Citizens of Rome, gather around.
Welcome to Gordion. Now, Gordion was famous for his knot.
The oracle one day prophesied: "Whosoever shall untie the knot shall conquer the entire world."
Many people came from far and wide but no one could untie it,
until one day the mighty Alexander arrived.
Alexander, descended from the mighty god Apollo.
Advance!
Apollo enlightened Alexander...
and showed him how to untie the knot.
Sulla has returned to Rome to establish order.
He declares that the innocents have no reason to fear...
but that those guilty of crimes against him shall be most severely punished.
The men whose names are written on these lists are declared outlaws.
They have no rights as citizens...
henceforth they may be killed on sight.
Anyone who takes it upon himself to kill any of these men...
will be considered a friend of the state...
and shall be rewarded with the properties and possessions these outlaws leave behind.
It's the biggest crime under Roman law.
- Mother? - Cornelia?
Mother?
- Where is my wife? - At her fathers.
- Grandmother, the soldiers are coming. - Julia, stay with her.
Sulla has taken the city with his army.
He has made lists. Hundreds of people are on them.
- Are you? - No, my wife's father is.
Julia, stay in the house.
- Don't go. - Father, where are you going?
To get your mother.
He is not on the list.
- He's the one you want, over there. - Hey!
- Have you heard? - Yes, we have to hurry.
What's the point of running away. I might as well die right here.
- Please go. - She's right, Cinna. You must leave now.
Cinna!
Hurry!
- Go. - Please, father.
Go! Hurry!
Go!
Please, Cornelia, run!
He helped Cinna to escape.
Give me your name.
It's Caesar, from the house of Juli.
Arrest him.
No, no. Please, no!
No!
No, let...
No, please, no!
No, please, please! No! No!
No! No! No! No!
No!
It's in any rulers interest to keep peace among the people.
The people will only be at peace...
if there's a senate to represent...
Since when did the senate ever represent the people?
Cato, why is your mouth hanging open?
You have nothing to fear.
You are not on my list.
Sir, if I were on your list and if it were for the good of Rome...
I would gladly die.
Well, when you say that, I truly believe it to be true.
So, I repeat:
When did the senate ever represent the people?
I want the man with the...
humblest upbringing...
to answer me.
You?
So it's me.
I will answer you.
Like all aristocrats...
your feet have never touched the ground, your arses never touched a horse. How could you possibly...
represent the people whom most of you have never even met?!
We represent the people by preserving their traditions.
- If they think you wanna be king... - King? Did you say "king"? "King"?
What goods the name "king" bye me that I don't already have?!
Yeah, uh, if the people know the senate is still meeting to advise you...
Oh yes. Oh, yes, they will.
That is my fondest wish.
So...
I would not be...
a true republican...
if I did not introduce a... how do I say it, um...
earthier element...
among your ranks.
Gentlemen.
You will continue to advise me, and you will continue to debate...
what is best for the people,
but my men will...
remain here, just to make sure that the decisions that you reach...
are the proper ones.
But, sir, is this not counter to Roman law?
I have just changed Roman law.
I understand, sir...
but will something of the old ways be preserved?
What Catullus means is not that we would ask you to spare anyone whom you resolved to destroy,
only that it might have a calming effect if you could let us know...
whom you intend to spare.
Oh, come, come, Cato.
You know how alliances change in troubles times.
Well, perhaps you can tell us whom you intend to kill.
Well, let's...
begin with you.
I was only asking what everyone was thinking.
Oh, I can't possibly kill everyone...
so I will kill...
only you.
I may withdraw that...
but then again, I may not.
I will let you know after dinner,
but for your sake...
you gotta hope the food is good.
- Are you Julius Caesar? - Yes.
This way.
I want to see Sulla.
Please, no.
I want to see Sulla!
I've been a member of the senate for 30 years!
I wanna see Sulla! Let me to Sulla!
That is not negotiable.
Who is this?
- Julius Caesar. - Ahhhh.
Nephew to Marius.
You have unfortunate ancestry.
If you think it's unfortunate to be descendent from the Gods.
- Which God is that? - The Julians are descendents from Aeneas,
- who was... - ...the son of Venus, yes, yes.
I recall Marius making such claim.
There are many people these days who claim to be descendents from the Gods.
We have a crest which proves it..
I believe you can have them fashioned in the market place...
for a couple of dinars.
Why did you ask to see me?
Your mother, she came to see me.
Did she ask you to spare my life? And what? You agreed?
Well...
I promised that I would consider it.
- And I'm supposed to be grateful to you? - No.
- She is. We're old friends. - You've killed a lot of old friends.
Not hers! True, true true.
Old friends in the day become fresh enemies at night.
What do you want in exchange for my life?
Why do you think I want anything in exchange?
Unlike you don't give things away for free.
I'm not a man without compassion.
I will help you if I can.
First you must understand the gravity of the crime.
Cinna was my greatest enemy, and you helped him to escape.
Did he?
Of course not.
He did escape my soldiers, only to be killed by one of his servants.
- My wife? - She's well.
I leave women to their health.
And since you are only the son of Cinna by marriage,
I intend to leave you to yours.
If...?
If you divorce your wife.
Well?
- No, I refuse. - You refuse to divorce your wife,
even though it may cost you your life?
My wife is my teacher.
She's cleverer than I am. She's more honest than I am.
She's a more compelling argument than I am or you are...
or your office is.
I won't divorce her.
- That is my answer. - Oh, Pompey...
what can we do with men such as this?
I don't know weather to embrace him or strangle him.
- I think we should let him go. - What?
His uncle Marius was my greatest enemy.
He's got ten Marius' inside him. Look at his eyes.
You want to let him go?
It's the ones who smile and flatter you should worry about.
He speaks plainly.
You do speak plainly, don't you?
Always.
Tell me...
would you kill me if you could?
In an instant.
You can go.
I said, you are free to go.
What a big heart that boy has.
Bring it to me in the morning.
Was this Sulla's plan to slaughter me outside so I wouldn't foul the carpet with my blood?
- I came to warn you. - Why?
Because if you don't leave Rome I'll have to do as he asked.
And?
And I don't want to see men like you die young.
- What do you know about me? - You refuse Sulla.
I'll tell you more some day when there is time,
but now you must leave Rome.
Your family will be safe. Here, take this.
Go east to Bithynia. Show this ring to king Nicomedes. He'll will keep you safe in his service.
- How do I know I can trust you? - You don't.
I'll not hand my fate over to that man.
So you'd let him kill you?
He can try if he wants, I'm not leaving Rome.
Why must you be so stubborn?!
Pompey himself came to offer you help. Why won't you accept it?
He's Sulla's man. It could be a trick.
- Don't you trust anybody at all? - Yes.
- I trust you. - Then listen to me.
You're not the heaven and the earth. You're just a man.
And some things are bigger than you are.
When you were in jail...
I thought you were dead.
I started to grieve your death.
I'm asking you to spare me that, Caesar.
How can I live with myself if I knew I had one chance to save your life and I failed?!
- Is this pig for sale? - How much will you give me for it?
- Ten dinars. - That's good money for a swine.
He requires carving.
Julius Caesar.
We will feed it to my dogs.
That's the coast of Crete.
The ruler there used to make up laws and then hang them so high that people couldn't read them.
And if they broke the law he'd show then no mercy.
Today the shores are infected by pirates.
We need to anchor for the night.
Where has father gone?
To the other side of the water.
How long does it take to cross the water?
It depends on the wind.
Sometimes you can cross it in days.
Sometimes if the air is still you may not move at all.
If you don't like the ropes though, we could use nails.
It's the Roman way, isn't it?
What kind of ransom do you get for a Roman these days?
Two talents.
But I'll pay three to watch a roman drown.
You'd get fifty for me alive.
And who would collect it?
They would.
Hey!
If your men...
don't return before dawn...
you die.
Your time is up, Roman.
I'll fight one of you for another day.
That's another day.
Nobody is coming back for this Roman.
Throw him in the sea.
Ship!
Fifty talents.
And the money just happened to find it's way into your purse?
Sir, I never stole a coin from you.
And I suppose it was the goldsmiths who just happened to rob me again.
- Sir, they've been convicted for it. - I know how these things work.
You share the profits with these men.
You pay me well. I would never risk my life for a gold coin.
This is the magistrate's testament the goldsmiths have confessed.
Flavius had nothing to do with it.
Are you trying to tell me that a man who handles so much gold...
never put a piece into his pocket?
He's been proven innocent. This needs your signet.
- Strangle him. - Wait!
He's been proven innocent.
Well, I just disapprove of the verdict.
Sulla...
He's a good man, and he's here on my introduction.
Allow me to vouch for him and protect him.
You can vouch for him all you like,
but protect him you can't.
The penalty for theft is strangulation.
- Strangle him. - There seems to be an error of judgment.
My judgment?
Pompey...
You're becoming very critical.
You want to rise above me, you're just waiting for your chance.
Those men worship the rising sun and not the setting sun.
That's how the saying goes, isn't it?
But I am not the setting sun, not yet. And in the meantime...
I expect you to subordinate yourself to my wishes weather you understand them...
or not.
Strangle him!
No...
You!
You will strangle him.
No.
Did I hear... Did you hear him say no?
Ah, my dear general.
I asked you to strangle Flavius and strangle Flavius you will.
And you will do it with your own bare hands.
You will strangle Flavius or you yourself will be strangled.
Strangle him!
Strangle him now!
I will not have my orders disobeyed!
I swear to...
A prince of Egypt, noble of stature.
Pick this, sir, for a gentleman as yourself, sir.
Ah, yes, sir.
This young girl, new from the North.
They've special ways of delighting their masters, and yet enough to teach her a few of your own.
Oh, no. No, no, no, sir. These are hardly able to lift a bucket of wine unassisted.
He'll disagree with everything you say.
He's unfortunately skilled in the arts of the tongue.
In what arts of the tongue are you versed?
In the arts of Euclid and Aristotle,
the arts of verse,
I can recite much of Homer from memory, and all of Pindar,
in the arts of politics and estate, logic,
- metaphysics, epistemology, rhetoric and sophistry. - Sophistry?
Uh, doesn't that mean you know how to tell fancy lines?
There is great power in ambiguity, sir,
but not all men use its vantages to wicked ends.
Are you experienced teaching the young?
Yes.
I much prefer it to teaching the old.
- Why is that? - Because they exhibit more wisdom.
Father.
Who are your friends?
Portia and Marcus. Don't you remember them?
Of course, Cato's children, just don't grow them so much.
That's our cousin.
Brutus.
- What you reading? - "Ethics".
- Aristotle? - My uncle Cato gave it to me.
- How is he? - He's as grumpy as ever.
- Hasn't changed a bit. - Mother.
Father, did you bring me anything back from the East?
Did I bring you back anything? Yes.
I brought you this. Appolonius...
This my daughter Julia.
Appolonius will be your teacher.
Where is my wife?
Caesar!
- Don't get up. - I'm not ill.
Let me get dressed.
I'm well, I just got up too fast.
You don't have to get dressed. Lets lie down together.
No, wait.
Just...
Cornelia...
I never stopped waiting for you.
I never stopped missing you.
And now...
Here.
This is not supposed to happen.
I'm back now, my love.
Two years is just too long.
There are those of you who work with Sulla,
and those of you who worked...
against him.
But not all that worked with him agreed with his laws.
I therefore propose that the rights of the tribunes been restored,
so that once again the people can be fairly represented.
I propose a thorough reform of the courts...
and an unqualified reinstatement of the senate...
as the principal body of government.
Caesar.
It's good to see you fresh for another victory.
Oh, he let's me win. It makes me feel old.
I'm glad to see you made it back safely.
I hear you met with a number of obstacles.
Yes. Fortunately your friend Nicomedes has proven to be a great ally.
I never had a chance to thank you...
for saving my life.
You defied Sulla.
He told you to divorce your wife and you said no, even though you knew it meant sudden death.
That impressed me.
And it... reminded me of something.
You see, my friend,
Sulla once told me to divorce my wife,
and unlike you I obeyed him.
I left the one woman I loved.
Life is full of lessons.
So we taught each other a thing of two.
Tell me how to get where you are now.
Don't tell me I was wrong to hope you were spared.
I have something to give to Rome,
but I have no voice.
If you want a voice in Rome,
win the people, speak from your heart.
And when you make a promise, keep it.
Pompey...
I promise you: If you ever need my help...
just give me a sign, I'll come to your aid.
- Man. - Andros.
- Woman. - Gyne.
Slave.
From memory.
- Why do I have to learn Greek? - Because it's the greatest culture the world has ever known.
- Better than Rome? - Much.
So is a Greek slave better than a Roman free man?
I'm content to be what I am.
You can draw your own conclusions from that.
- But you'd rather be free. - Well, all men would rather be free.
Because then you could do what you wanted.
I can do what I want to do, even as a slave.
And some men who think they're free, are not free at all.
They're bound by their own poor ideas.
But if you were my slave I would set you free.
- Julia. - Father!
If you set him free I would've no one to educate you.
He could educate me just as same as if he were free.
Oh, yes, but then I couldn't afford him.
Sweet gods! Come quick!
Cornelia.
Cornelia, wake up.
Oh, please, stay with me.
No. Cornelia!
Please, wake up.
Please.
Oh, god!
My name is Julius Caesar.
I'm here to honor my wife, Cornelia,
publicly and for the last time.
She was a good woman.
She gave no thought to her own wellbeing,
only to the wellbeing of others.
Rome was her first and greatest love.
We shared that love.
We dreamt of a Rome without dictators,
where sons never raise their hands against fathers,
where brothers never raise their swords against brothers,
where Romans lived at peace with fellow Romans by their sides.
So I ask you now to join with me...
in honoring not only the memory of my good wife,
but in memory of all the good men and women who have died fighting for a better Rome.
People of Rome, I, Julius Caesar,
make you this promise on the body of my beloved wife:
I will not rest until the Rome she dreamed of is the Rome we live in.
Join me!
I'm not only the nephew to our beloved Marius,
who fought against the evils of Sulla until Sulla took his life from him,
but I'm also a son of the Julians,
who was descendent of the goddess Venus herself.
I offer you my hand.
A power supreme among mortal men,
granted by the gods, superior to kings.
Let us work together, comrades,
in our quest for an empire, that is boundless,
united... and free.
We shall have to watch him.
Or use him.
- Good morning to you, Caesar. - Good morning, sir.
Hail, Caesar.
Caesar.
Hail, Caesar.
- Good morning to you. - Good morning.
Greetings, Caesar. Hey, Julia, I have something for you.
Now then... ah, here.
And I hope it will make you smile.
That's the first I've seen you smile in weeks.
Get away from my stand.
Stop it all of you!
There is nothing he can do about it.
- What happened? - The price of bread has tripled.
- There is no grain in Rome. - Why?
Because the grain supply from Egypt was cut off by pirates.
Half of Rome is without bread.
The city is close to panic.
Only the very rich can afford bread.
We must fight the pirates now or Rome will be crippled forever.
So I propose that Pompey be given legions to attack this problem once and for all.
It's not a question of weather or not we fight pirates,
it's a matter of how.
I propose we equip ten small armies to fight the pirates at different parts of the coast.
So the pirates can destroy Rome one two by the time?
The pirates are a bunch of uneducated hoodlums.
I hardly think they could stand against a Roman assault of any size.
Lets talk about the way things are, gentlemen,
not about the way we would like them to be.
I can attest to the threat posed by these scavengers. I was a victim of one of their assaults myself.
Then perhaps you will regale us with your sea stories, Gaius Julius,
in the tavern, after the work of the senate is done.
The work of the senate is rarely done.
You see there are not thousands of pirates in our waters, but hundreds of thousands,
and not all of rogue bands preying on single vessels.
There are pirate admirals, see kings,
with thousands of ships and troops more skilled in naval combat even than our own.
Pretty speeches like this won't even cook our lunch.
No, speeches do as little work as the senate.
How dare this arrogant newcomer insult this Auguste body?!
Auguste and plump, Bibulus, like your own body,
fat from idle chatter and inactivity.
Enough. Enough. Enough!
We have a man in our company who can resolve this conflict with the pirates.
But do we honor him with that duty? No.
I'm with Caesar. We have no bread.
Now are we a great empire or are we going to be ruled by outlaws?
To perform this commission,
Pompey will have to be given an army twice the size...
of the one Sulla used to take Rome.
Have we learned nothing from the past?
I see.
Rome should go hungry because Cato can't find a single man he can trust.
Not every man with an army would take the state.
Not every man is a Sulla.
Some men are ruled by circumstances, but men of character bend circumstances to their will.
They make nature behave in such a way that their will is carried out on this earth.
They defy the elements.
And sometimes defy even their own base of nature...
in order to see that their ideals come alive before their eyes.
Pompey is such a man.
Those of you who have lived know that one thing alone keeps a nation small.
Civil strife.
Tribes fighting tribes rather than banding together in one arm of power.
As long as we fight in this room...
seeking personal victories, enacting petty revenges,
Rome will stay small!
I propose we put our opinions aside and let one feeling rule us for a time:
The love of Rome.
I propose we put our strengths together to become a force...
the world has never seen.
I propose you let a man...
a single man, lead us out of the dark.
I propose Pompey.
All those in favor.
Can we come inside? You said we could.
Why? There's nothing but a bunch of dusty old senators in here.
Is the consul in there?
Yes, this is consul Gnaeus Pompey.
And who is this?
This is my daughter Julia.
And Appolonius, the wisdom of our household.
Don't you hear? Your father has just proved worthy that he'll my job one day.
- But don't think it's all fun. - Why?
Because he'll always have these men around.
They are silly-looking, aren't they?
I'll see you when I return.
In triumph.
Appolonius says that when we die our soul goes to a place where everything's perfect.
All the thoughts are perfect beds,
all the cycles are perfectly round.
YEARS LATER
- Marcus! - Julia.
Julia... look at you.
Brutus, wake up and tell Julia how beautiful she looks.
- Beautiful. - Do you like it?
All dressed for Pompey's triumph.
Has Appolonius returned? I wanted to talk to him about Plato.
No, he hasn't returned.
I bet he ran off to fight with the rebel slaves.
Theirs rebel slaves are not like Appolonius.
They aren't educated men with happy homes.
Well, we had a Moorish cook who ran off a month ago.
We heard he joined the rebels and that he was made commander.
"From cook to commander" is their inspiring.
You talk as if it's a game.
I don't.
Think about it. At least half of the population of Rome is made up of slaves.
And what would happen if they all decided to rebel?
It would be the end of Rome.
Rome had to act.
What do you mean?
Pompey.
- He defeated 20,000 of them on his way back to Rome. - Attention! Who's going with me?
None of you wants to join the counsel of Rome, mhmm?
No offense, father, but do you really think we're going to trail along with your lectors around?!
Rome's greatest general returns and...
- we want to be free to run and follow him. - Oh, yes, run, run.
Go enjoy yourselves.
- Come on. - Thank you, consul.
Brutus, aren't you going with them?
- I wanted to return this to Appolonius. - What is this?
Ah, yes, Plato's law.
- Did you read it? - Yes.
And?
Plato thinks that democracy is doomed to failure.
He thinks that a state should be run by a dictator.
A dictator who's become enlightened through experience and learning.
I don't think Plato would get along very well with your uncle Cato.
- Brutus! Hurry up! - Come on!
Come on!
Hurry and catch up with your friends or they left you to come along with me.
See you at the ceremony.
Hurry up!
Goodbye, father.
You're ready? It was about time.
Not what I heard.
Pompey!
Pompey! Pompey! Pompey!
Thank you for your kindness.
Let me take care of my son now.
Who are these people?
Prisoners.
Pirates?
Pirates and slaves. Rebellion slaves.
Appolonius! Appolonius!
Dirty rebels!
Appolonius!
Consul!
Step back!
Wait.
Speak.
I have a friend among the slave prisoners.
I ask you to free him.
And who are you to deserve such favor?
I'm Julia, daughter of Gaius Julius Caesar,
- your fellow consul. - A consul's daughter.
Didn't you know that those who choose to fight against Rome are Rome's enemies and will be crucified tomorrow?
Appolonius was my teacher, not an enemy of Rome.
Everything good and decent I have ever learned has been taught to me by him.
You must spare him.
For Marius's sake.
Consider your wish granted.
Take her to the pits and release the slave Appolonius into the custody of his lawful owners.
Yes, sir.
Thank you, consul.
Thank you.
Appolonius!
Is it Julia?
Appolonius.
I've come to take you home.
I'm not coming with you.
I'll stay here.
They will crucify you.
You've grown into a fine woman,
intelligent,
full of everything that makes the Romans great.
But I am not a Roman, Julia.
- I am a slave. - You're not a slave any longer.
You're free. I'm freeing you now.
Freedom is not something you can be given.
It's something you have to take.
I should've done it earlier. You could've been free years ago.
I should've asked my father.
He would've granted it.
But I never thought it would make a difference.
It felt as if you were free.
I thought you were happy.
I was.
But it's not happiness I'm seeking.
It's something else.
What?
Dignity.
You've been good to me.
You've been my family.
But they're my family now.
We both know where we belong,
and I belong in there with them.
One day you'll understand, my dear Julia.
Goodbye.
- Mother... - Shh... rest.
Something happened to me there.
It's an affliction, no more, no less.
Your grandfather suffered the same spells and lived into old age.
There's something else.
Before it happened I was watching Pompey.
He's been a friend to me,
and we speak together easily like brothers,
yet we couldn't be more different.
He's a great army leader.
His province has made him the richest and most powerful man in Rome.
Your father wanted you to be a statesman and now you are a consul of Rome.
That would have been beyond his dreams.
I need an army.
To turn yourself into a Pompey?
How would you pay and feed such an army?
Your consulship already costs a fortune.
Yes, I am consul, and I am broke.
Your attack today was stronger than usual.
There was something else, mother.
This attack was different in other ways.
How?
I saw something.
I saw something at that moment.
Not just about myself,
but about the whole humankind.
How we keep ourselves small.
Then I realized I have not been inspired,
and as I watched Pompey I saw that he was not inspired.
And he would never be inspired.
And I realized the difference between Pompey and me.
Pompey has merely done something,
but I am for something.
I need legions.
Pompey has them.
He will lend them to me.
Why would Pompey do that, diminishing his own power?
What could you offer him in return to equal the value of an army?
Julia.
I'm sorry for what happened to Appolonius.
I felt great affection for him as well.
We trust in the wisdom of our forefathers...
and in their laws. And I, Cato, trust in him.
Hail, Pompey!
Cato, you flatter me.
But let us give credit to another man...
for I could not have fought a war across the sea...
without knowledge that Rome was in safe hands here at home.
For that we owe a debt of gratitude to my friend and fellow consul,
Gaius Julius Caesar!
Hail, Caesar!
This is my daughter, Julia.
Yes, I know. We've met.
It would honor my house if you would give us a recitation.
Not in front of so many people?
You've done it in larger groups than this.
Father, I assure you that I'm not prepared for it.
Ah, come, come.
The daughter of Caesar will recite for us.
"Tonight...
"stand beside me and praise with me...
"a man dear to me and to the gods,
"mightier in victory than the kings of Mycenae...
"with their golden haired horses,
"and stronger from war than the battle ghosts...
"that ride the shores of Troy.
"Hear me,
"sons of bold-headed men,
"hear me sing the victory...
"of a man dear to me and to the gods."
- It's really nothing. - No, it's not your fault.
I'm not sure who's fault it is, but I assure you I will find out and he will be punished severely.
Thank you, consul, you're very kind.
- What's your name? - Calpurnia.
- From which house? - Lucius Piso.
I'm sorry for staring. I thought perhaps we...
met somewhere before.
Would you like to eat together?
I'd be delighted.
What hour do you call this?
I think it's known as the fifth hour.
Yes, the sun is coming up.
You're right, I was out with him.
We drank and ate and had entertainment.
- He cares for me. - Ah, yes, he's twice your age.
And your friend. Remember?
Yes, he is my friend.
I just want to know if he treats you with respect.
I like him, I do.
I don't love him not yet, but...
that may come.
Why are you behaving in such a manner?
He is consul.
He's the first man in Rome.
He has legions.
Your price is high.
Price? It's customary for the father to offer a dowry.
You know I have nothing to give you.
I accept.
I want a commission.
- Gaul. - Gaul?
It's taken.
By Cassius.
I need a victory in battle.
Your not experienced enough in warfare and you need legions.
Your legions.
She's all I got. I want 50,000 for her.
Talents?
Soldiers.
How could you do it?
How could you take my commission away?
Because I think Caesar's the right man for Gaul.
But I've already put myself to considerable expense preparing my men.
- And you'll be reimbursed. - What?
And I'll propose that you look after the garrison.
- The garrison? - This won't do, Pompey.
- You didn't even put this before the senate. - Let's not talk business...
at my wedding.
It may tempt bad luck.
I have a confession to make.
What's that?
We did meet before.
Or rather...
I met you, but you didn't meet me.
It was at the Pompey's triumph.
You fell.
Nobody saw it but me.
- I held you to make sure you wouldn't hurt yourself. - Thank you.
It shames me.
I never know when it's going to happen.
Many people believe that those who have the condition...
are holy,
blessed by the gods.
Perhaps.
What do you suppose a child of both our faces blended together would look like?
I think that it would look rather beautiful.
Do you?
- Is it something you'd like to find out? - Yes.
Are you sure?
I am less sure about my own name than I am about this.
- I am terrible around the house. - We have servants.
- I'm not one for parties. I go to bed early. - I'll follow you.
Caesar...
- You must make me a promise. - Anything you like.
Come back from this war alive.
I promise you.
And hurry.
That's two promises.
And win it.
That's three promises.
Now it is your turn to promise me one thing.
Will you marry me before I leave?
- How many dead? - In the region of 23,000 Celts.
- And Romans? - 112.
I'll have to prepare the burial back in Rome.
We're not returning to Rome.
We're going further north.
There's a lot more of Rome out there,
it just isn't called Rome, yet.
The Romans are coming!
We must tell Caesar to retreat.
What I gave to Caesar, I will not revoke.
Wait! Put down your blades.
Why have you come here?
This land is ours, you have no right to be here.
What is your name?
Vercingétorix.
- You stayed to fight alone? - This is my house.
I've built it with my own hands.
You've burned it down.
You're free to go.
Give me a horse.
You heard him.
Give him a horse.
"My dear Caesar,
"the people speak of you with admiration.
"Some call you 'The Great', as they called Pompey.
"In the market people sometimes bow to me as they pass.
"It will also delight you to know,
"that the marriage that began as an advantage, has blossomed into romance.
"Watching Julia and Pompey together delights me and saddens me that you're not here.
"No one could be prouder to be your wife, Caesar,
"but after so long without you,
"I fear I'm getting used to my solitude.
"Come home soon, my darling.
"Until then I will be waiting."
Caesar has killed 300,000 Celts.
He attacked peaceful villages, villages who pay taxes to the Roman state.
- It's beyond toleration! - This is how you thank a great Roman general?
Caesar sent 100,000 slaves back to Rome.
Are you saying you haven't taken any of them?
If they hadn't come from him I would have got them from somewhere else.
Pompey, you have to be worried.
He's been away three years fighting with your legions.
He's doubled their salary.
They are totally devoted to him.
My lords, as Cicero has put it so well:
"Strain every nerve for the preservation of the state.
"Look in every corner for the storms.
"They will burst upon you if you do not see them in time."
I've just remembered who he is.
- What are you talking about? - That man.
- Mark Antony? - Yes.
Running from his debtors in Rome to find wealth in the province.
- Like all of us. - Not me!
I still fight for the glory of Rome!
- My cavalry has been attacked. - By who?
- Gallic tribesmen. 14,000 dead. - 14,000?
And many more wounded. They're united under one leader.
His name is Vercingetorix.
- Where could we find him? - In Alesia.
- How long is the march? - Eight days.
Vercingetorix is in there with 18,000 of his men.
Its the most invincible stronghold in Gaul.
- We'll never break it. - We won't have to break it.
We'll build a wall around their city.
We'll trap them inside and starve them.
Nobody ever built a fortification of that length.
Then we will be the first.
Let's not waste time.
What do you want?
- I'm here to see Pompey. - This way.
- Cato. - Pompey.
Julia.
What brings you to Pisa?
I've come to speak with you.
Your absence in Rome has been... criticized.
As you can see, my wife needs me here.
Can we speak privately?
What's the matter, Cato?
Did your conversation depend on speaking ill of my father?
Sit, sit, Cato.
Thank you.
Caesar is about to take the last stronghold in Gaul.
Vercingetorix has called for every tribe from the mountains to the sea.
They are on the move toward Alesia.
How many men?
Two hundred and fifty thousand.
- And my husband? - Forty thousand.
He'll survive. He has survived these many years.
He's never been up against so much.
Is this true? Will my husband lose this time?
No one knows the outcome of war.
You are consul. Pompey, do something.
- If Caesar wins this battle... - He will become the next Sulla.
That's what you were going to say, wasn't it?
That if he wins he will become the next Sulla...
Why are you worried, Cato?
You said he doesn't stand a chance against the Gaul's.
Why call him back?
Why not just leave him there to fight this battle to his own death?
If you leave him there your next Sulla will extinguish himself.
You're waiting for my husband to fail, aren't you?
And so are you.
"My dear Calpurnia.
"I'm doing everything in my power to make sure I come home safely to you.
"You must've heard we've built a wall to hold the Alesians in.
"What you may not know is that we built a second wall as well,
"to keep their allies out.
"I say this to reassure you...
"they can round up ten times our number and still we will defeat them,
"because it's not numbers...
"but vision that wins wars.
"My vision is of returning to you, my love.
"And not just returning, but returning victorious...
"as I've promised to you.
"When my men are tired,
"I can't always let them rest.
"When they're hungry, I can't always feed them.
"But when they forget their vision,
"I can share mine with them.
"And the more of what I share...
"the more of what I have."
It will take 30 days to round up the tribes.
How much food have we got?
27 days of grain.
Make it last 35.
We will divide our rations.
Have all the grain brought to the stores.
By the penalty of death no one will eat beyond that measure.
When the tribes've come from the countryside to fight with us,
the Gauls would outnumber the Romans 5 to 1.
If we succeed...
we could destroy the Roman presence in Gaul forever.
If we fail...
we will be their slaves.
"In the evening we take our leisure,
"tell stories about the city and our families,
"or just eat in silence after a hard day's work.
"The men do work hard...
"but there are worse things than hard labor.
"Waiting is much worse.
"Waiting is the hardest part of war, my dear wife.
"Most of our men would welcome the cry of battle over this dreaded silence,
"and would fight an enemy we could see, however great,
"sooner than fight the one at our minds which goes on killing forever.
"The real enemy is almost a comfort. That is what I sometimes think when I look up the hill to Alesia.
"They're just like us. They have courage like us.
"They die like us."
The tribes should've been here by now.
If they don't come...
we'll have to fight on our own.
We don't have enough men.
- I say we give ourselves up. - And be Roman slaves?
If we die our gods die.
- At least if we live... - In slavery!
In any state!
If we live we can perform that service to the gods.
We can keep them living for our children.
You think the gods would want us to keep them alive, so they can be worshiped by slaves?
If we have nothing left to feed ourselves with...
I say we do what our ancestors did:
We eat the elderly and the infirm to keep ourselves alive.
We won't eat our own people.
There's enough food left for several of days...
if we only feed our men.
There's a way we can compromise the Romans,
weaken them.
I say...
we give up our women and children to them.
Our rations will keep us alive for several more of days.
If our women and children become their slaves...
the Romans will have to feed them, and that will deplete their supplies.
We must bid farewell to our families.
We must do it today.
And whatever happens...
we must lock the gates behind them forever.
Our survival depends upon it.
This will be our sacrifice to the gods.
Open the gates!
Send men down to the gates.
Bold the gates...
and double the guard.
Have mercy!
Caesar...
I beg you to reconsider.
They'll all die.
I will not starve my own men to keep the enemy alive.
Send them back to Alesia.
Go back! Go!
What is this?
Soup.
This is not soup.
This is water!
We fight for years and they give us water!
We die for Rome and we get water!
Stop now!
What is the difference between the Romans and the Gauls?
Discipline.
We act as one body.
That's what makes us strong.
Do you think I eat well while you starve?
I eat the same portions as you.
And I'm hungry.
But I would eat soil before I give up what we've come here to get.
And that is everything you see.
You...
Where will you raise your family?
On that hillside.
Would that be your plot of land?
You...
That field there, between those trees...
that's yours if you want it.
It's rich soil, good for growing.
All of you, each and everyone of you, will get his share.
You've worked for it.
By the gods, we've given our souls to this place for eight years.
Let's not abandon before we get them back.
Open the gate!
I told you before and I'll tell you again: This war of Caesars' is a crime.
He's waging war on behalf of Rome. We commissioned him to fight the Gauls.
Not all of them!
He started fighting the insurgents at the borders and moved on to murder...
peaceful Roman allies Gauls who pay taxes and tribute to Rome.
I fear the gods, gentlemen.
Caesar is not Sulla. He's not fighting the Romans.
He's fighting the Gauls.
He's not threatening us. We are threatening him.
Once Caesar was consul, how many times that he pushed through a law without having it ratified?!
He has no respect for us.
Something had better be done...
and right away.
I propose we do nothing at all.
Cassius.
You say all of Gaul is rallying against him.
He can't possibly win against such numbers.
To arms!
This is it.
Archers!
Soldiers at the gate!
He's trying to fool us into gathering our troops here.
How do you know what he'll do?
Because that's what I would do.
I will wait here for Vercingetorix to make his move.
His men are to weak to attack our main camp.
He will move his cavalry here and try to break through the inner wall...
while his allies attack from the outside.
We cannot let these two forces join together.
If they do, we will not survive.
Follow me!
We must hold on!
Go!
Retreat!
Caesar, your men are asking for you.
"It is with great sadness that I write this letter to you, my dear husband.
"Your Julia gave birth early and she suffered some pain in doing so.
"The doctors were there and did what they could to ease her suffering.
"The child was a boy but frail. Their efforts could not save him.
"He looked like you, Caesar. There was nobility in his face.
"Your daughter struggled to sustain this tragic birth,
"but in the end she could not.
"Pompey has kept himself from the senate, preferring instead to pass time in no company.
"He walks around the graveyard again and again,
"keeping fresh garlands on her tomb."
We attack Alesia in the morning.
Open the gate.
I know your only real enemy is one man, and he is standing before you now.
I'm giving myself to you, Caesar.
Our women died for us.
I give you my own life so that you may let my men live.
If my men die, there will be nothing left of the Gauls,
and no one left to worship our gods.
I beg you.
Enslave my people if you need to,
but let them live.
Your men will live.
"My dear wife,
"we'll have to wait a bit more before we're together again.
"You see, there are those in Rome who would have me branded an outlaw,
"so I have sent Mark Antony to talk to the senate on my behalf.
"Since there has never been a soldier with an army such as mine...
"who would return to Rome without taking her by force,
"I too must be planning such an assault.
"But my crime is worse...
"because I return not in dishonor, but in triumph,
"and this the senate cannot tolerate."
How long ago did Sulla ride into town with his army,
breaking the sacred Roman law stating that no man...
must bring armed men past the Rubicon into Rome?!
How fresh in your memories does bloodshed have to be for you to show caution?!
Caesar has done more for Rome than any other general in its history.
How do you respond?!
You strip him of his consulship in his absence without explanation.
He's more than doubled the size of Rome in the last eight years. And what do you ask him to do?
Lay down his arms.
It's not Caesar who is the criminal.
It is this senate!
This senate represents the people of Rome.
This senate represents its own interests.
Sulla said almost the very same thing.
If he said it, he was right.
But the difference between Sulla and Caesar is:
The people feared Sulla. Caesar they love..
You know nothing...
of people's feelings.
You're right, I don't.
Let me ask them.
People of Rome, I've come to you with questions from Caesar.
He needs to know what you want so he can better serve your needs.
The senate says they represent the people,
but the senate wants Caesar to lay down his arms and return to Rome as a man, not as a soldier.
And when he arrives the senate will find him guilty of crimes against the state.
Caesar's crime is spending eight years in battle, outside of Rome,
with none of the comforts we all take for granted, and with a daily treat to his life. Why?
So he can bring wealth to the Roman people.
Temples, libraries, holidays and games are all funded by Caesar's levies in Gaul. Yet what do they think in the senate?
They think he's doing this for personal gains.
I ask you:
If he's doing this for private gain, why does he stay in Gaul?
Why does he live in a tent?
I know why he does it.
He does it, so we Romans can live well.
What are you going to do about this?
Whatever these men may think,
some of whom have never been up on a horse's back,
I have never known a man tougher on the enemies of Rome,
nor gentler to his friends.
When I call myself a Roman,
the thing that makes me most proud...
is to share that title with one other man.
A man whom it is been my privilege to fight beside.
A man who has shown time and again that he loves his own life less than he loves yours.
His name is Gaius Julius Caesar!
Caesar!
Caesar! Caesar! Caesar!
We must do something, Pompey.
Caesar could march on Rome at any time.
I'm not going to wait for him to come to us.
I'll gather our troops and attack him before he sets foot in Rome.
I'm going to wipe him and his legions off the face of the earth.
Caesar! Caesar! Caesar!
Men, we have two choices.
We can be slaughtered by the army Pompey is amassing against us.
Or we can fight for our lives, just as we have done every day for eight years.
I've made my decision.
I'm going to Rome.
I'm going to cross the Rubicon.
Will anyone be coming with me?
To Rome! Let the dice fly!
My legions from Spain should tear to Austria from the west.
The Thracians will come to us from the north. And from the east the Macedonians.
Caesar is on his way to Rome.
- How far is he? - Four days from here.
- That's impossible! - I heard it from Bibulus himself.
Caesar has passed the Rubicon.
We must leave Rome.
We cannot defend it without troops.
We'll go to Greece.
We'll amass what strength we can, and then we'll take him in Rome itself.
I only hope we don't arrive too late...
and find the bodies of our friends on the senate steps.
It has been decreed by the new senate
that the title of dictator is bestowed upon Gaius Julius Caesar.
It is decreed...
there will be fifty days of thanksgiving in his honor.
He is given the courts and elected consul for life.
Hail, Caesar!
You treat me as a king,
though I assure you that is one role I shall never adopt.
I am Caesar, and only Caesar.
It's for this crown alone that I conquered Gaul.
Caesar...
Beware the Ides of March.
The Ides of March.
Beware!
The men and women of Rome are crying out for your head.
For a moment, I saw them as you do.
You don't know how I see them.
I was disgusted with them.
How do you keep your purpose clear in your mind?
When I met you in your village, I could see you had your purpose clear in your mind.
And it was pure.
I can see that it hasn't changed.
What did you do to preserve it?
You want to know?
Yes.
I only fight my enemies.
You think we are similar, don't you?
That's why it pains you to see me die.
We are very different, you and me.
I know when it's over...
and when what's left isn't worth having.
Give me the honor of dying alone, by my own hand,
instead of in a public spectacle for your Roman mob.
I have to do what the people want.
I have no choice.
I thought power gave you more choice, not less.
Listen to them. Do you hear that?
I don't hear anything anymore but the voices of our women and our children in Alesia.
I can hear them when I'm asleep,
and I hear them when I'm awake.
For pity sake, give me a sword.
- Hail, Caesar! - Hail, Caesar!
The ranks here are depleted.
My men will be joining you.
How shall we explain to the people...
that these men have become senators?
- They haven't been selected by the traditional leaders. - The law is changed.
And keep in mind, the people trust my judgment.
You will be joined by my finest men.
I've spent eight years with them in Gaul.
I must leave for Greece to fight Pompey.
- I'm leaving Rome in Mark Antony's capable charge. - Do we have no say in this?
I don't want to distract you with bureaucracy.
I'd rather leave you free to argue matters of the state.
If you think there will be black lists...
There won't be any lists.
Sulla killed his enemies, I forgive mine.
Good day to you, gentlemen.
They left in a hurry.
Attend to Caesar!
I did not cross the Rubicon to kill old friends.
I did it to protect myself against my enemies.
I'm hoping we can secure ourselves through mercy and not through vengefulness.
You're all free to go.
That is, we owe all our lives to Caesar.
Did you say something, my old friend?
I thought I heard you speak.
I'm grateful for your clemency.
Brutus, come dine with me.
Caesar, make peace with Pompey.
For years, his only hope was that one day you would rule Rome together again with...
With what?
With Julia, uniting you both.
He has tolerated me because he loved Julia so much.
Caesar, he loved Julia because he saw you in her.
He told me that Julia's death was almost unbearable.
And add to that the end of your friendship, he counted his life as finished.
I'll make peace with him if peace is what he wants.
I want to establish some sanity in Rome.
The people have had enough of fighting.
Will you help me?
- How can I help you? - I want you to go back to Rome and be my praetor.
If peace is what you want,
then it will be my honor to serve you.
Pompey has gone to Egypt.
The king died, leaving a throne to be squabbled over by a twelve year old boy and an eighteen year old girl.
Ptolemy and Cleopatra?
I don't know which one I trust less.
Help me ready the ships.
I'll follow him in the morning.
You don't need to take troops with you.
Pompey has gone to Egypt alone.
The troops went to Utica.
With your uncle Cato?
Yes.
Trust me, Brutus,
whoever wants peace, will have it.
He was most cruelly murdered on the palace steps by his own men, sir.
It is been rumored that they were bribed by Pothinus.
By Caesar.
There's only one enemy left.
I am Pothinus, chief of the ruling counsel.
In the name of king Ptolemy, I welcome you, Caesar.
Your king is very generous,
but as you can see, we haven't brought any horses.
This grain is for your men, sir.
My men will eat indoors, Pothinus.
I'm sure you'll put us up very comfortably, in your palace.
I'll tell you the truth, Caesar.
Ptolemy fears for his life.
There's been a great deal of discord in Egypt.
So he has forbidden all visitors.
You, of course, are very welcome in the palace.
And my men.
And your men.
Pothinus, you wouldn't have anything to do with helping the king make his decisions,
- would you? - The king is a boy sir.
Forgive him, and forgive me.
We are your allies and your servants, great Caesar.
We only have the interests of Rome in our hearts.
Bring out the gift.
This is Pompey's ring.
Where is he?
We thought you'd be pleased.
Excuse me, Caesar.
There is a servant with an urgent message from Cleopatra.
Bring her.
If you want to hear the message you'll have to dismiss your guard.
What word from Cleopatra is of such importance?
Cleopatra asks for your protection.
Protection? Why?
Pothinus plans to kill her, as he did Pompey.
Is that why you're disguised as your own servant...
Cleopatra?
I came to you, Caesar,
because you are the only man I can trust.
Why does Pothinus want to kill you?
My father wanted me to rule Egypt.
He wrote it in his will.
But Pothinus banished me with a price on my head.
Now any servant can kill me and be rewarded for it.
Caesar...
You and I are alike.
You are the son of Venus, and I am the daughter of Isis.
You and I live by the same divine heart beat.
- That's why we must help each other. - Are you trying to seduce me?
I don't try.
I seduce...
or I don't.
I do not have to seduce with my body.
I have something much better than that.
My country.
It is the richest land in the world.
Egypt and Rome are different.
Rome is masculine.
Egypt is feminine.
Rome, is sunlight, Egypt is twilight.
But it's not part of Rome. Not yet.
Make me queen, and the east and west will be united.
We will be god and goddess ruling the world.
- You kiss me with the tongue of a serpent. - I must test you to see if you are poison.
- And am I? - No, but I can taste Gaul.
- Will you stay with me in Egypt, Caesar? - What does Egypt have to offer that Rome does not?
Have you heard of the fertile crescent?
- Is it a region down below? - Indeed it is.
What grows there?
I believe the region's fertile enough to hutch a king.
If you doubt it, try planting something there.
Only promise me one thing.
When you return to Rome, you must be fateful to me.
But I'm married. I'm already being unfaithful with you!
- What's a marriage compared to me and politics?! - Let's go.
In marriage you give yourself to a woman.
In politics you lie like all of us do.
You think that her influence is evel?
No one is more ambitious than she is.
Ans she'll do anything to achieve her aims.
Some say she's a witch.
I think you've been skulking too long in the dark.
If Caesar wants to be king, would you prevent it?
He doesn't want the crown!
What if he did?
Of course I'll do anything to keep the kings out of Rome.
At least since Sulla. The tyranny ended with his death.
With a king the reign can be passed on to his son, and to another son, forever.
Our ancestors knew too well what that was like.
And your ancestors fought to send the kings outside the city gates and would stop at nothing to free Rome from them.
And so would I.
That's what we hoped to hear you say.
Is this just conjecture?
I heard nothing about this except from you.
They're all talking about it, Brutus.
They say there's nothing between him and the crown but Cato, your uncle.
Caesar promised me that he would never kill Cato.
Do you think Caesar's incapable of breaking a promise?
And is it worth trying him in a matter of such an urgency?
If Cato is killed, then Caesar wants the crown,
and I'll be the first to oppose it.
But I will not prepare myself agaiunst him until there's proof.
Flee! Flee!
Father!
Where's my sword?
I had it removed.
Why?
You've said before, that if Caesar won the battle, you might...
My own son would deliver me naked to the arms of the enemy.
- Your own son wants you to live. - So, you take away the sword, you take away the choice.
When did I go mad that you have to take choices from me for my own protection?!
Am I your father or your son?!
Why don't you bind my hands as well, so I can't defend myself at all?!
- We'll bury him with honors. - I'll bury him myself.
- Let the state celebrate his life. - Which state? Rome?
The Rome of Caesar?
To accept your honors would defile my name.
And on behalf of my father and my family,
I decline.
Now I'm asking you to leave this room.
We should speak of Cato as a god.
He killed himself so he wouldn't be brought down by the hand of the lessener Caesar.
The higher we lift Cato's name,
the lower Caesar's will snik.
Still, we mustn't appear to rally him support.
No.
Now, it's an art to plant ideas in the heads of others.
And a man is never so resolved as he is when he thinks the conviction is his own.
That's why we need Brutus on our side.
He wouldn't be mixed in worth of the cause if it weren't a good one.
They listen to him.
What if he won't mix in with our cause?
I think I know how to soften Brutus,
but I'll need your help.
There is no peace in the world like in my house.
Calpurnia.
Would you greet your husband with a kiss?
Dismiss them.
Can't a man return to his home and expect a warmer mood from his wife?
How could you bring her to Rome?
It was for the good of the state.
- Cleopatra rules a large part of Africa. - And all of you.
No one rules me, Calpurnia.
Not Cleopatra, not even you.
But what I want is the love that you promised me when we married.
You can't have it. You can have my obedience, you can have my loyalty.
But I can not love those who dishonor me.
No one can dishonor you.
You're right. I dishonored myself...
- when I gave my vows to you in marriage. - You made a good marriage. You're Caesar's wife!
I should've married a man other than Caesar.
That would've been a good marriage,
So I wouldn't have had to watch my husband perform for Egypt every night,
in order to keep the riches of that land flowing into Rome.
Between you and Cleopatra, I don't know who is the concubine!
Retain your dignity.
There's a limit to what I'll hear from you.
I have no dignity left.
Perhaps I ought to buy some.
Maybe I should learn like you have, that you can be bought and sold.
What's the price? What's the price of consulship these days? What's the price of being king?
When did your hope of bringing a vision to the people become this lust for power itself?
Was it when Julia died?
I've nowhere else to go, so I'll stay here.
But I'll live apart from you, not as man and wife.
May the gods forgive me for breaking my marriage vows...
as I pray they forgive you for breaking yours.
You're an early riser, Brutus.
So are you.
Lately I am.
I couldn't sleep last night worrying about the honor of your name.
Do you know something about these?
I know the writing, but don't ask me who wrote them.
Minds change quickly in these troubled times, and I'd hate you to forever doubt these men.
Oh, Brutus, I've done my best to persuade them that you're a man of honor,
though you wouldn't pledge to keep Caesar from becoming king.
I gave you my pledge that I'd oppose him in the senate.
Huh.
But some among us feel that to oppose a man like Caesar with words is the same thing as handing him the crown.
I try to use words before the sword, Cassius,
just as I try to use reason before passion.
People say, calling on reason before passion can lead to idleness.
And sometimes action is required.
But I know you're a decent man...
and that your meek and gentle nature is how you feel you best serve the good.
I'm not gentle in defending my beliefs,
but you have given me no proof that Caesar will demand the crown.
Do you plan to be at the senate at the calendes of March?
No, I'll be here.
They say that on that day Caesar will move that he'd be made king.
I will come if I am sent for.
This is what they mean.
People say that this is weakness to come when you are summoned, and at no other time.
To accept the favors of a tyrant like Caesar.
He spared my life.
And took the life of Cato,
Your wife's father, who treated you like a son.
Has she ceased her mourning?
No, and neither have I.
So you're grieving over Cato's death.
Cassius, yes, I'm grieving.
But private affection and public duty are not the same thing.
And yet they say that in your grief you just weep and say the prayers,
and fill your wife's drinking cup, and go to bed.
And when Caesar comes to you tonight you'll be like his boy, filling his cup as well.
Who is saying this? Who?
I don't act for Caesar.
I act for Rome, always for Rome.
Brutus, I've done everything to convince them that you're a man of action and that you love Rome.
I've spoken in your behalf many times singing your praise, as I'm condemning those who speak against you.
But some men have ideas.
They think highly of those who gave their lives to expel the kings from Rome.
Your ancestors! And they were only men, not gods.
- Please don't stay. - I am staying.
- Why do you want to torment yourself? - I won't be tormented.
Will he?
Isn't that why you want me to go?
It would be the best thing for all.
I don't trust that you or any other man knows what's best for Rome.
I will take my seat.
A woman has a right to see her rival, doesn't she?
Calpurnia.
Portia.
Romans! We're here to celebrate the return of Caesar!
He's returned, not only with her majesty Cleopatra, but with Egypt itself,
where he has transformed the richest land in the known world.
It is now not only Egypt.
It is Egypt and it is Rome!
I said before and I will say again:
I will not be king of Rome.
I am only Caesar.
I need no crown...
to act on your behalf.
Do you still believe that ours is not a just cause?
I'm with you.
We have to act soon.
We will wait until Caesar brings the senate to order.
Lepidus will call for the elections.
Casca, you will ask Caesar to consider the petitions first.
You, Cassius, will step behind Caesar.
No man should go for his blade...
until we're all within reach of Caesar.
Every knife must enter Caesar's body at least once.
And if we fail,
or if our plot is discovered before we even began,
then we turn our knives on ourselves, without hesitation.
Are we all agreed?
We'll do it at the senate. I will meet with Caesar at Cleopatra's house.
Go.
Brutus.
Why are you pacing like that?
I'm concerned we'll be late.
Caesar!
Calpurnia. What are you doing here?
I had a dream last night. Please don't go out today.
I'll come to you later, at our home.
I saw you slaughtered, in your own blood.
It was horrible.
Well, I cannot let dreams or flights of birds direct my actions.
I can't let you go.
I swallow my pride today to come to you,
because your life is more important to me than my pride.
- Now you listen to me... - The senate is convened for the consul.
They can't conduct one day of business without their Caesar?!
There are matters on the agenda...
- which can only be dealt with by you, Caesar. - They can wait a day.
And what should I tell the senate?
That their consul is at home, because his wife has had a bad dream?
As your friend, Caesar, I have to advise you on this.
You called the senate together.
Show them you're a man of intention.
Meet with your senate.
They're waiting for your guidance.
I'll be with him, lady.
I'll never leave his side.
I'll come to you later.
- Hail, Caesar! - Hail, Caesar!
Portia!
I'm not fit to be alone today.
Sit down.
- Bring us some wine. - Yes, let's have some wine.
What business do we have today?
Two legal briefings, an election for a questor, and the petitions from the senate.
Let's get the election out of the way.
The election.
I move we take the petitions first.
I called for the election. The election will commence.
But, uh...
Marcus Octavius who is running for the office is not yet here.
Petitions it's then. Approach.
I'm glad Caesar is with Brutus today.
Why?
Last night I dreamt he was stabbed to death.
Brutus.
Caesar, I ask mercy for my exiled brother.
Why are you petitioning what so recently has been denied?
Who is the next petitioner?
I want to ask mercy for my father who has been put in jail.
I ruled your father be in prison and my word is law.
Old man, you said some ill would befall Caesar on the Ides of March.
Well, nothing has happened yet, but the ides have come.
They have come, but they've not yet gone.
I want to ask for your pardon, my great Caesar.
And I pray for your soul.
Stop it!
Caesar!
Caesar has been assassinated!
Brutus...
After Caesar's death, Rome was shaken by civil wars for 15 years.
None of Caesar's assassins survived him for more than 3 years. None of them died of natural causes.
Cassius killed himself with the same dagger he had used against Caesar.
Brutus took his life in the same way as his uncle Cato.
Portitia lost her mind about Brutus' death. She killed herself by swallowing a glowing coal.
Marcus Antonius and Cleopatra fell in love. When Augustus, Caesar's successor, tried to capture them, they committed suicide.
The son of Caesar and Cleopatra was murdered by order of Augustus.
Calpurnia never married again.