Titus Pullo: Difference between revisions
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==Fictional depictions== |
==Fictional depictions== |
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===''Rome''=== |
===''Rome''=== |
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[[Titus Pullo (character of Rome)|Titus Pullo]] is one of the principal characters in the [[Home Box Office|HBO]]/[[BBC]]/[[RAI]] original [[television series]] ''[[Rome (TV series)|Rome]]'', played by actor [[Ray Stevenson (actor)|Ray Stevenson]]. The character is loosely based on the historical Pullo, although he is depicted as a [[legionary]] - not a centurion - under the command of Lucius Vorenus, and as belonging to ''[[Legio XIII Gemina]]'' and not to ''[[Legio XI Claudia|Legio XI]]''. In this depiction, Pullo plays a major role in several significant historical events, including fathering [[Cleopatra]]'s son [[Caesarion]], and assassinating [[Marcus Tullius Cicero]]. Titus Pullo later married one of his own former slaves. |
[[Titus Pullo (character of Rome)|Titus Pullo]] is one of the principal characters in the [[Home Box Office|HBO]]/[[BBC]]/[[RAI]] original [[television series]] ''[[Rome (TV series)|Rome]]'', played by actor [[Ray Stevenson (actor)|Ray Stevenson]]. The character is loosely based on the historical Pullo, although he is depicted as a [[legionary]] - not a centurion - under the command of Lucius Vorenus, and as belonging to ''[[Legio XIII Gemina]]'' and not to ''[[Legio XI Claudia|Legio XI]]''. In this depiction, Pullo plays a major role in several significant historical events, including fathering [[Cleopatra]]'s son [[Caesarion]], and assassinating [[Marcus Tullius Cicero]]. Titus Pullo later married one of his own former slaves. Ironically, though based on a historical character, the fictional Titus Pullo misses one of the two historical facts we know about his life: he is portrayed as missing the Battle of Pharsalus when he is shipwrecked in the Mediterranean. |
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===''Caesar''=== |
===''Caesar''=== |
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Revision as of 03:10, 7 November 2009
Titus Pullo | |
|---|---|
| Allegiance | Julius Caesar, later Pompey |
| Rank | Centurion |
| Unit | Legio XI Claudia |
| Battles / wars | Battle of Pharsalus |
Titus Pullo[1] was one of the two Roman centurions of the 11th Legion[2] mentioned in the writings of Julius Caesar. The other soldier mentioned was Lucius Vorenus; they appear in Caesar's Commentarii de Bello Gallico, Book 5, Chapter 44.
Pullo and Vorenus were fierce rivals for promotion to primus pilus, the most senior centurion in a legion. Both distinguished themselves in 54 BC when the Nervii attacked the legion under Quintus Cicero in their winter quarters in Nervian territory. In an effort to outdo Vorenus, Pullo charged out of the fortified camp and attacked the enemy, but was soon wounded and surrounded. Vorenus followed and engaged his attackers in hand-to-hand combat, killing one and driving the rest back, but lost his footing and was himself soon surrounded. Pullo in turn rescued Vorenus, and after killing several of the enemy, the pair returned to camp amid applause from their comrades.[3]
In the Civil War of 49 BC, Pullo appears to have been attached to a legion commanded by Caesar's legate Gaius Antonius. In 48 BC, Antonius was blockaded on an island and forced to surrender; Pullo was apparently responsible for most of his soldiers switching sides to fight for Pompey. Later that year, he is recorded bravely defending Pompey's camp in Greece from Caesar's attack shortly before the Battle of Pharsalus.[4]
Fictional depictions
Rome
Titus Pullo is one of the principal characters in the HBO/BBC/RAI original television series Rome, played by actor Ray Stevenson. The character is loosely based on the historical Pullo, although he is depicted as a legionary - not a centurion - under the command of Lucius Vorenus, and as belonging to Legio XIII Gemina and not to Legio XI. In this depiction, Pullo plays a major role in several significant historical events, including fathering Cleopatra's son Caesarion, and assassinating Marcus Tullius Cicero. Titus Pullo later married one of his own former slaves. Ironically, though based on a historical character, the fictional Titus Pullo misses one of the two historical facts we know about his life: he is portrayed as missing the Battle of Pharsalus when he is shipwrecked in the Mediterranean.
Caesar
Titus Pullo and Lucius Vorenus are also minor characters in Caesar, a book in Colleen McCullough's Masters of Rome series. They are shown as centurions, serving under Quintus Cicero, commander of the Ninth Legion (Legio IX Hispana).
Legion
Pullo also appears, again with Lucius Vorenus, in the Legion tetralogy of the Videssos Cycle by Harry Turtledove. The novels are about a few maniples of Caesar's legions in Gaul being whisked away by druid magic to a land of magic loosely based on the Byzantine empire. The two companions are fairly faithful to Caesar's portrayal, starting as rival legionaries before becoming fast friends and rising to centurion rank.
References
- ^ His nomen is given as Pulfio, Puleio, Pullio, Pulcio or Pulcia in various manuscripts.
- ^ Prior to its demobilization and subsequent remobilization by Augustus - see also Republican and Imperatorial legions
- ^ Julius Caesar, Commentarii de Bello Gallico 5.44
- ^ Dio Cassius, Roman History 41.40; Julius Caesar, Commentarii de Bello Civili 3.67