How does one pronounce Pompey?

Question

Gnaeus Pompeius Magnus, a general during the last years of the Republic:

Some folks are under the impression that the standard English version of his name, Pompey, is pronounced "POM-pee," even though the Anglicized Latin variant is "pom-PAY-us," with the stress on the second syllable.

I was under that same impression as well.

Recently, though, I watched the somewhat silly yet entertaining HBO series titled, simply, Rome, in which various characters refer to and address the brave general as "POM-pay."

What gives?

Here's where it's happening in the TV show (one of many instances) - courtesy of @tchrist:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k1rMWzzAl_o&ab_channel=BayA

Answer 1

Both OED and Merriam-Webster agree that the second syllable is "-ee", and the first (stressed) syllable has the LOT vowel:

OED (£)

Pronunciation: Brit. pronunciation/ˈpɒmpi/ , U.S. pronunciation/ˈpɑmpi/

M-W

Pom·​pey ˈpäm-pē

There's a long tradition in English Classicism of pronouncing the ancients' names almost without regard to how they might or might not have been pronounced in their own time - eg "Cicero" with not just one but two /s/s, "Julius" with a /dʒ/, and so on. I have never heard anything other than "ee" used at the end, but I guess what HBO do is up to them... I would have thought they'd go for "Pompayus" if they wanted to seem clever, though.