SPQR XIII: The Year of Confusion
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populares The party of the plebeians.
praetor peregrinus See offices.
priesthoods In Rome, the priesthoods were offices of state. There were two major classes: pontifexes and flamines.
Pontifexes were members of the highest priestly college of Rome. They had superintendence over all sacred observances, state and private, and over the calendar. The head of their college was the pontifex maximus, a title held to this day by the pope.
The flamines were the high priests of the state gods: the Flamen Martialis for Mars, the Flamen Quirinalis for the deified Romulus, and, highest of all, the Flamen Dialis, high priest of Jupiter.
The Flamen Dialis celebrated the Ides of each month and could not take part in politics, although he could attend meetings of the Senate, attended by a single lictor. Each had charge of the daily sacrifices, wore distinctive headgear, and was surrounded by many ritual taboos.
Another very ancient priesthood was the Rex Sacrorum, “King of Sacrifices.” This priest had to be a patrician and had to observe even more taboos than the Flamen Dialis. The position was so onerous that it became difficult to find a patrician willing to take it.
Technically, pontifexes and flamines did not take part in public business except to solemnize oaths and treaties, give the god’s stamp of approval to declarations of war, etc. But since they were all senators anyway, the ban had little meaning. Julius Caesar was pontifex maximus while he was out conquering Gaul, even though the pontifex maximus wasn’t supposed to look upon human blood.
Princeps (First Citizen) This was an especially distinguished senator chosen by the censors. His name was first called on the roll of the Senate, and he was first to speak on any issue. Later the title was usurped by Augustus and is the origin of the word “prince.”
scena A building or backdrop for a play.
Saturnalia The feast of Saturn, December 17–23 (basically what we celebrate today as Yuletide or Christmas), a raucous and jubilant festival when gifts were exchanged, debts settled, and masters waited on their slaves.
Sibylline Books Very ancient books of prophecy, kept by a priesthood called the quinquidecemviri; (board of fifteen men). In uncertain times, the Senate might order a consultation of these books to discern the will of the gods. The language was very archaic and obscure and the interpretation doubtful.
sistrum A percussion instrument consisting of a handheld frame to which small metal discs are attached, rather like those on a tambourine.
Social War A war fought from 91 to 88 B.C. between Rome and its Italian allies. It is called “Social” from socii, Latin for “allies.” It is also called the Marsic War (from Marsi, the most prominent tribe). Unrest developed among Rome’s allies when Rome stopped sharing wartime plunder. A political solution was first sought that conferred citizenship on the allies. However, when Marcus Livius Drusus, who was the chief sponsor of the measure, was assasinated war broke out. Rome won in the field, but still wound up giving citizenship to the allies, thus a share in war plunder plus voting rights.
SPQR Senatus Populusque Romanus The Senate and People of Rome. The formula embodied the sovereignty of Rome. It was used on official correspondence, documents, and public works.
subligaculum The Roman loincloth. Typically worn during athletic activity.
synthesis A fashionable, brightly colored dinner costume put on over the tunic.
Tarpeian Rock A rock above the cliff of the Capitoline Hill used for executions (from which traitors and parricides were hurled). It was named for the Roman maiden Tarpeia who, according to legend, betrayed the way into the Capitol to the Sabines.
thyrsus pl. thyrsi A wand wreathed with vines and tipped with a pinecone. It was part of the regalia of the rites of Dionysus/Bacchus.
toga The outer robe of the Roman citizen. It was white for the upper class, darker for the poor and for people in mourning. The toga candidus was a specially whitened (with chalk) toga worn when standing for office. The toga praetexta, bordered with a purple stripe, was worn by curule magistrates, by state priests when performing their functions, and by boys prior to manhood. The toga trabea, a striped robe, was worn by augurs and some orders of the priesthood. The toga picta, purple and embroidered with golden stars, was worn by a general when celebrating a triumph, also by a magistrate when giving public games.
triclinium A dining room.
triumph A ceremony in which a victorious general (triumphator) was rendered semi-divine honors for a day. It began with a magnificent procession displaying the loot and captives of the campaign and culminated with a banquet for the Senate in the Temple of Jupiter, special protector of Rome.
Vestal Virgins Virgin priestesses, chaste like the goddess Vesta; six of them served for thirty years, tending the hearth of Rome, and any violation of the vow of chastity was punished by burial alive. Vesta’s shrine was the most sacred object of Roman religion.
Also by
JOHN MADDOX ROBERTS
SPQR XII: Oracle of the Dead
SPQR XI: Under Vesuvius
SPQR X: A Point of Law
SPQR IX: The Princess and the Pirates
SPQR VIII: The River God’s Vengeance
SPQR VII: The Tribune’s Curse
SPQR VI: Nobody Loves a Centurion
SPQR V: Saturnalia
SPQR IV: The Temple of the Muses
SPQR III: The Sacrilege
SPQR II: The Catiline Conspiracy
SPQR I: The King’s Gambit
The Gabe Treloar Series
The Ghosts of Saigon
Desperate Highways
A Typical American Town
This is a work of fiction. All of the characters, organizations, and events portrayed in this novel are either products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously.
A THOMAS DUNNE BOOKS FOR MINOTAUR BOOKS.
An imprint of St. Martin’s Publishing Group.
SPQR XIII: THE YEAR OF CONFUSION. Copyright © 2010 by John Maddox Roberts. All rights reserved. For information, address St. Martin’s Press, 175 Fifth Avenue, New York, N.Y. 10010.
www.thomasdunnebooks.com
www.minotaurbooks.com
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Roberts, John Maddox.
The year of confusion / John Maddox Roberts.—1st ed.
p. cm.—(SPQR ; 13)
ISBN 978-0-312-59507-4
1. Metellus, Decius Caecilius (Fictitious character)—Fiction. 2. Private investigators—Rome—Fiction. 3. Caesar, Julius—Fiction. 4. Calendar reform—Fiction. 5. Murder—Investigation—Rome—Fiction. 6. Rome—Fiction. I. Title.
PS3568.O23874Y43 2010
813'.54—dc22
2009039832
First Edition: February 2010
eISBN 9781429954914
First eBook edition: October 2012