and Cinematic Rome: Seriously Lacking in Historical Accuracy

Movies play a powerful role in shaping our understanding of history. This is especially true for how we visualize the ancient world. Unfortunately for history, the realities of film production and marketing grossly distort this picture, especially in representing ancient Roman warfare. This book, by a history professor and a talented illustrator reviews some fifty films related to ancient Rome, some famous, some very obscure, and finds most of them seriously lacking in historical accuracy. For each film, the director, producer, production company, and major cast members are listed.

Chapters recount five eras of film-making:

• The Early Years of Cinema: Film’s First Forays into the Roman World (9 films)

• The 1950s: The Golden Era of the Ancient Epic (8 films)

• The Early 1960s: The Ancient Epic Veers into Cliché and Hits an Indulgent Pinnacle (8 films)

• The Late 1960s through the 1980s: Searching for a New Direction – Parody, Porn, Plays, and TV (12 films)

• The Twenty-First Century: The Ancient Epic Gets Revived and Updated for a New Millennium (14 films)

A major cinematic mistake is the depiction of galley slaves. Like modern racing shells, ancient warships were rowed by highly trained athletes, not enslaved prisoners chained to their benches. Galley slavery was a feature of the much later Medieval and Renaissance naval warfare in the Mediterranean. The influential 1880 novel Ben-Hur, by Lew Wallace, adapted into successful films in 1925 and 1959, popularized this error.

Uniforms and weapons of Roman soldiers went through many changes over the centuries, and these are rarely correct in movies. During the Republican era (before about 30 BCE) the legionary’s body armor was a chain mail shirt. In the imperial centuries that followed, this costly and labor-intensive gear was replaced by the lobster-like lorica segmentata of curved iron plates fastened together by leather straps, which was easier to mass-produce. Commanders and senior officers often wore the heavily ornamented “muscle cuirass,” a solid chest protector and back plate of bronze. In films, these are often replaced by leather or fabric outfits for which there is no historical evidence. The enormous number of extras required for battle scenes (for example ten thousand Spanish soldiers in the 1960 production of Spartacus) presented a challenge to costume departments, and stocks of legionary gear were often recycled from much earlier films. The elite Praetorian Guard often appear dressed in unhistorical black in movies such as Gladiator (2000), apparently a direct reference to the Nazi Waffen-SS.

More serious is the systematic failure to depict actual legionary battle drill, in which front-line fighters were rotated in periodic relays. The precise mechanics of this are still poorly understood, so film battle scenes invariably break up into chaotic single combats, which are easier to direct for stunt men and actors trained in stage combat.

The Roman javelin (pilum in Latin) thrown in a volley just before opposing battle lines clashed, had a soft iron shank designed to bend or break on impact so it could not be thrown back, but we never see this on screen (perhaps for reasons of safety — you could put someone’s eye out with that thing.) Directors also love flaming arrows - very impractical combat projectiles for which there is little historical evidence - but they look dramatic on screen!

Female Roman costumes are even more imaginatively erroneous, appealing to audience expectations for sexy decadence and depravity. In the 1963 epic Cleopatra Elizabeth Taylor appears in 65 different outfits - a record for costume changes in any film, including “various gauzy ensembles that look more like 1950’s negligees than ancient Egyptian attire.” (p. 93).

Ancient Rome on the Silver Screen is enhanced by 29 full-page monochrome drawings and photos, illustrating a variety of movie costumes and how their actual historic equivalents would have appeared. This is a book that will be enjoyed by film buffs, legionary re-enactors, and students of Roman warfare.

Note: Ancient Rome on the Silver Screen is also available in e-editions.

StrategyPage reviews are published in cooperation with The New York Military Affairs Symposium

www.nymas.org