Rome, 44 B.C.
There are whispers of civil war.
The military conquests of Julius Caesar have won him the love of the people-
- and the hostility of the corrupted senate.
To counter the cult of Caesar, his enemies lure the people with bloody spectacles-
- where slaves are forced to fight to the death.
The republic is dying,
- and the age of the gladiator has begun.
And before it is done, the fate of an empire will fall upon the shoulders of one man...
...a slave.
A gladiator.
We prepare Honorsat the senate steps, and instead Caesar brings us here.
It's smart politics.
He gives the mob a voice.
The senate is Rome, Brutus, not the mob.
The senate is the republic.
You think the rumors are true, then?
He aims to be king?
Who else would have the nerve to change the bloody calendar?
As if owning half the earth weren't enough, now he aims to own the sun and moon as well.
King?
He aims to be a god.
Hail, Caesar! Hail, Caesar...
I see no senators on that chariot with him.
Hail, Caesar! Hail, Caesar...
Mark Antony, you look well.
Rome's favorite son returns.
Welcome home, brother.
Dear Atia.
Octavius?
Your nephew is delayed.
Noble Cicero.
Just read your latest.
Brilliant, as usual.
You're quite tough on me.
Think of it as advice from a cranky old man.
It's your time now. You've proven yourself a conqueror.
Now Rome needs a unifying force.
Wise Cassius.
Triumphant Caesar. Rome exults in your return.
The senate has commissioned 12 statues in your honor,
- including an ivory likeness to be presented to you at the circus games,
- so deep is our gratitude.
I thank you.
Most excellent senator Brutus.
Caesar.
Look at you... a model senator.
The legion wouldn't recognize you.
I've fooled them all.
Enough of pageantry.
To the arena.
To sport!
Hail, Caesar! Hail, Caesar!
Citizens!
Citizens! Citizens!
Your gladiators fight here today in honor of our returning hero...
...the Victor at Zela, conqueror of Gaul...
Julius Caesar!
Hail, Caesar! Hail, Caesar!
First let me introduce to you-
- the most fearsome warrior-
- since Hannibal of Carthage,
- undefeated...
...here is the Reterian!
And his opponent...
Citizens, I present to you Rome's champion...
...Tyrannus!
Octavius!
I see things are about as I left them.
We, who are about to die, salute you.
I've seen Tyrannus fight.
I have 100 Denarii says he makes short work of this Reterian. Cassius?
I can't keep track of the gladiators. They die so quickly.
What's the difference, uncle?
It's not like real battle.
They bleed just the same.
And what do you know of real battle, Octavius?
I've studied.
Let me show you.
Take me with you to Syria next month.
Let me fight in the Parthian wars.
Octavius.
No.
I have other plans for you.
You spoil him, sister.
Do I?
I wasn't the one who gave him 20 Libyan horses for his birthday.
They throw Rome's finest warrior to the dogs?
Yes, the mob's appetites have changed, great Caesar.
They hunger to see the blood of their heroes.
What kind of roman ideal is this?
Fight, Tyrannus!
- Caesar, now that you've returned... - Take the day off, Cassius. Enjoy the games.
But discussing this could put everybody at their ease.
If you must know my mind this instant, before I leave for Syria, I will bring in the Decree of Rome...
...a new set of laws that redistributes the land from the influential few-
- to the people of Rome where it belongs.
Of course, the senate looks forward to a vigorous debate.
Good. My reforms begin with the senate.
It will take old friends to see them through.
Hail, Caesar.
The 10th legion could use him.
Pity he's a slave.
Tyrannus! Tyrannus! Tyrannus!
Do they answer?
Your gods?
Sometimes.
Really?
How?
They give signs.
Can they send me one?
Maybe they have and you weren't looking.
That would be my luck.
And what sort of guidance are you looking for?
Perhaps Minerva will hear.
I'd ask her to send me far from Rome,
- far from this boring life.
I hope she answers for you.
What's your name, vestal?
Camane.
I...
Sorry, I must go.
Camane!
When will Minerva answer?
When she answers.
Why is it you wish you were far from here?
Being the nephew of Caesar, some would say that the world is yours for the asking.
They would be mistaken.
My family treats me like a child.
Perhaps you act like one.
There isn't a young Lady in all of Rome who wouldn't swoon at your glance.
And yet, of all those young ladies, you choose to give me,
- a vestal, your attentions.
Only a child wants what it cannot have.
The Decree of Rome?
You've been keeping secrets from us.
I'm as surprised as you.
Really? I thought you and Caesar were like brothers.
Caesar's always kept his own counsel. That's news to no one.
Now, what do you want?
We wish to know your heart.
For instance, if one day you should find yourself in heriting the mantle of Caesar,
- could the senate depend upon your friendship?
Caesar has said nothing of succession.
You'd be blind not to see that Caesar's forcing a confrontation.
Apparently he's decided that the only way to maintain his grip on power is to rob us of ours,
- to destroy the republic, and anoint himself king.
He has refused the crown,
- and I take him at his word.
Your tone suggests otherwise.
I stand with Caesar.
- They sent four against me. - Four, papa?
Thracians.
They fight with a shield and a short sword. So...
...shield. Short sword.
One... two... three...
...four... five... six!
- Get ready for bed, Piso. - Oh, I want to...
Go, Piso. Do as your mother says.
Good night.
I don't want you to tell him these stories.
He doesn't understand.
Show yourself.
Hail, Caesar.
Rise, Tyrannus,
- the pride of Rome.
Thank you, great Caesar.
We've met before.
At the gladiator school in Campania. I was a senator then.
If I'm not mistaken, you corrected my swords manship.
You held the grip too tightly, great Caesar.
Walk with me.
Were you born a slave, Tyrannus?
No. I stole a horse.
I worked on my father's farm in Cyprus.
The armies of Pompey were very cruel to the people there.
I stole a centurion's horse and was thrown in prison.
In prison, I was sold away to the gladiator school.
Difficult life.
It was my fate.
But my victories bring some rewards from the handlers. I've been allowed to marry.
I love my wife, my son, Piso.
- How old is Piso? - Six years.
Does he marvel at his father, the gladiator?
Too much, I think.
So it should be.
And your dreams for him, Tyrannus?
To not have to fight.
To live as he chooses.
- A free man? - Yes, of course.
I fought 10 years for the glory of Rome,
- conquered five nations, and filled our treasuries with gold.
Yet I return, and the only growth I see is in the size of the senators' villas.
I didn't conquer the world for them.
Those lands and those treasures belong to the people-
- and the soldiers who fought for them.
I intend to set it right,
- and the senate will do all it can to stop me.
So I need a warrior to stand beside me...
...one unentangled by politics, who speaks his mind and is good with the sword.
A bodyguard?
That... and more.
The senate seduces the mob with blood.
But the mob loves you, Tyrannus,
- because you represent what's best in us...
...strength, courage, honor.
I need you to serve me these next few weeks.
And in return... I offer this.
The wooden sword.
Given to gladiators who show exceptional bravery and skill in the arena.
The wooden sword means freedom.
Take it...
...and your son will live in a world without chains.
I... I don't know what to say.
Say "yes."
I have built the greatest fighting force in the world,
- advanced the frontiers of roman control from Britannia to North Africa.
I have conquered the world for you, the people of Rome,
- not for the senators on Palatine Hill.
There's still time for negotiation.
Name a single law or treaty that Caesar has not broken.
The mob won't stand for it.
What's been set in motion cannot be unset.
Mother Noella.
- What's happened? - The goats are sick.
Mother Noella, it's all blood.
The midwife told Meof five stillborns this week on the Palatine Hill, all boys.
- It's gossip. - It's omens.
In the coming days, I will present the Decree of Rome...
...the most sweeping reforms in constitutional law-
- since the publishing of the 12 tables.
The college augurs warn of blood on the ides. We must tell Caesar.
I'll discuss this with thearval priests, make my decision.
And you will forget what you have seen.
What will you do?
We need Caesar isolated.
How much?
Three Semis, ma'am.
How beautiful.
Piso?
Did you see my son?
Ma'am?
Piso?
Piso!
- Tyrannus! Tyrannus! - Moira!
What is it? What's happened? Where's Piso?
He was there beside meat the marketplace.
Someone must have taken him.
Wait here!
Piso! Piso!
Have you seen a boy about six years, this high?
There's no sign of the gladiator.
We've searched his home in the slave barracks... nothing.
Tyrannus will come.
Caesar, let the senate wait.
At least until the praetorian find Tyrannus.
I agree. Call it off, brother.
Present the Decree of Rome another time.
There is no other time.
Is it him?
It's a vestal, Caesar.
Your name, sister.
Camane, Lord.
Forgive me.
What I have to say, I speak for myself, not the order.
The signs warn of blood on the ides of March.
You must not ride to Rome, not today.
Now this. You must reconsider.
What would you have me do? Hide under the bed?
That would be merry news to the senate.
But the gods.
I've lived my whole life in defiance of the gods.
Let this day be no different.
Man your horse. We ride.
Uncle!
Have you seen a boy about this high, about six years?
Piso!
General...
...your presence is required for just a moment.
Papa?
Piso!
My brother in exile, great Caesar, I beg leniency.
This is an old issue. There will be no pardon.
Rise, senator Cimber, and take your seat.
You have saved your boy.
But who will save your beloved Caesar?
And you, my child?
By the gods.
Caesar.
- Tyrannus. - I'm here.
Protect him.
Protect who, great Caesar?
My heir. My successor.
Mark Antony, of course.
No. Not Antony.
Octavius.
My sister's boy.
He will save the dream of Rome, Tyrannus.
Teach him how to fight, my friend.
Teach him how to rule.
I will.
Antony.
What did he say?
He said...
..."protect him."
Protect who?
Tyrannus...
...protect who?
What have these madmen done?
What if the mob turns violent?
I've made preparations.
And what about him?
This was a terrible day for us all.
Bastards.
You stupid bastards.
Cooler heads must prevail now, general.
What's done is done.
You say this to me with his blood on your hands?
I should throw all your heads to the dogs.
A tyrant died today, nothing more.
Rome is saved.
Think carefully, general.
This is a moment of consequence, of great history.
I would like it to be the moment that the great powers of Rome embraced as friends...
...and united a land and a people.
You said Antony would be with us.
He's the army. We need him.
He'll be back.
In the meantime, I told you, I made preparations.
Mercenaries.
Gladiators, to be specific.
For a fee, Princeps Rapax has agreed to lead them in pursuit of our enemies.
Which enemies?
All Caesar loyalists are now enemies of the republic to be arrested and tried for treason.
Start with his family.
We'll wipe his name from history.
Is this supposed to win the people's hearts?
Winning the war comes first.
Spare the women if you must.
Now go.
- Octavius! - Halt!
Leave him!
What in the names of the gods?
Lady, Caesar is dead, murdered in the senate.
You're lying.
Where is your son?
What do you want with my son?
Caesar names Octavius his successor.
No. That's impossible.
Lady, there's no time.
You don't understand. He's not involved in this.
He is now.
How could this have happened?
I swore an oath to Caesar to protect Octavius.
And I will protect him.
I won't have his blood on my hands as well.
Mother!
You... you're the gladiator.
Say goodbye to your mother, boy.
- No! - Do as I say!
I won't.
Your uncle has been murdered. Go with him.
If what Tyrannus says is true, then the assassins will come for you next.
You cannot stay in Rome.
Now go.
Ride, Octavius.
The vestal order takes no position on the actions of the senate.
There's talk of a purge of Caesar's family, of loyalists.
The institutions of Rome must intervene.
Perhaps you can reason with these men.
Reason, sister?
Reason has abandoned this place.
Not all vestals are neutral in this.
When the time comes, child, I shall call on you.
Moira!
Listen to me.
Take Piso by carriage to the port of Ravenna.
Buy passage on a merchant ship to Cyprus.
Go to the inn of Balbus.
- But I don't understand. - Stay there until I come for you.
I don't know when.
Stay off the major roads. Travel only at night.
- Come soon. - I will.
They're coming.
We'll go for the horses.
Leave the soldiers to me.
Take this.
If you have to use it, hold it loose, like the reins of a horse.
I taught your uncle that.
Let's go!
It'll be morning soon. We'll have to ride at least Toperugia before making camp.
I tried to stop him today.
I called to him.
He didn't hear me.
We have to keep moving.
Not since Alexander the great has such a burden been placed on the shoulders of one so young.
And all the world hinges on the outcome.
Watch over him, sweet Vesta, for the trials of Octavius have begun.