Manjerico by Birvan on DeviantArt (original) (raw)

My personal version of Grandpa Rome (or in this case Papa Rome) and a first attempt at Mama Iberia

From what I can recall the Romans were crazy about thermal baths, having a nice, shaved body (or at least face) and of course "being civilized", so I always imagine him keeping his body hair production in check
He also has that famed roman nose and legionary suit (or in this case a centurion, since he was a huge military power and particularly an infantry man. He was a great engineer too though). And of course he was all those battle scars

As for Mama Iberia I'm still working on her because it's hard to find good references. All I know is she has a lighter brown hair because of her celtic heritage (technically she's Celtiberia)

The plant Rome is offering her is a Ocimum minimum L. (I think it's called Bush Basil or Greek Basil in english), known in portuguese as a Mangerico
Some also call it the Erva dos Namorados (= Lovers Herb) because it's tradition for boys to offer one to their girlfriends during the Santos Populares (it's a trio of Saints celebrations that take place in Portugal during June and its tied to love and marriage)
It's a tradition that comes from Rome, although he goes as far as using it as a marriage proposal (Romano does it too apparently)