The fact that Rome was canceled in its prime, and Game of Thrones was allowed to wallow in the mire for 4 seasons, is a tragedy.

- "If he does not get a province?" - "Caesar will take ALL. MEASURES. REQUIRED..." - Cato: GULP

This series is surely the greatest representation of Ancient Rome ever put to screen.

I couldn't picture anyone else portraying Antony... ever. James Purefoy was a perfect choice.

Marc Anthony is wearing a Paludamentum, which is a sort of cape used by the soldiers. It was illegal to enter in Rome wearing soldier's colthes because you only can walk at the city wearing civil ones. It was a matter of religion and a way to keep away any attemp to conquer the city by a dictator. Well, Marc Anthony was threaten the senate, it was an act to challenge them since the beginning of the conversation. In this way I just can say, well done scriptwritters.

You know what I love about this scene and it's somewhat subtle. Just before the meeting Antony was wearing traditional Roman clothes (white tunic etc.) during his ceremony. He deliberately changed back into his soldiers uniform specifically because he knew it would set Cato off (if we believe he went straight from the ceremony to the meeting). Just another subtle way Caesar and Antony were pushing the Senate to civil war.

Quick reminder that James Purefoy is one of the greatest actors ever. He carries every scene he’s in

the most diplomatic threat ever 'snows always melt' XD

3:00 Best line by Antony! "Snows _always_ melt."

This show was so well written. Pompey the Great wasn't ready for a war. Caesar knew it. Like a boxer Caesar came out swinging and caught Pompey off guard. Pompey was reeling on his back foot from the start. You can see it on his face here. If you have read the histories you will love this series. So much detail was added for history lovers.

The perfect answer to "Winter is Coming"

'Be assured, Cato, I do not see you.' Delicious, _delicious_ irony there.

In the end Caesar outsmarted them all by naming his grand nephew his heir. He knew Octavian would complete his “reforms.” I love how they show Octavian always in the background, observing, learning, analyzing.

Gods james purefoy is a great actor

Everyone is so well-cast here, and like in LOTR or GOT a lot of them have backgrounds in theatre. Doing multiple takes of one scene can't be the same as two hours in front of a live audience with no retakes. Cicero is particularly memorable to me, maybe as a combination of apparent weakness and inner strength - and because I admire the real-life character.

This show had one hell of an ensemble cast. So much talent.

0:56 I loved Atia's "shy little girl" pose there. I know she's as evil as Satan himself, but you got to admit, that looked kind of cute. :D

At least Cicero has manners to thank Atia for using her house for the meeting.

Antony is the king of threats

"Che brutta figura" His italian is remarkable. What a great actor he is!

This scene is worth Shakespeare. Besides probably it might have been looking exactly like here. And showing the young Octavian interested in politics was such great idea to introduce him as clever and smart schemer not only just a future emperor .

Look at the mis-en-scene here, beautiful, a thousand renaissance paintings rolled into one authentic reenactment.

"tribune Antony if you please"... great stuff!

In real life I’m pretty sure everyone but Cato was on board with Caesar having his one legion and province. But Cato spoke up and ruined it all.

Even Charlton Heston would have loved this portrayal of Antony.

Such an amazing show. A show way before it’s time. If Rome was made today it would have 8 seasons and be the masterpiece it was always slated to be!

A great pity that this show was cancelled! The casting, the writing and acting - **outstanding!** I could **easily** watch an hour of this series every night! Please, HBO - **bring it back!** Let it grace our screens once more....... :)

The four most important words on any script of this show: Purefoy, Walker, Hinds, Stevenson

Interesting note here: historically, Caesar was actually seeking to stand for election to consul in absentia at this time (as Pompey had done once before.) He had previously served as consul 10 years earlier and had spent the entire time since fighting the Gauls. He waited this long to seek the consulship again because by Roman law, one could only be a consul once every ten years. He intended to serve as consul again, help reform Rome legally as consul and then once again go to a province. When the Senate demanded he lay down his arms, he countered with an agreement to do so if Pompey did as well. This was well received by most, outside of Cato and the optimate consuls of the year The Senate then (illegally) demanded he simply lay down his arms. To protect himself, Caesar had Antony and another tribune make his proposals before the full Senate, where once again Cato and the consuls rejected them harshly, throwing both tribunes out of the Senate and keeping them from meeting the People's Assembly. Now, attacking the tribunes was not only sacrilegious, it was also punishable by death, so by attacking Caesar's tribunes, the optimates had themselves acted illegally in full view of the people, thus Caesar was able to start the civil war without guilt.

Winter doesn't last forever. Spring comes , snows melt. SnowS ALWAYS melt. - The perfect display of superiority of ROME over GOT and their winter, that is coming, hard and heavy;)

In reality they almost agreed to 1 legion and 1 province but Cato wanted none of it.. he hated Caesar and didn't want him to get away with his crimes (Pompey was also guilty and knew it so he mostly stayed quiet during the whole ordeal(lasted 3 years) before surrounding himself with the likes of Cato). Cato is Brutus uncle and the brother of Servilia.

It's to be noted Caesar wanted 2 Legions and a Province, which was rejected. Cicero then put up the notion to Pompey and Anthony of one legion and one Province everyone agreed but Cato who said he'd only agree to a deal where Caesar would have no legions. Pretty much every historian agrees that Cato wouldn't honor//agree to any deal past exile or worse for Caesar from how he conducted himself and the resentment for embassments Cato had for Caesar.

3:28 the way it pans to each person during the tense silence is so well done

The look on Pompey’s face when Cicero says “Does not the dying serpent bite deepest.”

This series is the pinnacle of television. It even outshines the fabled 1970s series "I, Claudius"

"... Spring comes, snows melt ... That's a THREAT !! I assure you it is no threat. Snows ... ALWAYS ... melt " Winter IS coming ! But snows always melt.

1:47 the REAL leader is listening in.

Always felt Cato did nothing but complain and make trouble, insuring chaos over order. Truly a despicable man.

“And what should be you punishment Pompey, for betraying a friend”. Such a great line.

"I assure you is no threat, snow *always melt* " I love everythinh about that line The text The subtext The delivery The fatality behind it

"Snows. Always. Melt." Three words, yet they speak volumes. What a great show this was. Also Attia with the "I do not see you." line, only Attia could veil an insult inside an assurance.

Anthony had the charisma of a vulgar beast.

James Purefoy is one kick-ass actor. I wish they'd get him to join the Game of Thrones cast, too!

Pity they cancelled this series. I wouldv'e liked to see it go all the way to the fall of Constantinople.

I feel like Helen of Troy!! Oh I just love the topical cultural references in this show.

"Blathering, you say".. lol

"Be assured, Cato. I do not see you."

Good. GOLLY the dialogue is fantastic! I love this show!

This scene is so good :-) Apart from the brilliant "Snows. always. melt"-line (3:08), I am especially beguiled by Attia's response to Anthony's flattery at 0:45 --- that slight crinkling of the nose in delight is a stroke of acting genius. Let me quote the mighty internet: "Nose crinkling is an involuntary response to certain smells, but it can also be a way to show distaste for something. When people see something they don’t like, their natural reaction is to wrinkle their noses in disgust. This is because the brain is trying to protect itself from potentially harmful smells. Having said that, we can also see the crinkled noise as a positive when flirting with people. Women will often use the crinkled noise to show a sign of affection."

One of the greatest series of all time

„I feel like Helen of Troy” LOL, love this remark XD.

This is the most handsome Antony ever and most like I would imagine his demeanor.

Atia

btw irl Pompy cicero and one of the consols acepted ceasars terms but cato and the other consol rejected them

This is one of the few great scenes which sticks closely to historical truth. thanks for posting

The writing and acting in this show was so freaking amazing. Mark Antony will always remain my favourite TV character!

God Marc Anthony was such a good character and played fantastically by James

Caesar had his Governorship of Gaul extended by 5 years at the Luca conference. Pompey was there as was Crassus. Caesar’s original term was 5 years 58-53, but Caesar wanted it extended by 5 so he can be eligible for Consul in 49 BCE and would be able to continue his legal immunity.

What a Show. I remember when HBO had free promo viewing on Cable and I had this Show recorded on my DVR. Sweet nostalgia.

The actor who plays Atia is the most beautiful woman I've ever seen...

James Purfoy is such a chad in this series.

This gentleman, is how you OWN a group of ppl.

This is my all favorite scean from any show. Antony is so good at flirting making treat and blackmail or just don't giving a shit. And naillng stuff and hand at the senat door.

"Be sure Cato, I do not see you" I still don't know if she wants to be assuring or if she just dissed him for being so unimportant/not good looking/interesting that she just pretends he isn't there...

blathering you say?

Wow! No words to say, other then he exactly nailed down the character of the Marc Antony I have always had in my head. Also I love his character progression. This scene is one of his first main ones in the series. By comparing this early scene with one of his later ones, he acts way more immature and younger in this one. That's what I love about HBO Rome, the writing is spot on! Characters well flushed out, Historical accuracy at a perfect balance of Hollywood vs Facts. Truly a gem among Series

loved this series epic cast flawless casting

"Blathering you say.." XD

God i never thought a line such as.... snow always melt. could be so threatening xD

If only they added the fact that many of the Gauls Caesar was slaghtering were backed and under the protection of other Romans. The duality angle would had made this show better

"Is that a threat?" Me: No. That's a promise.

Unfortunately, Mark Anthony's end did not match up to the hubris displayed here.

Sigh...i need a drink. Gotta love Antony

Cicero wrote how he always insisted to be called by his titles at all times.. “TRIBUNE Antony😎”. Great knowledgeable writing.

Octavian is watching from the sidelines and realizes that he might have to deal with men like Cato and Scipio in the future.

"I feel like Helen of Troy" I'd definitely fight a war for a life of nights with her.

Fun fact: All those in the meeting will be dead by the time everything settles down.

0:31 Comprehend woman! Cato makes me laugh

One huge mistake. This is Octavians mother. A noble Roman woman who did not spend her time in Rome in bed with Anthony. There was no relationship between the two AT ALL. The Octavii were from a country town Velletri. Octavian's father died young but was a junior Senator. Big major faux pas on behalf of the writers. Atia was not a whore! Those scene with Timon were a disgrace. If Octavian were here heads would roll off a few writers.

"The man's term ends in 2 weeks" "We say 6 months" Fun Fact: As Pontifex Maximus, Caesar was in charge of resetting the calendar every few months but because he was away in Gaul for so long it was totally skewed. He used the skewed calendar to his advantage by arguing his term ended later than it should.

Proof the Romans played Texas No-Limit Holdem at 3:37

Great scene. I really like it. However, the actual meeting it is based on (and which actually took place in Pompey's house) was more interesting. This one makes it look that Caesar had an all-or-nothing offer. (Give me Illyria and a legion or else...) In fact, he wanted more to start with, but he gave leeway to Antony to negotiate it down to a more modest deal. And leading conservatives (Pompey, Cicero) were ready to strike that deal. But Cato flipped out and berated his allies for being so soft. He (together with the one of the consuls for the year, Lentulus Crus) insisted on leaving Caesar with no legions at all. So, the conservatives backed out. With that, their best chance of averting the civil war was gone. I guess the scriptwriters changed the story because they wanted to show Pompey as tragically complacent. There is something to that. Apparently, Pompey could not imagine that someone like Caesar could best him in battle. We remember him primarily for his spectacular defeat at Pharsalus and his ignominious death in Egypt. But at this point in time, he was a staggeringly successful general - with much more in terms of stellar achievements than Caesar. He also had broader political support in Rome, a formidable army in Hispania, and a string of staunch allies among client kings in the East.

Antony's beautiful brown eyes!!!

Ciero showing his wisdom. Sure it seems Caesars on his last legs but that just makes him all the more dangerous

"Winter does not last forever! Spring comes. Snows melt." "..I assure you. Snows always melt." Me shivering in Alaska*: F*** you, Antony.🥶

Irl pompey and cicero accepted this deal but Cato fucked it up

Any tv series with such great acting and rich dialogue ?

"That's a threat!" "Nah...all snow melts." Literally moments later... "Ceasar will take ALL MEASURES REQUIRED..." Now, THAT is the threat.

Pompey was great planner and always chose each step carefully before leaping unknown. He also was respected abroad cause he didnt carry himself with this aura of superity, i say he knew more kings and rulers personally than Caesar. He looked things and possible outcomes, weighed options, chose best approach and put his determination to it. No feelings. He wasnt great on one specific skill but he wasnt stupid. The pirate problem he looked outside the box, maybe it was just that he allways seemed to take the right steps and go from win to win. If he made decisions like this even once, personally insulted and not thinking straight, he made an error. Caesar was better than him in grabbing victories when weaker and it allways came as suprise. If Pompey could maintain, forget word... Were u allways dictate the next move and trusted his skills, he really would have equal chances. Some say he was average with amazing luck, but he prospered under Sulla (must be a tight rope to walk for anyone), was go-to general for many years,2x triumphant. It is true that he made few terrible decisions and thats were his luck came in. He wasnt yet making it in decisive battle. But he one time would have been dictator, no one to challenge him, all he had to do was make it public and it would have been his, for some reason he let it pass.

Imagine if Pompey defeated Caesar, became dictator set asides the republic, established the empire. His Surname will become the title of Emperors. The Emperors of Russia, and Germany will be called differently.

Atia from this show actually resembles Fulvia, Anthony's third wife who single handly raised 8 Legieons for him.

This scene made me wetter than melting snow.

"Snows always melt" "Factions today always melt"

I ❤ Rome.

Very Amazing

Cicero such a complex and complicated character in actual history

Polly Walker is stunning. Common Antony W.

Cato was good here because he was so serious about the rules and the senate I loved it

"Master, Marc Anthony was as belligerent as you had hoped..."

Awesome actors