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50 free Rome (HBO) trivia questions with answers — entertainment quiz, new questions added Aug 2026.
Rome was the most expensive television series of its day: a $100 million HBO-BBC co-production that rebuilt the Forum, the villas and the slums of the late Republic on six sound stages at Cinecittà, then told the fall of Caesar and the rise of Octavian through two soldiers lifted from a single line of the Gallic Wars. It ran only two of its planned five seasons, and the sets later burned in a studio fire, but its cast went on to Game of Thrones, Grey's Anatomy, Outlander and The Banshees of Inisherin. These 50 questions cover the creators, the real Vorenus and Pullo, Atia and Servilia, the Newsreader, the Egypt seasons that were telescoped into season two, Michael Apted's feud with the BBC over his re-edited episodes, the Italian dub controversy, the Emmy wins, the stalled movie and the actors behind Caesar, Antony, Brutus and Cleopatra. Easy questions stick to the leads and the network; the hard tier asks about cameras, composers, budgets and which Doctor Who episode borrowed the set. Every answer is cited to a page we checked, with a one-line explanation so you pick up a fact even when you miss. Thirteen!
30 of 50 questions with answers and explanations. Play the quiz
Q 01Rome was co-produced by HBO and which British broadcaster?
The BBC
It was the first series on which the two companies worked together as co-producers.
Q 02Who are the two soldier protagonists of Rome?
Lucius Vorenus and Titus Pullo
Both are real centurions mentioned briefly in Caesar's Gallic War commentaries.
Q 03The real Vorenus and Pullo are mentioned in which ancient text?
Caesar's Gallic War commentaries
Almost all of their adventures in the show are fictional.
Q 04Who plays Lucius Vorenus?
Kevin McKidd
The role led directly to his casting as Owen Hunt on Grey's Anatomy.
Q 05Who plays Titus Pullo?
Ray Stevenson
He later played the Punisher and Volstagg in the Thor films.
Q 06Who plays the scheming Atia of the Julii?
Polly Walker
She earned a Golden Globe nomination for the role.
Q 07The show's historical consultant said Atia was mainly based on which real woman?
Clodia
Little detail survives about the historical Atia herself.
Q 08Who plays Julius Caesar in season one?
Ciarán Hinds
He later played Mance Rayder in Game of Thrones.
Q 09Who plays Mark Antony?
James Purefoy
He later played the serial killer Joe Carroll in The Following.
Q 10Who plays Brutus?
Tobias Menzies
He went on to play Black Jack Randall in Outlander and Edmure Tully in Game of Thrones.
Q 11Who plays Servilia, Brutus's mother and Caesar's lover?
Lindsay Duncan
Her character becomes Atia's bitter enemy.
Q 12Who plays Octavia of the Julii?
Kerry Condon
She later played Stacey in Better Call Saul and earned an Oscar nod for The Banshees of Inisherin.
Q 13Which actor plays Pompey Magnus?
Kenneth Cranham
Pompey is shown as a general past his prime, trying to recapture the glories of his youth.
Q 14Who plays Cicero?
Q 21Who plays Cleopatra?
Lyndsey Marshal
She appears as a guest in season one and a regular in season two.
Q 22Which future Downton Abbey actor plays Agrippa?
Allen Leech
He later played Tom Branson, the chauffeur.
Q 23Season one spans Caesar's civil war up to what event?
His assassination in 44 BC
It opens at the end of the Gallic Wars in 52 BC.
Q 24Season two ends with the suicide of Antony and Cleopatra after which battle?
David Bamber
Bamber is also remembered as Mr Collins in the 1995 Pride and Prejudice.
Q 15Who plays Cato in season one?
Karl Johnson
The real Cato the Younger killed himself rather than live under Caesar.
Q 16Who plays Niobe, Vorenus's wife?
Indira Varma
She later played Ellaria Sand in Game of Thrones.
Q 17Which two actors share the role of Octavian across the series?
Max Pirkis and Simon Woods
Pirkis played the boy in season one; Woods took over for the adult in season two.
Q 18What is the name of Caesar's Greek slave and confidant?
Posca
He is freed in Caesar's will and later defects from Antony to Octavian.
Q 19What is the occupation of Timon, Atia's bodyguard and assassin?
Horse trader
He is Jewish, and his brother Levi appears in season two.
Q 20Ian McNeice plays which role, announcing state news to the citizens?
The Newsreader
His exaggerated gestures became a fan favourite.
Actium
That places the finale in 30 BC.
Q 25How many episodes of Rome were made in total?
22
Twelve in season one and ten in season two.
Q 26How many seasons had originally been planned?
5
Seasons three and four were to be set in Egypt, and season five in Palestine.
Q 27The planned fifth season would have covered what?
The rise of the Messiah in Palestine
Heller telescoped seasons three and four into season two once he learned it would be the last.
Q 28Who co-created Rome with John Milius and William J. MacDonald?
Bruno Heller
He went on to create The Mentalist and Gotham.
Q 29At which studio was most of Rome filmed?
Cinecittà
The production used six sound stages and a huge back-lot reconstruction of the ancient city.
Q 30What happened to a large part of the Rome set in 2007?
It burned in a studio fire
HBO said the fire started after season two had finished filming.