Egeria (Rome)
| "Egeria" | |
|---|---|
| Rome episode | |
| Episode no. | Season 1 Episode 6 |
| Directed by | Alan Poul |
| Written by |
John Milius Bruno Heller |
| Original air date | October 2, 2005 (HBO) November 30, 2005 (BBC) |
| Setting | Rome and Greece (near Dyrrachium) |
| Time frame | Late spring/early summer, 48 BC |
"Egeria" is the sixth episode of the first season of the television series Rome.
While Caesar is engaging Pompey's forces in Greece, Antony is administering Rome and pushing through laws on his behalf. Among his demands are that the consul-elect for the coming year nominate Caesar as his consular colleague, and then endorse a law that, henceforth, at least a third of Rome's agricultural workforce shall be freeborn, and not slaves. The consul-elect protests at the expense of such a law. "Only to those few rich men that own all the land," Antony replies breezily, "and they will have the consolation of doing something eminently patriotic."
In the home of Lucius Vorenus, all is not well. His wife, Niobe, has taken in her sister, Lyde, since the disappearance of her husband, Evander, and her constant presence grates on Vorenus's nerves. Pullo (who secretly tortured and killed Evander), tells Lyde that he's heard rumors that Evander was killed over gambling debts by some Greek men, and will definitely not be coming back. Pullo urges Lyde to forget the past and get on with her life, looking instead to the people that love her, adding a stern "isn't that right?" in Niobe's direction.
After Pullo leaves, Niobe tries to comfort Lyde, but Lyde will have none of it, calling her sister a thief and a whore. Niobe protests that Evander came to her, and wouldn't have if Lyde has been a better wife - which Lyde takes to mean, if she'd given him a child. Lyde hisses, "by grace of the Furies, I curse you!" She promises to keep the secret for the sake of the child, but insists that Niobe never speak to her again.
Atia, still preoccupied with making a man of her son, suggests that he join Caesar's army to "get some real Pompeian blood on your sword." She also insists that Pullo help him to lose his virginity. Pullo takes him to one of the higher-end brothels in town, where Octavian is presented with an assortment of attractive women and teenage boys. He chooses an "adequate" young woman, and after hearing the sad tale of her murdered family, instructs her to get on her hands and knees implying indifference to her fate. When Octavian emerges from the chamber Pullo asks how it went, but the response is one of awkward indifference.
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