Please edit this blog post to create a round-up of links to the reviews of HBO’s Rome (2005 – 2007) that you read. How do these reviews we read ahead of watching selected episodes color our expectations of what the show will be like? Post links to your reviews in the comments so I can edit this post!
Hollywood uses iconic Roman artifacts and monuments to invoke the ancient world in their cinematic spaces. In Cleopatra (1963), directed by Joseph L. Mankiewicz, many famous Roman monuments and works of art are included as part of the mise-en-scène of the production. The Alexander Mosaic, the Arch of Constantine, and the Capitoline Wolf are three famous ancient works that made their way onto the set of this movie. Used in various scenes, these artifacts connect the film to a tangible and real Roman past.
This iteration of Cleopatra contains a lot of imagery from the ancient Mediterranean world. One of the most striking pieces shown in the film is the famous Alexander Mosaic from Pompeii. The mosaic depicts a scene from the Battle of Issos where Alexander the Great defeats King Darius of Persia. The piece has been dated to the late 2nd – early 1st centuries BCE. The actual mosaic is from the “House of the Faun” in Pompeii (Battle between Alexander the Great and King Darius). In the film, the mosaic is recreated on the walls of Alexander the Great’s fictional tomb. The image is not an exact copy, for the original is fragmentary, but the walls depict the same scene in the same style—a noticeably similar composition of men with spears and twisted horses. The scene wraps around the walls behind Alexander’s sarcophagus. The section of the famous image depicting the chariot of King Darius (center-right figure on chariot in Alexander Mosaic) is visible to the left of the sarcophagus at around 2:50 in the film clip below. It bears striking resemblance to the chariot in the mosaic scene—with the horse running away from the viewer and the large rounded shield. The use of this image in the scene helps tie Alexander the Great’s tomb to a real space in the ancient world and adds legitimacy to the scene.
Another actual Roman work incorporated into the film is the Arch of Constantine. The Triumphal arch is used in Cleopatra’s parade scene. This monument would not have existed at the time the scene is meant to take place because Octavian was the first Roman emperor and Constantine ruled about 300 years after that (Britannica, 2015). This monumental victory-arch was built between 312 and 315 to commemorate Constantine’s victory over Maxentius (Marlowe, 2006). While the arch did not exist at the time of Cleopatra’s visit to Rome, it is used as a tool by the film makers to produce what “might be the most spectacular pageant sequence ever filmed” (Solomon, 2001a, 74. Quoted in Cyrino, 2005, 141). Cyrino writes that the Roman Forum, with the Arch of Constantine, was reconstructed at Cinecittà studios specifically for this movie. The arch creates a monumental frame for Cleopatra and her entourage to burst through during the Egyptian queen’s extravagant entrance into Rome. The ancient historian, Plutarch, describes another dazzling display Cleopatra puts on to wow Anthony on her boat. Plutarch writes, “So she equipped herself with plenty of gifts and money, and the kind of splendid paraphernalia one would expect someone in her exalted position, from a prosperous kingdom to take” (Plutarch, 383, [25]). While this description speaks of Cleopatra’s banquet on her boat and not the parade in Rome, the same opulent production was put into the parade scene of the film. In place of the colorful, ornate Egyptian boat, the monumental Arch of Constantine serves as the Roman equivalent of a rich, imperial set. Even though it is not historically accurate in the context of Cleopatra, the Arch of Constantine, still standing in Rome today, successfully invokes the grandeur of Ancient Rome and creates a magnificent and impressive Roman capital.
The last historical prop of interest is the Capitoline Wolf, or “She-Wolf” as the sculpture is often called. This bronze sculpture, dated to the 5th century BCE, has become a symbol of the city of Rome. In Cleopatra, the Capitoline Wolf sculpture can be seen at the top of the curia, or Roman senate building, above the engraved “SPQR,” another important symbol of the government of the Roman Republic. The She-Wolf, in mythology, is the mother of Romulus and Remus, the legendary founders of Rome. In the film she stands above all the men in the curia as a symbol of the Roman Republic. The Capitoline Wolf in Cleopatra is shown without the two suckling babies that are attached to the sculpture today. The two infants are believed to have been added during the Middle Ages, meaning that the reproduction used in the Roman movie set is historically accurate (“Capitoline She-Wolf”). The Capitoline Wolf is a powerful symbol found all over Rome and Italy today as a Reminder of their mythological founding and Republican past. Its presence in the movie connects the film to both the Ancient Roman republic and Rome today—where the sculpture is on display in the Capitoline Museum. The Capitoline Wolf can also be found in the 1934 version of Cleopatra and Spartacus (1960).
Using Roman artifacts in Cleopatra is a powerful and effective way to recreate the ancient world for modern, educated viewers. Including these artifacts in the film is like including primary sources in a paper—they serve as a direct link to the ancient past, rather than a secondary source or interpretation. The film Cleopatra successfully uses the Mosaic of Alexander the Great, the Arch of Constantine, and the Capitoline Wolf to reconstruct the ancient world for modern viewers.
Works Cited:
Battle between Alexander the Great and King Darius (Battle of Issos). Late 2nd or early 1st century BCE. Artstor, library.artstor.org/asset/LESSING_ART_1039490327
Britannica, The Editors of Encyclopaedia. “List of Roman Emperors.” Encyclopædia Britannica, Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc., 11 Nov. 2015, https://www.britannica.com/topic/list-of-Roman-emperors-2043294.
“Capitoline She-Wolf.” Capitoline She-Wolf | Musei Capitolini, Sovrintendenza Capitolina, http://www.museicapitolini.org/en/percorsi/percorsi_per_sale/appartamento_dei_conservatori/sala_della_lupa/lupa_capitolina.
Cyrino, Monica Silveira. “Chapter 5: Cleopatra (1963).” Big Screen Rome, Blackwell Publishing, 2005, pp. 121–158.
Marlowe, Elizabeth. “Framing the Sun: The Arch of Constantine and the Roman Cityscape.” Art Bulletin, vol. 88, no. 2, June 2006, pp. 223–242. EBSCO, doi:10.1080/00043079.2006.10786288.
Plutarch. Life of Antony. Trans. Robin Waterfield, and Philip A. Stadter. Roman Lives: a Selection of Eight Roman Lives. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2008.
Now that we have watched two Roman sword-and-sandal epics, we can begin to compare different aspects of the genre. Here are some key questions we’ll return to with each film set in the Roman world.
UR Ancient World In Cinema 