Caesar (Gladiator)
- You may be looking for Augusta.
In the Starless World, a Caesar ruled Rome in AD 118. He was known for his dalliances with strapping young men. His wife, Augusta, hired Rory Williams as his body guard.
He and his servant Metteus, with whom he was "discreetly" having sex, began rehearsing Agamemnon to commemorate the anniversary of his reign, in order to cover up their relationship. Tacitus the soothsayer arrived to warn the emperor that he would be assassinated on the Kalends of June, when his anniversary festivities would be taking place.
Despite thwarting an assassination attempt by Lepidus during the play, which involved swapping out the prop swords, Rory was unable to prevent his assassination by Augusta herself, who had enlisted Lepidus. She poisoned his wine, using Rory to allay suspicion. As planned, Caesar was succeeded by Augusta. (AUDIO: Gladiator [+]Loading...["Gladiator (audio story)"])
Behind the scenes[[edit] | [edit source]]
Identity[[edit] | [edit source]]
The Emperor is not named in this story, simply being referred to as "Caesar". However, the fact that he is openly gay suggests that he might be Hadrian. Indeed, Hadrian was emperor in the year 118, in the real world.
Whatever his identity, Caesar's death is depicted at the conclusion of the story, some 20 years before Hadrian actually perished. He was also succeeded by his wife, something which never occurred in the Western Roman Empire. This suggests that this might be unique to the alternate timeline created by the destruction of the Doctor's TARDIS in TV: The Pandorica Opens [+]Loading...["The Pandorica Opens (TV story)"] — a possibility which Rory entertains in AUDIO: I, Rorius [+]Loading...["I, Rorius (audio story)"].
