1 Marcus: What's that?
1 Julius: {holding a pot of something} Greek fire.
2 Julius: A sticky combustible compound that can be sprayed on enemies and can't be doused with water.
3 Marcus: Should you have a naked flame next to it?
3 Julius: Relax, it's perfectly safe.
4 [sound]: Fwackoom!

Greek fire was actually invented some time in the 7th century, and used by the successors of the Roman Empire, the Byzantine Empire, against their enemies. It was a sticky, highly inflammable fluid that was close to impossible to extinguish, somewhat similar to napalm. Its exact composition remains a secret lost to the mists of time. It probably wasn't highly explosive, but then again it's also a pretty sure bet that Romans like Marcus and Julius never saw it. If you're going to go for inaccuracy and anachronism, don't go halfway, I say.

This is only the second time the Romans have appeared on a different set to the generic "Roman columns" I usually use for them. I was getting a bit bored of those.

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2015-06-20 Rerun commentary: Obviously playing on Kyros's propensity for inadequately constrained fireballs.

The small flame piece below the pot Julius is holding is modified from one of the large flame pieces that you can see behind the characters. I used snips to trim most of the flame off and leave just a small spike of orange.