Netflix Review: "Roman Empire: Reign of Blood". How authentic does this series look?

Netflix just released this new series on ancient Rome called “Roman Empire: Reign of Blood” (2016) and I just watched the first episode so I thought I would do a review.

Positive elements 

Let me start off by saying the things I liked about the first episode:

❶ The series tries to stay true to the historical events, and to emphasise this, they added documentary-like intermezzos where scholars give the viewer some historical background.

❷ The narrator is Sean Bean (Ned Stark from Game of Thrones). Everything this man says just sounds epic.

Review of the authenticity of the props

I am always pleased when a new series on ancient Rome becomes available, but this time I was somewhat dissapointed.

The first episode of “Roman Empire: Reign of Blood” focusses on the Emperor Marcus Aurelius and his son Commodus, in other words the same people you can see in Gladiator (2000). However, the latter came out 16 years ago and since it has become so much easier to access ancient sources, see Roman reliefs, frescos, mosaics etc. online, I was hoping for an improvement when it comes to the authenticity of the props. The storyline seems to be more accurate, but the props are not better, or maybe even worse (for the first episode at least). This really is a pity because there have been movies and series since that were rather accurate when it comes to props like the movie “Agora” (2009) or the HBO series “Rome” (2005). 

Allow me to take you through a few point that I believe are missed opportunities to take the series to a higher level and give it a higher educational value.

Facial hair

While the early emperors obviously preferred a clean-shaven look, all the emperors from Hadrianus up until Caracalla were typically depicted with a beard [i]. As far as I am aware, all busts of both Marcus Aurelius and Commodus as emperors show them as having beards, although busts made when they were still boys obviously have no beards. One could argue that showing Commodus without a beard at the beginning of the series makes sense because he is still young, but the previews show him without a beard, even later on.

Marcus Aurelius' portayal without his characteristic philosopher's beard is even more astonishing. Especially since this series was made in 2016, at a time when long beards have been fashionable again for a while so the reason for this omission cannot be because the makers wanted to avoid alienating today’s audience. Did they simply forget to do a Google image search for their names? Even the movie Gladiator showed Marcus Aurelius with a beard.

Emperor Marcus Aurelius photographs by Rosco, Giovanni Dall'Orto, Gryffindor, Pierre-Selim, emperor Commodus photographs by sailko, Gryffindor, Segafredo18, and Marie-Lan Nguyen.

Hairstyles

Several women in the first episode, including the Empress Faustina Minor are shown with loose or semi-loose hair, but throughout the Roman era, loose hair was associated with death and mourning [ii]. It is obvious from busts of Faustina Minor that she, like most Roman women at the time, wanted to look as refined as possible and her neat hairstyle was one way to achieve that. 

 

The kind of hairdo one would see on a girl who comes to a Halloween party dressed as a “Greek Goddess” is something I was not surprised to see on the "Spartacus" series (2010-2013), but I was surprised to see it on "Roman Empire: Reign of Blood". "Agora" and HBO’s "Rome" were able to recreate Roman hairstyles with much more success. There is plenty of information available on ancient Roman women’s hairstyles (even on YouTube [iii]) so one onders why they did not research this properly.

Faustina Minor photographs by Sailko, Anagoria, ChrisO, CNG.

Helmets

At one point, the narrator Sean Bean says that the soldiers were “equipped with the latest weaponry”, however, at that exact moment the images showed marching soldiers wearing Montefortino type helmets, which were typically used centuries before that during the Republican era (509 BCE–27 BCE), but possibly up until the early 1^st century CE [iv]. This series however is supposed to depict the the late 2^nd century CE.

Other helmets shown in the series are not unlike the helmets on the Column and the Arch of Marcus Aurelius. Others are of the typical Imperial Gallic type, so this seems acceptable. However, if they had helmets who look more or less authentic from a distance to their disposal, one wonders why they used Montefortino helmets at all.

Relief photograph by Jastrow, quinet (Thomas Quine).

Relief photograph by Borosaurus Lentus, helmet photograph by TIMOTHEVS (Nijmegen, Netherlands)

Commodus as a "Gladiator"

The scene where Commodus fights as a gladiator is far from convincing. Not only do the moves look overly choreographed, his equipment hardly resembles that of a gladiator. The gladiators are not wearing helmets, and Commodus' scutum (shield) has straps instead of a centre grip. For more details on this subject, I refer you to my video or blogpost on the seven most popular types of gladiators of Imperial Rome.

Wine cups

There are several types of wine cups you can see on frescos, reliefs and mosaics and they correspond to what has been excavated. Replicas of all of these types are readily available online or at many museum shops, so I do not know why they did not simply use some of those instead the new age chalices they used. When it comes to wine cups, they did a better job in the “I Claudius”, eventhough that series was made during the 1970’s.

Silver cantharus photograph by Sailko, Silver scyphus photograph by Marie-Lan Nguyen, other photographs by TIMOTHEVS.

Candles

Although candles were used during the Roman period, oil lamp were much much more common [v]. In the series, I believe I spotted one Byzantine-style oil lamp for a brief moment, but there was a disproportionate number of candles.

Photographs by TIMOTHEVS.

If they preferred candles, they should have opted for some of the typical kinds of Roman candle stick holders instead of the modern chandeliers which look nothing like the real thing. One is inclined to imagine the makers sending a few people to a random home decor shop saying “Just bring whatever looks a bit old-fashioned guys.”

Photographs by TIMOTHEVS.

Cuffs

For some reason, modern filmmakers insist on depicting Roman men with a pair of cuffs, and I really wonder where this comes from. I have been paying attention to this for years, but I have never seen a contemporary depiction of a Roman soldier or emperor wearing any. Perhaps, there actually is depiction of a Roman man wearing this kind of bracelet out there, because even some characters on HBO’s "Rome" wore them (If you happen to know where film makers got this idea, please let me know!). Cuffs cannot have been that common though, at least not in this era, as none of the individuals portrayed on the Arch and the Column of Marcus Aurelius seems to be wearing any.

Conclusion

If it had been just one or even two of the aforementioned inaccuracies, I would have gladly forgiven the makers of "Romane Empire: Reign of Blood", but the fact that they made this many mistakes gives a very sloppy impression. It makes one wonder if they even had a historical advisor at all.

References:

[i] For an overview with pictures: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Roman_emperors

(accessed: November 18, 2016). 

[ii] Tibullus 1.1, 59-68. & Thorsten Fögen (editor) (2009) Tears in the Graeco-Roman World. Literart Criticism: p140.

[iii] YouTube user  Janet Stephens has several videos on how to recreate Roman hairstyles https://www.youtube.com/user/jntvstp (accessed: November 18, 2016).

[iv] Travis, John and Hilary Travis. Roman Helmets (2014). Amberley Publishing Limited: "MONTEFORTINO - TYPES A TO F" in chapter IV.
[v] Morris, Ting (2006) Arts and Crafts of Ancient Rome. Black Rabbit Books: p21.

NEHALENNIA: Roman-Gaulish-Germanic Goddess of the North Sea

 

Nehallen(n)ia was a local Goddess that was worshiped in Roman times in the area where the river Schelde flows into the North Sea in what is now the province of Zeeland (the Netherlands).

Fig. ❶ Map of the the Netherlands and the North of Belgium, Gallia Belgica and Germania inferior at the time. (edited from this map).

Where and when?
There is evidence of temples dedicated to Nehalennia at at least 2 locations in this area: one in Domburg and one in Colijnsplaat (Fig. ➊). Since the rediscovery of these sacred sites (the one in Domburg was rediscovered as early as the 17^th century), hundreds of altars and pieces of altars have been dredged up from the bay alongside a considerable number of other finds including roof tiles and bowls. The temples were probably in use during the 2^nd and 3^rd century [i].

Fig. ❷ Altar dedicated to the Goddess Nehalennia, limestone, 2nd - 3rd century, Domburg (Netherlands). Rijksmuseum van Oudheden (Netherlands).

Altars and depictions

The altars are constructed in a Roman fashion: A relief of the Goddess, typically in a shell-headed niche, with a formulaic Latin inscription (Fig. ➋&➌&➎). It seems likely that the worship of Nehalennia predates the Roman era though. She probably was a Germanic or Gaulish Goddess that was later Romanised. 

Fig. ❸ Various reliefs on altar dedicated to the Goddess Nehalennia, 2nd - 3rd century, Netherlands. Rijksmuseum van Oudheden (Netherlands).

Altar reliefs of Nehalennia are remarkably similar: she is usually shown seated with a fruit basket on Her lap, next to Her on the floor, or both, and on the other side, there’s usually a dog sitting right next to Her (Fig. ➌). With the evidence we have today, it is impossible to determine the meaning of the fruit and the dog with absolute certainty, but in Greco-Roman religion, both have been associated with the Underworld and therefore fertility.

Some instances where dogs were associated with the Underworld and/or fertility in antiquity: 

* The three headed dog Cerberus (Ancient Greek: Kerberos ΚΕΡΒΕΡΟΣ) guarded the entrance to the Underworld [ii].

* Dogs were sometimes sacrificed to the infernal Goddes Trivia / Hecate (Ancient Greek:  Hekátē ΕΚΑΤΗ) [iii]. 

* The Roman fertility rites of the Lupercalia [iv] and Robigalia [v], as well as a ritual to honour Geneta Mana, the Goddess of birth and death [vi], involved the sacrifice of a dog.

The link between fruit and fertility is rather obvious, but here are a few instances where fruit was associated with the Underworld and/or fertility in antiquity:

* Proserpina (Ancient Greek: Persephonē ΠΕΡΣΕΦΟΝΗ) was forced to spend a part of each year in the Underworld because she ate pomegranate seeds there. [vii].

Ancient Greek funerary steles sometimes featured pomegranates (Click here for example).

* Aeneas had to pluck golden-leaved fruit from a particual tree to prove himself worthy to descend into the Underworld. [viii].

Fig. ❹ Mysterious combination of a dog skull and plate made from terra sigillata buried together in Tongeren, ca. 160 CE. Gallo-Romeins Museum, Tongeren (Belgium).

Perhaps Nehalennia’s canine friend should be seen in the light of a now unknown ritual role dogs had in Germanic or Gaulish religion. About  200km (125 miles) from the temples in Zeeland), in the Belgian city of Tongeren, dog skulls have been found ritually buried alongside mysterious earthenware plates with edges that were deliberately chipped off (Fig. ➍).

It is unclear what the purpose of this ritual was. If we knew why the remains of dogs were buried in this way, perhaps it could help us interpret Nehalennia’s altars

Another reoccurring attribute in reliefs of Nehalennia, is Her distinct shoulder cape, which gives Her a particularly local appearance (Fig. ➋&➌&➍). Occasionally, she also carries a staff　(Fig. ➌, bottom right corner).

Fig. ❺ Apples and pears chiseled in stone to resemble offerings in top of an altar dedicated to the Goddess Nehalennia, 2nd - 3rd century, Netherlands. Rijksmuseum van Oudheden (Netherlands).

On top of the altars, there usually is no circular depression for burning incense as can be commonly seen on Roman altars. Instead, many Nehalennia altars appear permanently laden with offerings of apples and pears. It seems reasonable to assume that actual pears and apples were also put on top of Her altars.

Fig. ❻ Altar dedicated to the Goddess Nehalennia, limestone, 2nd - 3rd century. Rijksmuseum van Oudheden (Netherlands).

The Latin inscriptions on the altars tell us something about the people who dedicated them. Most supplicants were ship-owners or merchants who wanted to thank Her for granting a safe passage across the sea to Brittania and back. The altar on Fig. ➏ for example reads:

DEA NEHALENIA

(To the Goddess Nehalen(n)ia)

M(arcus) EXGINGIVS AGRICOLA

(Marcus Exgingius Agricola)

CIVES TREVER(orum)

(Citizen of Trier)

NEGOTIATOR SALARIVS C(oloniae) C(laudia) A(ra) A(grippinensium)

(Salt merchant in Cologne)
V(otum) S(olvit) L(ibens) M(erito)
(fulfils his vow, willingly and deservedly)

Difficulties and future of research concerning Nehalennia

The fact that so many people from all over the area passed by Nehalennia’s temples before or after crossing the sea to Britannia indicates that there must have been an important harbour there.

Unfortunately, the coastline has changed considerably since Roman times so many artefacts were undoubtedly swallowed by the sea. Looking for them is apparently very difficult as diving conditions in the bay are unpredictable and generally not very good. In spite of this, a few passionate divers keep on looking for more evidence [i]. Who knows what mysterious treasures are still waiting for them on the bottom of Nehallenia’s waters? 

In 2004, a Gallo-Roman style temple was built at Colijnsplaat to give an idea of what the temple might have looked like (Click here for photograph!). As there is no firm evidence for the exact appearance of the temple, it is no more than an educated guess, but at least Nehalennia is no longer homeless.

References:

[i] Van Haelst, Sven & Carolien Van Hecke. "Nehalennia: Duiken naar een verdronken Scheldetempel". Ex Situ (July - August - September 2015, Nr. 8). Gent: Forum Vlaamse Archeologie vzw: pp31-35.

[ii] Virgil, Aeneid. Book VI, 417 ff.

[iii] Ovid. Fasti. Book I, 389-391. 

[iv] Plutarch. Roman Questions. 68.  

[v] Ovid. Fasti. Book IV, 907‑942.

[vi] Plutarch. Roman Questions. 52. 

[vii] Ovid. Fasti. Book IV, 607-608. 

[viii] Virgil. Aeneid. Book VI, 193-197.