Rome

Dear me,

I've never seen so many long faces.

It is customary to be sad at a funeral.

Well, the republic was old and infirm.

Death can be a merciful release in such cases.

You do not mean that.

You don't believe that.

You of all people shouldn't make jokes

- about tyranny. - Oh, I am deadly serious.

It is in all our interests

to be reconciled with Caesar now.

For the good of Rome.

The good of Rome indeed.

As soon as this... farce is done,

I shall retire to the country

and wait for the city to come to its senses.

It is the only honorable thing to do.

My dear friend,

we have no honor.

If we had honor, we would be

with Cato and Scipio in the afterlife.

The senate will hear Marcus Tullius Cicero.

On this eve of his most glorious triumph,

I move that Gaius Julius Caesar

be made Imperator

and granted absolute power over Rome

for a period of ten years.

As some of you know,

Caesar and I have had our disagreements.

However that may be,

he has shown himself

to be as wise and merciful in victory

as he was invincible in battle.

Let this be an end

to division and civil strife.

I willingly pledge my loyalty to him,

and I urge you all to do the same.

I heartily commend

the motion proposed by Marcus Tullius Cicero.

The motion is carried unanimously.

Many of you here today

fought against me.

Many of you wished me dead.

Many of you perhaps still do.

But I hold no grudges...

and seek no revenge.

I demand only this,

that you join with me

in building a new Rome,

A Rome that offers justice, peace and land

to all its citizens, not just the privileged few.

Support me in this task,

and old divisions will be forgotten.

Oppose me...

and Rome will not forgive you a second time.

Senators...

the war is over.

Domina.

Mm?

Atia of the Julii is here.

Atia?

Here, now.

She wishes to see you.

Atia?

In my house?

My dear Atia.

How lovely to see you.

Bona Dea.

My poor friend.

What have they done to you?

You're so sweet.

Come sit down.

I'm very sorry I haven't visited sooner,

but to be honest, I was far too upset

to face seeing you.

The very idea, it's... it's too sinister.

A noblewoman stripped naked and beaten on the streets...

Horrible. Horrible.

Tell me truly, how are you now?

I'm recovering very well.

Have they found the culprits yet?

They have not, but justice will find them eventually.

I'm quite sure of that.

Will you have some lemon water?

That would be lovely.

- Brutus is well, I hope. - He is.

It's so wise of him to choose submission to my dear uncle.

I was very afraid he might try

some foolish act of bravery.

Men are so silly about their honor. No?

I've come to ask you

if you will sit with me at the triumph.

Even now I'm being besieged by sycophants

asking for space, I thought, "No,

if someone were to have first choice,

it should be my dear friend Servilia

who's been through so much pain."

That is very thoughtful of you...

But I think I shall not be well enough.

Well, that's a pity.

- Are you sure? - I am.

Well, if you change your mind...

I will let you know.

People tell me that Octavia's left the city,

But no one knows where.

I hope there's nothing amiss.

Not at all.

She's staying at my cousin's villa in Paestum,

mooning over some young fool of a poet she's met there.

She'll be back in time for the triumph.

Brother.

What are you doing here?

I've come to take you home.

- This is my home. - This?

This is not your home.

I'm happy here.

I don't believe you.

In any case, your place is with your family.

Bad enough to run away,

but to these people?

This isn't the healthy way of life.

You call our family healthy?

Our corruption stinks in the nostrils of Mother Earth.

This is your foreign priests talking.

They're frauds. They only want your money.

The priests are nobody. They're just servants here.

This is the Great Mother's house.

The Great Mother wants nothing from me.

- I'm a worm in her sight. - You are not a worm.

You are a daughter of the Julii.

It looks very ill, you running away like this.

Reflects badly on the whole family

if it were known publicly.

For a moment I thought you wanted me back

- because you missed me. - Don't be silly.

We've missed you terribly.

Your mother has missed you.

I believe even the servants and animals

- have missed you. - And you?

And I.

I've missed you.

I can't go back.

What's done is done.

I forgive you. Your mother forgives you.

You forgive me?

Mother forgives me?

What if I don't forgive?

Whatever you think she may have done,

consider the possibility she did it out of love for you.

I'll never forgive her.

Be that as it may, your forgiveness is irrelevant.

You must come home.

I'm sorry,

I will not.

I don't want to use force.

The priests will protect me.

They won't.

I've bought them.

Quite cheaply.

I beg you,

let me stay here.

What have you done?

Fellow citizens of the Aventine!

Fellow citizens!

Fellow citizens of the Aventine!

My name is Lucius Vorenus,

Tribe of Stellatina, veteran of the 13th legion.

Some of you may know me.

I bring you good news.

Caesar has put an end to patrician tyranny,

and will ensure that the common people

- be heard once more. - Go back to Gaul, ginger knob.

I'll not deny it, friend, I have a Gallic look about me,

but I'm as solid roman as you are.

I've shed blood for Rome.

My father shed blood for Rome,

As did his father and his father before him.

My wife... My wife was born here in the Aventine!

I am as solid a Roman as any man here!

If I am elected as your local magistrate,

I promise on Jupiter's stone

to strive to make this an era of peace,

prosperity and justice for all Aventine.

- (CROWD APPLAUDING) - Tomorrow

Caesar holds a triumph,

a symbol of his love for the people of Rome.

- Cack! - Why don't you shut up, you...

Ladylike, madam, ladylike.

Five days of feasting and games

as appreciation for the trust and support

the people of Rome have given Caesar.

Freedom, more like! We've given him our freedom

And our honor!

I would not be standing here on Caesar's slate

if I did not believe, if I did not know

that he has only the Republic's best interests at heart.

"A new era."

"Tomorrow's triumph, a new era."

With tomorrow's triumph, a new era begins.

For all Aventine. For all Rome.