Quintus Valerius Pompey is a fictional character in the HBO

Home Box Office

HBO, short for Home Box Office, is an American premium cable television network, owned by Time Warner. , HBO's programming reaches 28.2 million subscribers in the United States, making it the second largest premium network in America . In addition to its U.S...

/BBC2 original television series, Rome

Rome (TV series)

Rome is a British-American–Italian historical drama television series created by Bruno Heller, John Milius and William J. MacDonald. The show's two seasons premiered in 2005 and 2007, and were later released on DVD. Rome is set in the 1st century BC, during Ancient Rome's transition from Republic...

, played by Rick Warden

Rick Warden

Richard George Warden is an English television and movie actor.Warden studied at Dr Challoner's Grammar School and received a B.A. Honours in History at Churchill College, Cambridge, 1994. He married actress Lucy Barker on 1 May 2004.He is probably best known for his appearances in the HBO...

. He is described as the "natural son" of Pompey. The basis for this character is unclear. There is no historical mention of a Quintus Valerius Pompey, but the character may be meant to represent the two sons of Pompey

Pompey

Gnaeus Pompeius Magnus, also known as Pompey or Pompey the Great , was a military and political leader of the late Roman Republic...

, Sextus Pompeius

Sextus Pompeius

Sextus Pompeius Magnus Pius, in English Sextus Pompey , was a Roman general from the late Republic . He was the last focus of opposition to the Second Triumvirate...

 and Gnaeus Pompeius

Gnaeus Pompeius

Gnaeus Pompeius should not be confused with his father, Gnaeus Pompeius Magnus, known as "Pompey the Great."Gnaeus Pompeius , also known as Pompey the Younger , was a Roman politician and general from the late Republic .Gnaeus Pompeius was the elder son of Pompey the Great Gnaeus Pompeius should...

. He is mentioned to be a great sailor, a trait which Sextus Pompeius had. He also exhibits some of traits reportedly held by the Optimate general Titus Labienus

Titus Labienus

Titus Atius Labienus was a professional Roman soldier in the late Roman Republic. He served as Tribune of the Plebs in 63 BC, and is remembered as one of Julius Caesar's lieutenants, mentioned frequently in the accounts of his military campaigns...

.

Personality

A morose and violent man, Quintus is somewhat unpleasant to be around. He pours a constant stream of threats and insults towards enemies, friends and allies. He is however fiercely loyal to his father and the republic. He also possesses a considerable talent at political skulduggery, interrogation and subterfuge in general.

Character history

Resentful and pragmatic, Quintus is initially an effective tool of his father Pompey Magnus

Pompey

Gnaeus Pompeius Magnus, also known as Pompey or Pompey the Great , was a military and political leader of the late Roman Republic...

. He was commander of the Tyrrhenian

Tyrrhenian Sea

The Tyrrhenian Sea is part of the Mediterranean Sea off the western coast of Italy.-Geography:The sea is bounded by Corsica and Sardinia , Tuscany, Lazio, Campania, Basilicata and Calabria and Sicily ....

 fleet, "Neptune

Poseidon

Poseidon was the god of the sea, and, as "Earth-Shaker," of the earthquakes in Greek mythology. The name of the sea-god Nethuns in Etruscan was adopted in Latin for Neptune in Roman mythology: both were sea gods analogous to Poseidon...

's Scourge," probably a reference to the historical Sextus Pompeius.

He crossed paths with Titus Pullo

Titus Pullo (character of Rome)

Titus Pullo is a fictional character from the HBO/BBC original television series Rome, played by Ray Stevenson. He is depicted as a hedonistic, devil-may-care soldier who discovers hidden ideals and integrity within himself...

 and Lucius Vorenus

Lucius Vorenus (character of Rome)

Lucius Vorenus is a semi-fictional character in the British-Italian-American historical drama television series Rome, a show about the fall of the Roman Republic and the rise of the Roman Empire. Played by Scottish actor Kevin McKidd in the series, Lucius Vorenus is introduced as a main character...

 while attempting to recapture the stolen treasury gold of Rome – which resulted in his capture and deliverance to Caesar.

After the defeat and destruction of the Optimates

Optimates

The optimates were the traditionalist majority of the late Roman Republic. They wished to limit the power of the popular assemblies and the Tribunes of the Plebs, and to extend the power of the Senate, which was viewed as more dedicated to the interests of the aristocrats who held the reins of power...

' forces, and the death of his father, he lacks the structure and control that his father had provided all his life, and is lost, slipping into drunken decay, living only for revenge.

He is taken in by Servilia

Servilia of the Junii

Servilia of the Junii is a character from the HBO/BBC/RAI original television series, Rome, played by Lindsay Duncan. The mother of Marcus Junius Brutus, lover of the married Julius Caesar and enemy of Atia of the Julii, Servilia is depicted as a sophisticated and regal Roman matron who follows her...

, who provides him with a "purpose and structure" again as he aids her with the anti-Caesar propaganda campaign.

After Caesar is assassinated, he is killed by Mark Antony

Mark Antony

Marcus Antonius , known in English as Mark Antony, was a Roman politician and general. As a military commander and administrator, he was an important supporter and loyal friend of his mother's cousin Julius Caesar...

, whom he had earlier tried to kill.