Lastly, while references to Christianity might seem anachronistic in a book set thirty years before Christ’s birth, it’s important to remember that Christianity didn’t arise in a vacuum. If we accept Matthew’s Massacre of the Innocents as valid gospel, we must acknowledge that Selene’s life intersected with important people like King Herod who played a role in the Christian faith. What’s more, Christianity was not only influenced by Isis worshippers but also shared many symbols and ideals with the Isiacs.
I hope you’ve enjoyed Lily of the Nile and that you’ll look for its sequel, which will explore Selene’s journey to Africa and how this fascinating but as yet uncelebrated young queen went on to influence the Roman world, their faith, and our own.
For a more detailed bibliography and a list of Frequently Asked Questions, please visit my website at www.stephaniedray.com.
READERS GUIDE
LILY OF THE NILE
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
On the Story
DISCUSS THE CHARACTERS, THE MAGIC, AND THE MEANING
1. How do Selene’s feelings about her mother’s death change over the course of the novel?
2. In antiquity, girls were considered to be marriageable at the age of twelve, but what experiences in Selene’s life made her older and wiser than her years?
3. How do the powers Cleopatra gives to her children suit each of them, and do you think their characters would have changed had they been matched with another power?
4. What role does Selene’s twin brother play in her life? How does her relationship with him differ from her relationship with her other siblings?
5. Selene learns to lie at a very young age and we watch her evolve into a schemer. Can these traits be forgiven as the tools of survival or do they represent a fundamental weakness in her character?
6. Octavian’s desire to rebuild the Roman Republic and end the civil wars is juxtaposed against the unhappiness of the many children that he’s decided to adopt as his own. Does Selene give him enough credit for sparing her life and for trying to be a just ruler?
7. In what way does Selene become more like the emperor than she is like her mother or father?
8. There is an emphasis placed on magic throughout the novel. Discuss what magic is to the Romans and the attitude that they hold for it, as well as what magic means to Cleopatra’s children and the followers of Isis. Are their attitudes at all similar and how do they change throughout the course of the plot?
9. When Selene refuses to run away with their old wizard, it puts a barrier between her and her brothers. Is this a breach that can be healed?
10. In the middle of the book, Selene abandons her faith and removes her frog medallion. Why do you think she turns her back on Isis when she seems to need her most? How does this decision impact the story?
11. Helios was furious with Selene for helping the emperor deprive him of his name during the Trojan Games. Did you agree with her choice or with Helios?
12. How is Selene a different person once Helios goes missing?
13. Julia faces a harsh reality when she realizes that she has no choice when it comes to her future. Every decision is made for her and serves a specific purpose for Caesar. What do you wish for Julia, and what kind of woman do you think she will become?
14. Is Selene disloyal to her family for coming to love some of the Romans?
15. Should Selene forgive Juba for his part in her parents’ defeat?
16. What do you think the emperor means when he says that he wants Selene to be his Cleopatra?
On the History
DISCUSS ROME, EGYPT, AND THE AUGUSTAN AGE
1. While much is known about the allegedly scandalous Cleopatra, her more cautious daughter is virtually unknown. Why do you think that is?
2. Cleopatra’s death has caused speculation and sensationalism for centuries. Given accounts that Octavian called for snake-poison healers to try to revive her, and her subsequent portrayals in his Triumph, it has long been believed that she died by the poisonous bite of an Egyptian cobra. More recent theories include the idea that she was poisoned or was forced to kill herself because she was an inconvenience to Rome. How do you think she died?
3. After Cleopatra’s death, Rome went through a period of Egyptomania, fueled in part by Octavian himself. Why do you think he remained so fascinated with the country and the woman he had conquered?
4. It is said that Caesarion was killed because “two Caesars is one too many.” But Antony’s son Antyllus was also killed. What does this tell us about Rome’s intentions toward Egypt?
5. One of the most noticeable features of Rome today are the many obelisks that were transferred from Egypt and placed around the city. In the book, Selene takes notice of Octavian’s obsessive behavior toward her mother. How did it benefit him to keep the legend of Cleopatra alive?
6. The society of Egypt and that of Rome are often compared throughout the novel. One serves as a symbol of success through a fostered liberty under a monarch, and the other serves as a symbol of success through organized power under the guise of a republic. How do both of these symbols interact throughout the novel and why do you think it is important to see them functioning side by side?
7. There are often references to a Golden Age. Augustus’s reign lead to two centuries of peace known as the Pax Romana. How was he able to bring this about?
8. Whereas Julius Caesar was assassinated by those he had counted as friends, Augustus’s reign featured many loyal allies including Agrippa, Maecenas, Juba, Livia, Octavia, and others. How was he able to secure such loyalty?
9. While Augustus’s family grew to an enormous size, including many grandchildren, nieces, and nephews, the Julio-Claudian dynasty was ultimately dominated by Livia’s side of the family. Why do you think this is?
10. The month of August is named after Octavian. What other traces of his rule can be found in the world today?
On the Cultural Implications of the Novel
DISCUSS RELIGION, FEMINISM, AND PROPAGANDA
1. Rome was generally very tolerant of religious diversity in the peoples that they conquered, but during the Age of Augustus, the Isiac faith was actively persecuted. Why?
2. How did the Isiac religion clash with the more traditional Roman view of the relationship between man and the gods? Why should it matter that slaves and women were allowed to worship in the temple and participate in rites as equals to their male counterparts?
3. Selene was born approximately forty years before the birth of Christ, and was heralded upon her birth as a savior. The entire ancient world was awaiting a Golden Age. What light does this shed upon Christianity? And how might Jesus have fared differently if he had been born into a world ruled by Cleopatra and Antony’s heirs, rather than Augustus’s successors?
4. Isiacism was one of the first religions of the ancient world to concern itself with social justice. Slavery, warfare, and care for the less fortunate were themes these religions addressed, to the consternation of the ruling elite. How have these traditions come down to us today?
5. Virgil’s Aeneid was, as they say, an instant classic. Commissioned by Augustus, and passed down as the quintessential creation myth of the Roman state, it tells Rome’s story as the Romans themselves would have wanted us to see it. Was Augustus wise to hire a cadre of esteemed artists such as Virgil to create his propaganda?
6. Lily of the Nile examines the hardships of even a highborn Roman woman’s life and the lengths that society went to preserve a woman’s sanctity and meekness. Selene’s antithesis, Octavian, shadows his household’s every decision. How do his presence and his beliefs shape the plot of the novel? How would the plot change had he not been adherent to his strict policies and viewpoints on the role of a Roman woman?
7. Could Selene’s story be used to empower young women in society today? Why or why not? Are there any parallels between the decisions that she has had to make for her family and the decisions some young women make for their families today?
8. How did Augustus’s morality and attitudes toward women shape Rome and influence our society even today?
9. Selene had a variety of female role models to choose from. Her mother, Livia, Octavia, and even Marcella. How do each of these women embody a different approach to the patriarchal world into which they’d been born?
10. Discuss the personalities of the male characters and their contributions to the story line. What were the expectations for a Roman man, and how does this impact Juba, Helios, and even the sickly emperor himself?
Lily of the Nile Page 34