The triumph is a key element of the modern image of the Romans, embodying the characteristics we love to imagine as quintessentially Roman: militarism, arrogance, cruelty, spectacle. Because the triumph is central to the way we think of Roman culture, the BBC/HBO television series Rome showed not one but two: that of Julius Caesar over Vercingetorix the Gaul in Season 1, and that of his adopted son over Antony and Cleopatra at the climax of Season 2. The main fun of watching the series was spotting how many things they could get wrong about the Romans in any given five minutes, and the triumphs were predictably rewarding. In Caesar's triumph we saw Vercingetorix, who looked like an extra from Braveheart, being garrotted in the street; and in his son's triumph the victor leaving his house with his wife, sister and long dead mother to sit down and watch the show.

LRB 21 February 2008 | PDF Download