The Roman Mysteries Complete Collection

by Lawrence, Caroline

  Latin for ‘fountain’; ruins of the so-called Nymphaeum Bergantino at Lake Albano grotto can be seen today by special arrangement

  Odysseus (uh-diss-yooss)

  Greek hero whose return from Troy took ten years;

  according to Eugammon of Cyene, he was unwittingly killed by his son from Circe with stingray venom

  ornatrix (or-nah-triks)

  Latin for hairdresser, usually a female slave

  Orpheus (or-fee-uss)

  musician and poet of Greek mythology who could tame animals with his music, he tried and failed to bring his wife Euridyce back from the Underworld

  Ostia (oss-tee-uh)

  port about sixteen miles southwest of Rome; it is Flavia Gemina’s home town

  Ovid (aw-vid)

  famous Roman poet who lived about seventy years before this story

  paedagogus (pie-da-gog-uss)

  male slave or freedman who took boys to and from school; a kind of bodyguard

  Palatine (pal-uh-tine)

  one of the seven hills of Rome; the greenest and most pleasant; the site of successive imperial palaces (the word ‘palace’ comes from ‘Palatine’)

  palla (pal-uh)

  a woman’s cloak, could also be wrapped round the waist or worn over the head

  pantomime (pan-toe-mime)

  Roman theatrical performance in which a man (or occasional woman) illustrated a sung story through dance; the dancer could also be called a ‘pantomime’

  papyrus (puh-pie-russ)

  the cheapest writing material, made of pounded Egyptian reeds

  Paradeisos (par-ah-day-soss)

  Greek word based on a Hebrew word based on the Persian word for royal park or walled garden; Jesus said to one of the men on the cross ‘today you will be with me in paradeisos’ Luke 23:43

  Paris (pair-iss)

  name of a mythological hero but also of a real pantomime dancer who lived in the first century AD pater (pa-tare)

  Latin for ‘father’

  pater patriae (pa-tare pa-tree-eye)

  Latin for ‘Father of the Fatherland’ a title conferred upon emperors

  Paternus (puh-tare-nuss)

  Lake in the Sabine Hills below the Villa of Titus

  patina (puh-tee-nuh)

  Latin for ‘dish’ or ‘pan’: a kind of flan with eggs, either savoury or sweet

  Pear Street

  ancient street on the Quirinal Hill in Rome, perhaps near the modern Via delle Quattro Fontane; the poet Martial lived there for a time

  peperino (pep-air-ee-no)

  grey or dark brown volcanic rock known as lapis albanus and often used by the ancient Romans to build walls and fountains

  peristyle (perry-style)

  a columned walkway around an inner garden or courtyard

  Persephone (purr-sef-fun-ee)

  daughter of Demeter who was kidnapped by the god Pluto and had to reign with him as queen of the underworld for six months out of every year

  Pinchas (pin-khuss)

  Pinchas ben Aruva is the rabbi who recounted the story of Titus’s autopsy according to the Talmud (Gitt 56b)

  plaustrum (plow-strum)

  cart or wagon, usually two-wheeled and drawn by oxen

  Pliny (plin-ee)

  ‘Admiral Pliny’ refers to the man we know as ‘Pliny the Elder’, author of the Natural History who died in the eruption of Vesuvius; ‘Pliny’ alone refers to ‘Pliny the Younger’ his nephew, aged nineteen at the time

  Pluto (ploo-toe)

  god of the underworld, he is the Roman equivalent of Hades

  Podagrosus (po-duh-gro-suss)

  name of a mule on a mosaic from the cartdrivers’ baths in Ostia: it means ‘gouty’

  Pollux (pa-lucks)

  one of the famous twins of Greek mythology, Castor being the other

  Pomegranate Street

  ancient street on the Quirinal Hill in Rome, perhaps near the modern Via delle Quattro Fontane; the emperor Domitian lived there in his youth

  pontifex maximus (pon-tee-fecks mack-sim-uss)

  Latin for ‘highest priest’; this was usually the emperor

  porta (por-tuh)

  Latin for ‘gate’ or ‘door’

  Porta Capena (por-tuh kuh-pane-uh)

  gate in the Servian (fourth century BC) wall of Rome leading out onto the Via Appia; three aqueducts passed overhead and it was known as the ‘dripping gate’

  Porta Collina (por-tuh co-leen-uh)

  gate in the Servian (fourth century BC) wall of Rome leading to the Via Salaria

  Portus (por-tuss)

  harbour a few miles north of Ostia, built by Claudius to handle the increasing volume of shipping coming in and out of Rome’s port

  posca (poss-kuh)

  a refreshing drink made by adding a splash of vinegar to water, very popular among legionaries; the vinegar makes even bad water potable

  Praetorian Guard (pry-tor-ee-un gard)

  special cohorts of Roman soldiers employed to guard the emperor

  Princeps (prin-keps)

  Latin for ‘first’ or ‘first citizen’; a title often used by the emperor

  principate (prin-sip-ate)

  the power to rule, from Latin princeps: ‘first, chief’

  puella docta (poo-ell-uh dok-tuh)

  Latin for ‘educated or clever girl’ first coined by the poet Propertius

  puellae (poo-el-lie)

  Latin for ‘girls’

  pueri (poo-air-ee)

  Latin for ‘boys’

  Pythia (pith-ee-uh)

  the prophetic priestess of Apollo at Delphi in Greece

  quadrans (kwad-ranz)

  tiny bronze coin worth one sixteenth of a sestertius or quarter of an as (hence quadrans); in the first century it was the lowest value Roman coin in production

  quadriga (kwad-rig-uh)

  chariot pulled by four horses, the central two yoked, the outer two on traces

  Quintilian (kwin-til-yun)

  Marcus Fabius Quintilianus, c. AD 35–100; a famous orator and teacher

  Quirinal (kweer-in-all)

  one of the seven hills of Rome, northeast of the forum, mainly private houses and gardens in the first century AD, with a few temples as well

  Rabirius (ruh-beer-ee-uss)

  Rabirius was the architect who built Domitian’s Alban Villa on Lake Albano and later rebuilt the imperial palace on the Palatine Hill in Rome

  Reate (ray-ah-tay)

  modern Rieti, a town forty miles northeast of Rome in the Sabine hills

  rostra (ross-tra)

  the famous speakers’ platform in the Roman forum; it got its name from the prows (rostra) of conquered ships attached to it

  Rutupiae (roo-too-pee-eye)

  modern Richborough in Kent, England: famed in Roman times for oysters

  Sabina (suh-been-uh)

  the lush hilly region to the northeast of Rome, famous for its olive oil

  Sabine (say-bine)

  having to do with Sabina, the hilly region northeast of Rome

  Sabinus (suh-been-uss)

  Titus Flavius Sabinus – Vespasian’s nephew and Titus’s son-in-law – was a very real contender to succeed Titus in AD 81; Domitian had him put to death a few years later for allowing himself to be saluted as ‘imperator’

  Salaria (see Via Salaria)

  Salvete! (sal-vay-tay)

  Latin for ‘hello!’ to more than one person

  Samos (say-moce)

  Greek island off the coast of Turkey; known as an ancient health resort

  satyr (sat-ur)

  mythical creature of the woods, in Roman times depicted as man with goat’s ears, tail, legs and horns

  scaena (sky-nuh)

  AKA scaena frons; the tall backdrop behind the stage (proscaenium) of a Roman or Greek theatre

  scroll (skrole)

  a papyrus or parchment ‘book’, unrolled from side to side as it was read

  Scylla (skill-uh)

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sp; mythological monster with six terrible female heads, always found close to the whirlpool Charybdis;

  encountered by the argonauts on their way home

  senate (sen-at)

  the group of upper class men who helped rule Rome;

  by the time of this book their number was six hundred and their power was small in comparison to the emperor’s

  Seneca (sen-eh-kuh)

  a.k.a Seneca the Younger, a philosopher who wrote about how to die a good death

  sesterces (sess-tur-seez)

  more than one sestertius, a brass coin

  shalom (shah-lom)

  the Hebrew word for ‘peace’; can also mean ‘hello’ or ‘goodbye’

  Sibylline books (sib-ill-line)

  AKA libri fatales: Greek verse predictions concerning the future of Rome; they are called Sibylline after the Sibyl, the prophetess who supposedly compiled them

  signet ring (sig-net ring)

  ring with an image carved in it to be pressed into wax and used as a personal seal

  Silvius (sill-vee-uss)

  Latin for ‘of the woods’; surname of many of Aeneas’s descendents down to Romulus and Remus

  Sisyphus (siss-if-uss)

  mythological figure tormented in Hades by having to roll a stone to the top of a hill; it always rolled down again so he had to do this for ever

  spongia (spunj-ya)

  sea-sponge – usually on a stick – for wiping the bottom in the latrines

  sponsa (spon-suh)

  Latin for ‘fiancée’ or ‘betrothed’

  stibium (stib-ee-um)

  powder used by women in Roman times to colour their eyelids

  stola (stole-uh)

  a long tunic worn mostly by Roman matrons (married women)

  stylus (stile-us)

  a metal, wood or ivory tool for writing on wax tablets

  Succot (sook-ot)

  another name for the Feast of Tabernacles, one of the great festivals of the Jewish year; for eight days Jews eat and sleep in shelters (‘succot’)

  Suetonius (soo-eh-tone-ee-uss)

  famous Roman biographer who wrote the Lives of the Caesars, an account of the first emperors from Julius Caesar to Domitian, about 13 at the time of this story

  Surrentum (sir-wren-tum)

  modern Sorrento, south of Vesuvius: site of the Villa of Pollius Felix

  susinum (soo-sin-um)

  fabulously expensive perfume made of lilies, saffron, roses, myrrh and cinnamon

  synthesis (sinth-ess-iss)

  garment worn by men at dinner parties, probably a long unbelted tunic with a short mantle of matching colour

  tablinum (tab-lee-num)

  the study of a Roman house, where scrolls and writing material were kept

  talpa (tall-puh)

  Latin for ‘mole’; the Romans believed moles were deaf as well as blind

  Tartarus (tar-tar-uss)

  mythical Land of the Dead ruled by Pluto, who is sometimes known as Tartarus

  tessera (tess-er-uh)

  tiny chip of stone, pottery or glass; it takes hundreds or even thousands to make up the picture in a mosaic

  Theseus (thee-syoos)

  Athenian hero who had to enter the labyrinth on Crete and overcome the minotaur

  Tiber (tie-burr)

  famous river that flows through the Sabine hills and Rome and then empties into the Tyrrhenian Sea at Ostia; Rome is at the first fording place

  Titus (tie-tuss)

  Titus Flavius Vespasianus died on 13 September AD 81, after ruling as emperor for just over two years; he was forty-one years old

  toga (toe-ga)

  a blanket-like outer garment, worn by freeborn men and boys

  Tranquillus (tran-kwill-uss)

  Latin for ‘calm’, today Tranquillus is known to us as Suetonius

  Transtiberim (tranz-tie-bur-rim)

  modern Trastevere, the area ‘across the Tiber’ in Rome;

  in ancient times this was where most Jews lived

  tribunicia potestas (trib-yoo-nik-ee-uh po-test-ass)

  Roman emperors could not legally be tribunes but were granted the power of a tribune by means of this title;

  (among other things, a tribune could propose motions and convene the Senate)

  triclinium (trick-lin-ee-um)

  ancient Roman dining room, usually with three couches to recline on

  Trojan (trow-jun)

  inhabitant of Troy, the city besieged by Greeks about a thousand years before this story

  Troy (troi)

  city in Asia Minor (modern Turkey) which went to war with Greece

  trygon (try-gon)

  Greek for ‘stingray’, a sea-creature with a venomous spike in its tail: Pliny the Elder describes it in his Natural History (32.13)

  tunic (tew-nic)

  a piece of clothing like a big T-shirt; children often wore a long-sleeved one

  Turnus (turn-uss)

  legendary prince who fought Aeneas for the hand of Princess Lavinia and rule of Latium

  Tyana (tee-an-uh)

  modern Bor in Cappadocia (southeast Turkey) about 400 miles east of Ephesus

  Tyrrhenian (tur-ren-ee-un)

  sea to the west of Italy, named after the Etruscans

  Veii (vay-ee)

  an important Etruscan city northwest of Rome, its inhabitants warred with Rome for 400 years until it finally fell after the draining of Lake Albano c. 396 BC

  Vespa (vess-puh)

  Latin for ‘wasp’; the first name of Lupus’s ship, the Delphina

  Vespasian (vess-pay-zhun)

  father of Titus and Domitian and emperor from AD 69 to AD 79

  Vesuvius (vuh-soo-vee-yus)

  the volcano near Naples which erupted in August AD 79

  Via Appia (vee-uh ap-pee-uh)

  Latin for Appian Way, a very famous ancient road that runs from the southeast of Rome all the way to Italy’s heel, via Capua

  Via Corona (vee-uh kuh-ro-nuh)

  Latin for ‘garland road’; possibly the name of the ancient road that encircled Lacus Albanus

  Via Salaria (vee-uh suh-lar-ee-uh)

  ancient ‘Salt Road’ that lead northeast from Rome to the Sabine Hills

  vigiles (vij-ill-aze)

  the policemen/firemen of ancient Rome; the word means ‘watchmen’

  Virgil (vur-jill)

  AKA Publius Vergilius Maro, a famous Latin poet who died in 19 BC, about a hundred years before this story takes place

  wax tablet

  a wax covered rectangle of wood used for making notes

  yattush (yat-toosh)

  Hebrew for ‘gnat’ or ‘mosquito’; mentioned in the Babylonian Talmud (Gittin 56b) as the divine instrument of Titus’s death

  When the emperor Titus died suddenly on 13 September AD 81, some Romans suspected that he had been assassinated. The most likely suspect was his brother Domitian. But nothing could be proven and Domitian became emperor of Rome. Was Titus’s death in fact murder? Or did he die of natural causes? It was a mystery then, and it remains a mystery today. In telling the story, I had to do some detective work myself.

  Some of the strangest facts in this story are true, or at least historically attested. We know that Titus was about thirty years old when he led four legions against Jerusalem in AD 70 and gave the order to destroy Jerusalem and the Temple of God. On his way home he made a detour to a town in Asia Minor (Turkey) to see a wise philosopher and prophet called Apollonius. This man told Titus to beware his father Vespasian’s enemies while he was alive, and – after Vespasian’s death – to beware those closest to him. Apollonius also told Titus that he would die like Odysseus from the sea. One of Apollonius’s disciples interpreted this as meaning the venom of a stingray or ‘trygon’. According to one account, Odysseus’s son by Circe – Telephorus – killed his father with the spine of a stingray.

  Titus returned to Italia and in late June of AD 79, his father died and he became emperor. Within a mon
th of Titus becoming emperor, disasters began to occur. In August, Vesuvius erupted. Within six months, Rome suffered a terrible fire and plague. Soon after Titus came to power, he began to have terrible headaches and the only relief came when an anvil was banged or music played. Titus was often depressed and tearful, and gradually stopped performing his duties. Then, just days before he died, Titus botched a sacrifice and there was ‘thunder in a clear sky’. In September of AD 81, on his way to his family villa in the Sabine Hills, Titus came down with a fever. He put his head out of the litter and cried that he didn’t deserve to die. He was packed in ice to bring down the fever. But he died shortly after, at his Sabine Villa, having reigned just over two years. His last words were: ‘I have only one regret.’ Nobody knows what he meant, though many have guessed.

  According to the Babylonian Talmud (Gittin 56b) an autopsy was performed on Titus. When his head was split open, the doctors found a strange growth in his brain. A Jewish eyewitness, Pinchas ben Aruva, said it was a mosquito the size of a sparrow. The rabbis believed it was sent by God to punish Titus for his crimes against the Jews.

  We know from Suetonius that Titus’s younger brother Domitian liked to spear flies with a needle sharp stylus, that he was a skilled archer and that he once gave dinner to terrified guests in a black triclinium. The remains of his nymphaeum grotto and Alban Palace are in Castel Gandolfo near Rome, but can only be viewed by special arrangement. The mouth of the Emissario is still visible and – at the time of writing – is open to anyone who can find it.

  One of the things I invented for this story is Nero’s Eye. Nero really did have a lens-shaped emerald but I invented the name, the Delphic prophecy and the use of the emerald as a sign of favour.

  Most of the characters in this book are also made up: Flavia, Nubia, Jonathan, Lupus, Aristo, Sisyphus, Senator Cornix, etc. However, Gaius Suetonius Tranquillus was a real person. He became a famous biographer and his book, Lives of the Twelve Caesars, is still a bestseller today. Gaius Valerius Flaccus, whom I call Floppy, was also a real person. Not much is known of him, only that he started an epic poem called the Argonautica in about AD 79, but died before it was completed. The rhetor Quintilian mentions his death with regret. We can tell from the nomen Valerius that he was a patrician, but we don’t really know how he died or how old he was. We do know that despite his poem being unfinished, it was published posthumously: so his name lives on today.

  The emperor Domitian did have a blind torturer called Messallinus, a secretary called Vibius Crispus and a fat gourmand friend named Montanus. The astrologer Ascletario was a real person, too, and met a sticky end near the end of Domitian’s reign in AD 96. But I will leave that delicious story for a future book.