[Magdalen] Rome and weddings

[Sally Davies]

No not "that" Rome - I'm talking about the TV drama series!

Has anyone else seen it?

Not easy viewing, I keep my remote control handy and watch it off the
Playlist so I can fast forward through anything I'm not willing to watch.

BUT there's a lot to this series, and I wonder what scholars of Antiquity
would think of it. Maybe the producers even consulted such experts, because
it's not just The Tudors in togas, that's for sure.

The attention to detail makes you feel what it might have been like to live
in Rome at the time when the dynasty of Julius Caesar was being entrenched
and the Republican forces driven out. When the scene was being set for the
coming of the Christ and of Christianity...

The last episode I watched featured the strategic wedding of Mark Anthony
and Octavia, the sister of the new Caesar - watched by their jealous and
despairing lovers. It also featured the rage filled suicide of Sevilla,
mother of Brutus, who dies cursing Octavian's mother Attia - but only after
spending days and nights constantly shouting outside her house "I demand
justice!" When Attia finally gives in and comes out to see her, Sevilla
utters this curse and stabs herself.

That gave an interesting context to the parable of the widow who calls for
justice outside the home of the unjust judge.

They also showed the grand visit of King Herod the Great (actually a very
short man!) in which he cements his power over Judaea - with a subplot of
Jewish rebels who want to assassinate him. Something tells me it's not
going to go well with them in the next episode.

And then, the weddings. Pagan weddings, performed in the name of Gaia and
Gaius...but other than the colourful clothing, the ceremony looks very much
like our church wedding ceremonies, with the giving of the hand and
enfolding with the priest's stole. Polygamy is out, that's for sure, but
adultery is very much in, and slaves both male and female are exploited
sexually - sometimes getting their own back in complex ways.

Then there's the goddess called the Lady of Concord...her statue carried in
procession through the streets, followed by a praying, worshipping crowd.
That looks familiar, at least in Mediterranean countries where such
festival processions are still common, and so does she.

And the servants of the Gods, those who dedicate their lives to temple
service...dressed and acting very much like religious monks and nuns in the
Christian tradition, serving the poor and with strict cults of chastity.

So, Rome - the good, the bad and the ugly.  Part sublime, part utterly
brutal and depraved...finding continuity and maybe even redemption in the
Way that it once tried to destroy. And still influencing us today, in so
many parts of Western culture both religious and political.

Fascinating!!

Sally D