Lucius Vorenus (Rome character)
Template:Rome character This page is about the character Lucius Vorenus from the HBO/BBC original television series Rome, played by Kevin McKidd.
He is depicted as a staunch, traditional, Roman soldier, who struggles to balance his personal beliefs, his duty to his superiors, and the needs of his family and friends.
Lucius Vorenus is also a historical Roman soldier named in Julius Caesar's De Bello Gallico, and who is the basis for this character.
Personality
Professional, proper (in the Roman sense), and a staunch traditionalist, Vorenus can appear to be cold and unfeeling. This would not be a fair assessment; even though he is not given to great expression of emotion, he is a man of deep feeling as well as deep personal conviction. He loved his wife Niobe deeply, and was profoundly affected by her loss. He has also shown evidence of a temper which he seldom allows to get the better of him.
He struggles to balance the needs of family and friends, what he thinks is right, and the demands of his military/political superiors. Naturally this leads him into internal conflict, but Vorenus has shown that the needs of his family come first - although not without personal cost to himself.
Memorable quotes
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History
Pre-Rome
Apart from the fact that he was born into the plebian class of Roman society, little is is known of the early life of Lucius Vorenus. We may infer that his family was not rich, but seems to have had sufficient means to give Lucius an education (we see him trying to explain aspects of Roman Natural philosophy to Titus Pullo in An Owl in a Thornbush).
We know that Lucius married Niobe Vorena when she was "young", by "special dispensation" from the Legion but Lucius does not seem to be much older than her. From the age of their eldest daughter (Vorena the Elder) when Lucius returns to his family in How Titus Pullo Brought Down the Republic we know that Lucius and Vorena had some years together as a married couple.
When Julius Caesar began his Gallic Wars, Lucius was forced to leave his family to serve in the 13th Legion (Legio XIII Gemina), and he would not see his wife and daughters again for another eight years.
Season One
Lucius would show himself to be a competent and respected soldier, rising through the ranks. When the series begins, we see him as as a centurion ( centurio secundi pili), at the Siege of Alesia (note: the depicted battle may have been Battle of Gergovia. See The Stolen Eagle:Goofs and Errors), fighting in the front lines with his men, including Titus Pullo. Events do not bode well for the relationship between the two men, as in that battle, a drunk and crazed Pullo charges into the ranks of the Nervii in violation of orders and militaty discipline. Despite the fact that Vorenus leads the men to retrieve the encircled Pullo - an action during which Pullo decks Vorenus with a right hook - Vorenus is furious, and has Pullo flogged and condemned to death for his actions. (note: This scene has parallels with the chapter in Julius Ceaser's De Bello Gallico in which the story of Lucius Vorenus and Titus Pullo is told, but is not a direct re-enactment of).
When "blue Spaniards" (actually agents of Pompey ) steal Caesar's battle standard (or Aquila, the eagle of The Stolen Eagle), and Mark Antony details Vorenus to find and retrieve it, he grants Pullo a reprieve to aid him. Vorenus reasons that as he was directly ordered to make the attempt he must, but as the mission is doomed to failure, he need not disgrace another competent legionary - he will take Pullo instead.
Despite their differences, and setbacks, they surprisingly succeed not only in retrieving the standard, but in rescuing Octavian, nephew of Caesar, who had been captured by Gauls while travelling to visit his uncle with a gift of a magnificent white stallion.
Favored by Caesar, Vorenus (now promoted to primus pilus) and Pullo are detailed to accompany Mark Antony back to Rome, where Antony is to be invested as a Tribune of the People (tribunus plebis) - giving Vorenus the opportunity to see his wife for the first time in nearly eight years.
External links
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Events throw Pullo and Vorenus together and they become reluctant friends. He is promoted to primus pilus (ep. 1-2) and again to praefectus evocatorum (ep. 1-5) before being asked to stand for election as a city magistrate by Julius Caesar (ep. 1-10).
In the 2005 HBO/BBC original television series Rome, the character of Vorenus is played by Kevin McKidd. He is depicted as a first spear centurion in the 13th Legion who initially deserts to protest Caesar's crossing the Rubicon, but rejoins when offered entry into the evocati by Marc Antony. He is shown as a staunch traditionalist who is forced to compromise his beliefs for the sake of his family. He later helps Ceasar in many ways, from finding Pompey Magnus and escorting Queen Cleopatra to becoming Magistrate of Rome. He must further compromise his beliefs and morals for the sake of himself and his family with his new position as Magistrate. Vorenus comes to Pullo’s rescue at the arena, a scene historically reminiscent of what Caesar recorded. Finally, Caesar elevates him to the position of Senator as a way of creating a quasi-bodyguard and to bring the voice of a plebe to the Senate.
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