Roman chimneys

In Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar there are chimneys, books, doublets, hats and a clock that strikes three. Pope thought the hats were so much out of place that he replaced them by cats. There is also an allusion to the Great Flood. This could, of course, be the “Roman” flood, the flood of classical antiquity, sent by Zeus to punish mankind (only Descalion and his wife Pyrrha were permitted to survive), but Shakespeare was probably thinking of the “Christian” flood, the flood of the Old Testament, which would make it another anachronism. And finally a poet is scolded for his “cynic rhymes”. But there were no rhymes in Roman poetry . Shakespeare was not too concerned with historical authenticity. (Pughe, Thomas: Einleitung, in: Shakespeare, William: Julius Caesar. Tübingen: Francke, 1987: 18)