'Britannia' - Romans on TV?

[Nathan Ross]

Caesar has become a legendary character because two thousand years later people are still talking about him.

I'd say Caesar is solidly historical, even if people might have told legendary stories about him in the past. The borders between history and legend can get a bit hazy at times, but if we can establish a historical context for something, and have evidence to support it, then surely we can say it exists within the fabric of history?

The Irish hero Cuchulainn, on the other hand, is a legendary and mythological character, with fantastical and magical attributes. He may have been based on a historical person, but we don't know enough about when the stories were written or told to know either way.

The problem with (what seems to be) the attitude of this TV show is the suggestion that history and legend are the same thing. It all happened ages ago, and who knows what went on back then....

(this is leaving out the current use of 'legendary' to mean 'famous', of course. Footballers are always described as 'legendary' when they die, even by people who knew them!... )