History YMMV / MastersOfRome

%%* EvilIsSexy: Servilia.

* CompleteMonster:
** Quintus Servilius Caepio starts by stealing a fortune in gold that legally belonged to Rome, having several hundred Roman troops murdered by bandits to conceal the identity of the thief. Then he causes the worst military disaster in Roman history because, coming from an immensely aristocratic background, he considers himself above working with the lowborn consul appointed to fight a massive barbarian invasion. Caepio survives the battle by stealing a boat and abandoning his entire army to their deaths.

** Gaius Antonius Hybrida is a sadist who makes a hobby of maiming his victims as much as he can without killing them, so that he can later come back and gloat.
** Gaius Verres uses his praetorship of Sicily to rob the entire place blind of all of their historically and cultural significant art and to attempt to rape the daughters of local members of the community.
* DesignatedMonkey: Marcus Brutus.
* EvilIsSexy: Servilia.

* CrowningMomentOfFunny:

* DesignatedMonkey: Marcus Brutus.
* EvilIsSexy: Servilia.
* EvilMatriarch: Servilia to Brutus. Servilia may be the most ambitious character in the series and Brutus is rather...mediocre, to be kind. She does a lot of despicable things so she and Brutus advance in Rome. And she's also just kinda cruel.
* FridgeBrilliance: If you get annoyed at the depiction of Gaius Julius Caesar, you might eventually realise that the story has been written in the form of propaganda written by [[WrittenBytheWinners Augustus]]. It was entirely in his advantage to present Caesar as awesome, and depict all of his enemies as bickering petty men.

* CompleteMonster: Quintus Servilius Caepio starts by stealing a fortune in gold that legally belonged to Rome, having several hundred Roman troops murdered by bandits to conceal the identity of the thief. Then he causes the worst military disaster in Roman history because, coming from an immensely aristocratic background, he considers himself above working with the lowborn consul appointed to fight a massive barbarian invasion. Caepio survives the battle by stealing a boat and abandoning his entire army to their deaths.

* CrowningMomentOfFunny: How Cato persuades his former father-in-law, the gourmand Philippus, to give his blessing to remarrying his daughter. First he offers him the lion's share of the wine cellar Hortensius left him in his will, full of fabulous vintages... and then he threatens to smash every single amphora with a hammer.

* CanonSue: Caesar can verge on this; of course, with a historical figure who ''did'' accomplish so much, it's difficult to tell where to draw the line.

* FridgeBrilliance: If you get annoyed at the MarySue depiction of Gaius Julius Caesar, you might eventually realise that the story has been written in the form of propaganda written by [[WrittenBytheWinners Augustus]]. It was entirely in his advantage to present Caesar as a MarySue, and depict all of his enemies as bickering petty men.
* GodModeSue: Caesar is smarter, tougher, stronger, braver and more morally decent than anyone else in the books by a ridiculous measure. In line with the DeliberateValuesDissonance, though, he really can't see anything but Roman traditional values.

* CompleteMonster: Quintus Servilius Caepio: for starters he [[spoiler:steals a fortune in gold that legally belonged to Rome having several hundred Roman troops murdered by bandits to conceal the identity of the thief.]] Then he [[spoiler:causes the worst military disaster in Roman history because, coming from an [[AristocratsAreEvil immensely aristocratic background]], he considers himself above working with the low born consul appointed to fight a massive barbarian invasion. Caepio survives the battle by stealing a boat and abandoning his entire army to their deaths.]] His granddaughter Servilia is worse if anything.)

* CanonSue (Caesar can verge on this; of course a historical figure who ''did'' accomplish a lot it is difficult to tell where to draw the line)
* CompleteMonster (Quintus Servilius Caepio: for starters he [[spoiler: steals a fortune in gold that legally belonged to Rome having several hundred Roman troops murdered by bandits to conceal the identity of the thief.]] Then he [[spoiler: causes the worst millitary disaster in Roman history because, coming from an [[AristocratsAreEvil immensely aristocratic background]], he considers himself above working with the low born consul appointed to fight a massive barbarian invasion. Caepio survives the battle by stealing a boat and abandoning his entire army to their deaths.]] His grandaughter Servilia is worse if anything.)
* EvilIsSexy (Servilia)
* FridgeBrilliance (If you get annoyed at the MarySue depiction of Gaius Julius Caesar, you might eventually realise that the story has been written in the form of propaganda written by [[WrittenBytheWinners Augustus]]. It was entirely in his advantage to present Caesar as a MarySue, and depict all of his enemies as bickering petty men.)
* GodModeSue (Caesar is smarter, tougher, stronger, braver and more morally decent than anyone else in the books by a ridiculous measure. In line with the DeliberateValuesDissonance, though, he really can't see anything but Roman traditional values.)
* {{Squick}} (Cleopatra reflecting on sex with Marc Antony, specifically in reference to the size of his manhood, and how "he would have hurt her, had she not given birth to Caesarion." Think about it.)
* TearJerker (Plenty - a lot of sympathetic characters die young or violently. Cato's crossing the Libyan desert (and seeing visions of his long dead brother and mother, both of whose fates are very sad in themselves) is very moving.)