Empire

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.