Diomed - the rich merchant
Ambitious, Diomed has decided to do whatever it takes to get to Rome, to become the new nobility. He will use anything and anyone to get what he is after.Smart, though sometimes surprisingly easy to manipulate, Diomed is a true self-made man. His grand-father was a slave, and Diomed himself may have gathered his wealth through selling fish, among other things, but he knows that hard work and sacrifices will get him and his family a brilliant place in the sun. Certain circles may look down their noses at him but not for long, if Diomed has anything to say about it. Besides his own considerable wealth, he's betting on a favourable match between his daughter, Julia, and a certain noble Greek.
Lucretia - the matron wannabe
As ambitious as her husband, Lucretia also shares his lack of good taste. How she and Diomed ever managed to produce a daughter like Julia is, quite frankly, baffling. <g>
Diomed: Do you have any idea how much this is costing me?
Lucretia: Yes, dear. But think what it's buying. Rome.
Diomed and Lucretia were played by
Ned Beatty and
Joyce Blair,
respectively.
Julia - the strong-willed daughter
It's not always easy to be the spoiled daughter of a rich merchant. Sure, you don't lack much in the material sense, but when you know that you're just a pawn in your parents' scheme to become the new nobility, and your own feelings be damned, it's not really an even trade. Of course, money is money and one should admit that it often does come in handy, but the age old saying of it being unable to buy happiness is equally true.Julia might be rich but, in a society where noble birth is everything, it doesn't mean she gets all she wants. Take Clodius, for example. A true Roman noble, though poor as a rat, would still not look at her twice, just because she's not one of the aristocracy. Or, so Julia believes.
Finding herself falling in love with the poor, if noble, poet, Julia does almost everything she can think of to keep her true feelings from him. Because, as far as Clodius is concerned, her pride is all she has. It takes a lot of heartache before Julia and Clodius confess their love for one another and, unbeknownst to them, their time is running out...
Julia: Why, no. You've always done me that injustice, to believe that money is my measure of a man.
Clodius: Just as you've always thought that a lack of noble birth is my measure of a woman.
Clodius: Julia, I must leave Pompeii.
Julia: Then take me with you.
Clodius: How can I? I have nothing.
Julia: I don't care. I won't stay here without you.
Julia was played by
Catriona MacColl.
Medon - the old slave
Lydon's father has had it rough for most of his life. As if being Diomed's slave wasn't enough, he lost his love as she was sold away. Then, to make matters worse, his son was sold to the Arena. That would be enough to break any father's heart. And, being a Christian, Medon finds himself in a terrible place, hoping that his son will take the life of another, and be spared himself.Medon doesn't have the easiest of relationships with his son. Where Lydon sees the Arena as his ticket to something better, Medon sees it as a slap in the face of all that he believes in. But even through all their disagreements, albeit sometimes rather well hidden, father and son share a deep love for one another.
Medon was played by
Willoughby Goddard.