The Fall Of The Roman Empire Was Brought About By The Depravity Of The People. Here's A Sampling Of The Good As Well As The Bad Men Living In This Time.

Fulvius - The new star of pagan Roman society. From Syria, this young man has come to Rome for the express purpose of hunting the Christians down and turning them in for the raw joy of gold in his pockets.

He is described as, "young, almost effeminate in look, dressed with most elaborate elegance, with brilliant rings on every finger, and jewels in his dress, affected in his speech, which had a slightly foreign accent, overstrained in his courtesy of manners, but apparently good-natured and obliging."

Fulvius plans to work with Corvinus to find and catch as many wealthy Christians as they can for the wealth it will bring them. After a lifetime of wrongdoing and sin, Fulvius does convert to Christianity and spends the rest of his life doing penance for his deeds.

This character appears in the FABIOLA Pilot.

Torquatus - a newly converted Christian. Torquatus begins by being overly zealous, but falls immediately when tempted. Fulvius sees right through him and knows exactly how to control him.

With Torquatus' help, Fulvius is able to make great strides toward his goal of assisting in the eradication of the Christians from the Empire. 

Through Torquatus' betrayal, the pope, many of the priests and Caecilia are martyred.

At a later time in the story, Torquatus finds forgiveness and spends the rest of his life doing penance for his weakness during the persecutions.

Severus - Diogenes' son. Severus is a melancholy man like his father and takes everything very seriously. He helps their father dig the tombs of the cemetery. 

Always a skeptic, it is Severus who sees Torquatus for what he is and is able to warn the others, but the harm is already done.

Fabius - Fabiola's father. A simple-minded man, Fabius is happy to take life for what its worth. He sees things in a purely temporal light, like many of the men who assisted in the fall of the Roman Empire. Fabius' joy of life is found in gossip, feasts, and revelry.

Since he is not a philosopher at all, Fabiola more regularly turns to Syra and Agnes for guidance. Fabius is described as, "a true specimen of an easy-going Roman, who was determined thoroughly to enjoy this life."

Diogenes - The head of the excavators of the catacombs. Diogenes is a melancholy man described as being, "tall and broad-shouldered, as if accustomed to bear burdens...His hair was silver, and hung down at the sides of a large massive head; his features were strongly marked in deep melancholy lines, and though the expression of his countenance was calm, it was solemnly sad. He looked like one who had lived much among the dead and was happiest in their company."

Chromatius - A Roman ex-prefect turned Christian. As a man of great feeling, Chromatius feels his past sins deeply and now gives everything he can to the Church in reparation. He offers his home, the Villa of the Palms, as a place of instruction to the converts and raises palm trees in memory of the martyrs.

Chromatius is converted mainly through his wisdom. He knows that he is witnessing the fall of the Roman Empire. He also knows that there must be more beyond this life if men can be corrupted and entire empires crumble. This leads him to the Faith.

He is an old friend of Fabiola's and strongly encourages her to study the works of Christianity to see if popular opinion is true about their beliefs. Fabiola respects Chromatius as a philosopher and his suggestion makes an impression on her.

Tertullus - Prefect of the city and father of Corvinus. Tertullus appears at many of the tortures and executions of the martyrs throughout the story and has taught his son to love watching other people suffer.

Quintinus - husband of Lucina and father of Pancratius. The opening of the mini-series starts with the execution of Quintinus. This is a very important role because this execution sets the tone for the entire mini-series.

After the fall of the Roman Empire, it was important to rebuild what was lost and the Faith of the martyrs helped lay the foundation for the new empire.