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The Roman Mysteries/Characters: Difference between revisions
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* [[Chaotic Good]] - [http://flavias.blogspot.com/2009/11/fan-fiction.html See here.] Flavia is motivated by a desire for justice and helping people but has no problems disobeying her father other otherwise breaking rules when it would advance an investigation. She also tends to skirt the edge of what is considered acceptable behavior for a girl of a her social class.
* [[The Exotic Detective]] - Flavia is exotic in that she is a [[Kid Detective]] and an ancient Roman.
* [[The Hero]]
* [[Meaningful Name]] - Flavia means "fair haired" in Latin.
* [[Missing Mom]] - As a result of [[Death by Childbirth]]
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* [[Made a Slave]]
* [[Meaningful Rename]] - {{spoiler|Nubia is really the name that was given to Shepenwepet when she is made a slave. When she is freed, she decides to keep the name, saying "Nubia can be my new name for my new life."}}
* [[Naked on Arrival]] - In the book, but not in the TV series seeing how it is a [[Pragmatic Adaptation|kids show and the character is played by a child actor...]]
* [[Sidekick]] - To Flavia
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==== Tropes: ====
* [[The Archer]] - Jonathan uses both slings and a bow to hunt game.
* [[Guilt Complex]]
* [[Heroic BSOD]] - {{spoiler|Jonathan experiences this at the end of ''The Enemies of Jupiter'' when he blames himself for a massive fire that killed thousands of people. It results in examples of [[Hurting Hero]], [[It's All My Fault]], and [[Survivor Guilt]]. For a time, he also adopts an alter ego called Ira ([[Meaningful Rename|meaning wrath]]) that almost results in [[Becoming the Mask]]. When his friends first try to shake him out of it, he expresses a [[That Man Is Dead]] attitude toward his real name and identity. His new identity includes some of the elements of [[Madden Into Misanthropy]] and something that may even be mild form of [[Split Personality]].}}
* [[Heroic Self-Deprecation]] - Jonathan has a tendency towards pessimism and poor self esteem
* [[Hurting Hero]] - Begining with ''The Assassins of Rome'' and increasing in ''The Enemies of Jupiter''.
* [[Manly Men Can Hunt]] - Jonathan's favorite activity is hunting, and he does pretty well at it.
* [[Missing Mom]] - {{spoiler|It becomes the main plot point of ''The Assassins of Rome'' and ''The Enemies of Jupiter''.}}
* [[Fantasy Character Classes|Ranger]] - The series doesn't really use fantasy character classes, but if it did Jonathan would be a ranger, as he is skilled with ranged weapons, learns some sword fighting skills, and his favorite activity is hunting.
* [[Plucky Comic Relief]] - Only to a moderate degree. He is good at telling jokes and making people laugh, however he can be serious when need be and unlike many characters labeled comic relief, he is not in anyway a looser, incompetent, bumbling or otherwise a [[Butt Monkey]].
* [[Prophetic Dreams]]
* [[Took a Level
* [[Twofer Token Minority]] - Jonathan in his family are Jewish and Christian. Of course, being a Christian may not seem to be a minority thing to most modern Anglophonic readers, but they are minorities in pagan Rome.
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* [[Artful Dodger]] - Lupus's life as a beggar boy and innate intelligence makes him sneaky and street smart.
* [[Dark and Troubled Past]] - See the quote above.
* [[Don't You Dare Pity Me!]]
* [[Drives Like Crazy]]
* [[Hair-Trigger Temper]] - Lupus looses his temper easily, especially when people ask him about his past or mention his missing tongue.
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* [[Orphan's Ordeal]]
* [[Passing the Torch]] - {{spoiler|Lupus and Threptus}}
* [[Rags to Riches]]
* [[Fantasy Character Classes|Rogue]] - The series doesn't really use fantasy character classes, but if it did Lupus would be a rogue, as he is skilled at stealth and spying, and is sometimes a thief.
* [[Snooping Little Kid]] - Lupus uses his skills at snooping, sneaking and eavesdropping several times throughout the series.
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* [[What the Hell, Hero?|What the Heck, Hero?]] - {{spoiler|Lupus really, really wants Venalicius dead, even it it means attacking him when he's down and out (Felix has to pull him off) or trying to hire an assassin to murder him.}}
** It makes a lot more sense when you think about the fact that {{spoiler|Venalicius cut out Lupus's tongue.}}
== Relatives of the Four Detectives ==
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==== Tropes: ====
* [[The Captain]] - He is a literal captain of a ship.
* [[Different As Night and Day]] - Not quite so extreme, however Marcus chose the adventure of being a sailor while while his twin brother chose being a farmer.
* [[Intrepid Merchant]] - He is a merchant seaman sailing around the Mediterranean Sea to buy and sell goods.
* [[Meaningful Name]] - Geminus means twin, which he is.
* [[Parental Abandonment]] - A mild example of this in that he is frequently away on buisness. This is not because he is a neglectful or uncaring father but simply because of the nature of his job.
* [[Team Dad]] - He is the literal dad to Flavia, and together with Mordecai performs the role of father figure in the stories.
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==== Tropes: ====
* [[Country Mouse]]
* [[Different As Night and Day]] - Not quite so extreme, however Gaius chose to be a farmer and his brother chose to adventure of sailing.
* [[Meaningful Name]] - Geminus means twin, which he is.
=== Mordecai ben Ezrah ===
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==== Actor: Natasha Barrero ====
Miriam is the older sister to Jonathan. She is described as being so good looking that she is always turning heads and once caused an accident because people were [[Distracted by the Sexy|looking at her instead of paying attention to what they were doing.]] She performs many of the traditionally female domestic duties in her household, such as cooking. She generally does to her household duties instead of getting involved in the mystery solving adventures of [[Tomboy]] Flavia, her brother Jonathan, and their friends.
==== Tropes: ====
* {{spoiler|[[Death by Childbirth]] - Played straight}}
* [[Feminine Women Can Cook]]
* [[Matzo Fever]] - To just about every man she meets that's not related to her.
* [[Missing Mom]]
* [[So Beautiful It's a Curse]] - She can't stand having men always staring at her.
* [[Twofer Token Minority]] - Christian and Jewish, living in a pagan Roman town.
* [[Unwanted Harem]] - She has men literally fighting over her, much to her distress.
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==== Actor: Sara Harris Davies ====
Alma is one of two slaves in the Flavia's family. She started out as Flavia's nurse and got promoted too cook when the old cook died. She has strong maternal feelings towards Flavia, which extends toward her friends. When she appears in the story she is normally doing household work, fussing over the children, or serving one of her excelent meals. She would qualify as an [[Apron Maiden]] except that she is a softhearted slave and Flavia can generally order or manipulate her to do whatever Flavia wants. Alma is the only one that is allowed to call Lupus "Wolfie."
==== Tropes: ====
* [[All There in the Manual]] - The novels say very little about her background, but ''The Roman Mysteries Treasury'' gives much more information about her, told from her own perspective.
* [[Feminine Women Can Cook]] - Alma is a [[Supreme Chef]].
* [[Gossipy Hens]] - Alma and the other women living on the street all exchange information over at the water fountain. This isn't shown on screen but information she gathers is sometimes used by the Four Detectives during their investigations.
* [[Happiness in Slavery]] - Alma is one of the closest examples to this trope being played straight. She is appreciated and well treated by her master and loved almost as a mother by Flavia. She genuinely loves Flavia, Nubia and (in a platonic familial way) Marcus. However, her first mistress treated her poorly.
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==== Tropes: ====
* [[The Ace]] - He borders on this, and certainly all the females around (including the main two female characters) seem to think of him as one.
* [[The Charmer]] - He has stunning good looks and a skill at music that has resulted in in collecting a large number of [[Fan Girls]], almost but not quite to the point of a [[Groupie Brigade]]. Unlike the [[Chick Magnet]], he is most certainly not an innocent who is unaware of his effect on woman, and unlike the [[Casanova]] he couldn't be described as a sexual predator. Because this series is for children, it is left vague as to just how far he does go with women. However he does state that he is tired of shallow love interests, and the {{spoiler|first woman he first truly falls in love with does not return his affection but marries another.}}
* [[Hot Teacher]]
* [[Manly Men Can Hunt]] - Aristo is frequently out hunting with his friend Lysander.
* [[The Mentor]] - Of the [[Cool Teacher]] variant
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==== Actor: Tom Harper ====
Bato is a city magistrate for Ostia and the most frequent face the law in Ostia. As a magistrate, part of his duty is to enforce law and investigate crimes, however in many ways he's more a politician than a cop. Bato is ambitious to a fault and conscious of his socially superior position in relationship to the Four Detectives. He seems to regard the Four Detectives as troublesome kids, but is willing to work with them to arrest the criminals that the Four Detectives identify.
==== Tropes: ====
* [[Police Are Useless]] - Not entirely useless, but he hardly ever seems to be able to identify the villain without the help of a [[Kid Detective|bunch of children]].
* [[Reasonable Authority Figure]] when he isn't being a Corrupt Politician - He is usually on the side of the Four Detectives but not always.
* [[Unreliable Narrator]] - One of the short stories is told in form of a letter written by him, and it is obvious that he is putting a slant on the story to try to make himself look better.
=== Caudex ===
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* [[Gentle Giant]]
* [[Made a Slave]]
* [[Meaningful Name]] - His name means "Blockhead" in Latin which is not any more complimentary than it is in English.
=== Gaius Plinius Secundus ===
==== Actor: Simon Callow ====
[[wikipedia:Pliny the Elder|Pliny The Elder]] in one of the several [[Real Life]] historical characters in the book, and the first that the main characters meet. Pliny the Elder is one of most famous Roman [[Authors]]. He was a naturalist as well as a well connected and high ranking military commander. He appears in ''The Secrets of Vesuvius'' and his writings are referenced throughout the series.
==== Tropes: ====
* [[Bookworm]] - He is an author and a scholar. Not only does he have a large book collection, but he also keeps wax tablets with him at all times to take notes. He even dictates notes while taking a bath.
* [[Gentleman and a Scholar]]
* [[Officer and a Gentleman]] - He is a ''praefectus classis'' (translated to "admiral" in the books) of the Roman fleet.
* [[Omnidisciplinary Scientist]] - A [[Real Life]] example, though many of the scientific claims have since been demonstrated to be [[Science Marches On|less than reliable]].
* [[Renaissance Man]]
=== Publius Pollius Felix ===
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* {{spoiler|[[Casanova]]}}
* [[Drives Like Crazy]] - He drives recklessly fast, in part to show off his enthusiasm for living in the moment, and in part to test the courage of his passengers.
* [[Historical Domain Character]] - Only partially. There was a rich patron named Pollius Felix that may have lived in the same place as the book character, but historians don't really know much about him.
* [[The Mafia]] - Well, technically this is set before the modern Mafia, but this does take place in Italy and it is implied that he may be involved in shady dealings.
** "Most of the crime in this whole area... can somehow or other be linked back to him. They call him the Patron."
** [[Mooks]] - Felix has a number of men working for him that are officially clients but Pulchra calls soldiers. {{spoiler|It is strongly implied that he had his bodyguard kill someone in one of the books}}
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==== Tropes: ====
* [[Brainless Beauty]] - Not quite stupid, but she certainly places a higher value on looks than learning.
* [[The Beautiful Elite]] - She clearly thinks of herself as being an example.
* [[Daddy's Girl]]
* [[Lonely Rich Kid]]
* [[Meaningful Name]] - Actually nickname, because Roman girls didn't have personal names. Pulchra is Latin for beautiful, and she is described as good looking and more than a bit vain.
* [[Spoiled Brat]] - She's not a brat to her parents, but treats slaves cruelly and acts snobbish toward Flavia.
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==== Actor: Richard Ridings ====
Venalicius is the slave trader that sold Nubia to Flavia.
==== Tropes: ====
* [[Criminals|Criminal]] - Slave trading is perfectly legal in Rome, but {{spoiler|he also kidnaps freeborn children to sell as slave.}}
* {{spoiler|[[Luke, I Am Your Father|Lukos, I am your uncle]] - In an interesting twist of the trope, Lupus knew about the relationship all along, as does Venalicius. It is just the rest of the characters and the audience that are kept in the dark}}
* {{spoiler|[[Heel Face Turn]] - Venalicius repents of his evil ways and tries to become [[The Atoner]] to those that he hurt. Unfortuantly [[Redemption Equals Death]] and he dies very painfully in one of the most effective [[Tear Jerker]] scenes of the series. Fortuantly for the plot, it is also revealed that he is not the [[Big Bad]] but that in fact he is just [[The Dragon]] for the [[Big Bad]], allowing the characters to go after yet more villains}}.
* [[Made a Slave]] - Inverted. He isn't made a slave. He's the guy [[Jerkass|making everyone else a slave.]]
* [[Villains|Villian]]
* [[Red Right Hand]] - Venalicius is ugly, has rotten teeth and has a blind eye. This is part of his [[Freudian Excuse]].
=== Titus Flavius Domitianus ===
==== Actor: Duncan Duff ====
[[wikipedia:Titus Flavius Domitianus|Domitian]] is a [[Real Life]] character who is the younger brother of Emperor Titus. He is featured in ''The Assassins of Rome'', ''The Gladiators from Capua'' and plays a role in all of the final four books.
==== Tropes: ====
* [[The Caligula]] - As a matter of fact, his name was already listed as a [[Real Life]] example of [[The Caligula]] before this page was ever written. However, in story, examples include not only the historical anecdotes mentioned on that page, but also {{spoiler|arranging for children to be eaten by crocodiles as part of the entertainment in the Flavian Ampitheatre and acting as if he were about to molest Nubia.}} Still, he isn't quite as bad as the actual Caligula, or even Nero.
* [[Historical Domain Character]]
* [[The Emperor]] - Domitian becomes the new Emperor of Rome by the end of ''The Man From Pomegranate Street''.
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==== Actor: Andrew Scarborough ====
[[wikipedia:Josephus|Josephus]] was a [[Real Life]] Jewish historian who is now remembered as one of the most important historical sources for 1st century Jewish history. He is a controversial figure, in that he accepted patronage from the Flavian emperors, who were hated by Jews for their role in suppressing the Jewish Revolt and destroying the Jewish Temple. He accepted Roman citizenship and changed his name from Yosef Ben Matityahu to Titus Flavius Josephus. In ''[[The Roman Mysteries]]'', he appears in ''The Assassins of Rome'' and ''The Enemies of Jupiter''. He is a member of Titus's court and completely loyal to Titus, even to the point of {{spoiler|exposing Jonathan and his uncle as they try to infiltrate the imperial palace}} however he is is not depicted as a bad guy. In ''The Enemies of Jupiter'' he helps the Four Detectives in one of their investigations.
==== Tropes: ====
* [[Bookworm]] - Josephus was a scholar and an author.
* [[Historical Domain Character]]
* [[The Quisling]] - Many, especially Jews, think of him this way, however the books don't really dwell on this or depict him as an evil person.
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==== Actor: Nicholas Farrell ====
[[wikipedia:Titus Flavius Domitianus|Emperor Titus]] is a historical character who reigned as the emperor of Rome. His reign provides the time frame of the series. He off screen assumption of power (June, 79 AD) is mentioned in the first book and his death (September 81 AD) provides the plot of the final book. Titus appears briefly in ''The Pirates of Pompeii'' and plays a major role in ''The Assassins of Rome'', ''The Enemies of Jupiter'', ''The Gladiators from Capua''. Titus is also mentioned in subsequent stories, and plays an important but off screen role in the final four books.
==== Tropes: ====
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{{reflist}}
[[Category:The Roman Mysteries]]▼
[[Category:Characters]]
{{DEFAULTSORT:Roman Mysteries, The/Characters}}
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