SPQR IV: The Temple of the Muses

by John Maddox Roberts

  “Don’t forget to gag him,” Creticus said. A rag was stuffed in my mouth and tied securely behind my head. Creticus came over and nudged me in the ribs with his toe.

  “Decius, in case you were wondering where those marines came from, the war galleys Neptune, Swan and Triton are in the harbor. I’ve sent orders for the Swan to come to the royal harbor, and that’s where you are going right now. The marines from the Neptune are going out on a little mission of arson on Lord Achillas’s nearby estate; then the flotilla sails for Rhodes. That is as far as they take you.”

  “Beautiful place, Rhodes,” Ptolemy said. “A bit dull, though. No army, no politics. In fact, nothing there except schools.”

  “Maybe you can attend a few lectures, Decius,” Creticus said gleefully, nudging me with his toe again. “Learn a little philosophy, eh?” Then the two of them laughed until the tears ran down their degenerate old faces.

  I was carried down to the harbor and thrown aboard the ship. Julia accompanied me tearfully, holding my bound hands, which were already growing numb. She said she would follow me to Rhodes as soon as possible. Probably just wanted to meet all those scholars, I guessed. Hermes carried my weapons and a jug of wine, muttering and cursing, already missing the soft life in Alexandria.

  As the ship backed away, Creticus came down to the dock and yelled across the water, “If we hear that Rhodes has sunk beneath the sea. I’ll know who was responsible. Captain, don’t untie him until you’re out past Pharos!”

  By the time we rounded the lighthouse, another column of smoke rose to the east of the city, a short way inland. I knew that much wood should make a fine fire. I was glad we were too far away to smell the stench from those human-hair ropes.

  Before long, Alexandria was out of sight. I would not see it again for twelve years, but when I returned, it was with Caesar, and Cleopatra was queen and events made my little adventures of my first sojourn there seem dull and uneventful, and I finally got to settle matters with Achillas.

  These things happened in Alexandria in the year 692 of the City of Rome, the Consulship of Metellus Celer and Lucius Afranius.

  Also by

  JOHN MADDOX ROBERTS

  Other Books in the SPQR Series

  SPQR

  SPQR II: The Catiline Conspiracy

  SPQR III: The Sacrilege

  SPQR V: Saturnalia

  The Gabe Treloar Series

  The Ghosts of Saigon

  Desperate Highways

  A Typical American Town

  SPQR IV

  THE TEMPLE OF THE MUSES

  SPQR

  Senatus PopulusQue Romanus

  The Senate and People of Rome

  GLOSSARY

  (Definitions apply to the last century of the Republic.)

  Acta: Streets wide enough for one-way wheeled traffic.

  Aedile: Elected officials in charge of upkeep of the city and the grain dole, regulation of public morals, management of the markets and the public Games. There were two types: the plebeian aediles, who had no insignia of office, and the curule aediles, who wore the toga praetexta and sat in the sella curulis. The curule aediles could sit in judgment on civil cases involving markets and currency, while the plebeian aediles could only levy fines. Otherwise, their duties were the same. Since the magnificence of the Games one exhibited as aedile often determined election to higher office, it was an important stepping-stone in a political career. The office of aedile did not carry the imperium.

  Ancile: (pl. ancilia) A small, oval sacred shield which fell from heaven in the region of King Numa. Since there was a prophecy that it was tied to the stability of Rome, Numa had eleven exact copies made so nobody would know which one to steal. Their care was entrusted to a college of priests, the Salii (q.v.), and figured in a number of ceremonies each year.

  Atrium: Once a word for house, in Republican times it was the entry hall of a house, opening off the street and used as a general reception area.

  Atrium Vestae: The Palace of the Vestal and one of the most splendid buildings in Rome.

  Augur: An official who observed omens for state purposes. He could forbid business and assemblies if he saw unfavorable omens.

  Basilica: A building where courts met in inclement weather.

  Caestus: The Classical boxing glove, made of leather straps and reinforced by bands, plates or spikes of bronze.

  Caliga: The Roman military boot. Actually, a heavy sandal with hobnailed sole.

  Campus Martius: A field outside the old city wall, formerly the assembly area and drill field for the army. It was where the popular assemblies met. By late Republican times, buildings were encroaching on the field.

  Censor: Magistrates elected usually every fifth year to oversee the census of the citizens and purge the roll of Senators of unworthy members. They could forbid certain religious practices or luxuries deemed bad for public morals or generally “un-Roman.” There were two Censors, and each could overrule the other. They wore the toga praetexta and sat in the sella curulis, but since they had no executive powers they were not accompanied by lictors. The office did not carry the imperium. Censors were usually elected from among the ex-Consuls, and the censorship was regarded as the capstone of a political career.

  Centuriate Assembly: (comitia centuriata) Originally, the annual military assembly of the citizens where they joined their army units (“centuries”). There were one hundred ninety-three centuries divided into five classes by property qualification. They elected the highest magistrates: Censors, Consuls and Praetors. By the middle Republic, the centuriate assembly was strictly a voting body, having lost all military character.

  Centurion: “Commander of 100”; i.e., a century, which, in practice, numbered around sixty men. Centurions were promoted from the ranks and were the backbone of the professional army.

  Circus: The Roman racecourse and the stadium which enclosed it. The original, and always the largest, was the Circus Maximus, which lay between the Palatine and Aventine hills. A later, smaller circus, the Circus Flaminius, lay outside the walls on the Campus Martius.

  Client: One attached in a subordinate relationship to a patron, whom he was bound to support in war and in the courts. Freedmen became clients of their former masters. The relationship was hereditary.

  Coemptio: Marriage by symbolic sale. Before five witnesses and a libripens who held a balance, the bridegroom struck the balance with a bronze coin and handed it to the father or guardian of the bride. Unlike conferreatio, coemptic was easily dissolved by divorce.

  Cognomen: The family name, denoting any of the stirpes of a gens; i.e., Caius Julius Caesar. Caius of the stirps Caesar of gens Julia. Some plebeian families never adopted a cognomen, notably the Maru and the Antonii.

  Coitio: A political alliance between two men, uniting their voting blocs. Usually it was an agreement between politicians who were otherwise antagonists, in order to edge out mutual rivals.

  Colonia: Towns which had been conquered by Rome, where Roman citizens were settled. Later, settlements founded by discharged veterans of the legions. After 89 B.C. all Italian coloniae had full rights of citizenship. Those in the provinces had limited citizenship.

  Compluvium: An opening in a roof to admit light.

  Conferreatio: The most sacred and binding of Roman forms of marriage. The bride and groom offered a cake of spelt to Jupiter in the presence of a pontifex and the Flamen Dialis. It was the ancient patrician form of marriage. By the late Republic it was obsolete except for some priesthoods in which the priest was required to be married by conferreatio.

  Consul: Supreme magistrate of the Republic. Two were elected each year. Insignia were the toga praetexta and the sella curulis. Each Consul was attended by twelve lictors. The office carried full imperium. On the expiration of his year in office, the ex-Consul was usually assigned a district outside Rome to rule as proconsul. As proconsul, he had the same insignia and the same number of lictors. His power was absolute within his province.

  Curi
a: The meetinghouse of the Senate, located in the Forum.

  Dictator: An absolute ruler chosen by the Senate and the Consuls to deal with a specific emergency. For a limited period, never more than six months, he was given unlimited imperium, which he was to lay down upon resolution of the emergency. Unlike the Consuls, he had no colleague to overrule him and he was not accountable for his actions performed during office when he stepped down. His insignia were the toga praetexta and the sella curulis and he was accompanied by twenty-four lictors, the number of both Consuls. Dictatorships were extremely rare and the last was held in 202 B.C. The dictatorships of Sulla and Caesar were unconstitutional.

  Dioscuri: Castor and Pollux, the twin sons of Zeus and Leda. The Romans revered them as protectors of the city.

  Eques: (pl. equites) Formerly, citizens wealthy enough to supply their own horses and fight in the cavalry, they came to hold their status by meeting a property qualification. They formed the moneyed upper-middle class. In the centuriate assembly they formed eighteen centuries and once had the right of voting first, but they lost this as their military function disappeared. The publicans, financiers, bankers, moneylenders and tax-farmers came from the equestrian class.

  Faction: In the Circus, the supporters of the four racing companies: Red, White, Blue and Green. Most Romans were fanatically loyal to one of these.

  Fasces: A bundle of rods bound around an ax with a red strap, symbolizing a Roman magistrate’s power of corporal and capital punishment. They were carried by the lictors who accompanied the curule magistrates, the Flamen Dialis, and the proconsuls and propraetors who governed provinces. When a lower magistrate met a higher, his lictors lowered their fasces in salute.

  Flamen: A high priest of a specific god of the state. The college of flamines had fifteen members: three patrician and twelve plebeian. The three highest were the Flamen Dialis, the Flamen Martialis and the Flamen Quirinalis. They had charge of the daily sacrifices and wore distinctive headgear and were surrounded by many ritual taboos. The Flamen Dialis, high priest of Jupiter, was entitled to the toga praetexta, which had to be woven by his wife, the sella curulis and a single lictor, and he could sit in the Senate. It became difficult to fill the college of flamines because they had to be prominent men, the appointment was for life and they could take no part in politics.

  Forum: An open meeting and market area. The premier forum was the Forum Romanum, located on the low ground surrounded by the Capitoline, Palatine and Caelian hills. It was surrounded by the most important temples and public buildings. Roman citizens spent much of their day there. The courts met outdoors in the Forum when the weather was good. When it was paved and devoted solely to public business, the Forum Romanum’s market functions were transferred to the Forum Boarium, the cattle market, near the Circus Maximus. Small shops and stalls remained along the northern and southern peripheries, however.

  Freedman: A manumitted slave. Formal emancipation conferred full rights of citizenship except for the right to hold office. Informal emancipation conferred freedom without voting rights. In the second or at latest third generation, a freedman’s descendants became full citizens.

  Genius: The guiding and guardian spirit of a person or place. The genius of a place was called genius loci.

  Gens: A clan, all of whose members were descended from a single ancestor. The nomen of a patrician gens always ended with -ius. Thus, Caius Julius Caesar was Caius, of the Caesarian stirps of gens Julia.

  Gladiator: Literally, “swordsman.” A slave, prisoner of war, condemned criminal or free volunteer who fought, often to the death, in the munera. All were called swordsmen, even if they fought with other weapons.

  Gladius: The short, broad, double-edged sword borne by Roman soldiers. It was designed primarily for stabbing. A smaller, more antiquated design of gladius was used by gladiators.

  Gravitas: The quality of seriousness.

  Haruspex: A member of a college of Etruscan professionals who examined the entrails of sacrificial animals for omens.

  Hospitium: An arrangement of reciprocal hospitality. When visiting the other’s city, each hospes (pl. hospites) was entitled to food and shelter, protection in court, care when ill or injured and honorable burial, should he die during the visit. The obligation was binding on both families and was passed on to descendants.

  Ides: The 15th of March, May, July and October. The 13th of other months.

  Imperium: The ancient power of kings to summon and lead armies, to order and forbid and to inflict corporal and capital punishment. Under the Republic, the imperium was divided among the Consuls and Praetors, but they were subject to appeal and intervention by the tribunes in their civil decisions and were answerable for their acts after leaving office. Only a dictator had unlimited imperium.

  Insula: Literally, “island.” A large, multistory tenement block.

  Itinera: Streets wide enough for only foot traffic. The majority of Roman streets were itinera.

  Janitor: A slave-doorkeeper, so called for Janus, god of gateways.

  Kalends: The first of any month.

  Latifundium: A large landed estate or plantation worked by slaves. During the late Republic these expanded tremendously, all but destroying the Italian peasant class.

  Legates: Subordinate commanders chosen by the Senate to accompany generals and governors. Also, ambassadors appointed by the Senate.

  Legion: Basic unit of the Roman army. Paper strength was six thousand, but usually closer to four thousand. All were armed as heavy infantry with a large shield, cuirass, helmet, gladius and light and heavy javelins. Each legion had attached to it an equal number of non-citizen auxiliaries consisting of light and heavy infantry, cavalry, archers, slingers, etc. Auxilia were never organized as legions, only as cohorts.

  Lictor: Attendants, usually freedmen, who accompanied magistrates and the Flamen Dialis, bearing the faces. They summoned assemblies, attended public sacrifices and carried out sentences of punishment. Twenty-four lictors accompanied a dictator, twelve for a Consul, six for a propraetor, two for a Praetor and one for the Flamen Dialis.

  Liquamen: Also called garum, it was the ubiquitous fermented fish sauce used in Roman cooking.

  Ludus: (pl. ludi) The official public Games, races theatricals, etc. Also, a training school for gladiators, although the gladiatorial exhibitions were not ludi.

  Munera: Special Games, not part of the official calendar, at which gladiators were exhibited. They were originally funeral Games and were always dedicated to the dead. In munera sine missione, all the defeated were killed and sometimes were made to fight sequentially or all at once until only one was left standing. Munera sine missione were periodically forbidden by law.

  Municipia: Towns originally with varying degrees of Roman citizenship, but by the late Republic with full citizenship. A citizen from a municipium was qualified to hold any public office. An example is Cicero, who was not from Rome but from the municipium of Arpinum.

  Nobiles: Those families, both patrician and plebeian, in which members had held the Consulate.

  Nomen: The name of the clan or gens; i.e., Caius Julius Caesar.

  Nones: The 7th of March, May, July and October. The 5th of other months.

  Novus Homo: Literally, “new man.” A man who is the first of his family to hold the Consulate, giving his family the status of nobiles.

  Optimates: The party of the “best men”; i.e., aristocrats and their supporters.

  Patria Potestas: The absolute authority of the pater familias over the children of his household, who could neither legally own property while their father was alive nor marry without his permission. Technically, he had the right to sell or put to death any of his children, but by Republican times this was a legal fiction.

  Patrician: A descendant of one of the founding fathers of Rome. Once, only patricians could hold offices and priesthoods and sit in the Senate, but these privileges were gradually eroded until only certain priesthoods were strictly patrician. By the late Republic
, only about fourteen gens remained.

  Patron: A man with one or more clients whom he was bound to protect, advise and otherwise aid. The relationship was hereditary.

  Peculium: Roman slaves could not own property, but they could earn money outside the household, which was held for them by their masters. This fund was called a peculium, and could be used, eventually, to purchase the slave’s freedom.

  Peristylium: An open courtyard surrounded by a colonnade.

  Pietas: The quality of dutifulness toward the gods and, especially, toward one’s parents.

  Plebeian: All citizens not of patrician status.

  Pomerium: The line of the ancient city wall, attributed to Romulus. Actually, the space of vacant ground just within and without the wall, regarded as holy. Within the pomerium it was forbidden to bear arms or bury the dead.

  Pontifex: A member of the highest priestly college of Rome. They had superintendence over all sacred observances, state and private, and over the calendar. There were fifteen in the late Republic: seven patrician and eight plebeian. Their chief was the pontifex maximus, a title now held by the Pope.

  Popular Assemblies: There were three: the centuriate assembly (comitia centuriata) and the two tribal assemblies: comitia tributa and consilium plebis, q.v.

  Populares: The party of the common people.

  Praenomen: The given name of a freeman, as Marcus, Sextus. Caius, etc.; i.e., Caius Julius Caesar; Caius of the stirps Caesar of gens Julia. Women used a feminine form of their father’s nomen, i.e., the daughter of Caius Julius Caesar would be named Julia.

  Praetor: Judge and magistrate elected yearly along with the Consuls. In the late Republic there were eight Praetors. Senior was the Praetor Urbanus, who heard civil cases between citizens. The Praetor Peregrinus heard cases involving foreigners. The others presided over criminal courts. Insignia were the toga praetexta and the sella curulis, and Praetors were accompanied by two lictors. The office carried the imperium. After leaving office, the ex-Praetors became propraetors and went to govern propraetorian provinces with full imperium.