Roman world in his palm, only to be brought low by Caesar. Pompey was idealized as a tragic hero almost immediately after Pharsalus and his murder. Plutarch portrayed Pompey as a Roman Alexander the Great, pure of heart and mind, destroyed by the cynical ambitions of those around him. This portrayal of him survived into the Renaissance and Baroque periods, for example, in Pierre Corneille's play The Death of Pompey (1642). Despite his war against Caesar, Pompey was still widely celebrated during the imperial period as the conqueror of the Orient. For example, pictures of Pompey were carried at Augustus' funeral procession. And, as a triumphator, he had numerous statues in Rome, one of which was on the forum of Augustus. Although the imperial power did not honour Pompey as much as it did his arch enemy, who was considered a god, his reputation among many aristocrats and historians was equal, or even superior, to that of Caesar. In popular culture Pompey has appeared as a character in multiple modern works. Comics Pompey makes a guest appearance in the French comic book Asterix and the Actress. Pompey appears as Julius Caesar's foe throughout the Adventures of Alix series. Films and theater A theatrical portrayal of his life was John Masefield's play The Tragedy of Pompey the Great (1910). In the opening scene of the film King of Kings (1961), he is played by actor Conrado San Martín. Literature William Shakespeare's Measure for Measure includes a bawd named Pompey Bum, who is humorously compared with his Roman namesake across the play: his backside being the "greatest thing" about him, he is, Escalus comments, "in the beastliest sense [...] Pompey the Great", whilst Lucio, following Pompey's arrest "for being a bawd", likens his detention to the Roman general: "How now, noble Pompey! What, at the wheels of Caesar? Art thou led in triumph?" In Colleen McCullough's Masters of Rome series of historical novels, Pompey's youthful exploits are depicted in Fortune's Favourites, the formation of the First Triumvirate and his marriage to Julia is a large part of Caesar's Women and his loss of Julia, the dissolution of the First Triumvirate, his later political career, the civil war between him and Caesar and his eventual defeat, leading to his betrayal and murder in Egypt, are all told in Caesar. Pompey is a recurring character in the Roma Sub Rosa series of novels by