''Hispania, la leyenda'' () is a Spanish adventure drama television series starring

Roberto Enríquez Roberto Enríquez Asenjo (born 20 January 1968) is a Spanish actor. He is known for his performances in television series such as ''Locked Up'', ''Hispania, la leyenda'' and ''La señora'' or in films such as '' Fat People''. Biography Robert ...

, Lluís Homar, Ana de Armas,

Juan José Ballesta Juan José Ballesta Muñoz, also known as Juanjo Ballesta (born 12 November 1987) is a Spanish actor. Biography Born on 12 November 1987 in Parla, Ballesta grew up in Toledo. He had his debut performance in television in 1997, starring in t ...

Jesús Olmedo Jesús Olmedo (born 1973) is a Spanish actor, best known for his performance in the television series ''Hospital Central'', ''90-60-90: Diario secreto de una adolescente'', ''Hispania, la leyenda'' and ''Imperium''. Biography Born in Seville o ...

Manuela Vellés Manuela Vellés Casariego (born 16 January 1987) is a Spanish actress best known for her appearances in television series and films. Biography Manuela Vellés comes from a family of artists, writers, and designers, and her parents are architects. ...

and Nathalie Poza, among others. Set in the

2nd century BC The 2nd century BC started the first day of 200 BC and ended the last day of 101 BC. It is considered part of the Classical era, although depending on the region being studied, other terms may be more suitable. It is also considered to be ...

in the

Iberian Peninsula The Iberian Peninsula (), ** * Aragonese and Occitan: ''Peninsula Iberica'' ** ** * french: Péninsule Ibérique * mwl, Península Eibérica * eu, Iberiar penintsula also known as Iberia, is a peninsula in southwestern Europe, defi ...

, it consists of a retelling of the myth around Lusitanian leader

Viriathus Viriathus (also spelled Viriatus; known as Viriato in Portuguese and Spanish; died 139 BC) was the most important leader of the Lusitanian people that resisted Roman expansion into the regions of western Hispania (as the Romans called it) or we ...

and his resistance against Roman conquest efforts. Produced by Bambú Producciones, it aired on Antena 3 from 2010 to 2012.

Premise

The plot consists of the retelling of the

Viriatus Viriathus (also spelled Viriatus; known as Viriato in Portuguese and Spanish; died 139 BC) was the most important leader of the Lusitanian people that resisted Roman expansion into the regions of western Hispania (as the Romans called it) or we ...

' resistance against the Romans during the conquest of the Iberian Peninsula in the

. The struggle of Viriatus (

), a humble and courageous sepherd, pits him against the Roman

praetor Praetor ( , ), also pretor, was the title granted by the government of Ancient Rome to a man acting in one of two official capacities: (i) the commander of an army, and (ii) as an elected '' magistratus'' (magistrate), assigned to discharge vario ...

Servius Sulpicius Galba Servius Sulpicius Galba may refer to: * Servius Sulpicius Galba (consul 144 BC) * Servius Sulpicius Galba (consul 108 BC) * Servius Sulpicius Galba (praetor 54 BC), assassin of Julius Caesar * Galba, born Servius Sulpicius Galba, Roman emperor fro ...

( Lluís Homar).

Cast

Production and release

The series was created by Ramón Campos and produced by Bambú Producciones. Filming started in the northern hemisphere Summer of 2010 in

La Vera La Vera is a comarca (county, but with no administrative role) in Extremadura, western Spain. The largest town is Jaraíz de la Vera. Located at the feet of the Sierra de Gredos mountain range, in the Tiétar river valley, the comarca is economic ...

, Extremadura. The 9-episode first season premiered on 25 October 2010 in

prime time Prime time or the peak time is the block of broadcast programming taking place during the middle of the evening for a television show. It is mostly targeted towards adults (and sometimes families). It is used by the major television networks to ...

on Antena 3, running until 11 January 2011. The first season earned "great" viewership figures, averaging a 22.8% share. The second season aired from 10 May to 28 June 2011, whereas the third and last season (featuring 3 episodes) aired from 11 June to 25 June 2012. Along its broadcasting run, the series drew a steadily waning interest in terms of viewers, closing the series with a season finale attracting roughly 2 million viewers and a 12% share. The series sparked a spin-off, ''Imperium'', aired in 2012.

Historical licenses

Several gross departures from historical plausibility in the fiction have been described, including the "unfortunate"

onomastics Onomastics (or, in older texts, onomatology) is the study of the etymology, history, and use of proper names. An ''orthonym'' is the proper name of the object in question, the object of onomastic study. Onomastics can be helpful in data mining, w ...

chosen for the rebels, featuring Roman, Greek or even Persian names, or the notion of the inhabitants of the Iberian Peninsula sharing a sort of common "patriotic consciousness" describing themselves collectively as "''Hispanos''" , when rather tribal societies with different languages existed at the time. Likewise, the series moves the association of the myth of Viriathus from the Lusitanian space to a "more fluid" Iberian space. Hence, in the light of a number of historical inacuraccies and the problematic nature of the recreated imaginaries, Elena Cueto Asín and David R. George argue that "''Hispania, la leyenda'' crosses the boundaries of what is dramatically permissible in historical fiction". According to Fernando Gil González, the series, based on "the old ' Schultenian' precepts of nationalist and romantic nature", "is an outdated soap opera based on out-of-context anachronistic events and falsified data about the figure of Viriato".

Accolades

, - , align = "center" , 2011 , , 61st Fotogramas de Plata , , Best TV Actor , , Lluís Homar , , , , , - , align = "center" , 2012 , , 14th

Iris Awards The NATPE Iris Awards are an honor for local television programming excellence presented annually in the United States by the National Association of Television Program Executives (NATPE). The awards were introduced in 1968 and were initially tit ...

, , Best Actor , , Lluís Homar , , , , , - , align = "center" , 2013 , ,

22nd Actors and Actresses Union Awards The 22nd Actors and Actresses Union Awards ceremony was held on 3 June 2013 at the Teatro Coliseum in Madrid. The gala was directed by and hosted by Javier Botet, Raúl Jiménez, and David Pareja. In addition to the competitive awards Ada Cola ...

, , Best Television Actor in a Leading Role , , Roberto Enríquez , , , ,

References

;Citations ;Bibliography * * * *

External links

*{{IMDb title, tt1691593 2010 Spanish television series debuts 2012 Spanish television series endings Television shows filmed in Spain Antena 3 (Spanish TV channel) network series Spanish adventure television series 2010s Spanish drama television series Television shows set in Europe Television series set in the 2nd century BC Television series by Bambú Producciones