How accurately did the HBO series "Rome" depict life in Roman times?

Historian (2017–present)Upvoted by Br. Mary Clement Hudgins, OCSO
, B.A. History & Philosophy, Columbus State University (2020) and
Jeff Jackson, M.A. History, University of Richmond (2006)5y

How accurately did the HBO series "Rome" depict life in Roman times?
Pretty darn well.

Wrong: Octavian’s mother


Atia takes center stage for much of the show and her character is fantastic. While good, the character of Atia has no bearing on reality at all. Here are where they go wrong:

She never risked her son’s life on anything. She was overbearing his entire life and kept him from training at Caesar’s side numerous times.
She did not sleep around. She was married to a Senator named Lucius and had been since Octavian’s father died decades earlier. Lucius was a father to young Octavian and close to Atia her whole life.
Atia NEVER slept with Antony. They may have never even met—it's hard to say.
Atia was not around for very long in real life. She died in 43 BC—long before her son became ruler of Rome. When she died Octavian was still months out from defeating the Senate and establishing the 2nd Triumvirate.
Right: The city


They knock the city OUT OF THE PARK in this show. This is what Rome looked like in all its glory. The crowded streets, the glorious marble, and stone buildings mixed in with shacks not to mention the overcrowded markets, the penis graffiti, all the red—it’s all perfect.

If you want to see Rome in 44 BC this is about accurate.

Wrong: Agrippa

They get a lot wrong about Agrippa:

He never dated or was interested in Octavian’s sister.
He was far more of a leading man than the show makes him out to be. In reality, he was a seriously gifted general who led all of Octavian’s armies. On the battlefield, it was Agrippa in charge, not Octavian.
In the show, Agrippa becomes Octavian’s scribe/errand boy after Octavian leaves Rome to get an army together. In reality, Agrippa and Octavian had been really good friends since childhood.
Right: Culture

The culture of Rome is one of the more fascinating aspects of Roman history. I was happy to see how much the show got right. The religious cults, the animal sacrifices, the parties—it’s all there.

One thing I liked was the wedding in Season 2 between Antony and Octavia the younger. It was conducted like a traditional Roman wedding with the outfits, ceremony, and party all spot on.

Wrong: The death of Quintus Pompey


This character is a mess in the show:

There is no Quintus Pompey—never was. Pompey’s sole remaining son was Sextus Pompey in reality.
Sextus Pompey was not killed by Antony after a meeting with the Senate leaders. Sextus never returned to Rome after Caesar defeated Pompey in Greece. Sextus, at the head of the Roman fleet, blockaded Rome and took over all the Italian islands. He and Octavian would war for years as Octavian desperately tried to break the blockade and dig Sextus out.
Quintus/Sextus was never involved with Caesar’s assassination and did not try to kill Antony.
Wrong: A bunch more stuff

Antony and Cleopatra knew each other before her trip to Rome. They met in childhood.
Cleopatra’s son really was Caesar’s child.
The two legionaries, Titus and Lucius, were real—but they are only mentioned once by Caesar. Otherwise, they are totally fictional. I do like them, though, as they show life for a normal Roman compared to the lives of the Roman nobility.
Caesar’s assassins never tried to kill Antony. The whole premise of the assassination was that they were killing a tyrant. If they also had killed legally election politicians they might have found themselves on the wrong side of the law. Killing Antony would have undermined the image that they were defending the Republic from Tyranny.
There are whole wars glossed over.
In one of them after Antony made it to the East—his wife and brother attempted a coup. Octavian was in a pickle between the people and his retiring soldiers and Antony’s people used the chaos to raise some legions to dethrone Octavian. Antony never wanted this though so his legions stayed put. In the end, Octavian won after only a few months.
Then there were two wars between Octavian and Sextus Pompey. First a failed invasion conducted by Octavian and then a whole big invasion with Agrippa and Lepidus involved.
Originally Lepidus was one of the most powerful Triumvirs.
Cicero gave his anti-Antony speech in person, not via a scribe. It was also a series of long speeches, not just one little speech.
Antony was not forced East—he wanted the East. It offered the promise of conquest and riches while Rome offered only political in-fighting and chaos.
There was actually another battle after Antony lost at sea. After Actium Antony and Cleopatra returned to Alexandria and made ready for a siege as Octavian’s legions approached. Antony, wanting to go out in a blaze of glory, threw a large-ish army together and prepared to contest Octavian’s landing. The army was not so disciplined, though and began to retreat before the battle started, forcing Antony to hide in Alexandria as Octavian landed.
Cassius did not die in battle. After losing on the left flank and thinking the war was lost, he killed himself. Brutus did not charge into an enemy army to commit suicide. He was actually able to hold five legions together and retreated to a nearby hill where he killed himself alone.
Octavian never delivered a horse to Caesar. Caesar took notice of the boy during a speech he gave at his aunt's funeral. Caesar then began to take the boy under his wing. Octavian was supposed to accompany Caesar to Africa and Spain during the civil war but fell ill and was forced to stay home by Atia. Octavian only left Rome to see Caesar once and it was after the battle was over in Spain.
There’s this big jump where suddenly Octavian is a man and no longer a boy. The show makes it look like years went after Caesar died and he left in Rome. In reality, it was only a few months.
The purge that kills Cicero wasn’t just done for the purpose of eliminating threats. In reality, the Triumvirate needed money to pay for the huge new army that they needed to defeat Brutus and Cassius.
There is still much I missed; it’s a big show. But in terms of culture, look, and feel they nailed it. It’s just the historical stuff that gets messed up.