THE sexual excesses and violence of the Roman Empire are the subject of a lavish new BBC series that cost £60m to make.

Rome, which tells the story of Julius Caesar’s assassination, is said to be far more sexually explicit than I Claudius, which sparked outcries when it was broadcast in 1976.

In reaction to the adult nature of the 12-episode series, Newsweek magazine described it by saying: “Think I Claudius on steroids and Viagra.”

Full frontal nudity, both male and female, are featured as well as violent sex scenes. Within the first nine minutes of the opening episode the actress Polly Walker, who plays Caesar’s niece Atia, is seen topless and astride one of her lovers as slaves look on.

Later in the series she is shown addressing her son in the nude, chastising him for being too effeminate, urging him to lose his virginity, saying: “Have you penetrated anyone yet?”. She goes on to order him to eat warm goats’ testicles that will “put oak in your penis”.

Sex scenes are commonplace, with several episodes featuring Roman brothels, painstakingly recreated with historical accuracy after the producers studied the ruins of Pompeii.

Violence is not shied away from, with slaves and prisoners shown being branded, crucified and tortured while hanging upside down from the ceiling.

The show, which is a co-production between the BBC and the American broadcaster HBO, which made Sex and the City and The Sopranos, premieres in America next weekend. It will be shown here on BBC2 in November.

The series opens in 52BC, eight years before Caesar is killed, and tells a story of rivalry and intrigue through the eyes of two soldiers, Lucius Vorenus and Titus Pullo, played by Kevin McKidd, best known for his role in Trainspotting, and Ray Stevenson.

The pair win favour with Caesar when they foil a mutiny staged by Pompey, played by Kenneth Cranham.

The cast includes some of Britain’s most distinguished actors and actresses such as Lindsay Duncan, James Purefoy, David Bamber and Ciaran Hinds as Caesar.

The production was filmed across Europe and north Africa as well as studios outside Rome where an accurate replica of parts of the ancient city was constructed.

The budget, thought to be the highest for a BBC production, although the corporation claims HBO invested the lion’s share of the money, is understood to have spiralled upwards when a set in Bulgaria was washed away by storms.

The lead writer of the series, Bruno Heller, is British as is the director of the first three episodes, Michael Apted.

“It was a merciless existence [in ancient Rome], dog-eat-dog, with a very small elite, and masses of poverty,” said Heller who is also an executive producer. “We see the same problems today — crime, unemployment, disease and pressure to preserve your place in a precarious society.

“Human nature never changes and the great thing about the Romans, from a dramatic perspective, is that they’re a people with the fetters taken completely off. They had no prosaic God telling them right from wrong and how to behave. It was a strictly personal morality, and whether or not an action is wrong would depend on whether people more powerful than you would approve. You were allowed to murder your neighbour or covet his wife if it didn’t piss off the wrong person.

Mercy was a weakness, cruelty a virtue, and all that mattered was personal honour, loyalty to yourself and your family.”

The series is likely to draw comparisons with the much derided 1979 film Caligula, in which the respected American author Gore Vidal took up an offer from Bob Guccione, owner of Penthouse magazine, to write a script that depicted the decadence and debauchery of the Romans.

What emerged was a violent and pornographic film with literary pretensions. Helen Mirren, although comfortable with film nudity, claims never to have watched her role in Caligula.

One of its most memorable scenes was one in which slaves were shown buried in the ground up to their necks while a rotating saw mowed their heads off at random. The lead role, played by Malcolm McDowell, was shown raping a virgin bride, then having sex with her husband to be, and Tiberius, played by Peter O’Toole, sexually torturing a slave.

Two more series of Rome are planned.

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