I call upon the noble Appius Junius Silanus to speak.
Senators, I was summoned here from Spain by our Emperor.
By our late Emperor.
I need hardly describe to you the feelings with which I journeyed.
A few months ago, hearing that a friend was sick, I went to see him.
"What is it that ails you?" I asked him.
He smiled. "Appius Silanus," he said,
"I have been summoned to Rome."
He meant, of course, that he was dying.
I arrived here yesterday.
Today, the Emperor is dead instead of me.
Let that notorious phrase - summoned to Rome - perish with him
from our language forever.
And let us return once again to the sanity of a republic!
Senators! Senators! Senators.
The Praetorian Guards have carried off Caligula's Uncle Claudius
and proclaimed him Emperor.
Did you hear me?
The Guards have proclaimed Tiberius Claudius Emperor!
Come on, sir. Drink up.
I d-don't want any wine.
Well. do you er...? Do you mind if I...?
Do as you like.
I'm y-your prisoner, not you mine.
No, no, you're not our prisoner. You're our Emperor.
I've told you a d-dozen times, I d-don't want to be Emperor.
You're a funny chap.
You're the only person in the country who doesn't want to be an emperor,
and yet here you are, chosen to be one.
Life's full of irony, isn't it?
Hail. Caesar!
I've no right to that title and you've no business using it!
He's being very awkward. He's been uncooperative all the way here.
Leave us.
You know, sir, I knew your brother, the noble Germanicus,
on the Rhine years ago.
We tried to make him Emperor when Augustus died, but he'd not have it.
Well. my b-brother believed in a r-republic.
That's all very well for the likes of you, sir.
Being members of the Imperial family,
you can afford the luxury of Republican sentiments. I can't.
I rose through the ranks.
Besides, I've got 4,000 men who need an Emperor
if they’re to be gainfully employed.
I need not remind you what might happen
if they’re let loose on the streets.
Excuse me, sir. There's a chap here who claims to be the King of Bashan.
C-claims to be or is?
Well. I don't know. I didn't know there was a place called Bashan.
- Do you know him, sir? - If it's Herod, of course.
L-let him in.
Congratulations, Caesar, on your election!
May you long enjoy the honours these brave soldiers have bestowed on you.
There you are, sir! And he's the King of Bashan.
You've come at the right moment.
Although we've elected him Emperor, Tiberius Claudius wants a Republic.
Perhaps you can persuade him to see the consequences.
I wish you wouldn't keep taking it off, sir. It really suits you.
What is the matter with you, Herod?
Do you intend to go along with this farce?
Listen, old friend, and be thankful I arrived in Rome.
I know your views, so I know exactly what you're thinking.
You think of yielding up your power to the Senate at the earliest moment.
- Of course. - You mustn't!
First, it would be signal for civil war.
The Senate are a flock of sheep, but there are wolves among them,
all convinced they should be Emperor.
Secondly, the moment you relinquish your power, you're a dead man.
Why? I b-believe in a Republic.
You're a danger to the assassins.
They’ve already killed Caesonia and the child.
- What? - Don't you see?
A Republic necessitates the death of all the Imperial family,
- not just Caligula. - And M-Messalina?
Oh, she's safe.
You must put aside your ancient prejudices, my friend,
and accept the reality that is.
If you do not, I cannot answer for the consequences.
These Protectors have been sent to summon you to the Senate.
- What has happened to them? - They’re fortunate.
The Guards almost killed them.
Don't you know their persons are inv-violable?!
Sorry, Caesar. I didn't know they were coming.
It's a disgrace. What does the Senate want?
- Pardon us, Caesar... - Stop c-calling me that!
The Senate would be obliged by your immediate attendance.
They’re anxious to know your intentions.
What, take our Emperor? Not a chance. Dump them in the Tiber!
Get back, all of you!
Tell the Senate that our Emperor remains here.
And when he leaves, he leaves with 4,000 Guards behind him.
Give my compliments to the Senate.
Tell them I am unable, for now, to comply with their request.
Give them safe conduct back to the city.
Caesar.
Out.
Get a move on.
Do nothing until you hear from me.
I shall arrange a meeting between you and members of the Senate,
but in the palace.
But make your mind up to it, Claudius.
For good or ill. they’ve made you Emperor.
If you don't accept, you won't survive - or any of your family.
If you do nothing else, accept. At least for the time being.
Senators, I understand you d-d-do not want another Emperor.
But it seems you've b-been given one.
I sympathise with you.
I d-do not want to be an Emperor,
but it seems I have been chosen one.
Perhaps you could t-take a little moment to sympathise with me.
Your appointment is unconstitutional
I agree, but there are 4,000 Praetorian Guards who d-do not.
And who created that Praetorian Guard?
You did in the reign of Augustus.
It's against the constitution. Only the Senate can appoint an Emperor.
It is also against the constitution to m-murder one!
If you hadn't done so, Marcus,
we shouldn't b-be here in this absurd position!
You're not fit to be Emperor.
I agree. But then nor was my nephew.
What difference is there between you?
He would not have agreed,
and by now your head would be on that f-floor for saying so!
There are those who say you cannot hear properly,
you cannot speak properly, and you've no experience of government.
And that I am, besides, half w=witted.
Senators, it's true I am hard of hearing...
but you will find it's not from want of listening.
As for speaking, again, it's true I have an impediment.
But isn't what a man says more important than how...
..long he takes to say it?
It's true, again, I have little experience of government.
But have you more?
I, at least, have lived with the family who have ruled this Empire
ever since you so spinelessly handed it over to us!
I've observed it working more closely than any of you.
Is your experience better than that?
As for being half-witted.
Well. what can I say except that I have survived to middle age
with half my wits, while thousands have died with all of theirs intact!
Evidently, quality of wits is more important than quantity.
I shall do nothing unconstitutional
I shall appear at the Senate
where you may confirm me in my position or not, as you wish.
But if it pleases you not to,
explain your reasons to them, not to me!
Now you may all leave my house except Marcus Vinicius and Asprenas.
And bring in Cassius Chaerea and G-Gaius Sabinus.
I feel a f-fraud.
You won't when you begin work.
There's much to do. Do it very well
Caesar, Gaius Sabinus is dead. He's taken his own life.
All the officers involved have been arrested
and are awaiting trial and execution.
I cannot find it in me to condemn you for killing my nephew.
But you also murdered the Lady Caesonia and the child,
and you meant to murder me and my wife.
None of whom had ever done you any harm.
I did it for the Republic and I would do it again.
No. You did it more for the injuries to yourself than for the Republic.
But even that doesn't weigh with me.
What w=weighs with me is w=what I've heard -
that it was agreed among you that only Caligula should die.
But that you took it upon yourself to kill us all Is that true?
Why should I deny it?
Your existence proves that only your death would have ensured a Republic.
Then you leave me no choice...
b-but to condemn you for the murder of Caesonia and the child.
- Take him away. - Congratulations, Caesar.
You've passed your first sentence of death.
How many more will you pass before they pass one on you?
Isn't that the way we've set for ourselves? Think about it, Caesar! Think about it!
The investigation into this affair is closed.
Hail. Caesar! Hail. Caesar! Hail. Caesar!
Oh, look. He's dribbling.
Oh, chu chu chu.
There's no need to show him on the balcony every time you see him.
No, but I like to show him. The people like to see him.
Next to you, he's the most imp-portant thing in my life.
I can't thank you enough for him.
I am so v-very much in love.
And so am I.
I've given him to a foster mother to nurse.
You're not going to b-breast feed him?
No, my dear. I've thought a great deal about it.
Now, be honest, have I been a help to you since you became Emperor?
Of course. What would I have done without you? Oh.
What would I have done without her?
Now, I want no small husbandly praises.
I asked you to let me revise the senatorial roll -
who should be left on and who taken off. Was I efficient?
I was amazed at how much detailed knowledge you had of everyone.
And all the detailed work I did as Director of Public Morals?
Yes, it was a revelation. You've been a great help to me.
As Livia was to Augustus?
Yes.
My darling, I want to be Livia to your Augustus.
You know I have a brain, as she had.
I'll never be content just to be the mother of children.
Oh, of course I shall love them.
They’ll be yours - how could I not?
But I must work alongside you
and relieve you of some of your small and petty burdens.
Will breast feeding my son interfere with all this great work of state?
How would you feel if you had to stop a Senate meeting
to go and breast feed a child - not once, but four or five times a day?
Yes. I can hardly find time to f-feed myself.
Very well
All right. Now I shall leave you to rest.
And you too should rest. You've not stopped for a year.
When do I have time to stop?
Well. if you're not going to feed my son, I'll find you other work.
I told you he wouldn't be angry.
You are fortunate to have such an understanding husband -
considering that he's also Emperor.
Well. he loves me and I help him.
I don't know why you want to concern yourself with matters of state.
It's not a woman's place.
It may not be yours, Mother, but it's mine.
Do you not intend to have any more children?
No.
- Does your husband realise this? - Not yet.
How will you prevent it?
Oh, Mother, you're such a mouse.
Do you think a wife must give in to her husband every time he insists?
And one of his age?
There are ways of being nice to a man without risking pregnancy.
Have you never thought of marrying again?
You're still an attractive woman.
I've thought of it.
Why? Do you want to get rid of me?
Of course not.
On the contrary, I'd hope that you and any husband
would continue to live in the new palace.
Well. there's nobody who wants me.
Not even Appius Silanus?
Why did you say that?
Weren't you fond of him once?
Oh, well.. What a memory you have. You were so young.
I remember him very well
He used to come to the house quite often.
That was a long time ago.
Besides, he was at Rome at the time of Caligula's assassination
but he never came near me.
Perhaps he lacked encouragement.
Well. he went back to Spain and I've no desire to live there,
so stop making plans in that busy little head of yours.
So Livia is a goddess at last?
That will please her. She wanted that more than anything.
Yes, I've kept my promise, though I never dreamed I'd be able to.
But the Senate f-formally granted my request this morning.
Livia takes her p-place among the gods.
I should like to be there in Heaven when she arrives,
and the Divine Augustus takes her hand and shows her to all the gods.
Oh, how proud he'll be.
The Lady Messalina is excessively romantic.
Yes. I'm a l-l-lucky man, am I not?
Shall we tell him?
Since he's going away, let him be the first to know.
- She's pregnant again. - So soon?
You see, even Herod thinks it's too soon.
Well. love, it wasn't my fault.
Well. whose fault was it, eh?
Well. no... I mean, she gave our little son out to be nursed.
Well. I understood. She does so much work for me. It was inconvenient.
But it's well known breast feeding is a sure guarantee against pregnancy.
- When is it due? - In July.
I shall send it something very special indeed.
What will I do without you? Won't you change your mind and stay?
No, Caesar, you don't need me any more.
Who's going to tell me how to borrow money
or what the corn factors are saying?
You have good people about you now who can tell you far more than I.
Messalina, make him change his mind.
He has kingdoms of his own to govern.
And you've given him several more than he had before.
Oh, yes. Yes, I mustn't be selfish.
But it's true, all your principal advisers are freedmen.
It would be good to find a nobleman to take the place of King Herod
- on whom you could absolutely rely. - Are you thinking of someone?
- Yes, my love. - You see how she works for me!
Her mind is never still Who?
Appius Silanus.
But he's Governor of Spain.
Yes, and a man of immense experience.
He's wasted in Spain.
You should bring him to the palace and have him at your side.
- He has Republican sentiments. - Well. haven't I?
He spoke out against you in the Senate after the assassination.
Augustus n-never enquired into people's political beliefs.
He always said that was not his concern.
I shall always do the same.
Yes, but I'm not sure Silanus would like to live in the palace.
The new palace, which you've turned into offices.
I have a feeling the Lady Messalina is ahead of us.
What are you thinking?
It's only a suggestion, but my mother was fond of him once.
It would please her to marry again, and Silanus would not be adverse
to a connection with the Emperor's family.
Have you added m-matchmaker to your list of careers?
- Of course. If you don't approve... - I was j-joking.
I think it's a very good idea. What do you think?
As from today, I cease to give advice on any subject!
Well. I'm tired. I shall leave you both to talk.
- Goodnight, my dear. - Have we tired you?
Of course not. Goodbye, King Herod.
If your people love you as much as we do,
you are a fortunate king indeed.
I shall be thinking of you in July.
- Goodnight. - Goodnight.
Am I not the most f-fortunate of men, Herod?
Now, why have I deserved such luck?
Oh, it's fool's luck, little marmoset.
You've always had it and you always will
One day, I'm sure, you'll be an Olympian god
when I am only a dead king.
You know, when I first came to Rome, you all seemed like gods to me.
Oh, I'm sure I never l-looked like one.
Yes, even you.
Do you ever think of those days at all. little marmoset?
Lately I've been thinking about them a good deal
And with a good reason.
I'm thinking of writing a book about my family.
What sort of book?
T-the truth.
Oh. Will you tell everything?
Everything. As an historian should.
Not great tales of heroic exploits as T-Titus Livy wrote, no,
but the plain facts, the kitchen details, even the g-gossip.
Why? Why should you want to write such a book?
Eh? Why rake it all up?
Because I owe it to the others to tell the truth.
T-to Postumus and Germanicus.
Why?
Because they’re dead,
and a man should keep faith with his friends even though they’re dead.
You see, I've been so very fortunate in my life,
when they, who were born more deserving, have not.
I've had only three real friends in my life.
Postumus and Germanicus were two.
The third one is you.
Listen, Claudius.
Let me give you a piece of advice.
Oh, I thought you'd finished with advice.
One last piece and then I'm done.
Trust no one, my friend, no one.
Not your most grateful freedman, not your most intimate friend,
not your dearest child, not the wife of your bosom.
Trust no one.
No one?
Not even you?
- Is it all right? - Beautiful. Beautiful.
Is it a boy or a girl?
Let us at least get the engineers to survey it.
We've always w=wanted a safe winter harbour.
Everybody's always said it would cost too much. Let us find out.
Caesar! The child is born!
- What? - Caesar, your child is born.
But...?
The child is born. It's a girl
Oh, Lucina be praised! She's heard my prayers. I'm coming.
Let's have no more discussion.
Get the engineers to make that survey. Then we'll decide.
It'll cost ten million. More.
The more expensive it is, the less likely it is it will ever be built.
What are you suggesting? That we exaggerate the cost?
Well. my dear Narcissus, you have money in corn. I have money in corn.
Lots of people have money in corn.
The more corn that can be landed in winter, the lower the price will be.
That worries me.
That could be construed as a very selfish point of view.
Is there less selfishness in wanting the price of corn to be low?
There are more people who want it to be low.
Doesn't that add up to more selfishness rather than less?
That is sophistry. One cannot argue with you.
Let's get the report.
I'm sure the cost will take care of the philosophical considerations.
Oh.
I must have fallen asleep.
You're tired. You don't look well
You work too hard.
Yes, but so do you.
You're not so young as I am. What does your doctor say?
Oh, what they all say.
I work too many hours. I should work less.
Well. they’re right. You should leave more things to other people.
I'm going to see another doctor soon. G-Greek, recommended by Herod.
Do you think that wise? Our own doctors are so clever.
Well. I'll see him. What can I lose?
How's my l-little daughter?
Cutting her first tooth. The nurse showed it to me today.
Ah. Oh, that's painful Poor little thing.
I think I have the most adorable husband in the world.
He feels everything so deeply.
You have the m-most adoring.
What did you tell me were the three main pillars of the temple of love?
Frankness, kindness and understanding. Why?
- I want to put them to the test. - What have you done?
Nothing.
But there's something I want to do and for which I must be frank.
And for which I must be kind and understanding?
Well. tell me.
Could you possibly allow me to sleep in a bedroom of my own for a while?
Oh, don't look like that or I shall hate myself forever!
Oh, I should never have suggested it.
D-do you not l-love me any more?
I could understand that. I am so much older than you.
Oh, my dear! I love you more than I ever did.
Don't you know that?
I just don't want to risk a third pregnancy in so short a time.
Don't you see what it could do to our marriage?
To our love for one another?
My love, I would never force myself upon you.
Do we have to sleep apart?
Couldn't we at least s-share the same bed?
Don't you see how much more it would hurt our marriage
if you felt passionate to me and I felt I had to refuse you?
And if I did not, then how remorseful you would feel after?
Oh, I've hurt you.
- I should never have mentioned it. - No, no, no.
Oh...
How l-long would you want the s-separation to last?
Oh, not long. Well. let's see how it goes.
You know I couldn't keep away from you forever.
I shall slip into your room now and then when you least expect it.
I think that could be even more fun, don't you?
Pardon me, Caesar,
but you asked me to let you know when Appius Junius Silanus arrived.
- He is here. - I'll see him shortly.
No, wait. I'm leaving. Let him come in.
Well. he's had a long journey.
Very well. my love.
If you think it would be good for our m-marriage to be apart
for a little while.
Women know more about these matters than men.
I'll have the servants arrange another bedroom.
There's no need for that.
Since you've agreed that it's a sensible proposal.
let's do it properly and remove temptation.
I'll move into a suite next to my mother in the new palace.
My offices are there too. It'll be much more convenient.
The noble Appius Junius Silanus, Caesar.
- Hail. Caesar. - Did you have a good journey?
Excellent. The roads were good.
Do you know my wife, the Lady Messalina?
Only as a girl You are even more beautiful now.
I'm so glad you're here. You shall be a great help to my husband.
I'll tell my mother you've arrived.
- Perhaps we can all meat at dinner? - I would like to see her again.
Your ayes are inflamed, but I'll give you a lotion to bathe them with.
Slight retraction of the eyeballs.
- You've had infantile paralysis? - Yes.
There's nothing I can do about that.
The rest of your body is fairly sound.
You've developed good strong arms to compensate for your legs.
- Were you a premature birth? - Yes.
I thought so. And you've had measles, colitis, erysipelas.
And scrofula. Can you tell all that just by looking at me?
And using my brains.
Your food is not digested from yesterday.
We had a wedding yesterday. Appius Silanus married my mother-in-law.
I probably ate too much.
You must stop that. Never get up from a table without wanting more.
- I suppose you get wind? - Well..
If you do, let it out. It does great injury to the stomach.
I don't mind which end you let it out.
A man who puts good manners before good health is a fool
Is there any point in prescribing exercise?
No. What time do I get for exercise?
Massage will have to do.
You can get up now.
Now, Caesar, listen. You work too many hours.
I know that all important people think they’re indispensable,
but read as little as possible - get your secretaries to read to you.
Rest for an hour after your principal meal
Don't go rushing off to the law courts after dessert.
And have 20 minutes massage twice a day.
- I've got a good masseur. - Get rid of him.
The only good masseurs in Rome are mine. I'll send one to you.
What about the cramps in my stomach?
If you will eat large meals quickly in a state of nervous excitement,
you must expect cramp.
I'll give you some medicine for them.
Ah, medicine. Some secret preparation, I suppose?
Can I get that here or shall I have to send away?
You can find it on any piece of waste ground. It's bryony.
What, common bryony?
I'll leave instructions on how to prepare it.
- What about the prayers? - What prayers?
Don't you prescribe special prayers to be used when taking medicine?
Caesar, as High Pontiff and the author of a book on religion,
you are more qualified to prescribe prayers than I.
Do you Greeks believe in nothing?
I've told you what I believe in - bryony.
Hail. Caesar.
- You asked to see me? - Yes.
I too wished to see you. I've not spoken to you since the wedding.
Which, I understand, I owe to your good offices.
Yes.
You have done me a kindness and, I hope, your mother.
Let me speak with you for a moment.
Come and sit beside me.
I love you. I've always loved you, ever since I was a girl
No. No...don't say anything.
In all the years since you stopped coming to our house,
I have never once gone to sleep at night without thinking of you.
Not once.
Can you understand that?
Not one night have I slept without thinking of your arms about me.
I've burned inside thinking of you.
And now you're here.
Here.
I don't understand.
Oh, my darling. I've arranged all this to have you near me.
I've dreamed of nothing else.
Then I must tell you that these are the fantasies of a young girl
They’re the sort of dreams we put aside when we grow up.
But I have not put them aside, nor will I.
Am I to understand that my marriage to your mother -
which you brought me here to...
That was a farce?
It was in order that you and I could sleep together?
- My mother is not important. - And your husband?
Claudius?
Why, do you think I'd arrange all this without his consent?
Why do you think we sleep apart?
Those are his arrangements, not mine.
Not that I mind. His sexual practices are abhorrent to me.
Why has he agreed to your sleeping apart?
Because he now wishes to practise them with the wives of Senators.
He wants me kept amused while he does, and he expects you to do it.
That's why you're here.
Then let him tell me that himself!
Oh, you simpleton!
Do you think he would tell you himself?
He'll deny it, of course he will
You disappoint me.
I thought you more sophisticated
than to confront him with an arrangement he agrees to,
but would proffer not to discuss.
Are you all so brutally obvious in Spain?
Everything is arranged, my darling.
You're right. I am a simpleton!
Having lived through the reigns of three Caesars,
and seen the depths to which Rome has sunk beneath them,
I should have known better than to believe a fourth could be different.
I have a granddaughter nearly your age.
I won't deny that I'm of an amorous disposition -
I have been all my life.
But I wouldn't touch you, Lady, for all your beauty...
with a ten-foot pole!
You forget who I am!
Not the girl you once teased and joked with, but the Emperor's wife!
I have only to raise my voice and tear my clothes
for you to be executed on the spot!
I give you one weak to come to me of your own accord and on your knees!
If you do not, I shall tell my husband that you refused me...
and in refusing his wife, you will have insulted him.
He's become very vain, you know.
You're wasting your time, Lady.
I've lived too long to become the bedtime toy of a 17-year-old girl
Your threats are wasted on me.
- We shall see. - Yes, we shall see.
And Rome shall see how easy it is to straighten one's back
and hold one's head high when the will is there.
Well. w=what is it?
A plan for rebuilding the harbour at Ostia.
Of course it is! Whose is it?
It was made in the time of the Divine Julius.
- Where did you find it, Caesar? - In the archives.
It's identical to the one Tortius has just produced. Look, Silanus.
What's the matter with you? Are you ill?
- No, Caesar. - What relevance have these plans?
Well. the engineers working under the D-Divine Julius
estimated this rebuilding would take four years
and cost four million gold pieces.
The estimates presented to me are for t-ten years
and 15 million gold pieces.
But those estimates are 90 years old.
Are there less days in a year now than there were then?
There's been an increase in costs.
Prices have risen by no more than a quarter.
How, then, do you explain my chief engineer's estimate?
- Well.. - I will explain.
Everywhere you underestimate the amount of earth
that one hundred men can move in a day.
I mean, are men weaker now than they were then?
The topography remains unchanged,
yet on the Divine Julius' plan they were cutting through earth.
In yours, you claim we were cutting through r-r-rock.
- I can't understand it. - Let me explain it.
Your surveyors have been taking bribes from the corn factors.
- Caesar! - Sh-sh-shocking, isn't it?
Well. I-I can't think why they should.
I can. To keep up the price of corn.
Wouldn't you agree, Silanus?
Yes, Caesar.
Well. Tortius. You will begin work on the basis of these estimates,
revised for the difference in prices.
Even so, Caesar, where is the money to come from?
We shall get the first million on loan from the corn factors.
A million? They can't raise that much.
You'll be amazed, Pallas, at what they can raise
in return for my agreement not to begin an inquiry
into allegations of b-bribing my officials.
Yes. It's very late. You may all go.
We'll visit the harbour tomorrow.
I should like a word with you alone, Caesar.
Oh, very well Come and look at these plans, Silanus.
You didn't take much notice of them.
The Divine Julius knew what he was about.
Yes. They are remarkable.
In many ways, better than the ones T-Tortius has produced.
The only thing they leave out
is the building of the island between the two moles.
Come and look...
Help! Get off me!
Help me!
Help me! Help me! Help me!
Wait! Wait!
Get up! Get up!
What happened? Caesar! You're hurt!
- I'll fetch the doctor. - Silanus tried to kill me.
Why? Why?
Let me have him, Caesar. He'll talk.
Why, Silanus, why?
Tyrant!
Tyrant? I don't understand. What harm have I ever done you?
I brought you back from Spain, I made you a minister.
I connected you by marriage with my family.
Yes! To put me in bed with your wife and service her like a bull!
What do you mean?
- W-what do you mean? - You're all the same.
Don't toy with me, Caesar. Do what you have to do.
I ask you again, w=what do you mean?
You know what I mean!
How predictable you Emperors are.
All your reigns begin and end the same.
From vices timidly concealed to vices openly displayed.
One follows the other as sure as decay follows death.
Fetch the Lady M-Messalina, and her mother!
We've seen this play before, don't make us sit through it till the end.
You will explain that calumny on my wife and on her mother.
And if you do not or will not to my satisfaction,
you will surely die for this attempt on my life!
What is it? What's the matter?
Appius Silanus has tried to kill the Emperor.
Silanus? But why? Why would he do such a thing?
I don't know. I thought perhaps you could tell me.
What have you done? What do you know about this?
I know nothing. Nothing! Do you think I plot to kill my own husband?
There's no time to discuss it now.
You must support everything I say, do you understand?
Mother!
I will do nothing to incriminate Silanus. He's my husband.
Oh, you fool! Do you think I brought him back from Spain for you?!
I love him. I've always loved him.
You are monstrous!
You will tell my husband what I tell him, understand?
If you do not, I shall say you were part of it all
I'll say you agreed to it.
Oh, my dear. What's happened? Are you all right?
Yes, yes. I'm all right.
Silanus tried to assassinate me, but I'm all right.
I want you to look at him.
I want you to look into his face.
Now, repeat to her what you said to me.
Let's finish with this. Get it over.
- Repeat it. - For whom?
For her, who told me what I told you?
- Or for you, who knew it all? - Repeat it!
I told your husband what you told me.
That he had arranged my marriage so that you could become my mistress.
That he had done it so you could be kept amused
while he took his own perverted pleasures elsewhere.
It was there and then that I decided to kill him.
To strike a last blow for Rome and end this plague of Emperors!
Well?
Oh, Silanus...
How could you?
He is sick with love, my dear, for me.
I should have told you.
I should have come to you at once but I thought it would pass.
Apparently, he has loved me ever since I was a little girl
I had no idea. How could I?
Since he returned, he has pestered me day and night.
Sometimes pleading and sometimes angry and violent.
I think, perhaps, in his mind,
he does in some way believe what he told you.
That I had arranged his marriage for our convenience.
You poor deluded man.
How could you think there was anyone dearer to me than my husband?
When he came to me today, he was so violent
that I said I would come to you and have you send him away.
That's when he threatened to kill you!
I never in my wildest dreams imagined he would carry out such a threat!
Bravo! Beautifully played!
That performance should be enshrined in drama.
Is this t-true?
Yes. His passion for my daughter has turned his wits.
Have you anything to say?
Only that what I did I'd do again.
Then you leave me no choice!
No! Oh, no!
Please, my dearest, I beg you!
I couldn't bear for him to die because of his love for me.
No, no. Banish him. Banish him. But let him live.
He must die, Caesar.
No! NO!!
An attempted assassination cannot be punished with banishment.
Such a precedent would serve only to encourage others.
What a soft heart you have.
Even after all the lies he's told about you.
But P-Pallas is right.
The heart cannot rule the head in these matters.
I cannot do it, even for you.
I sentence you to die, as you sentenced me.
- Take him away. - May you rot in hell!
And that she-wolf with you!
Now, leave me, all of you.
I'm tired.
Does it hurt?
Of course it hurts. Do you think I'm made of wood?
Oh.
- I didn't mean to scratch so hard. - And I'm on stage today.
No one will see. You'll have your clothes on.
I'm doing Ulysses and Circe.
When I'm washed up on the beach, my dear, I'm naked to the waist.
- That's not in the play. - It is when I perform it.
- Where are you going? - To the theatre.
Stay here.
I have a performance to give.
You can give it here, just for me.
I've already performed for you.
Don't be insolent.
No, no, no. You shouldn't hit my face. I am an actor.
And that's all you are. Just remember that.
Why do I put up with you?
Because you're bored and I make you laugh.
- Do you think I'm bored? - Oh, unbelievably.
You would crack the universe open if you could to see what would happen.
Well. you may be right.
You ought to have accompanied the Emperor on his invasion of Britain.
They say the men there are so savage
that the women live in a permanent state of ecstasy.
I should have been an actor or a sculptor.
They never seem to get bored.
They have their art, but what do I have?
You have your lovers.
- Oh, my lovers! - Hmm.
When I make love, I reach for something that men never dream of.
Oh. What's that?
I don't know.
But it's there - always just out of reach.
Sometimes I feel as if I could take on the whole of Rome in a night
and be no worse for it in the morning.
Well. why don't you?
You'll mock me once too often some day!
No, I'm not mocking you. I'm serious.
We could stage the greatest night of love the world has ever seen.
A tournament of sex. We could challenge the Guild of Prostitutes
to provide a champion to compete with you.
Who would last the longest?
The Interminable versus the Inexhaustible!
You're mad!
There's no one who could compete with me.
Oh, no?
What about that Sicilian woman? What's her name? Scylla.
Don't underestimate her.
They say she boards a ship at Ostia, works the whole crew,
then walks off steadier than them.
- Are you serious? - Why not?
Why not? What a spectacle it would make.
Two tidal waves of male passion dashing their fury
against two timeless rock of love!
Who will be the first to yield? Who will be the first to break?
Oh, why, it would be unprecedented.
Copulation on a cosmic scale
to set the universe ringing to the cheers of the gods.
- Do you think I'd win? - Who can tell?
That Sicilian woman, they say, she's formidable.
But I am more so.
Now I know why I put up with you.
Bring on your Sicilian.
And let her look to her laurels.
They’ve taken 8,000 prisoners and counted nearly 5,000 corpses.
Caractacus has fled Colchester.
Aulus has taken the Ninth Cavalry in pursuit.
- And our losses? - Oh, insignificant.
380 killed and 600 wounded.
Britain is almost subdued. The Emperor's on his way home.
Er...
If he's on his way home, it solves our problem.
- About Messalina? - Yes.
It solves the problem of whether we should write to him.
Whether we should tell him is another matter.
Then it becomes the same problem we had before he left.
Galla's Hair!
"The golden hair that Galla wears is hers.
"Who would have thought it?
"She swears it's hers, and true she swears
"For I know where she bought it!"
Oh, come, Mnester.
"You ask me how my farm can pay, since little it will bear.
"It pays me thus - 'tis far away and you are never there!"
The woman Scylla! President of the Guild of Prostitutes!"
Sh!
Permit me to introduce myself.
My name is Mnester. I am an actor.
Most people have heard of me.
My name is Scylla and I'm a whore. Everybody's heard of me.
Allow me to introduce you to the Lady Messalina.
Your challenger, and the Emperor's wife.
This is Scylla the Sicilian and anybody's wife.
- I am honoured. - You are most welcome.
They said you were beautiful. but they did you small justice.
You are most generous.
It was sporting of you to accept the challenge.
Sporting?
I see. There's no money in it?
You're here for the honour and to defend your reputation.
Would you defend yours for nothing, Greek?
Lady, I'm a professional I work for money.
The honour I gladly leave to you.
What impudence! She expects to be paid, and in this company!
The difference between you and me, actor,
is you're a snob and I'm not.
And the difference between this great lady and myself
is that my work is her hobby.
My hobby happens to be gardening, for which I don't expect to be paid.
You shall have your money. Shall we say...?
Five?
Three gold pieces a head?
"A head" seems an odd way to describe it.
Win or lose, of course?
- That seems satisfactory. - Satisfactory?
You've never earned so much in a year.
This Greek will drive me to distraction.
- Nothing I say pleases him. - Let us begin.
Which side of the bed do you proffer?
Left or right?
Lady, give me a support for my back,
and "Let the Games begin," as they say.
Let the Games begin!
Do you know what's going on at the now palace?
The Emperor's wife is comparing with a prostitute
to see who can wear out the most men!
Well. that is shocking. I can hardly believe it.
I've had my suspicions for weeks, but this is the final straw.
- Something must be done. - Have you told anyone else?
- Only my immediate superior. - Colonel Ruffrius?
- Yes. - When did you discuss it?
A week ago, before I had any proof.
And he advised you to wait for the Emperor's return?
Yes, and I did wait, but this is too much.
I think you must write to the Emperor at once.
I don't think you can put that sort of thing in a letter.
I see.
Well. maybe you can't, but I can!
Justus.
I think you have been immensely foolish.
- Are you threatening me? - No.
But did you not know that Colonel Ruffrius
was one of the Lady Messalina's inner circle of friends?
If you have confided in him, he has most certainly confided in her.
I'd say she's already applied to the Emperor for your execution warrant.
My execution?
- Are you serious? On what grounds? - Does it matter?
Conspiracy.
Emperors are very nervous when they’re away, they’ll sign anything.
If I'm any judge, that warrant's on its way back here now.
You mean...?
What are we to do? You must help me. You must back me up. You must!
I will choose my own time to tell him, not yours or anyone else's.
I have learned to tread very carefully in a burning building.
What am I to do?
What can a dead man do?
Go and get buried.
"Then victory hath conceded been! The Queen is dead...
"Long live the Queen!"
Come back, you whore! We're not finished.
She's inhuman.
Her insides must be made out of old army boots.
The money. Where's my money?
Here, Lady, here. Three gold pieces per head.
Will you take them or shall I have them sent?
I'll take it.
Amateurs!
Senators.
We have re-established Britain as a province of Rome
108 years after the Divine Julius left it -
not very well secured.
It has again become p-part of the Roman world.
When I left, Caractacus, our principal enemy, was in f-full flight.
We had won a great victory.
A Roman Triumph is seldom granted,
but they granted one to me.
Me - Claudius the Idiot, the Stammerer, the Fool
But what life gives with one hand, it takes back with the other.
I would gladly have foregone my Triumph
for the tragedy that was about to unfold.
Shortly before I left for the invasion of Britain,
Marsus Vibius, my Governor of Syria
had written to me giving me the startling news
that my old friend Herod Agrippa was fortifying Jerusalem.
I had hastily written to Marsus Vibius
asking him to find out more
and report to me personally on my return.
D-do you think this is directed against us?
Yes, Caesar. But there's more.
I learned he was organising a secret meeting with neighbouring kings.
He is plotting a revolt against Rome.
- But why? Why? - Do his motives matter?
Well. they do to me.
I'll tell you something, Marsus.
Before I left, I had a letter from Herod's uncle, Antipas.
It was full of gossip, as usual.
but, during it, he said that he was convinced
Herod believed himself to be this Jewish Messiah
whose coming has been prophesied.
Yes. Well. others have thought that too.
Your nephew Caligula for one.
- Yes. - Perhaps it was him.
No. Caligula filled the requirements of the prophecy in many respects,
except he did not die in the year foretold by T-Thrasyllus,
and Thrasyllus was never wrong about dates.
When was this Messiah supposed to die, according to Thrasyllus?
In the same year as my grandmother, Livia.
If the Messiah is already dead, it can't be Herod Agrippa.
But Herod is a Jew. He wouldn't believe anything Thrasyllus said.
Well. where does all this speculation get us?
If he's planning a revolt against Rome, does it matter why?
He's my dearest friend.
If he becomes my enemy, I want to know why!
What do you know about the M-Messiah in the literature of the Jews?
Very little, but I can find out and make a report.
I have Jewish agents in Jerusalem.
- Am I interrupting? - No, no, come in.
Marsus Vibius was just reporting the very grave situation in J-Jerusalem.
We'll meat later and talk some more.
Caesar. Lady.
- Are you worried? - Hm? Oh.
Hurt that my old friend should... Well. there may be nothing in it.
I missed you so very much while I was away. And the children.
I never rested properly a single night thinking about you.
What would I do without you?
When you wrote to me about the Q-Quintus Justus affair,
I thought, "Thank heevens Messalina's taking care of things."
Well. do you want something specially?
Only to say that if I slipped into your room tonight,
would I find you alone in bed?
- M-my love...! - Sh!
I'm not asking for details.
Only that I shouldn't find the little Calpurnia in my place.
I know that she sometimes visits you.
Well. she's an old f-friend.
I don't mind a bit. It's very good for your health.
Oh, but sometimes I feel a great desire to have your arms about me,
and I should hate to embarrass you.
Oh, come tonight, p-please. I should be so grateful
Be alone then.
Oh...
- There is one thing. - Oh, anything.
I wish you would speak to Mnester.
He's got so big-headed lately and insolent.
During your absence, he was very rude to me -
making excuses for not putting on some play that my friends wanted.
Couldn't you punish him yourself?
I didn't want to do that.
He's a great favourite with the crowd
and they might have held that against you.
I shall speak to him.
Just tell him that when I ask him to do something,
he is to do it and not make a fuss.
I was her slave.
Is there anything so foolish as an old man in love?
Well, I spoke to Mnester.
"Listen, little Greek, " I said.
"If the Lady Messalina tells you to do anything,
"you will obey,,
"Anything?" he asked..
"Anything, " I said to him.
I played, as usual, into Messalina's hands.
She had fallen manically in love with Gaius Silius,
the Consul-Elect and the handsomest man in Rome.
Knowing Mnester to be on close terms with the family,
she had asked. him to bring Silius to see her.
Mnester had refused out of respect for Silius' wife.
Hence Messalina's complaints to me.
Like a fool, I secured for her what she most wanted.
He was not an easy victim of her passion, but she was clever..
She did not talk at first of love, but of politics.
Tiberius had executed his father and she played, on that,
telling him that I was more corrupt even than Tiberius
Before he realised it, he was comforting her.
Before he realised it, he was making love to her.
He was as much her abject slave as I was.
Claudius, Claudius, you go too fast.
Too fast.
More grave news of the situation in Jerusalem
was hurried to me by Marsus from his agent, Catalus.
Yes, but what exactly is this M-Messiah?
A king, Caesar, who is to come and redeem Israel of all its sins.
Philo, their greatest living scholar,
has declared that he must be descended from King David
and born in a village called...
Ah.
What? Bethlehem.
- B-Bethlehem? - Yes.
In w=what year?
Well. opinions differ, as they always will in events of this kind.
Have there been any candidates recently?
Not recently. The last one, I heard from a Jew, died fifteen years ago.
- Fifteen? - Yes.
Is that significant?
Who was this man?
His name was Joshua Bar-Joseph, a native of Galilea.
He had a large following amongst the uneducated
and used to preach to gatherings by the lakeside.
He was also called Jesus by the Greeks.
And was he born in...?
- Bethlehem? - B-Bethlehem.
It's not precisely known. There was some scandal concerning his birth.
A Greek was said to have seduced his mother, who was a tapestry worker.
What happened to this Joshua?
He tried to form a new religion out of Judaism,
but he lacked authority. He began identifying himself as this Messiah.
He was executed as a heretic.
Do you know what King Herod thought of him?
Not much, I imagine. He recently executed one of his followers called James.
- He's looking for a Simon. - He has followers?
Oh, yes, yes, yes. It's a cult. There are always cults.
All this is most interesting for you, Caesar,
with your fascination for strange religions.
But what does it tell us of Herod's intentions?
I will tell you, Pallas.
King Herod's mother was on her way to Jerusalem for her lying-in
when she was overtaken by her pains in a village.
King Herod was born there. The name of the village was B-Bethlehem.
There is no doubt in my mind.
My friend Herod believes himself to be this Messiah.
And worse - many others believe him to be this Messiah.
His intentions are clear. On this great wave of religious fanaticism,
he intends to free the east from the dominion of Rome.
He intends to make w=war on us. Marsus is right.
If we don't move quickly, Herod will seize the Eastern Empire
and we shall lose Egypt.
My friend has become my enemy.
What are you doing with that?
The mistress told us to take it down.
But why?
If there's a mark on it, I'll have you whipped.
- Where is it going? - Hurry up with it!
I'm giving it to someone as a present.
- To Silius? - Yes.
Iris! I want my hair dressed!
That was a present from your husband.
I know that. Silius fell in love with it, so I'm giving it to him.
- And if he finds that it's gone? - He doesn't come here.
If he does, I'll tell him I've put it somewhere else.
Have you taken leave of your senses?
Have your wits deserted you entirely?
You have lavished gifts on that man from all directions...
half of them from the palace.
Are you so much in love that you have lost all sense of discretion?
Yes. I am in love.
But you've never imperilled your life for it.
I shan't imperil my life.
All Rome knows that you visit him openly at his house.
And take him gifts. His wife complains bitterly about it.
He's divorcing his wife.
Divorcing her? For what reason?
For no other reason than he loves me.
He'll need a better reason.
They’re not married in the strict form. It requires a declaration.
But you are married! You can't marry him.
So why is he divorcing his wife?
Because I can't bear him sharing her bed when he gets out of mine!
I heard nothing.
Not a breath of the scandal that was known to everyone else in Rome.
Even the slaves
They're laughing at me.
Still, after all these years..
still laughing at me.
Herod.
Trust no one, my friend. No one.
Yes, Caesar, dead. Herod Agrippa is dead.
How?
Tell me. Tell me what happened.
Well. he had come up from Jerusalem to Caesarea
for the festival in honour of your birthday.
But really to meat with the kings with whom he'd formed his alliance?
Yes. Only Phoenician Tyre and Sidon stood outside the alliance
and now they had decided to join.
Their formal submission was to be made to Herod upon their arrival
Did Herod truly believe himself to be this Messiah?
- This Anointed One? - Oh, yes.
Yes. He had revealed himself to the High Priests.
Now he was to reveal himself to the nation.
Go on.
When he arrived in the amphitheatre, the whole audience rose.
He was wearing a royal robe of silver tissue
that flashed in the sun so brightly that it tired the eyes to look at it.
The whole audience shouted, "O King, live forever!"
But this was not enough for the men of Tyre and Sidon.
They grovelled at his feat and said, "We repent of our ingratitude!
"We see now that you are superior to mortal nature."
"Tyre and Sidon," he replied, "you are forgiven."
And they answered, "It is the voice of God!"
"Thou shalt have no other gods but me."
Isn't that what the god of the J-Jews has said?
Yes, Caesar, but evidently Herod had forgotten that.
He was about to signal for the ram's horn to be blown when he stopped.
An owl flew into the arena, which had been blinded by the sunlight.
It perched on this throne, hooted five times, and then flew off.
An owl? Yes.
An owl was always an ill-omen for Herod.
Well. he groaned.
He seemed to feel pains in his chest,
for he cried out, "I am ill Carry me out!"
They carried him out.
And the ram's horn never blew.
The crowd set up a wail
The festival was over before it had begun.
And within five days, he was dead -
his body racked with pain
and rotted into an unrecognisable mass of sores.
The kings departed and the crowds went home.
The storm passed without a single drop of rain.
And the Messiah?
Who, then, is this M-Messiah?
Who knows? Perhaps the Jews must wait a little longer.
Perhaps.
Marmoset, I am dying.
My body is full of maggots.
Forgive me.
Forgive your old friend who loved you dearly
yet secretly plotted to take the East away from you.
I have failed. I played, too dangerous a game.
Little marmoset you are a fool, but I envy you your folly..
Do not weep for me. My punishment is just.
I offended against the only living God.
Farewell, my friend, whom I love more truly than you suppose.
Farewell, little marmoset, my school fellow...
and trust no one.
No one.
Your dying friend, Herod Agrippa.
I was alone.
For the first time in my life, I was alone.
They were all gone now, those friends of my youth.
Germanicus Postumus, Castor, Herod. All gone.
There was no one now I could turn to except Messalina.
Yes she helped me.
How she helped me
She persuaded me to lot her the duplicate of my seel
Say, "Fool, Claudius, fool!"
I know it I know it But she was clever..
I also began this most strange history of my life,
which you shall read and find, I promise you.
Now you shall see how my ignorance of my own domestic affairs ended.
I said I would tell all and I shall
Her adultery with Silius had gone so smoothly that she was bored.
Not with him, but with their situation.
While he began to feel that the longer it went on,
the greater the danger of their being discovered.
- Divorce him? - Why not?
And marry you?
Wouldn't you rather be my wife than my mistress?
Your wife?
Oh, Gaius. More than anything in the world.
But how?
Divorce is simple. You send someone to your husband and tell him.
I know that. I meant how would we do it and survive?
We have gone far enough with concealment.
Sooner or later, he'll find out and we'll be taken unprepared.
No. It's safer to stay as we are.
We can wait until he dies of old age.
I am tired of waiting!
Gaius, don't you think that I am tired of waiting too?
Oh, don't turn your back on me, please.
Nothing would please me more than to be your wife
and belong to you entirely for everyone to see.
But we've made a long-term plan. Let's keep to it.
Only innocent people can afford long-term plans.
Well. I think of myself as innocent, don't you?
- Are you innocent of adultery? - What?
Of unbridled promiscuity?
Of taking bribes?
Of judicial murder?
- Gaius, what...? - We are guilty!
Stop deluding yourself with these childish notions. We are guilty.
And I don't care. I love you.
You are everything to me. But guilt needs daring. Look at me!
I am ready to marry you and adopt your children, to be at your side.
Your power will remain undiminished.
But we will never have any peace of mind until we end this farce!
And if we marry - what then?
We have friends - powerful friends.
They share our danger and they look to us for peace of mind.
If we marry, openly and publicly,
all Rome will see how Claudius is abandoned.
All Rome will see the contempt in which you hold him.
We'll declare a Republic and people will flock to our cause.
- When? - Tomorrow.
Tomorrow I go with him to Ostia to examine the new harbour.
When you return, then?
No. Tomorrow.
Let him go on his own.
I'll have a headache. He's used to my headaches.
While he dallies in Ostia, we'll marry in Rome.
By the time he returns to the city, it'll belong to us!
I went down to Ostia.
She was supposed to come with me but she had one of her headache s
I was disappointed, but it was too late to change my plans
By the time I arrived in Ostia they were already married.
it will seem incredible I know,
that in a city where nothing escapes notice or comment,
they could have felt themselves so secure. And yet, they did.
And I was, perhaps, the only man in Rome who knew nothing of it
Scandalous! It's scandalous!
While all of Rome trooped into her bed, we said nothing.
We closed our eyes and said nothing.
But this is utterly and unbearably different. This...
This puts the Emperor's life in danger.
And if it puts his life in danger, it puts ours.
That's a very different bowl of fish.
Has she divorced him or not?
She sent a freedman with her declaration to his chamber.
- But the Emperor wasn't here. - She knew that!
Is the marriage bigamous or not?
Do you think she cares?!
Don't you see? The marriage is a public declaration
that the Emperor's wife has abandoned him
as being too old, too corrupt and too stupid to govern Rome.
That she has chosen the Consul-Elect as her husband
is a clear indication and an invitation to the Senate
to restore the Republic.
In view of Messalina's known viciousness in getting her own way,
the Senate will put them both at the head of it!
Well..
he must be told. This time he must be told.
But how? He won't believe a word said against her.
From the moment we tell him, time is on her side, not ours.
Then from the moment we tell him, we must keep her away from him.
We must ensure she never sees him. Eliminate her without a hearing.
Yes, that's taken for granted. But how do we tell him?
Whom will he most readily believe?
There is someone. Someone he trusts who's been his friend for years.
The little prostitute, Calpurnia.
Oh, Calpurnia. Now, what is this?
A note thrust into my hands?
"Grave danger to Rome. Come to my house."
Well. I hope this isn't some silly girlish prank.
You've quite alarmed me.
Especially as the ram I was sacrificing in the temple
turned out to be the most unpropitious b-beast I'd ever seen.
Its entrails were awful
Why are you trembling? Now, what's the matter?
- Oh, Caesar! - What's the matter?
Calpurnia, get up! You know I hate people grovelling.
Oh, Caesar.
Will you please tell me what you have to say?
I shall tell you because nobody else dare tell you,
but when I do you will have me tortured and flogged.
Calpurnia, dear as you are, you're making me angry.
Do you still trust me?
In my life, I've trust three women -
my mother, Messalina and yourself.
Why must you include your wife in that list? !
Messalina? I trust her with my life.
She has just married Gaius Silius
and the wedding party is still going on in Rome!
Are you mad, or wicked or both?
They’re married. Your wife and Silius. Everyone in Rome knows!
But I left her in bed with a headache.
Now she's in bed with Silius! Don't you understand? He's her lover!
I thought you knew.
Everyone assumed you knew.
Else why have you slept apart all this time?
I wouldn't have told you even now, but they’re married.
And I've seen the wedding party.
How? You heven't been to Rome!
Yes, I've been.
Narcissus came and fetched me. I've been to Rome today.
The garden of the palace is decorated with vine leaves and ivy
and bunches of grapes, wine vats and presses.
They’re all dancing about like wine-soaked gods!
I don't believe you! I refuse to believe you!
It's true, Caesar.
Every word she says is true.
Caesar, how else could you have been told?
When have you been prepared...?
When have you listened to any criticism of your wife's excesses?
Excesses?! What are you talking about? !
Caesar...
her adulteries are as numberless as the sands on the shore.
And that is no figure of speech!
When you were away in Britain, she competed with a prostitute
to see who could wear out the most lovers in a day.
Half of Rome saw it!
If you've any doubt about Silius, go to his house.
It will seem like home to you.
Your expensive furniture is there - paintings, tapestries, statues.
Even Imperial slaves.
But that is nothing.
Do you know you are divorced?
Nation and Senate have witnessed her wedding to Silius.
Act now, or her new husband controls Rome.
I can't believe it.
My dear, you must.
And you must act quickly or you'll be condemning us all to death.
She's right, Caesar. We must return to Rome and arrest them at once.
But am I s-still Emperor?
Some officers of the guard may have been seduced,
but the soldiers are devoted to you, I'm certain.
Yes. Arrest them.
Hurry back to Rome and arrest them all
- Mnester? - Yes?
- What do you see? - A cloud in the shape of Claudius,
rising over Ostia.
- Is he drifting this way? - He was.
But he just farted and blew himself out to see.
Out of the way!
Gaius, help me up.
What do you see now?
A troop of guards climbing the hill
Splendid! Wave them in and give them wine.
I think not, Gaius Silius.
Their swords are drawn - every one.
The guards! The guards!
The guards are coming!
The guards are coming to arrest us!
The Emperor's in Rome!
They’re arresting everybody! Run! Run!
- Where is the Emperor? - In his study.
We've arrested nearly 200 people. Lady Messalina has not been found.
She is not to be allowed to see the Emperor without first consulting me.
Where is he? Where is my husband?
He doesn't wish to see you.
Out of my way, you Greek!
You dare stand between me and my husband?
Which husband, you whore? Which one?
Out of my way! Get out of my way!
- Let me go! Let me go! - Get her out of here!
Let me see him! Claudius!
How dare you stop her!
She is the Emperor's wife and the mother of his children.
But is he the father?
Who knows whose litter they are.
Liar! Liar!
Here's a list of your adulteries. Do you want to read it? Hundreds!
And you call her a mother?
Take her home and let her wait.
No!
No! Mother!
Claudius!
Arrests have been made all over the city.
Silius has been taken. Thank heeven most of the guard proved loyal
Poor woman.
Whatever made her d-do such things?
How unhappy she must have b-been.
You must sign these, Caesar.
They’re the charge sheets. They need your signature urgently.
Sleep, Caesar, sleep. You need your rest.
Save yourself for Rome.
Geta. Here's the warrant for her execution. Hurry.
- And offer her the dagger first. - No.
If she takes her own life,
it will save us having to show him the warrant in the morning.
Take it to the palace. Tell no one that you have it.
Only that you want to see your father. Hurry.
When he reads it, he'll forgive your mother, you'll see.
Hurry. Hurry.
He must see me, he must.
Oh, how could you, child? How could you?
Is that all you can say?
Why don't you do something?
Why don't you see him on your own?
He's coming.
He's coming to see me.
What do you want?
Your life, Lady. Your husband's orders.
No!
- He wouldn't do that. My husband... - Read it! It has his signature.
I'm to offer you the dagger first, if you'll have it.
And then to cut off your pretty head and put it on a spear.
No!
Not my head! Not my head!
Child, child!
Your life is done.
Take the dagger and use it.
Don't let them take my head.
No!
Oh...
No.
He wouldn't do that.
Not Claudius.
Use it. Use it quickly.
I can't. I can't.
Not my head! Not my...!
I'll see my w=wife now.
She was executed last night at your orders, Caesar.
Here is the warrant.
There is a despatch from Britain, Caesar.
The temple that was to be dedicated to the God Augustus in Colchester
has been dedicated instead to you.
Augustus means nothing to the Britons,
but they’re more than happy to worship you as a god.
Aulus Plautius regrets having not first consulted you,
but feels sure that you understand that it was politically correct.
The temple is known as the Temple of the God Claudius.
- Is he dead? - Yes.
Yes, he's dead.
Then I am Emperor.
- Yes. - Whee!
Sh!
You are Emperor.
Everything I ever dreamed of has come true.
Emperor.
I am Emperor of Rome.
I feel sorry for him, don't you?
- No. - No? Neither do I.
- Let's announce his death. - Not yet.
We'll put out a bulletin saying he's as well as can be expected.
- Considering he's dead! - Yes.
Then we must find the will It will be in his study.
Come!
What a mess!
He would never let anyone touch it, that's why.
It will be here somewhere.
You look over there and I'll look here.
Write no more, Claudius Write no more.
Have you found it, Mother?
- Well. what is it? - It looks like a history.
- Of what? - Of our family.
Does it mention me?
Where does it begin?
With the death of his last wife, Messalina.
What does it say about me?
Be quiet! How can I tell if you keep talking to me?
The frog pool wanted a king.
Jove sent them Old King Log.
I have been as deaf and blind and wooden as a log.
My chief fault? I have been too benevolent
I repaired the ruin my predecessors spread.
I reconciled Rome and the world to monarchy again.
By dulling the blade of tyranny, I fell into great error.
By sharpening that blade I might redeem that error.
Violent disorders call for violent remedies
Yet I am, I must remember, Old King Log.
I shall float inertly in the stagnant pool
Let all the poisons that lurk in the mud hatch out
Yes
Let all the poisons that lurk in the mud hatch out
She did not please you, Caesar?
No, I can see she did not.
It was a mistake having her here.
A beautiful woman though.
Yes. Beautiful woman. Whoever marries her will be a fortunate man.
- She's married already. - Really?
To the drummer.
- And has three children. - Oh, I envy him.
He tells me she's a shrew.
Then I envy him his nights, but not his days.
In marriage, one can't have one without the other.
You see, Caesar, how even vagabonds and gypsies like those
recognise the virtues of marriage and a family...life.
Caesar? Are you well?
Is something the matter?
Let all the poisons that lurk in the mud hatch out
If you will allow us, Caesar,
to raise once again the subject of your remarrying?
There are so many good reasons for it.
But, chiefly, your children need a mother.
And Rome needs a mother. It's not right for an Emperor to be alone.
Your Uncle Tiberius was alone. It affected his mind.
It doesn't follow that because your three marriages were a tragedy
your fourth shouldn't be a triumph.
I've given this matter a great deal of thought,
and there's someone I'd like to recommend.
- You never mentioned that. - I thought of it today.
Caesar, the one woman in Rome who would be a perfect wife
is Lollia Paulina.
Lollia Paulina?
Are you mad?
She's ideal She's the daughter of an ex-consul
She's lost none of her looks with age, and she's still childless,
so she'll be good for Britannicus and Octavia. They need a mother.
That's more important than anything.
But she's the stupidest woman in Rome.
The Emperor has had clever ones that have done him little good.
She's an absurd choice. She thinks of nothing but ornaments.
- The Emperor needs... - A wife capable of helping him.
Caesar, I have submitted many names in the past for your consideration.
I have been less than enthusiastic about most of them.
That didn't prevent you putting them forward.
It was not I who was to marry them.
One can recommend with less enthusiasm than one marries.
- Caesar... - As I was about to say, Caesar!
One name comes to me now with all the force of divine revelation.
The lady has been in front of us all the time -
so close, in fact that we've not noticed her.
I refer to the Lady Agrippinilla.
The Lady Agrippinilla?! Are you mad? She's the Emperor's niece!
The union would be incestuous. The Senate wouldn't allow it.
A hundred years ago, first cousins couldn't marry.
Now it's done all the time. The Senate will agree.
Now, Caesar, she's in every way suitable.
She's a woman of intelligence, the daughter of Germanicus,
and she would bring with her the grandson of Germanicus -
Nero, a boy worthy in every respect of Imperial fortune.
But the Emperor loathes Nero! A hideous boy.
You are speaking of the Emperor's grand-nephew!
I speak the Emperor's own words! And I'll go further.
His mother is the most corrupt woman in Rome. Even Caligula said so!
How dare you? How dare you?
Narcissus, you may consider our friendship at an end.
From this moment, at an end!
Caesar...
Caesar! I cannot support these monstrous calumnies against her.
- Caesar... - In my opinion...!
you niece is the finest woman in Rome.
An Emperor should have a wife who is both good looking,
and of outstanding intelligence. She has both!
I beg you to consider her.
It would be the Lady Messalina all over again.
Worse! The Lady Messalina with brains.
That's a combination more deadly than all the tribes of Germany.
And she'll soon want that son of hers adopted into the family.
Caesar, Caesar, I beg you.
Caesar, an uncle does not marry his niece.
The union will be incestuous and the gods abominate incest.
It will bring ruin and destruction on Rome.
Let all the poisons that lurk in the mud...
hatch out.
Caesar?
Let all the p-poisons that lurk in the mud...
hatch out.
I will m-marry my niece.
B-bring her to me.
Come in.
Well?
He's agreed.
He has agreed.
He wants to see you.
- Now? - Yes.
It was so easy I could hardly believe it.
He'll marry me? He said he'd marry me?
Yes.
What did he say?
"I will marry my niece. Send her to me."
That's all?
Nothing else? No arguments? No opposition?
- Only from Narcissus. - Ah.
- What did he say? - I shan't repeat it.
What does it matter? He lost. It was only sour grapes.
I'll sour all his grapes before I'm done.
And Claudius? He said nothing about my being his niece?
Nothing.
- Nothing about incest? - Nothing.
Perhaps he fancies the idea.
I wouldn't blame him.
I shan't like it though, the thought of you in his bed.
I'm beginning to have regrets already.
I found it hard, when it came to it, to suggest you.
It didn't stop you though, did it?
No.
Your ambition always burned more brightly than your passion.
Have you ever found my passion wanting?
No.
But in my case, passion and ambition are beautifully combined...
aren't they?
I'm beginning to have regrets already.
My regrets are mounting.
- I hope when you're married... - Don't be silly.
Oh, I've hurt you.
And I shouldn't have.
Don't worry. I'll make it up to you.
Now. Make it up to me now.
- He's waiting for me. - It won't take long.
You see, for once, my passion burns brighter than my ambition.
Hurry, then. I imagine his passion is burning too...
and at his age, the flames don't last very long.
Uncle? Pallas tells me you wanted to see me.
Yes.
He said that you had decided to marry again.
Yes.
And that you had chosen me?
Would you like to marry me?
Oh, Uncle!
You have made me the happiest woman in the world.
Yes, I thought I might.
How could you know that?
How could you know that I've loved and respected you all these years?
I just guessed it, my dear, just guessed it.
I shall be such a good wife to you, you'll see.
And I shall be a mother to Britannicus and Octavia
just as I am to my own dear Nero.
They shall be to me as if they were my own.
And there'll be more, why not?
I'm still capable of bearing children.
And you, such a vigorous man.
Such firm flesh. Who would have thought it?
You shall have more sons, I promise you.
And more love than you have ever had.
Yes.
Love, Uncle, such as you have never known before.
Oh, it makes my head reel to think of it.
Does it not worry you, my dear, that you will be committing incest?
Oh, but you've done that so many times before, haven't you?
With your brother, Caligula?
We all did things then that we might not otherwise have done.
That's true. That is true.
Only some of us did them more willingly than others, didn't we?
I'm not blaming you. I'm only asking.
Well. since you ask, the answer is no.
Such incest would be technical only. But if it disturbs you...
No, I'm teasing. Please don't be offended.
As a matter of fact the q-question of incest is somewhat academic.
- What does that mean? - Beautiful as you are,
your body is of less interest to me than your mind.
I'm marrying you for your head, my dear, not your heart,
of which, I suspect, you have very little.
Well. then, that suits me.
You're not the sort of lover one dreams of.
Not the sort that you dream of.
Still. I won't discuss your dreams - not on a full stomach.
I'm marrying you because I'm tired of ruling alone.
There are many things an Emperor's w=wife can do that others can't.
But I need a woman with a mind. Does that appeal to you?
Admirably.
But I shan't be a cipher, I can tell you that.
If you give me power, I shall use it.
Now, why else do you imagine I'm giving it to you?
- Well? - We are to be married.
- But why? - Why?
He doesn't want me to share his bed. He doesn't even like me.
He says he wants me to help him rule.
- All the better. - No, no. There's something odd.
What did he say when you suggested me?
- I told you. - Nothing more?
There was something. It was nonsense.
What? What did he say?
Er... "Let all the poisons that are in the mud hatch out"
or something like that.
Perhaps his mind's going.
Maybe he won't last long after his marriage.
No.
We must keep him alive long enough for my son to come of age.
Senators.
S-seven years ago, I undertook the conquest of the island of Britain.
It has taken until now to complete it.
One man and o-one man alone
has been responsible for the enormous losses...
The war in Britain finally came to an end,
and King Caractacus was brought in chains to Rome.
The Senate called for his death
as punishment for his long resistance to our arms,
but while his family cowered before us, Caractacus did not.
I'll tell you this.
If the sword is all that you're prepared to show us Britons,
then be prepared to carry it forever in your hand...
and sleep with it forever by your side at night!
For you will need it!
His courage and his dignity won the hearts of the Senate.
He was granted a pension and allowed to live in the city.
I'm near the end of my story.
I have been married to Agrippinilla for five years..
and she has turned out as loathsome as I thought she would.
As has that slimy son of hers.
His mother has plans for him.
She thinks I do not know, but I do.
And I have my own plans
- He's very musical - Yes.
I wonder, Britannicus, that you don't take lessons.
I'm not interested in music.
Pity. You could play duets together.
That would be very unlikely, Lucius Domitius being so gifted.
I wish you would stop addressing him as Lucius Domitius.
He has adopted the name of Nero.
I forgot.
No, you do not forget. I think you do it deliberately.
I tell you, I forget.
Well. you have been reminded,
which I think calls for a correction and an apology.
- That isn't necessary, Mother. - I think it is.
Well?
I shall not apologise.
I think you will
Claudius, I insist that you order him to apologise.
Apologise to N-Nero, Britannicus.
You've hurt his feelings and you know how sensitive he is.
You side with them!
You take her side and his against me all the time.
I shall not apologise!
You'll apologise or you'll be punished.
What will you do? Have me executed as you did my mother?
I detest you all!
All of you!
I'm sorry to have been the cause of that.
It's not your fault.
Nevertheless, I'll go and see him.
Come, Octavia, let's find your brother. Perhaps we can pacify him.
I think you're very kind.
There's far too little kindness in the world.
Have you noticed how fond they are of each other?
Everyone's commenting on it. Nero simply adores her.
There's something I've been wanting to speak to you about.
- Yes. - It concerns the matter of...
- Pardon? - The answer is yes.
You don't know what I'm going to ask.
Aren't you going to suggest that I marry Octavia to your son?
- Yes. - The answer is yes.
Don't you wish to discuss it?
What is there to discuss? They’ll be well matched.
Nero's very fond you, you know?
He thinks of you as a father.
He said to me the other day, "I think of him..."
As a father.
Since he now will be marrying Octavia...
The answer once again is yes.
Will you let me finish?!
You don't even know what I'm going to say!
You're in your cups! You've had too much wine again.
I thought you were going to suggest I adopt Nero officially as my son.
Make him and Britannicus joint heirs.
Of course, if that is not what you were going to say.
Yes. Yes, it was.
It was. I just wish you'd let me finish!
Your manner's very strange.
I just wanted to save a lot of unnecessary discussion.
You see, that is the success of our marriage, my dear.
I read your mind so quickly.
Think of the time it saves.
Goodnight.
Oh, put him to bed!
You should have consulted me! I would have talked you out of it.
That's why I never discussed it.
Do you think that's right? Am I not your adviser on matters of state?
- Yes. - Then why did you not consult me?
Do you think that she doesn't consult Pallas?
No.
You know they’re lovers, don't you?
He's switched interests from you to her?
- Yes. - Then why did you do it?
Can't you see what you've done?
By marrying Nero to your daughter and adopting him,
you've signed your death warrant.
Your wife has got everything she wanted out of marrying you.
- She doesn't need you any more. - I shall die soon anyway.
- How do you know? - Barbillus told me.
- He read my horoscope. - You didn't need him to!
You've numbered your days more accurately than a horoscope could!
Why did you do it? Why? Did you not at least think of Britannicus?
I thought principally of him.
Then do you not see how this will hurt him?
Do you know how you've hurt him in the past?
Yes, I know.
You realise, don't you, you've numbered his days as well?
Do you think they’ll let him live? To say nothing of me!
What made you do it? !
N-Nero is destined to rule after me, not Britannicus.
It has been foretold, Narcissus, nothing can alter it.
- Foretold? By who? - By the Sibyl
Nero may become Emperor - you've seen to that -
but your wife will rule through him, as Livia ruled through Tiberius.
No. Nero will kill his mother.
That, too, has been foretold by the Sibyl
What Sibyl? I've seen no such prophecy.
No. Nor has anyone now, except me.
Where did you find this?
It was given to me by Livia j-just before she died.
She gave a birthday dinner. She invited me. That was unusual
But her purpose became clear later in the avenging.
She found this book among Augustus' papers.
You won't understand it. It's written in a very archaic language.
It frightened Augustus. He kept it hidden.
Or perhaps he just didn't understand it. But Livia did.
What does it prophesy?
Among other things, it prophesied Caligula's reign and his death.
It prophesied mine.
And it prophesises Nero's.
It is written, Narcissus. Nothing you nor I can do will stop it.
Is that why you chose the Lady Agrippinilla for your wife?
Yes. All my life I wanted to see the Republic restored,
but I let myself be made an Emperor.
That was written too. But I made a mistake.
I tried to rule wisely and justly, reconciling people to the monarchy.
In doing that, I was helping monarchy.
Now I shall destroy it once and for all
Or rather Nero will destroy it. He's as mad as my n-nephew, Caligula.
We're all mad, we Caesars.
When we are gone, the people will finish with monarchies forever
and return to the sanity of the Republic.
- And Britannicus? - He is my instrument.
- He will restore the Republic. - If he lives.
I have a plan that will save him,
but I must leave you to make the arrangements.
Tell me what to do.
Well. let me rest for an hour,
then come to my bedroom and we'll talk some more.
- Can I tell Britannicus? - No, not yet.
- It grieves me to see you hurt him. - Yes.
I killed his mother. I've been less than a father to him ever since.
Now, I'm tired and I'm not well
- We must do it now. - It won't be easy.
Narcissus watches him like a hawk.
Every morsel of food your husband takes is tasted by someone else.
We shall need proper advice, but that shouldn't be hard to get.
- Well. there is someone. - Ah.
A woman. Locusta. She's very skilled.
- I'll go and see her. - Yes. But do it soon.
He's very unpredictable.
He's preferred my son to his own at every turn. I don't understand it.
He could change his mind tomorrow.
Yes, it's strange. It's very strange.
I feel he's playing some sort of game, but I can't guess what it is.
Neither can I, but it worries me.
Remember that before Tiberius struck at Sejanus
he raised him higher than he'd ever been before.
There's something else that worries me.
How sure are you of your son?
You may leave my son to me.
Even now that he's married?
I know you've had a great influence on him, but he's no longer a child.
And when he's Emperor, who will control him?
- Who is it? - It is I, Mother.
Come in.
- Oh. It doesn't matter. - No, no. I'm just going.
Lady.
I don't like that Greek.
That Greek runs this Empire.
Do you have to receive him in your bedroom?
- What is the matter with you? - Nothing.
Why aren't you in bed? Where is Octavia?
She's locked herself in her bedroom. She won't let me in.
- Did you quarrel? - Yes.
- Why can't you sleep alone? - I don't feel like it. I feel..
Oh, I don't know!
She won't lock me out when I'm Emperor or tell me what to do. I shall do as I please.
It was very naughty of Octavia to lock you out. Very naughty.
But she's only a child. She doesn't understand how you feel
Would you like me to find a pretty house girl for you?
Shall I find one and send her to you?
- Is that man your lover? - No, of course not.
He's no business in your bedroom. I won't allow it when I'm Emperor.
I won't see him here again.
Oh, my poor baby.
It's not fair, is it? Locking you out of your room.
And you the Emperor-elect.
But then, she's only your wife.
She doesn't feel for you as a mother would.
A mother knows how her baby feels.
Yes.
She wouldn't let him be unhappy.
No.
Never.
Oh.
I'm so sleepy.
Senators, you see me here for the last time.
I shall not come again.
This is in the nature of a farewell speech.
No, no. I'm too old and I'm not well enough.
I don't think you need my presence here any more.
I sometimes wonder if you ever did.
You know, the soldiers dragged me from behind a curtain
and made me Emperor.
I n-never wanted it.
I think it was a mistake.
No! No!
Well. be that as it may.
Soon I shall retire behind another curtain - the final one.
The one the gods draw over all of us in the end, great and small
I shan't be sorry to see that final curtain.
- May you live forever, Caesar! - Oh, thank you!
But I've no wish to, even if I could.
What you will s-say about me when I'm gone...
I can only guess at.
I hope it won't be as cutting as the things you've said while I was here.
Not to my face, of course. That's not an Emperor's privilege.
But what is said about us in our lives
is not always what history says.
And doubtless history will have its say, as it always does.
And about that, I have done something.
Not something that need concern you...
but something.
You see, in the course of my life I have known many people.
Great people. People who have m-made Rome what she is today.
Yes. And one day, they will all live again.
The dead will come to life.
The man who dwells by the pool will open graves...
and deliver Rome up again.
She shall be seen for what she truly was.
Well done, Claudius.
Emperor after all Who would have thought it, eh?
You're a fool. boy, you always were.
People say it's not your fault,
but if it's not your fault, whose fault is it, eh?
And your nose is still running, Claudius. It's still running.
Excuse me.
Just a minute. Just wait your turn.
Shall a doctor be brought?
It wasn't worth it, was it? I could have told you that.
Uncle Claudius, I wasn't the Messiah after all Would you believe it?
You could have knocked me over with a feather when they told me.
Senators, let us continue with the business of the day.
Leave us, Narcissus.
I will send for you.
- Father, you wanted to see me. - Yes, come here.
My son, I've something very important to tell you, so listen carefully.
No one must know. That's why I've sent for you at this hour,
so no one in the palace will know we've been talking.
Now, I intend to alter my will in favour of Nero
and I want to explain to you why I'm doing so.
- That's very considerate. - Britannicus...
Why this sudden need to explain? You haven't felt it before.
You adopted him, you married him to my sister,
you made him Consul-elect and City Warden without one word to me.
- You owe me nothing. - Don't say that.
That's nothing to what I could say!
I may be only a child, but I'm not blind and I'm not a stone.
I've seen how you preferred him to me.
It was for a reason.
You've never loved me.
You've never been as a father to me. Never!
Time without number you've shown the world what you thought of me
and I shall never forgive you for it, never!
And you killed my mother!
I shall never forgive you for that either. I hate you.
Now, you listen to me.
Yes, it's true.
For a long time after I discovered what your mother had been...
how she had deceived me every day of her life,
I could not find it in my heart to love you.
But you must understand, you must be a man.
Try to understand a father's weaknesses.
I don't believe you are my son. I believe you are C-Caligula's son.
But what difference does that make? You do not have his nature.
I tell you this only to explain why I could not find it in my heart to love you.
Was it my fault, then, whose son I was?
Was I to be punished?
Does a child choose his parents?
Now, don't cry. Britannicus, please.
- May I go now? - No. Come here.
- Please may I go? - Come here. Come here.
Come.
Oh, Father! Father!
I have something very important to tell you, so listen.
First, no matter who your father may have been, you are now my son
and I love you more than anyone in the world.
- But Nero is destined to follow me. - Why?
Don't argue! It is written. Nothing can alter it!
When I am gone, he will try to kill you, as C-Caligula killed Gemellus.
That is why I have treated you as I have.
Kept you out of the public aye. I have a plan to save you.
Narcissus has arranged it all through Caractacus.
The world is now wholly Roman.
There is nowhere you can be safe, except the remotest part of Britain.
Nero will not be able to touch you there, for there is no one to give you up.
Soon I shall allow some of Caractacus' young men
to return to northern Britain, and you will go with them.
You will stay with Queen Cartimandua.
Only she and Caractacus' son will know your identity.
She will send you north into regions where no Roman's foot has ever trod,
- and there you will wait. - Please...
Nero is mad. He will destroy the Empire.
His excesses will demand a Republic and you will return to restore it.
The Republic will live again.
No. No, I won't do it. It's not honourable.
- Britannicus... - No!
Do you think that I, a Claudian, will paint my face blue
and go and hide among barbarians?
- There's no shame. - No, I won't do it!
I'm not afraid of Nero. Nero is a coward.
I can protect myself.
Let me put on my manly gown.
Once I'm officially a man, I'll match Nero in everything he does.
I don't believe in the Republic.
No one believes in the Republic any more.
No one does except you.
You're old, Father, and out of touch.
I want my chance to rule, and rule Rome as it should be ruled.
If you love me, give me that chance.
Yes.
Yes, I should have known that would be your answer.
Well. so be it.
I've done all I could.
You shall have your wish.
May the gods protect you.
Britannicus.
Perhaps you will confound the prophecies. Yes. Perhaps you will
Write no more, Claudius Write no more.
I have told it all, as I said I would,
and as the Sibyl prophesied.
I have told the truth.
I have set the record straight
it is all here for remote posterity.
Come, Death, and draw the final curtain.
I am tired.
Oh so tired.
So much for posterity.
Where's the rest of it? It must be here. Find it!
This looks like them.
Yes, this is them all right.
What a Herculean labour!
It must have taken him years.
Years. We'll burn the lot.
All that work? Good grief.
We must find the will
What a pretty thing a fire is.
Did they murder him?
Yes. Yes, they poisoned him.
But how? How did they do it?
Why didn't you protect him?
Oh, they were clever, very clever.
They tried to tamper with his food and get at the slaves who prepared it,
but I always stopped them. Always.
I built a wall around him they couldn't breach.
How, then, did she do it?
I will tell you. For I see now how it was done.
Unable to poison his food, she must have poisoned her own.
Yes. Poisoned hers or part of it.
It was in a dish of mushrooms, which he loved,
and out of which she'd been eating.
He'd finished his own and was calling for some more.
It was then that she offered him hers out of her own dish.
At first, I thought nothing of it.
When you see someone eat from a dish,
it doesn't occur to you it may contain something in just one part.
And then she lifted the mushroom onto her fork
and held it out for him to take.
I knew then there was something different about it.
I knew, as certainly as I had ever known anything,
that he was suddenly in the gravest danger.
And I knew too, as certainly as I knew that...
that he knew - knew it was poisoned,
knew that his end was there on that fork...
and that he didn't care...
that he welcomed it.
He died in the night, alone.
I knocked on his door soon after dinner, but he sent me away.
I believe he wanted no one to see him die.
You must go away. They will kill you.
- No, I shall stay. - Go now.
I have put on my manly gown. I can take care of myself.
Poor Father. He never could.
Oh, I don't know. He didn't do badly when you come to think of it.
Well, Old King Log?
The poisons all hatched out?
- Is that you, Sibyl? - Yes it's me.
- Where are you? - Here.
Why are you laughing?
I cheated them again.
They all think I'm dead.
But you are dead, you fool!
You're as dead as anyone can be.
Oh, well. you can't survive them all
No, not even you.
it's time to go.
Wait. Britannicus. What will happen to him?
Nero will kill him.
- And Narcissus? - Agrippinilla will kill him.
Then Nero will kill her.
It all sounds depressingly familiar.
- Yes Isn't it? - And the Empire?
Oh that will go on, as Livia said it would.
But they'll be no more Claudians after Nero. He'll be the last.
But the Emperors won't be a bad lot after him.
Well, give or take a few..
Quite a story, wasn't it?
All of it
Lucky for you you made a copy and buried it.
it's time to go, Claudius The ferryman is waiting.
- Just one thing more. - You can't put it off..
You can't stay here forever..
No, I suppose not.
Now...
Close your eyes
it's but a short step to the boat, a short pull across the river..
And then?
And then, I promise you, you'll dream a different story altogether..
Farewell, Tiberius Claudius Drusus Nero Germanicus
God of the Britons, one-time Emperor of the Roman world.
Farewell.