The Octavius ethos in the tv show Rome (HBO)

Abstract

The present piece composes the framework known within the Classical Studies as a reception analysis, that is, a study that, as presented by Martindale (2006, p. 1-2), links the ancient world and other historical periods, showing that ancient discourses are not confined in their own time, having a complex chain of connections between them and the most diverse media, including television, as here uit is analyzed. In this process, it is emphasized that the relations between the old statements and their later appropriations are produced at the point of reception, in which the reader is essencial in the interpretive process. In this article, I look at the character Otavio from HBO's Rome series, seeking to highlight the application of an ethos proposed for the character, of an intelligent boy, prodigy, demonstrating an element already used in the Ancient literary tradition to make up the image of the future princeps. To do so, I use Bourdieu's concept of cultural capital to argue about the process of creating the show, and I also make use of some ancient texts, such as Suetonius' Life of Augustus and Cicero’s Phillipics.