What is "posca"

Posca is a fictional character in the HBO/ BBC2 original television series Rome, played by Nicholas Woodeson. He is the body slave of Julius Caesar, yet is also his friend, aide-de-camp, and confidante in many things personal and professional. As a slave, he will seldom receive credit, but it appears that many of the more simple and elegant solutions to Caesar's problems come from the mind of Posca. Posca is freed and given a stipend in Caesar's will at the start of the second season but seems to have thrown his support behind Antony in later episodes.

After receiving his freedom Posca marries Jocasta, the daughter of an extremely wealthy mine owner left penniless when her father was executed and his estate confiscated by the Second Triumvirate. The marriage is seen as practical for Jocasta as Posca is a man of some influence and means and her reduced state has left her without a dowry that would attract men of higher birth or station. Despite Jocasta's initial reservations and fear, she seems to become genuinely fond of him due to his generosity and kindness towards her and she accompanies him when he follows Mark Antony to Egypt.

In episode 21, Posca has grown to loathe and fear Cleopatra and the controlling influence she exerts on Antony. He uses the arrival of Antony's wife Octavia to secretly flee Egypt along with Jocasta even though it requires leaving his wealth behind. Back in Rome he provides Octavian with Mark Antony's final will and testament in which Antony states his affection for both Cleopatra and Egypt. He is thus responsible for the revelation of the historical Donations of Alexandria in Rome's plot. This is looked on by the people of Rome as an outrage. Posca uses this as the first step in reentering Octavian's favor and rebuilding his fortune, while Octavian uses this to rally the people of Rome to go to war against Mark Antony.

Posca was a popular drink in ancient Rome and Greece, made by mixing sour wine or vinegar with water and flavouring herbs. It originated in Greece as a medicinal mixture but became an everyday drink for the Roman army and the lower classes from around the 2nd century BC, continuing to be used throughout Roman history and into the Byzantine period. It was not usually drunk by the upper classes and was associated with the peasants. It was made by reusing wine spoiled by faulty storage and had important dietary advantages. As well as being a source of liquid, it provided calories and was an antiscorbutic, helping to prevent scurvy by providing vitamin C. Its acidity killed harmful bacteria and the flavouring helped to overcome the bad taste of local water supplies.