Quo Vadis (1951) - Part One

05/25/23 • 50 min

1 Listener

This episode we return to the ‘Golden Age of Hollywood’ with a classic sword and sandal epic, Quo Vadis (1951). This film is available through many streaming platforms and we highly recommend revisiting it.

In Part One of two episodes on Quo Vadis, we examine the context for the film and the plot.

Quo Vadis (1951) helped to ignite Hollywood’s passion for ancient epics in this decade. It was a smash hit with some of the legendary stars of the era, including Robert Taylor, Deborah Kerr and Peter Ustinov. This film is not only epic in terms of length, but in terms of all the aspects that you could discuss in connection with it.

Special Episode – Quo Vadis (1951) – Part One

Resistance

The tale itself has a lengthy backstory which takes us all the way back to 19^th century Poland. Henryk Sienkiewicz wrote the book in a serialised format between 1894-1896. Poland had been going a through a tough time over the course of the preceding century, in the sense that it did not exist independently between 1795 and 1918. During this period, the Catholic Church was crucial in preserving Polish culture. Sienkiewicz often wrote historical novels that would lift the spirits of his fellow poles, and Quo Vadis was no exception. For Sienkiewicz, the triumph of Christian characters such as Lygia and Ursus (meant to be from Lugii, i.e. Poland) represent the ultimate triumph of Poland over its cruel oppressors, with Nero representing nations such as Russia, Austro-Hungary and Prussia.

Sienkiewicz’s novel was well-received, and was therefore adapted into toga plays, operas, and several films. The earlier film versions were made in Europe, including the notable 1912 silent classic.

Join us for the fascinating background of the 1951 film and stay tuned for Part Two!

Quo Vadis – Roll Call!

There are a LOT of characters to keep track of in a film of this length, so if you need a handy reference, check out the cast list on IMDB.

The main people that you need to know for our episode include:

Lygia

Fictional main lady love interest. Christian, hostage-turned-adoptive daughter of Roman general Aulus Plautus, and his wife, Pomponia Graecina.

Marcus Vinicius

Fictional main manly love interest. Roman, not Christian (yet). Militaristic, aggressive to start, turns all moral as the film progresses.

Lygia (Deborah Kerr) and Marcus Vinicius (Robert Taylor) in the courtyard of her adoptive parents' home in Rome.
Source: FilmAffinity.

Emperor Nero

Historical figure. Really was Roman emperor from 54-68 CE. Known as the last emperor of the Julio-Claudian dynasty. Really was terrible, although maybe not quite as unrelentingly awful as many suggest – including this film. Probably not as amusing as Peter Ustinov!

A gold coin showing the obverse portrait of Nero.Bust of the historical NeroPeter Ustinov as Nero in Quo Vadis (1951)Poppaea Sabina

Historical figure. Elite Roman lady. Complicated love life. Winds up as Nero’s second wife. Called beautiful but awful in the surviving sources. We say – the jury is out on that one. Typical fun, adulteress type character used to contrast to the ‘good girl’, Lygia. Historically, she is murdered by Nero while pregnant with their child. In Quo Vadis, Nero strangles her. An awful demise in reality and in film.

Statue of the historical Poppaea Sabina found in Olympia, GreecePatricia Laffan as Poppaea Sabina in Quo Vadis (1951)Petronius (Gaius Petronius Arbiter)

Historical figure. Served as governor of Bithynia and was consul in either 62 or 63 CE. Did a decent job, but in his personal life seems to have made pleasure his main goal. Dubbed the ‘Arbiter of Elegance’ by Nero. Accused of being part of a conspiracy against Nero and suicided whilst chatting casually to friends. Thought to be the author of the novel, The Satyricon, which is a very unusual piece because it does NOT focus on the elite and is pretty ... eye-opening. Possibly makes fun of Nero through the gross figure of Trimalchio, a freedmen who has become a wealthy show-off with no taste. Close associate of Nero. In the movie, Petronius is Vinicius’ uncle and an elegant, witty, intelligent member of Emperor Nero’s inner-circle. He also has a weird obsession with the enslaved Eunice...

From left: Petronius (Leo Genn) attempting to advise Nero (Peter Ustinov) in a scene from Quo Vadis (1951).
Image source: FilmFanatic

Ursus

In Part One of two episodes on Quo Vadis, we examine the context for the film and the plot.

Special Episode – Quo Vadis (1951) – Part One

Resistance

Join us for the fascinating background of the 1951 film and stay tuned for Part Two!

Quo Vadis – Roll Call!

There are a LOT of characters to keep track of in a film of this length, so if you need a handy reference, check out the cast list on IMDB.

The main people that you need to know for our episode include:

Lygia

Fictional main lady love interest. Christian, hostage-turned-adoptive daughter of Roman general Aulus Plautus, and his wife, Pomponia Graecina.

Marcus Vinicius

Fictional main manly love interest. Roman, not Christian (yet). Militaristic, aggressive to start, turns all moral as the film progresses.

Lygia (Deborah Kerr) and Marcus Vinicius (Robert Taylor) in the courtyard of her adoptive parents' home in Rome.
Source: FilmAffinity.

Emperor Nero

A gold coin showing the obverse portrait of Nero.Bust of the historical NeroPeter Ustinov as Nero in Quo Vadis (1951)Poppaea Sabina

Statue of the historical Poppaea Sabina found in Olympia, GreecePatricia Laffan as Poppaea Sabina in Quo Vadis (1951)Petronius (Gaius Petronius Arbiter)

From left: Petronius (Leo Genn) attempting to advise Nero (Peter Ustinov) in a scene from Quo Vadis (1951).
Image source: FilmFanatic

Ursus

Previous Episode

The Tenacious Tempanius

1 Recommendations

Welcome to 423 BCE and your introduction to the one and only Sextus Tempanius! You may not know his name just yet, but we're pretty sure you'll be as impressed with him as we are. Suffice it to say, 423 BCE is one of the more interesting and dramatic years of the decade.

After a confusing tangent about the Samnites and Capua brought to us courtesy of Livy, we return to Rome and war with the Volscians. The Roman forces are led by the patrician, Gaius Sempronius Atratinus. However, Sempronius might be placing too much faith in the gods when it comes to war...

With fortune seemingly turning against the Romans, a plebeian hero steps into the spotlight. Sextus Tempanius brings the cavalry to the rescue of their forces. Join us to find out how the Tenacious Tempanius made the Romans swoon.

Episode 137 – The Tenacious Tempanius

A re-enactor dressed as a Roman cavalryman. The gear is not necessarily historically accurate for this period, but it gives the vibe!
Image courtesy of Jacqueline Ross via Flickr.

My Kingdom for a Decurio!

Sextus Tempanius is described in some of our sources as a decurio. In this context, a decurio is a commander of a decuria of cavalry. A decuria is the Latin term for a division of ten. So a decurio is a low level commander in charge of the ten riders that make up his decuria. Although we can't be precise about the exact scope of the Roman cavalry in this period of the early Republic, there is later thought to have been 30 lots of ten riders to a cavalry legion (300 riders). So for three hundred horsemen there were thirty internal leaders. The other important division was the grouping of 3 decuriones (3×10) horsemen together into a formation known as a turma. Depending on the battle situation, the Romans had the capacity to divide a legion down to collectives of 30 or 10 horsemen with their own command structure.

Things to Listen Out For

Several theories about how Capua received its’ name
Confusion over places starting with V
The laziest Etruscan resistance EVER
Standards left lying around
Roman cheerleading practice
Friends turning on each other like real douchebags
Weird parallels to the Second Punic War
Patrician trials – about time!

Want to refresh your knowledge of 424 BCE? Check out our previous episode.

Our Players 423 BCE

Consuls

C. Sempronius – f. – n. Atratinus (Pat)
Q. Fabius Q. f. M. n. Vibulanus (Pat) Mil. Tr. c. p. 416, 414

Tribune of the Plebs

C. Iunius

Decurio

Sextus Tempanius

Our Sources

Dr G reads Dionysius of Halicarnass Roman Antiquities 12.6.5; Val. Max. 3.2.8.
Dr Rad reads Livy ab Urbe Condita 4.37-41.
Broughton, T. R. S., Patterson, M. L. 1951. The Magistrates of the Roman Republic Volume 1: 509 B.C. – 100 B.C. (The American Philological Association)
Brill New Pauly entries for “Decurio” and “Verrugo”
Cornell, T. J. 1995. The Beginnings of Rome: Italy and Rome from the Bronze Age to the Punic Wars (c. 1000-264 BC) (Taylor & Francis)
Forsythe, G. 2006. A Critical History of Early Rome: From Prehistory to the First Punic War(University of California Press)
Oakley, S. P. 2016. ‘Didactic Livy: Review of Livy’s Political Philosophy. Power and Personality in Early Rome by A. Vasaly’. The Classical Review 66:2, 431-433.
Ogilvie, R. M. 1965. A Commentary on Livy: Books 1-5 (Clarendon Press).
Smith, W. 1854. Dictionary of Greek and Roman Geography “Verrugo”

Sound Effects

Thanks to the wonderful Bettina Joy de Guzman for our theme music. Sound effects courtesy of Fesliyan Studios and Orange Free Sounds and BBC Sound Effects.

North face of the Mausoleum of Glanum, southern France, showing a cavalry battle, c. 40 BCE. This relief shows cavalry in action well after the period under discussion in this episode, but it does give you a sense of the movement and how Romans in the late Republic conceived of the cavalry.
Source: Wikimedia Commons. Photographer: Cancre

Automated Transcript

Lightly edited for clarity!

Dr Rad 0:27
Hello, dear listeners, and welcome to another episode o...

Next Episode

The Four Horsemen

1 Recommendations

This episode, we are dealing with 422 and 421 BCE. The previous year had been a very dramatic for Rome. They seem to have come perilously close to a disastrous military defeat. Luckily, they had the four horsemen on their side...

“The Four Horsemen” is our affectionate name for the group of cavalry commanders who dismounted and led the Roman army on foot when everything turned against them during the battle against the Volsci in 423 BCE. The most notable amongst them was a plebeian hero Sextus Tempanius.

In 422 BCE, these men were elected to serve as plebeian tribunes. But will they continue to be exalted by the Roman people? Or will they demand change from the patricians and become just as troublesome as many of their predecessors?

Join us as we explore the fallout from the Volscian conflict.

Episode 138 – The Four Horsemen

Things to Listen Out For:

Bad Italian accents
Aequians coming out of nowhere
Angry patricians acting like your parents
Too many interreges to count (or name apparently)
Moderatio everywhere

Need a more detailed recap of Sempronius' misdeeds? Check out our previous episode on 423 BCE.

Our Players 422 BCE

Military Tribunes with Consular Power

L. Manlius – f. – n. Capitolinus (Pat)
Q. Antonius (T.f. – n.) Merenda
L. Papirius (L.?f. – n.) Mugillanus (Pat) Cos. 427

Tribunes of the Plebs

(Ti.) Antintius
(M.) Asellius
(Ti.) Spurillius
Sex. Tempanius
L. Hortensius

Ex-Consul

C. Sempronius – f. – n. Atratinus (Pat)

Our Players 421 BCE

Consuls

Cn. (or N.) Fabius Q.f.M.n. Vibulanus (Pat) Mil. Tr. c. p. 415, 407
T. Quinctius T.f.L.n. Capitolinus Barbatus (Pat) Mil. Tr. c. p. 405

Interrex

Lucius Papirius Mugillanus

The “Horses of Saint Mark”, also known as the “Triumphal Quadriga” or “Horses of the Hippodrome of Constantinople”. The bronze sculptures are thought to date to the second or third centuries CE and modelled on much earlier statues from classical Greece c. fourth century BCE. The precise date is uncertain. Photo credit to Tteske via Wikimedia Commons.

Our Sources

Dr G reads Fasti Capitolini for 422 and 421 BCE; Festus 174L; Tacitus Annals 11.22; Val. Max. 6.5.2.
Dr Rad reads Livy ab Urbe Condita 4.42-43.
Broughton, T. R. S., Patterson, M. L. 1951. The Magistrates of the Roman Republic Volume 1: 509 B.C. – 100 B.C. (The American Philological Association)
Cornell, T. J. 1995. The Beginnings of Rome: Italy and Rome from the Bronze Age to the Punic Wars (c. 1000-264 BC) (Taylor & Francis)
Drogula, Fred K (2015). Commanders & command in the Roman republic and early empire. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press. ISBN 978-1-4696-2314-6. OCLC 905949529.
Forsythe, G. 2006. A Critical History of Early Rome: From Prehistory to the First Punic War(University of California Press)
Holloway, R. Ross (2008). “Who Were the Tribuni Militum Consulari Potestate?”. L'Antiquité Classique. 77: 107–125. doi:10.3406/antiq.2008.3716. ISSN 0770-2817. JSTOR 41812945. Archived from the original on 2022-03-17.
Lomas, Kathryn (2018). The rise of Rome. History of the Ancient World. Cambridge: Harvard University Press.