History ArtisticLicenseHistory / Rome

* The "blue Spaniards" that Pompey enlists to steal Caesar's eagle are rather based on "Blue ''Britons''", who painted their bodies with ''vitrum''[[note]]Traditionally assumed to be woad, but this has been disproven by experiments[[/note]] and [[FullFrontalAssault fought naked]] (as written by Julius Caesar himself among others). There is some speculation that some Iberian cultures used war paint, but it would have been orange or black rather than blue.

* The Egyptians were given an anachronistic and exotic appearance that stood better against the Romans. In reality, the fashion of Alexandria wouldn't have been much different to Rome.

* Characters refer to anyone from the poorer classes as "plebs". While in earlier centuries the plebeians generally did constitute a politically disenfranchised and poorer class, by the time the show takes place the two groups had more or less formal political equality and there were enough instances of plebeians becoming rich and patricians becoming destitute that the terms had little bearing on economic status. With the era's conflicts being mostly rich vs. poor, depicting the rivalry as essentially plebeian vs patrician is very attractive but also very inaccurate since many top ''optimates'' (most notably UsefulNotes/{{Pompey}} and Creator/{{Cicero}}) were in fact very wealthy plebeians. The show does show that the Tribune of the Plebs had a veto over the Senate and that Pompey is a republican plebeian while Caesar is a populist patrician, but doesn't allow such facts to detract from its patrician vs. plebeian themes.

* Characters refer to anyone from the poorer classes as "plebs". While in earlier centuries the plebeians generally did constitute a politically disenfranchised and poorer class, by the time the show takes place the two groups had more or less formal political equality and there were enough instances of plebeians becoming rich and patricians becoming destitute that the terms had little bearing on economic status. With the era's conflicts being mostly rich vs. poor, depicting the rivalry as essentially plebeian vs patrician is very attractive but also very inaccurate since many top ''optimates'' (most notably Pompey and Cicero) were in fact very wealthy plebeians. The show does show that the Tribune of the Plebs had a veto over the Senate and that Pompey is a republican plebeian while Caesar is a populist patrician, but doesn't allow such facts to detract from its patrician vs. plebeian themes.

** Agrippa's angst about his supposed lower-class background and its specific citation in the StarCrossedLovers angle of his relationship with Octavia in "Philippi" are undermined by the historical fact that he ultimately married Octavian's daughter Julia.

* The Octavia of the series has more in common with Octavian's daughter Julia, whose [[ReallyGetsAround promiscuity]] eventually resulted in her being exiled in disgrace by her father.

* The UsefulNotes/{{Cicero}} of ''Rome'' appears to be a single man when he actually had a wife and two children (and married a second time during the series' timeframe). He had already freed his slave Tiro around the start of the series rather than in his will.

* Atia's depiction as a VicariouslyAmbitious SmugSnake who loves Mark Antony (her relationship with Mark Antony is an invention of the series) actually bears far more resemblance to Antony's AdaptedOut wife Fulvia than the historical Atia Balba, who was by all accounts a pious matron who was HappilyMarried to the milquetoast Lucius Marcius Philippus during the show's time-frame. She also lives to see her son become Emperor (in 27 BC) when in real life she died much earlier, around the start of the Second Triumvirate (in 43 BC).

* In Season 1, Atia mistakenly concludes her son Octavian has had a sexual encounter with her uncle Gaius Julius Caesar and applauds Octavian for the political influence this will give them, which is played for the DeliberateValuesDissonance of her approving of pederasty. However, while it was indeed acceptable for Roman men to have sex with other men or even boys, this was only as long as their partners were ''not other freeborn citizens''. A freeborn male, if proven to have "served" another man sexually (i.e. bottoming or giving fellatio) could lose his political and civil rights and gain the status of "infamy", just like prostitutes, actors, and non-slave gladiators (all of whom were assumed to sell sex at least on the side). And as the younger partner, Octavian would automatically be assumed to have bottomed.[[note]] This is actually were we get the rumors that Julius Caesar was bisexual: At 19, he spent some time as a sort of ambassador to a foreign king's court, and there were rumors of them having an affair. As the younger, lower-ranking partner, Caesar would've had no legal defense if his political enemies had ever managed to make the rumours stick and taken him to court over the matter. Hence the smear-campaign of "Caesar is a man to any woman, and a woman to any man."[[/note]] Not only would Atia have never risked her son's future like that but since Octavian was still a minor, any adult man who seduced him would be treated just as if he had raped him: with the death penalty (since it was thought that such a seduction would [[DefiledForever "corrupt" the future citizen]] into wanting to serve men sexually for the rest of his life). Not to mention that incest was just as taboo to the Romans as most cultures.

** Agrippa's angst about his supposed lower-class background and it's specific citation in the StarCrossedLovers angle of his relationship with Octavia in "Philippi" are undermined by the historical fact that he ultimately married Octavian's daughter Julia.

* Atia's depiction as a VicariouslyAmbitious SmugSnake who loves Mark Antony actually bears far more resemblance to Antony's AdaptedOut wife Fulvia than the historical Atia Balba, who was by all accounts a pious matron who was HappilyMarried to the milquetoast Lucius Marcius Philippus during the show's time-frame. She also lives to see her son become Emperor (in 27 BC) when in real life she died much earlier, around the start of the Second Triumvirate (in 43 BC).

* There was no historical Quintus Valerius Pompey. The character seems to be a CompositeCharacter of Pompey's sons Gnaeus and Sextus, but it's hard to say since neither Gnaeus' LastStand at the Battle of Munda or Sextus' Sicilian Revolt were included in the series.
* Antony's decision to retain the seemingly incompetent Lepidus seems strange. But in history, they knew each other prior to their first meeting when they were two of Julius Caesar's most trusted lieutenants. It's still unknown whether Lepidus and Mark Antony had already agreed to merge their two forces prior to Lepidus receiving his orders from the Senate.

* The "blue Spaniards" that Pompey enlists to steal Caesar's eagle are rather based on "Blue ''Britons''", who painted their bodies with woad and [[FullFrontalAssault fought naked]] (as written by Julius Caesar himself among others). There're minor speculations that some Spanish cultures might have used war paint, but it would have been orange or black rather than blue.

* In a Season 1 episode, Atia orders Octavia to recite her some poetry. Octavia reluctantly comes out with a line about how the road to hell is easy, but the way up to the light is hard. This is a legitimate quote from Latin poetry, but the episode is set in 44 BC, and this line comes from Book 6 of ''Literature/TheAeneid'' by Virgil, who was only 26 at the time and who hadn't written anything yet. ''The Aeneid'' itself, his final work, wouldn't be published until after Virgil's death in 19 BC.

* Bodyguards and slaves throughout the series can be spotted wearing the bronze 'heart protector' breastplates worn by Roman soldiers in the early Republic, which by the time the series takes place would be around 300 years out of date.

* The "blue Spaniards" that Pompey enlists to steal Caesar's eagle are rather based on "Blue ''Britons''", who painted their bodies with woad and [[FullFrontalAssault fought naked]] (as written by Julius Caesar himself among others).
* Vorenus is called a "First Spear Centurion" when "front line" is probably a better translation of ''primus pilus''. Later, Antony also offers him promotion to "Prefect, of the first grade" when historically prefects (roughly equivalent to a Lieutenant Colonel) were defined by their duties (camp commandant, chief of engineers, chief of cavalry, etc) rather than any grade.

* Caesar inducts a group of bearded Gaulish tribesmen into the Senate, to the outrage of the Senators. In fact, Caesar granted full citizenship to the already heavily-Romanized Cisalpine Gaul, which had been a Roman province for over 100 years. The men he admitted to the Senate would have been the wealthy and educated elite of the province and indistinguishable from other Romans (Livy, Catullus and Virgil, amongst others, were natives of the region).

* The show's version of the Battle of Philippi is accurate only in BroadStrokes.
** Historically, the battle was so large that it was effectively two simultaneous battles: one between Antony and Cassius and one between Octavius and Brutus. In the series, it's just one big melee.
** The series portrays Cassius as dying of battle wounds whereas the real Cassius committed suicide after being defeated by Mark Antony and mistakenly concluding that Brutus had also been defeated by Octavius.
** Historically, Brutus also fell on his sword whereas in the series he dies in an [[SuicideByCop unarmored suicide charge]], an act actually [[CompositeCharacter committed by his brother-in-law]] Cato (son of Cato the Younger).

* In Season 1, Atia mistakenly concludes her son Octavian has had a sexual encounter with her uncle Gaius Julius Caesar and applauds Octavian for the political influence this will give them, which is played for the DeliberateValuesDissonance of her approving of pederasty. However, while it was indeed acceptable for Roman men to have sex other men or even boys, this was only as long as their partners were ''not other freeborn citizens''. A freeborn male, if proven to have "served" another man sexually (i.e. bottoming or giving fellatio) could lose his political and civil rights and gain the status of "infamy", just like prostitutes, actors, and non-slave gladiators (all of whom were assumed to sell sex at least on the side). And as the younger partner, Octavian would automatically be assumed to have bottomed.[[note]] This is actually were we get the rumors that Julius Caesar was bisexual: At 19, he spent some time as a sort of ambassador to a foreign king's court, and there were rumors of them having an affair. As the younger, lower-ranking partner, Caesar would've had no legal defense if his political enemies had ever managed to make the rumours stick and taken him to court over the matter. Hence the smear-campaign of "Caesar is a man to any woman, and a woman to any man."[[/note]] Not only would Atia have never risked her son's future like that but since Octavian was still a minor, any adult man who seduced him would be treated just as if he had raped him: with the death penalty (since it was thought that such a seduction would [[DefiledForever "corrupt" the future citizen]] into wanting to serve men sexually for the rest of his life. Not to mention that incest was just as taboo to the Romans as most cultures.

* Antony's decision to retain the seemingly incompetent Lepidus seems strange. But in history, they knew each other prior to their first meeting when they were two of Julius Ceasers most trusted lieutenants. It's still unknown whether Lepidus and Mark Antony had already agreed to merge their two forces prior to Lepidus receiving his orders from the Senate.

* Characters in the show use the term plebs to refer to anyone from the poorer classes. While in the early centuries of the Roman Republic Plebeians generally did constitute a politically disenfranchised and poor lower class, by the time the show takes place the terms Patrician and Plebeian had lost a lot of their significance. The two groups now had more or less formal political equality, and there were enough instances of Plebeians becoming rich and Patricians becoming destitute that the title had little bearing on economic status. With the conflict in Rome at the time being mostly rich vs. poor, depicting the rivalry as being essentially Plebeians vs. Patricians is very attractive, but also very inaccurate. Many Republicans were in fact very wealthy Plebeians, most notably Creator/{{Cicero}} and Cato the Younger (the latter being depicted on the show as regarding Plebeians as trash). Atia is equally disdainful of the plebs, yet her real life husband (and Octavian's father) Gaius Octavius was also from a Plebeian family. The show does mention the fact that the People's Tribune (Tribune of the Plebs) representing the Plebeians had a veto over the Senate and that Gnaeus Pompey was a Plebeian, while Caesar was of a Patrician family, but does not allow such facts to detract from its Patrician vs. Plebeian themes.
* In Season 1, Atia of the Julii mistakenly believes her son Octavian (the future Augustus) had a sexual encounter with her uncle Gaius Julius Caesar while they were alone in a closet together (in fact, Caesar had an epileptic fit and was trying to keep his condition a secret). She later applauds Octavian for it, and beams at the political influence this will give their family. This was intended to be DeliberateValuesDissonance because of her approving of pederasty. However, it runs into a bunch of different historical errors in the process. Yes, it was perfectly acceptable for a Roman man to want to have sex with other men, or even boys of any age - as long as those men / boys were ''not other freeborn citizens''. A freeborn male, if sued by another citizen for "serving" another man sexually (i.e. bottoming or giving fellatio), could lose all his rights to ever be elected to political office, as well as lose his civil right of protection under the law.[[note]] He'd gain the status of "infamy", just like prostitutes, theatre actors and non-slave gladiators, all of whom were thought to sell sexual services at least on the side.[[/note]] And as the younger partner, Octavian would automatically be assumed to have bottomed.[[note]] This is actually were we get the rumors that Julius Caesar was bisexual: At age 19, he spent some time as a sort of ambassador to a foreign king's court, and there were rumors of them having an affair. As the younger, lower-ranking partner, Caesar would have had no legal defense if his political enemies had ever managed to make the rumors stick and take him to court over the matter. Hence the smear-campaign of "Ceasar is a man to any woman, and a woman to any man."[[/note]] Atia would never have risked her son's future like that. Also, Octavian was still a minor at the time (under 15) - in that case, any adult man who seduced him would be treated just as if he had raped him: with the death penalty (because it was thought that [[DefiledForever such a seduction would "corrupt" the future citizen into wanting to serve men sexually for the rest of his life]]). In addition incest was just as condemned by the Romans as most cultures.

* The Gallic forces in the opening battle sequence of the first episode are equipped like a bizarre fusion of fantasy barbarians and bronze age Celts and charge wildly at the Roman lines in a disorganised rabble. In reality, the Gauls would have been equipped with different (and less outrageous) gear and fought in a standard massed formation.
* In the aftermath of this sequence, Vercingetorix is shown wielding something that looks suspiciously like a medieval arming sword.
* At Caesar's triumph, several ''Signiferes'' can be seen carrying standards in the shape of dragons. Known as the ''Draco'', this kind of standard was known to the Romans as being used by Dacians and Scythians, but they would not adopt it themselves until the latter half of the 3rd century, around three hundred years after the series takes place.

* Titus Pullo and Lucius Vorenus were both real people (they are briefly mentioned in Caesar's commentaries) but little else is known of them and their actions in the show are an invention. Moreover, Pullo was actually a centurion instead of a basic legionary, and he fought on Pompey's side at Pharsalus.
* Atia lives to see her son becoming Emperor. In real life, she died many years before that (in 43 BC).

* Caesar inducts a group of bearded Gaulish tribesmen into the Senate, provoking further outrage from the Senators. In fact, Caesar granted full citizenship to the already heavily-Romanized Cisalpine Gaul, which had been a Roman province for over 100 years. The men he admitted to the Senate would have been the wealthy and educated elite of the province and indistinguishable from other Romans (Livy, Catullus and Virgil, amongst others, were natives of the region).
* In Season 2, Cleopatra travels to Rome with Caesarion, the child she had with Caesar before his assassination, to appeal to both Mark Antony and Octavian to endorse his claim to the throne. In reality, Cleopatra was actually in Rome at the time of the assassination and immediately feared for her life and her unborn baby's, and fled to Alexandria and stayed there until the political upheaval died down. Thus, it would have made no sense for Cleopatra and Caesarion to personally meet with Antony and Octavian, since the latter two were themselves laying competing claims to Caesar's title and ''would not have hesitated'' to immediately kill a third potential successor. Caesarion's fate is also as an example, whereas in the show he [[spoiler:survives and lives with Titus Pullo]], in real life he was [[spoiler:killed on Octavian's orders]].

* In Season 2, Cleopatra travels to Rome with Caesarion, the child she had with Caesar before his assassination, to appeal to both Mark Antony and Octavian to endorse his claim to the throne. In reality, Cleopatra was actually in Rome at the time of the assassination and immediately feared for her life and her unborn baby's, and fled to Alexandria and stayed there until the political upheaval died down. Thus, it would have made no sense for Cleopatra and Caesarion to personally meet with Antony and Octavian, since the latter two were themselves laying competing claims to Caesar's title and ''would not have hesitated'' to immediately kill a third potential successor. Caesarion's fate is also as an example, whereas in the show he [[spoiler:survives and lives with Titus Pullo]], in real life he was [[spoiler:killed on Octavian's orders]].
* Titus Pullo and Lucius Vorenus were both real people (they are briefly mentioned in Caesar's commentaries) but little else is known of them and their actions in the show are an invention. Moreover, Pullo was actually a centurion instead of a basic legionary, and he fought on Pompey's side at Pharsalus.
* Bodyguards and slaves throughout the series can be spotted wearing the bronze 'heart protector' breastplates worn by Roman soldiers in the early Republic, which by the time the series takes place would be around 300 years out of date.
* The Gallic forces in the opening battle sequence of the first episode are equipped like a bizarre fusion of fantasy barbarians and bronze age Celts and charge wildly at the Roman lines in a disorganised rabble. In reality, the Gauls would have been equipped almost identically to the Romans and fought in a similarly disciplined manner.

* Caesar inducts a group of bearded Gaulish tribesmen into the Senate, provoking further outrage from the Senators. In fact, Caesar granted full citizenship to the already heavily-Romanized Cisalpine Gaul, which had been a Roman province for over 100 years. The men he admitted to the Senate would have been the wealthy and educated elite of the province and indistinguishable from other Romans (Livy, Catullus and Virgil, amongst others, were natives of the region).

* Atia lives to see her son becoming Emperor. In real life, she died many years before that (in 43 BC).