by Dan Wallace
“What kind of visitor?”
“A person of high bearing,” the servant said, “wearing the robes of a Roman official.”
“A Roman official?” Nasica said, sitting upright. “How so?”
“He wears a toga with a red stripe,” said the servant.
A senator! thought Nasica. What could this mean? The climate had changed in Rome, the tide turning? A reprieve, perhaps? “Very well,” he said, “usher him in. And, quickly, have the other slaves clear this mess before he arrives, or you all will be ushered to the underworld.”
Nasica ran off to his own dressing chamber to don his toga as fast as he could. He gazed into a polished bronze plate and adjusted a few locks of hair curled above his brow. He yanked at the toga, pulling it closer around his waist, then marched back into the large reception room.
A few feet before the bronze double doors of the lavish salon stood a man in an exquisitely arranged toga, with a fold hooded over his head, his hands clasped before him. Slightly surprised, Nasica stepped rapidly across the marble tiles as he said, “Senator, no need to pray here or hide. You are safe, in the company of a fellow senator and friend, Publius Cornelius Scipio Nasica Serapio.”
He reached out his hand to grasp that of his fellow Roman. But the visiting senator did not move.
“Senator Nasica Scipio, my presence here is of a clandestine nature. I have private matters to discuss with you that cannot allow any witnesses,” he said, his head lowered. Without peering around the room, he said, “Including slaves.”
A thrill of hope shuddered through Nasica. “Of course, of course.” Nasica raised his voice and ordered, “Out!”
The slaves ran to disappear through various doorways until the two Romans stood alone. Now that he had a chance to examine the man before him, Nasica saw that he was not tall. In fact, he towered over the stranger. The visitor was wide, however, and very much at ease in his stance. His toga seemed a bit short, too, exposing his sandals wrapped around his ankles. Probably because of the fold still pulled over his head, Nasica thought.
“We are alone,” Nasica said smoothly. “So, may I see the visage of my fellow countryman who graces me with his presence today?”
Without a word, the man raised his arm and flipped back his hood.
His appearance shocked Nasica. He had a large, round head covered by a rough-cut rug of black hair. The skin of his face looked drawn and as dark as peat from years in the sun. His eyes were shining black mica, and his mouth a wide slice of arrogance. But the most distinctive feature of all was his scarred nose, smashed flat broadly across his face many years ago.
Nasica reached into a fold of his toga to grab hold of the handle of a knife hidden away.
“You are not a senator at all,” he said. “Who are you?”
The man grinned wickedly, spreading his toga open as he spoke. “This really isn’t my toga, Senator, it belonged to someone else. I am Lucius Casca Naso, Centurion Primus, Ninth Legion, Evocatus. I’m here for revenge, Senator.”
Nasica whipped out his knife high to thrust it at Casca, but his arm nearly came off from the slash of the Centurion’s blade. Nasica’s knife clattered on the floor as he screamed and fell back.
“You cannot do this!” Nasica said, stammering while holding his bleeding arm. “I am a Roman senator, a former consul, the Pontifex Maximus!”
Casca sneered, “You look like a man close to death to me.”
“No! No!” Nasica cried out. He shouted as loud as he could, “Help! Servants, help me, murder! Assassination!”
But no one came.
Nasica stepped back slowly, saying, “Why are you doing this? Money? I can pay you more!”
Casca said, “You see this?” He raised a short-bladed knife with a long wooden handle. “It’s called a dolo, excellent for inside work. I gave it to a friend of mine who was brutally murdered by you. I picked it up off the Comitium floor while you and your strongmen carried his body away to dump in the Tiber. I think it only fair that I use it in his memory, don’t you?”
Nasica turned to run, but Casca stepped on the edge of his toga which caused him to fall face down on the floor. Casca straddled Nasica, who was kicking and screaming. He began to carve. Once done, he disappeared.
Afterword
The assassination of Tiberius Gracchus in 133 B.C.E marked the first violent act of bloodshed in the Roman Forum since the Republic had been formed 500 years earlier.
After Tiberius’s death, Appius and Crassus continued the Lex Sempronia Agraria commission until their deaths, Appius in 132 BCE, and Crassus in 130 BCE
In 129 BCE, Scipio Aemilianus engineered curtailment of the agrarian land commission. He died mysteriously in the same year.
Claudia gave birth to another son, after which she moved with her children to their estate in Erutria, never to be heard of again in public life.
Cornelia continued to live in the Sempronii domus with her son Gaius, who ran for and was elected tribune of the people in 124 BCE.
Glossary
Note: words in italics can be found in the glossary
ager publica – public land won in conquest that was reserved for parceling out to veterans and other citizens for their service.
agger – a mound of dirt taken from the ditch (fossa) around the camp and placed inside the fossa to form a higher barrier to deter assailants.
ambitus – money used to bribe citizens for their votes in Roman elections.
amphora, amphorae – long, terracotta urns used to hold grain and wine transported by sea. The urns were tapered at the end to be easily pushed into sand to protect them and their contents.
annonae opti – officer in charge of preparing meals for a legion.
apodyterium – the room in the public baths where patrons changed clothes and left their belongings in cubby holes to be guarded by their slaves.
architectus – an engineer (immune) who specialized in planning and building war structures such as siege towers, moles across bodies of water, tunnels for sapping walls, and mounds that reached the heights of enemy fortifications. They also assessed enemy fortresses for structural weaknesses that could be exploited.
arx – a citadel that served as the last defense in a siege.
bulla – a pouch containing amulets or charms given to a Roman boy nine days after birth. The pouch was worn around the neck to protect the boy from evil spirits.
caldarium – a room in public baths featuring hot water pools.
Campus Martius – an open area outside the walls of Rome where soldiers assembled and trained for battle.
Capitoline Hill – the smallest but highest of Rome’s seven hills. It was the historic and religious center of Republican Rome, the site of the Temple of Jupitor Capitolinus; the Temple of Juno Moneta; the Tabularium, where the state archives were kept; and the Tarpeian Rock, off of which state criminals were hurled to their death. All overlooked the Curia Hostilia, the Rostrum, and the Comitia at the head of the Forum.
Castor and Pollux – twin half-brothers in Roman mythology, known as the Gemini. They were excellent horsemen and athletes, and they became revered as patrons of athletes and travelers, especially sailors.
castra – a camp fortress built by Roman armies to protect them from night attacks. Each legionary carried two wooden stakes, which were mounted in a rectangular perimeter on an earthen parapet (agger) created by digging a surrounding dry moat (fossa). Roman armies on campaign constructed such camps every night after marching all day.
Cato the Elder – a Roman politician from a highly respected family who gained fame for concluding all of his speeches by stating that Carthage must be destroyed.
centurion primus – also called the first spear, the top noncommissioned officer in a Roman army at the head of its best legion.
cistas – round wicker baskets in which Romans cast their ballots when voting.
cohort – a unit of Roman soldiers composed of 400 to 600 men.
comitia/Comitia – an amp
hitheater where people gathered for political speeches, public announcements, and voting. The Comitia in Rome was located in the Forum near the Curia Hostilia on the Capitoline Hill.
Concordia – the Roman goddess of harmony.
corbita – a small merchant sailing ship noted for its speed.
Croesus – Greek king of the state of Lydia in 6th century BCE known for his great wealth who subsequently was conquered by the Persians.
Curia Hostilia – the Senate building, located in the Forum next to the Comitia.
cursus honorum – the sequence of offices that young men of distinguished families attempted to win on their way to the highest posts in Rome— consul, censor, and princeps senatus.
Dea Dia, Bona Dea – a Roman goddess of fertility and growth sometimes identified with Ceres, the goddess of agriculture and grain crops.
decimi – officers in the auxiliary cavalry in charge of a troop of ten mounted men.
decurion – town officials, usually selected by acclaim in small municipalities from the most prominent, wealthy men.
deductores – friends of candidates for public office who accompanied them to political functions, speeches, and other occasions as a show of support.
denarius – Roman silver coin worth 10 asses, the basic bronze coin.
dignitas – a Roman virtue meaning a sense of self-worth and personal pride.
Dis – Dis Pater, a Roman god of the underworld originally associated with wealth that came from minerals found underground.
dolo – a long-bladed double-edged knife set in a smooth wooden haft with a knobbed end that could be used as a club.
domus – a house. Well-off city dwellers in ancient Rome usually closed off the domus with walls and a stout gate. Interiors generally featured vestibules, atriums, and enclosed gardens (peristylums).
equites – the second landowning rank in Rome; the equites served as cavalrymen in the Roman army. The first officer of the equites was called the eques.
evocati – retired legionaries who rejoined the army.
forum – the political and commercial centers of community life in Roman towns where announcements, speeches, and elections took place. It either shared space or was adjacent to a major market and business activities. The Forum in Rome was situated below the Capitoline Hill near the Curia Hostilia.
fossa – a ditch dug by legionaries around the camp each night in which posts were set to form a fortified perimeter.
frigidarium – a chamber in public baths with cold water pools that were considered a bracing finish to an exercise routine.
gladius – the Roman short sword used most effectively for stabbing and cutting.
Good Men – also called the Optimates, meaning right-thinking; a political faction in ancient Rome that advocated support of patrician hegemony in direct opposition of the Populares and their pro-plebeian agenda.
graecostasis – the rostrum reserved for foreign orators; it was situated opposite the main Roman Rostrum in the Forum on the Capitoline Hill.
Hannibal Barcas – the Carthaginian general in the second Punic war who brought the conflict to Roman soil, rampaging through Italy for 18 years. He finally met defeat defending Carthage at the hands of Quintus Scipio Africanus. He committed suicide while in exile in Asia.
hastati – lightly armed skirmishers who made up the first line of Roman soldiers. They harassed the enemy by throwing two spears (pila) and then falling back to the main formation. Usually the youngest and poorest soldiers in the Roman army.
Hispania Criterior and Ulterior – the two provinces of Hispania under Roman control, Criterior in the east and Ulterior in the west.
Hydra – the mythical multiheaded monster who protected the Golden fleece. If one of its heads was cut off, two grew in its place.
Iberus River – now named the Ebro River, the longest in Hispania, stretching from the Mediterranean Sea near Tarroco almost to the northern coast of the Gallaecian Sea (Atlantic Ocean) near Gaul (France).
immunes – Roman army engineers who designed and supervised the construction of forts, tools, weapons, and other implements needed on military campaigns.
impedimenta – the Roman term for baggage, it usually referred to the Roman army’s supply train, notable because it slowed down the march.
insulas – apartment buildings occupied by plebeians and other low-income city dwellers. As tall as seven stories and made of wood, these buildings frequently were firetraps and apt to collapse, killing many of the residents.
iugera – a measurement of land comparable to the size of an acre.
Kerres and Mamerte – two main gods of the Samnite tribe, ancient enemies of Rome who became longtime allies.
Lapis Niger – a black stone altar in the Vulcanal shrine where Roman kings made sacrifices to the gods.
Lapith – a legendary people of Greek mythology from Thessaly (northern Greece) who defeated the centaurs.
lararium – a small shrine in Roman homes that housed tiny figurines of the gods and goddesses, both those on Mount Olympus and household deities called Lares. The shrine also displayed an array of the family ancestors' death masks. Roman families would pray before the lararium on a daily basis.
Laverna – patron goddess of thieves, con men, and charlatans.
lex agaria – a law meant to take the public lands of Rome appropriated by wealthy patricians and return it to plebeian ownership.
Liber – also called the Liber Pater, the free Father; Liber was a god of viticulture and wine, fertility and freedom.
lictor fasces – a Roman civil servant who was a bodyguard to magistrates who held imperium (authority). Lictors carried fasces, bundles of five-foot wooden rods with axes in their centers that symbolized the power to carry out capital punishment.
lorica – the Roman soldier's chest armor, usually metal pieces sewn together and hung from shoulder straps to protect the torso.
lunula – a crescent-shaped amulet given to Roman girls at birth to be worn around the neck as a lucky charm and also to protect against evil forces and demons.
mangonel – a powerful Roman catapult used to launch projectiles at enemies.
maniple – the basic unit of a Roman army consisting of three lines in a bloc. Each line would engage the enemy's front line for 20 minutes, then shift back to be relieved by the second line. The second line would fight for another 20-minute period, then give way for the third line's 20-minute stint. In this way, troops would have 40 minutes of rest between every 20 minutes of combat.
Mare Sardoum – the ancient name of the Sardinian Sea, the part of the Mediterranean Sea west and south of the island of Sardinia.
Massalia – the ancient Greek city (now Marseilles) on the western coast of Gaul, an important trade partner of Rome for centuries.
Medusa – a mythical monster generally described as a winged human female with living venomous snakes in place of hair. Those who gazed upon her face would turn to stone. Medusa was beheaded by the hero Perseus, who thereafter used her head, which retained its ability to turn onlookers to stone, as a weapon until he gave it to the goddess Athena to place on her shield.
mesata – a high, flat table of land between mountain ranges; also called a mesa.
mina – an ancient Near Eastern measure of weight equal to 1.25 pounds.
Minerva – the Roman goddess of wisdom and strategic warfare and the sponsor of arts, trade, and strategy.
missio – legionaries discharged from the Roman army.
mole – a long bridge constructed with earth and pilings across bodies of water for attacks on enemy fortifications. Typically, these temporary land bridges would be used to move siege towers into position for assaults across walls.
mos maiorum – the ancient Roman unwritten code of laws and customs. Distinguished from written law, the mos maiorum defined the traditions, behavioral models, and social practices that affected private, political, and military life in ancient Rome.
necropolis – a cemetery; among the
Celtiberians, it was a sacred area of flat stones upon which warriors slain in combat were left to be taken to the heavens by crows and other scavenger birds.
nemeton – a sacred place in Celtic religions, often a grove of trees with an altar, though also sometimes associated with temples and other structures.
Nobilior – Quintus Fulvius Nobilor, consul in 153 BCE who conducted a failed campaign in Hispania. He later served as censor with Claudius Appius Pulcher in 136 BCE.
obol – a very small bronze coin of little value, weighing .02 ounce, frequently placed on the eyes of the deceased to pay Charon for passage across the River Styx.
Optimates – also called the Good Men, meaning right-thinking; a political faction in ancient Rome that advocated support of patrician hegemony in direct opposition of the Populares and their pro-plebeian agenda.
optios – noncommissioned officers, second-in-command to centurions in Roman legions.
Oxybian Ligures – a Ligurian tribe situated on the west coast of Gaul who in 155 BCE attacked Massalia. The Massalians asked their ally Rome for assistance, and in 154 BCE, Consul Quintus Opimius defeated the Oxybians.