Wolverines are helped along by Erica and Toni Mason (Lea Thompson and Jennifer Grey), and shot-down Air Force Colonel Andy Tanner (Power Boothe). They defend their town from extinction using guerilla tactics, utilizing the mountain terrain they've known their whole lives. The relationship between brother Jed and Matt (Charlie Sheen) is moving and heartbreaking. I can't remember the explanation the opening of the movie gives, but it basically shows what could have happened had the Soviet-Cuban relationship of the 60's had not been quelled. Made in 1984, it was the first film to earn a PG-13 rating. It scared people to death, and it's on my all-time favorite films list.

2. CSA: The Confederate States of America -
Where to start with this independent film? In a history channel-type sort of documentary, including bigotted fake commercials, CSA takes us from the Civil War all the way to modern times - as if the Confederacy had won the war against the Union. It shows Abe Lincoln banished to Canada, made fun of in fake silent films in the early 20th century in which he attempts to elude capture. Jefferson Davis takes over at the White House, replacing "National Anthem" with "Dixie" as the nation's song.  For the remainder of US history, or CSA history, the confederate flag flies high over buildings and in schools everywhere, planted on the moon and touted in 20th century wars. Slavery goes far beyond the 19th century, as we're shown modern families having their breakfast cooked by African-American women with no education. A fake commercial include ad for a fake sitcom features an uneducated, bumbling black women, working in the home of a Leave it to Beave-type family. The tagline for the show is "She's always in the kitchen...but never seems to know what's cookin.'" It's sickening, but innovation and thoroughly thought out. The writers weren't racist, but merely wanted to show us what a scary world we would have lived in had Grant signed the treaty of surrender instead of Lee at Appomattox Courthouse.

1. Conan the Barbarian -
I first saw this one when I was kid. I liked it then, but like it even more now. No, the Governator isn't exactly known for his amazing acting skills, but he simply got the job done in Conan with his best movie character in my opinion (though he was great in Predator too). With his fictional god Crom watching over his every step, Conan comes from a fictional tribe of Cimmerian barbarians to see both of his parents murdered by Thusla Doom, to become a gladiator of sorts for a fiery red-headed slave owner, and to move his way around Hyboria as a thief with his pal, the Hyrkanian archer Subotai, and his woman, Valeria, a tall, blonde, Nordic-looking warrior. Once Thulsa Doom's serpent emblems start popping up everywhere he goes, Conan is back on a mission to avenge his parents and to regain his father's exquisite sword. Along the way, a Viking-like king named Osric hires the three thieves to track down and rescue his daughter, who has, conveniently for Conan, been kidnapped by Thulsa Doom and his growing serpent-worshipping cult. The end battle is amazing...almost as amazing as the one that takes place in the mountain refuge of Thulsa Doom, seen above. Good sword-wielding, good story, greatly-composed epic score that still mananges to get stuck in my head from time to time. There's a remake in the works, but from what I've seen of it, it will surely pale in comparison to the 1982 original.

A Soap Opera with Sweat, Soot, and Swords

In my very first entry on this blog, I wrote a review of the STARZ original series Spartacus: Blood and Sand. I am right at the moment in the middle of watching the 13-episode series for a second time, and it's now that I'm realizing my initial review did the show no justice at all. So, I've erased the original in order to write a completely new one, more in-depth with all the reasons why it was the best show on television and why I eagerly look forward to the second season, set to air January 21st.

             Spartacus

The story takes place during the 5th century BC when the Romans ran a Republic, four centuries before the dawning of the Empire under Caesar Augustus. Based on the real life of the Thracian slave Spartacus, the show plays out like a soap opera on maximum levels of testosterone. Before he was a slave to the Roman Republic, Spartacus' story is obscured from the ancient records. This gave the show's writers miles of wiggle room in the development of the character. They gave him a back story and gave him a reason to pine for the freedom he eventually attained. The only show, in my book, that rivals the appeal of Spartacus in FX's Sons of Anarchy. The drama, the violence (sometimes justified, sometimes not), and interweaving stories simply hooks you in and has you thinking about what you just saw for the next few hours. It has its few historical inaccuracies (the sort of things only historians really notice), but the story is so good that I can easily wave these aside. The writers sacrificed accuracy for spot on, intelligent, and poignant dialogue. And the show is all the better for it.

I have to be honest and say that the first episode was a major let down, similar to something you'd find in a Sci-Fi Channel version of a Roman-era historical. I was left wanting, but nonetheless looked forward to the next episode.

Good thing I stuck with it.

I'm not totally sure, but it seems like after the bad reviews of the first episode, STARZ fired the writers and brought in brand new ones. And whoever wrote episodes 2 through 13 should honestly be given some sort of award, as the dialogue, the relationships, and the foresight to write such intriguing storylines often leaves me in a state of awe. The characters are rich with their own stories, and as the first episode was a non-stop blood and sex fest, the rest is full of characters and relationships that develop slowly but neatly from week to week.

Legatus Claudius Glaber

A long-haired warrior and his Thracian mates are at war the Gaeta, a savage people from the same land, attempting to take all of it. They almost come off as more ragedy versions of the Immortals from 300, as the whole episode seemed to reflect far too much of the Zack Snyder-directed Spartan blockbuster. The Thracians form an alliance with the Legatus Claudius Glaber and the Romans, who have agreed to help the Thracians with their Gaeta problem. But Glaber has some issues of his own, and seeks to manipulate the Thracians into getting what he wants. The Romans end up falling short on their deal, and the Thracian and his comrades refuse Glaber's ulterior motives. Chaos ensues, Romans are killed, and the Thracians are either killed or taken into slavery. Our unnamed hero and his wife, Sura, both became slaves in the maniacal hands of the Romans.

Sura

But the couple become slaves in very different locations...the Thracian warrior to a gladitorial school in the Italian city of Capua, and Sura, to an unknown country, and to an unknown slave owner.

The Thracian is immediately thrown into a very prison-like environment where new recruits are taunted and the weak are beaten and raped. He's quickly forced to appease his Dominus, Quintus Batiatus, the owner of the gladitorial school, when he's placed in the arena against four gladiators belonging to Solonius, Batiatus' primary rival. At first it seems the Thracian is down and out, but further thoughts of attaining freedom and finding Sura fuel his will to survive, and fuel his bloodlust, as he takes out all four of Solonius' fighters in gory fashion. He thus earns the name Spartacus, given to him by Batiatus, as Spartacus was the name of a brave Thracian king who fought in the same fashion as the new slave.

                                                       Crixus, the undefeated Gaul

As Spartacus is given a hard time by the veterans of the school, the massive Carthaginian, Barca, and the Gallic Champion of Capua, Crixus, Spartacus finds an endearing friend in Varro (right), a husband and father who's sold himself into slavery in order to pay off his gambling debts. Their relationship buds and the two become great friends, encouraging one another when all is seemingly lost. We see more tenderness in the scenes in which Spartacus listens to the imagined vision of Sura whispering into his ear than the ones when he's actually together with her, seen in the first episodes and subsequent flashbacks. One one of those whispering sessions in the middle of a conversation with Varro, Spartacus' out loud answers to Sura's summons somewhat pertain to his and Varro's conversation, but mainly further confuses his blond friend. It's a touching scene for the three of them, as Sura and Varro are the two biggest loves in Spartacus' life.

Meanwhile, we're beginning to see Crixus in a different light, as we're introduced to his gentler side in the presence of slave girl Naevia (left, seen with Crixus), attendent to Batiatus' manipulating wife, Lucretia. Their mutual attraction grows with every episode. Crixus attempts to convey his true feelings for the Naevia while having to bow down to the on-the-side sexual desires of Lucretia. But by this time, Spartacus has already given in to Crixus when the two meet in the arena, and both men, as a reluctant team, later take down an undefeated monster of a man, Theokoles. As Crixus is critically injured in the arena fight, Spartacus tops the beast and becomes the new Champion of Capua. But only because Crixus, on the brink of life death, blinds Theokoles with the glint of the sun on his shield. In a sense, the Gaul helps Spartacus ascend to champion. The victory also comes with the rains that the people of Capua have been pining for, until then declining financially due to a massive drought. Spartacus' popularity rises to great heights because of his victory and because he's delivered the rains. Batiatus promises him that if he continues to win, the Dominus of the house will search for Sura in return.

Further intrigue is added to the story when Ilithyia, the spoiled, snobby wife of Claudius Glaber, moves to Capua in her husband's absence, forming a blossoming, gossiping relationship with Lucretia. Ilithyia's hate for Spartacus runs deep, as he very nearly ruined the career of Glaber, the man who was responsible for Sura's slavery. Her passive-agressive control over Spartacus' life proves detrimental not only to the Thracian gladiator but to Batiatus...who may or may not have had a hand in Spartacus' descent to complete and total indifference (due of course to the developing tragedies constantly mounting up in his life).                                     

 Ilithyia

                                                         Lucretia and Quintus Batiatus

The relationships and the writing that controls them are complex. One week, we're hating Crixus for his bullying and verbal abuse of Spartacus. The next, we're liking Crixus because of his tender heart with Naevia and not liking Spartacus for his continual gloating towards the former Champion of Capua. When a TV show can have that kind of affect on me, I have to deem that a powerful, powerful thing.

Spartacus has his pining for Sura and his friendship with Varro.

Crixus has his painful recovery and his budding hush-hush love affair with Naevia.

Lucretia and Batiatus have their bloodthirsty societal and political ambitions.

And Ashur, an injured Syrian gladiator who's now the freest slave residing in the House of Batiatus, is always found sneaking and prying, whispering and fashioning deals with whoever can give him the most in return.

Ashur and Ilithyia are the show's go-to villians, but more surely develop as the season progresses, leading into the story of the real Spartacus. The costumes are great, the dialogue is phenomenal, and the score, composed by Brotherhood of the Wolf composer Joseph LoDuca, rivals any full-length film in the ancient historical drama genre.

Season 2 was initially supposed to turn out a lot different, but Spartacus himself, actor Andy Whitfield, was diagnosed with lymphoma non-Hodgkins cancer. After the first season, he took all the proper treatments but would definitely be out for a Season 2. Instead of a continuing the story of Spartacus the Thracian, we'll instead be watching a prequel to the first season, entitled Spartacus: Gods of the Arena. The trailers are already out, and so is the list of characters, including Batiatus, Lucretia, Doctore, Crixus, Naevia, Barca, Ashur, and even Spartacus in the two episodes Andy Whitfield was able to complete. He's now in remission, and hopefully, we'll get to see more of him in Season 3. Gods of the Arena focuses on the House of Batiatus when Quintus' father, Titus, ran the gladitorial school. The protagonist of the story is Gannicus, played by Dustin Clare, who becomes the first Champion of Capua. Doctore, who plays the gladiators' head trainer in Blood and Sand, plays one of the recruits in the prequel, along with Barca, Ashur, and Crixus (and we already know he's the Champion of Capua at the beginning of Blood and Sand). That simple fact will make for some drama in itself, as he surely takes the title from the main man.

Doctore

While it was on, Spartacus: Blood and Sand had me hooked from week 2 to week 13. From what I've heard, the prequel is only a 6 part series, but if it has the same writers, it will surely have the same affect in the end. There are so many aspects of Blood and Sand that absolutely love, and this blog review only skims the surface, as there are so many noteworthy elements to it that remembering them all is utterly impossible. I have all the episodes on DVR, and I have no plans of erasing them. Blood and Sand is an even finer show than Rome, and we all know what sort of rave reviews that received. Suffice it to say, as a historian and a avid television watcher, I'm forever hooked on Spartacus: Blood and Sand, a soap opera with sweat, soot, and swords.

Man in the Eagle-Crested Mirror and his Character Study

Centurion is one of the most enjoyable films I've seen this year. It has far from the character development of Gladiator, but it does however portray Roman Legatus Titus Flavius Virilus in a good enough light to remind me, and anyone else who studies their Roman generals, of Marcus Antonius, who cast his lot with Cleopatra instead of Octavian. Virilus was of course a fictional character, but I feel sure that Marcus Antonius served as his inspiration.

Both men were incredibly popular within their legions, both men were heavy drinkers, and both men were great generals, tough and fully ready to defend the Empire/Republic. All that was missing in the comparably short story of Virilus was relationships with several women, especially with an Egyptian Queen. The cunning charms of Cleopatra were far from present in Centurion, replaced in full by the devious intentions of Etain, a Pict warrior/tracker from the highlands of Britannia. The love/convenient relationship between Antonius and the Macedonian Queen of Egypt is replaced with disdainful, vengeful one between Virilus and Etain, sworn enemies in every since of the word.                                                                                                                                                                              

Dominic West was cast in Centurion as Virilus, and Antonius being one of my favorite figures from history, the fictional general immediately reminded me of the actual one. We're first introduced to Virilus as he hangs out with his legions, entangling himself in an arm wrestling match with one of his soldiers, the rest placing bets and shouting their picks. I truly believe this is how Antonius interacted with his soldiers, as the Roman historian Suetonius reports that Antonius knew many of men by name and often ate meals with them at the common mess table. Virilus and Antonius were separated by almost 250 years, but the similarities are there. In the next scene that we see Virilus, he's washing himself with another soldier in a pretty common manner, hangover and all. A rider comes into camp and insists that he talk to Virilus, whom he's never seen before. He shouts at the real Virilus and demands an audience with the general, threatening a flogging. Virilus shouts back, telling the rider that he is the Legatus and that he could have the rider flogged instead. This was the type of man Antonius was, spending so much time with his infantry that he could've been mistaken as one of them. He often lowered himself to their status, but he was also quick to remind those out of line that he was still the man in charge. He sincerely cared about his troops and they adored him for it. Even lowering himself enough to be found frequently in their encampments, they respected him. Virilus is seen in the same light in Centurion.

Russell Crowe's character in Gladiator is seen in a similar light as Virilus and Antonius, and I'm sure that many other general's in Rome's long history shared the same sort of traits. But I continually study the character of Antonius and both he and Virilus were men's men. Antonius immediately came to mind when I saw the characterization of Titus Flavius Virilus in Centurion. I think that in terms of writing a fictional Roman general, the best possible muse would be a man like Marcus Antonius, one who was loved by men, adored by his women, and etched into Roman history as admirable soldier with a heart of gold and endearing reckless abandon when it came to excess.

These two pictures are of actor James Purefoy as Mark Antony in the HBO series Rome - the best on-screen Antony I've ever seen.

I was going to further explore the personality of Antonius in another blog, but while I'm on the subject, I'll indulge myself. He was a passionate man with a "live fast, die young, leave a good-looking corpse" sort of mentality. He was a true Grecophile, meaning that he loved all things Greek. The Romans claimed their roots from the Greek Aeneas, and in turn, Antonius claimed his roots from Hercules. As men of power claiming divine status was popular during the Roman Republic and Rome Empire, Antonius called himself the earthly incarnate of the Greek god of wine and free love, Dionysus, and his personality and habits of excess matched the qualities. Antonius had a taste for exotic things. His relationship with Romen women, whether wife or mistress, never lasted, as he was more inclined to endulge into relationships with Glaphyra, princess of Cappadocia, and most famously, Cleopatra VII of Egypt. Antonius probably fell in love with Cleopatra at some point, but he was surely enthralled as well by the levels of excess in her kingdom and the fact she was descended from the Macedonian Greek line of Ptolemy I Soter and Alexander the Great - famous Greeks he surely greatly admired. He probably lost the Battle of Actium simply because he failed to listen to his Legatus, Publius Canidius Crassus, who told him they should fight Octavian's army on land instead of at sea. He was proud and stubborn and full of bravado, thinking he could defeat the lesser general in any situation presented. He was the equivalent of a modern football star who walks around quoting coaching great Vince Lombardi. He was the equivalent of a modern military general who fervently studies the battle tactics and campaigns of Patton or Napoleon. He was the equivalent of UFC fighter Marcus "The Irish Handgrenade" Davis, who's an American fighter but boasts proudly his Irish roots.

Marcus Antonius was one of a kind, a true inimitable in every sense of the word, every bit as fascinating as the Roman Republic he was a product of. 

The Borgias - the Corleone Family of the Renaissance

Devotion to family.

Ambition.

Murder.

These are the attributes in which the Corleone family from The Godfather films share with the Borgias of Renaissance Italy, the papal ladder-climbers who made alliances through marriage and enemies through murder and mayhem. Usually, I'm pretty good at determining where last names came from. I do well at Jeopardy! because I guess where a question's subject is from just based on their name. I know that the Borgias were a Spanish-Italian family, but I'm not entirely sure which of these two the name Borgia is from. It sounds Italian, but all the Borgias, except the daughter, have Spanish names - Rodrigo, Juan, Cesare, and Lucrezia. The TV show has compared its content to a Renaissance Godfather or Sopranos - not sure which. But I can definitely see the parallels with the family Coreleone. Sometime in 2011, Showtime will be a airing a series on the Borgias (seen abovie), which is enough information in itself to make me want to subscribe to Showtime.

As for the real Borgias, Rodrigo, the patriarch, bribed his way into the position of Pope in Rome under the title/name Alexander VI. Pope was the top spot in all the Italian territories, and by doing this, he therefore controled all of Italy, which was during the Renaissance period a group of divided city-states. In the TV series, Rodrigo will be played by Jeremy Irons. Sure, he's an English actor, but he does sort of look Spanish-Italian, especially in the above picture. Rodrigo had three sons and one daughter. The two eldest sons, Juan and Cesare, and the daughter, Lucrezia, were by far the most significant. Lucrezia, golden-haired despite her ethnicity which usually boasts dark features, was Rodrigo's pawn - but one he loved very much. She was a great intrument in forming alliances with other city-states. Her first marriage was to Giovanni Sforza. When Rodrigo no longer needed the alliance with the Sforzas, he seeked to annul his daughter's marriage. Being the top Catholic, this wasn't an easy task, as Catholicism forbids divorce. Rodrigo produced a story in which he claimed Giovanni was impotent, which probably wasn't true. This was really the only way in which an annulment could be achieved, except for murder. For fear of this own life, Giovanni eventually accepted the claim that he was impotent and fled Rome before he could be murdered. One rumor is that Lucrezia had warned Giovanni that his life was in danger.

Her next marriage was to Alfonso of Aragon, whom she reportedly fell in love with at first sight. Her brother, Cesare, at first liked Alfonso (it was outside of his nature to like anyone), but this of course didn't last. Cesare was jealous of Alfonso. He had had a bout with syphilis that had left his face scarred. He reportedly began to wear black and to wear masks. This, and Lucrezia's lack of attention towards her brother, made Cesare hate the good-looking Alfonso even more. While leaving the Borgia household one night, Alfonso was attacked on the staircase by a heavily-cloaked man. Surpringly, he survived the sword attack, and later, while in recovery, he was strangled to death. These attacks were probably not performed by Cesare, but they were surely perpetuated by him. Lucrezia was heartbroken, and probably never forgave her brother.

Juan Borgia was named Generallisimo in his father's papal army, a title his younger brother, Cesare, wanted for himself. Juan had become Rodrigo's right hand man and this angered Cesare. In 1497, one night after the two had dined with their mother, Vannozza dei Cattannei, the brothers left together and disappeared down a dark alley. The following morning, Juan was dragged from the Tiber River, murdered. Cesare was and is the obvious choice for the assassin, but Alexander VI, who loved both of his sons, didn't want to believe that one son had killed the other. Cesare was subsequenly appointed to the title of Generalissimo and led his father's papal army in place of Juan. In an ironic twist of fate, Cesare was killed on the battlefield leading the army he'd murdered to command. In a final event before Martin Luther set into motion the Protestant Reformation, Alexander VI aka Rodrigo Borgia was poisoned and killed. Lucrezia is the only major Borgia player who didn't die an agonizing death.

According The Borgias director, Neil Jordan, Mario Puzo's Corleone family was based on the corrupt Renaissance family. This is something I've just come across while writing this blog, so I suppose my comparison is a pretty good one. Mario Puzo, author of The Godfather, also wrote a book called The Family, about the Borgias. This was Puzo's final book before his death and now I'm really interested in taking a peek at The Family myself.

The Corleone family had more honor than the Borgias, but all in all, the latter was a Renaissance-era crime family with ambition to rule the Catholic world (which was pretty much all of Europe at the time). Don Corleone married off his daughter in the first scenes of the The Godfather, and in one of the last, that husband, Carlo, is murdered by Michael, Don Corleone's son. In The Godfather II, Michael kills his brother, Freddo. In these instances, it comes as no surprise that Puzo based the Corleones on the Borgias.

Cesare got away with his murders, though he never left any evidence of actually committing them. Pope Alexander would have murdered Giovanni Sforza had he not fled Rome. Lucrezia was probably far from totally innocent, but she herself never plotted a murder - even though some historians suggest she wore a ring dipped in sinide and that when she offered it to be kissed, the patrons were poisoned. The Borgias did nothing for God, though they were supposed to be His greatest ambassadors at the time. They were selfish, murderous, and treacherous in every sense of the words.

But that's what makes them so interesting to people like Mario Puzo, Neil Jordan, Jeremy Irons, and me.

Lead Drama and Head Trauma in Ancient Rome

The fall of the Roman Empire was a result of many different causes. Barbarian invasions, disease, a split between East and West portions of the Empire, and lead poisoning were all significant factors. Recently, I wrote a compare and contrast paper on the assassinations of Caligula and JFK and came across an interesting idea. It's a very real possibility that Caligula went mad due to a massive amount of lead he'd consumed in his water and in his wine sweetener (he was an excessive drinker). This of course inspired his massive bloodlust, as Caligula saw to it slaves when brutally murdered in the arena and in his own palace during fine banquets. This is not the act of a sane man, and it crossed my mind that perhaps it wasn't just Caligula with major desire to see blood spilled.

Gaius Julius Caesar Augustus Germanicus (Caligula)



Ever since the Roman people adopted Hellenistic culture from their Greek predecessors, they had been cheering on bloody gladiatorial games in the areans across the Italian peninsula. When the Romans expanded their empire, Roman culture was brought into the conquered lands along with a ruling governor to run the city. The games were a huge source of income, especially in Rome after Emperor Titus of the Flavian Dynasty saw to the completion of the massive Colesseum.

Emperor Titus of the Flavian Dynasty



The film Gladiator and the STARZ original series Spartacus: Blood and Sand do a good job of portraying the indifferent bloodlust of the average Roman, and the average Capuan (as Spartacus takes place in the Italian city Capua - see my review of the series earlier in the blog). They rarely wished mercy upon the fallen prisoner, gladiator, or Christian slave. Most times, they only wanted to see blood spew onto the sands of the arena. To a lesser extent, some of these behaviors are still seen the in average American public, especially those who chant towards their televisions for football players to knock each other unconscious and mixed martial artists to rearrange each other's faces. Part of this want to see blood spilled is human nature, but in the case of the ancient Romans, they wanted to witness one death after another, the only break between them an emperor-sanctioned lunch recess. My theory is that many of the Roman people who attended the arena games on a consistent basis carried their bloodlust due to the same reason Gaius Caligula carried his. The average arena spectator, whether they knew it or not, was plagued by lead poisoning.

The violent behaviors displayed in the average Roman were also mirrored in the provinces, where the gladitorial games had spread to Roman-conquered lands, along with aqueducts and wine sweetener - the harbingers of a colossal amount of lead. The lower rungs of Roman society also engaged in many a criminal activity, from highly organized acts including protection rackets to unorganized ones such as muggings. Criminal activity is almost a given in a big city setting, but the lead theory is a very plausible one.

In a nutshell, the Romans were a desensitized people who had no qualms with watching blood flow and prisoners and slaves separated forever from their loved ones. This to me is indifference on an unbelievable level. Why the lead never seemed to effect the other emperors in Caligula's line, I'm not sure (though Claudius had a limp, drooled, and a had a stuttering problem - possibly due to his mother's consumption of lead while Claudius was in the utero?) Caligula seemed to be the only emperor considered "mad" on a significant enough level to matter to the historians, but surely, the Roman people, the "mob," weren't too far behind.

Emperor Claudius