Dulce et decorum est pro patria more indeed. Though I'm no Shakespeare accolyte, I gather that this 'Peplum' probably sources its inspiration from one of his lesser-known plays, that featured mostly domestic and court intrigue with a bit of battle stuff thrown in. After all, his business was intimate human tragedy contrasted against backdrops of epochal social/historical significance, and the disparate and often irreconcilable relationship between the two.
In terms of historical verisimilitude, the best you can hope for is Tarzan blending in with the wooden scenery very capably throughout a couple of budget-swallowing battle scenes and more than a fair helping of romantic longueurs. It must be said though that the odds have always been stacked against these sorts of affairs outside of their native Italy at the very first exportation hurdle - the English dubbing suite. This and others of its ilk would probably fare much more equitably when shown in widescreen format in their original tongue. Sadly, without vested American capital interest behind such prospective re-accreditation, that prospect fades farther into the cinematic never-never with each successive year.
