Appius Claudius Pulcher- Roman senator, member of land commission, Tiberius Gracchus’ father-in-law and Claudia Pulcheria’s father
Aristonius- renegade Syrian King
Attalus- King of Pergamum
Blossius of Cumae- stoic philosopher, tutor of the Gracchi
Calpurnius Piso- Roman senator and consul
Catalda- Licinia Crassus’ Sicilian housemaid
Claudia Pulcheria- Tiberius Gracchus’ wife, daughter of Appius Claudius Pulcher
Claudia Crassae- wife of Publius Licinius Crassus, mother-in-law of Gaius Gracchus
Cornelia Scipionis Africana- daughter of Publius Cornelius Scipio Africanus the Elder
Coson- Cornelia Scipionis’ Thracian male house slave
Diophanes of Mytilene- Greek rhetorician, tutor of the Gracchi
Elephantis- Greek poet and midwife
Eudemus- envoy from Pergamum
Fidelia- Cornelia Scipionis’ Sabine housemaid
Fulvia- Pomponius Atticus’ wife
Gaius Fannius- Roman consul
Gaius Fulvius Flaccus- Roman consul, brother of Marcus Fulvius Flaccus
Gaius Sempronius Gracchus- Cornelia Scipionis’ youngest son
Gaius Gracchus- Gaius Gracchus’ first son
Gnaeus Rubrius- tribune of the plebs
Hostilius Mancinus- Roman consul denigrated for campaign against Numantians in Spain
Laelia Sapiens- Gaius Laelius’ daughter, Mucius Scaevola’s daughter-in-law
Laetorius Antonius – Gaius Gracchus’ friend from military service
Licinia Crassae- Gaius Gracchus’ wife, daughter of Publius Licinius Crassus
Lucius Cornelius Scipio- Publius Cornelius Scipio Africanus the Elder’s younger brother
Lucius Opimius- Roman consul, staunch opponent of Gaius Gracchus
Lucilius- Roman satiric playwright
Marcia- Laetorius Antonius’ wife
Marcus Octavius- tribune of the plebs, opponent of Tiberius Gracchus
Marcus Fulvius Flaccus- consul, tribune of the plebes, member of land commission, close ally of Gaius Gracchus
Marcus Philippus- Roman senator, Claudia Gracchae’s second husband,
Masinissa- Numidian king, friend of Publius Cornelius Scipio Africanus the Elder
Metellus Numidicus- Roman consul
Micipsa- king of Numidia, friend of Gaius’ and Tiberius’ father
Mucius Scaevola- Roman consul at time of Tiberius Gracchus’ death, father-in-law of Laelia Sapiens
Nadia- Sempronia’s Numidian housemaid
Panaetius- Roman stoic philosopher
Papirius Carbo- tribune of the plebs, member of land commission
Philocrates- Gaius Gracchus’ personal slave
Physcon- King Ptolemy VIII of Egypt, suitor of Cornelia Scipionis
Pocuvius- Roman tragic poet
Polybius- noted Greek historian, wrote history of the rise of the Roman Republic
Popilius Laenus- Roman consul, led purge against Tiberius
Pomponius Atticus- Gaius Gracchus’ friend since childhood
Porcius Cato- famous Roman orator and conservative politician
Publius Cornelius Scipio Africanus the Elder- Roman general and consul who defeated Hannibal to end the Second Punic War
Publius Cornelius Scipio Aemilianus Africanus the Younger- Sempronia Gracchae’s husband, the adopted, grandson of Africanus the Elder
Publius Licinius Crassus- Gaius Gracchus’ father-in-law, father of Licinia
Publius Gracchus- Gaius Gracchus’ second son
Publius Satureius- tribune of the plebs, first to attack Tiberius Gracchus
Publius Scipio Nasica- pontiff maximus, senator, cousin, and adversary of Tiberius Gracchus
Phyllis- Claudia Crassae’s Thracian housemaid
Quintus Metellus- brother of Metellus Numidicus
Quintus Mummius- client of Gaius Gracchus, brother of Spurius Mummius
Quintus Pompeius- Roman senator
Quintus Scaevola- Laelia Sapiens’ husband
Quintus Tubero- son of Aemilianus’ sister
Sempronia Gracchae- daughter of Cornelia Scipionis, narrator of story
Sempronia Gracchae- daughter of Tiberius Gracchus
Sempronius Tuditanus- Roman consul
Septimuleius- client of Opimius, murderer of Gaius Gracchus
Spurius Mummius- Roman senator, friend of Scipio Aemilianus, brother of Quintus Mummius
Tarus- Sempronia Gracchae’s and Scipio Aemilianus’ top male slave, once a Sardinian pirate
Tiberius Sempronius Gracchus (the younger)- Cornelia Scipionis’ son
Tiberius Sempronius Gracchus (the elder)- consul, Cornelia Scipionis’ husband
Tiberius Gracchus- Tiberius Gracchus’ youngest son
Titus Annius- Roman senator, critic of Tiberius Gracchus
Tryphaena- Physcon’s daughter
Veda- Sempronia Gracchae’s Etruscan cook
GLOSSARY
advoate- lawyer
as (pl. asses)- bronze Roman coin, four quadrans make one as
cella- main room in a Roman temple
Century Assembly- voting group made up entirely of Roman citizens in the military service (active and reserve)
clients- active supporters of a politician
comitium- sunken amphitheater in front of the Curia
consulate- the pair of co-consuls
contio (pl. contiones)- public meetings for political discussion
coan silk- especially fine silk
Curia- Roman Senate House
curule chair- seat for consuls in Roman Senate, made of ivory
denarius (pl. denarii)- silver coin
equites (also equestrians)- second order of nobility in Rome, upper-middle class
flamen (pl. flamines)- religious orderly
gladius (pl. gladii)- double-bladed, short sword of Spanish origin
haruspex- priest trained to read entrails or actions of birds
hastatus (pl. hastati)- first row of soldiers in a Roman legion
ides- fifteenth day of the month
imagines- wax masks cast from a family’s ancestors
imperium- authority to rule
iugerum (pl. iugera)- amount of land a man can plow with a yoke of oxen in one day
lares- small doll-like figurines representing household gods
lictor- bodyguard for Roman consul or other high magistrates
manus- type of marriage contract
mola- religious sacrament made from salt and ground wheat or emmer
mulsum- honey-sweetened wine
nones- the ninth of the month
optimate (pl. optimates)- conservative faction of Roman Senate
palla- shawl for Roman women
patria protestas- authority of father over family
patrician- highest class of Roman citizen, aristocracy
People’s Assembly- voting group made up entirely of plebeians
peristyle- garden in Roman home
pleb (plebeian)- the lowest class of Roman citizen
penates- household gods of the hearth; traditional practice was to toss a bit of each meal into the fire to feed the penates
pontifex maximus- highest position in Roman religious hierarchy
poulterer- man who takes care of haruspex’s chicken
popularis (pl. populares)- progressive faction of Roman Senate
posca- apple cider vinegar diluted with water
praetor- governor of Roman province
prorogue- to extent an official’s term of service
quadrans- smallest denomination of Roman coinage, four quadrans equal one as
quaestor- military accountant, quartermaster
sesterces- Roman coin, four are equal to one denarius
sinus- the pocket formed by a toga draped over the wearer’s left arm
stade- a unit of distance, about six hundred feet
stibium- black makeup, often used for eyelin
er
stola- Roman woman’s dress
subura- lower-class neighborhood in Rome
toga praetexta- toga trimmed in purple worn by Roman consul
tribunal- platform, stage
tribunate- the unit of ten tribunes of the plebs
triclinium- Roman dining room
umbilicus- the ornate knob at either end of a scroll
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
I could not have written this book without the love and support of my wife Judith. My thanks to her is always and forever.
Thanks is also extended to the contingent of readers who helped me with this novel: Alice, Jim, Fast Eddie, Judith, Carol, Tom, Lora, and Steve.
Although the research for this book occurred over a period of several years and included the reading of many books and articles, Plutarch’s Lives, Appian of Alexandria’s Civil Wars, A. H. J. Greenidge’s A History of Rome During the Later Republic and Early Principate, and David Stockton’s remarkable book The Gracchi provided the historical basis for this novel.
For the most part this novel closely follows the Gracchi history as we know it. Some liberties have been taken for readability. The incident where Sempronia testifies in court against Lucius Equitius, which is a factual event, actually occurred ten years later than portrayed in the novel. Also, the teachings of Elephantis are largely lost or speculative, and her knowledge of Cornelia or her circles is fictional.
Other Sources:
Appian of Alexandria, The Civil Wars, translated by Horace White, Loeb Classical Library, Harvard University Press, Cambridge, Massachusetts, 1913.
Bauman, Richard A., Women and Politics in Ancient Rome, Routledge, London, 1992.
Bradley, Keith, Slavery and Society at Rome, Cambridge University Press, UK, 1994.
Cicero, Complete Works, translated by C.D. Yonge, Delphi Classics.
Cowell, F.R., Life in Ancient Rome, Berkley Publishing Group, New York, 1980.
Croom, Alexandra, Roman Clothing and Fashion, Amberley Publishing, Gloucestershire, England, 1988.
Duncan, Mike, The Republic, Herodotus Press, New Zealand, 2016.
Dupont, Florence, Daily Life in Ancient Rome, translated by Christopher Woodall, Blackwell Publishers, Oxford, 1989.
Everitt, Anthony, The Rise of Rome, Random House Trade Paperbacks, New York, 2013.
Greenidge, A. H. J., A History of Rome During the Later Republic and Early Principate, Oxford University Press, London, 1904.
Hemelrijk, Emily A., Matrona Docta: Educated Women in the Roman Elite from Cornelia to Julia Domna, Routledge of the Taylor and Francis Group, New York, New York, 1999.
Mackay, Christopher S., The Breakdown of the Roman Republic, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, England, 2009.
MacLachlan, Bonnie, Women in Ancient Rome, New York, 2013.
Münzer, Friedrich, Roman Aristocratic Parties and Families, translated by Thérèse Ridley, John Hopkins University Press, Baltimore and London, 1999.
Nicolet, Claude, The World of the Citizen in Republican Rome, University of California Press, Berkeley, 1980.
Olson, Kelly, Dress and the Roman Woman, Routledge, New York, 2008.
Plutarch, Lives, translated by John Dryden, The Publishers Plate Renting Company, New York, 1937.
Polo, Francisco Pina, The Consul at Rome, Cambridge University Press, New York, 2011.
Scheid, John, An Introduction to Roman Religion, Indiana University Press. 2003.
Stockton, David, The Gracchi, Oxford University Press, Oxford, England, 1979.
Taylor, Lily Ross, Roman Voting Assemblies, University of Michigan Press, Ann Arbor, 1993.
Treggiari, Susan, Roman Marriage from the Time of Cicero to the Time of Ulpian, Clarendon Press, Oxford, 1993.
Warrior, Valerie M., Roman Religion, Cambridge University Press, New York, 2006.
The map of Rome at the front of the book comes from Cambridge Ancient History, Volume 9, page 70.
NOTE: The following passages in the novel were paraphrased or taken, nearly intact, from other books:
1. Tiberius Gracchus’ speech from the rostra on page 31 of the novel comes from pages 111-112 of Plutarch’s Lives.
2. Titus Annius’ question to Tiberius Gracchus at the People’s Assembly on page 90 of the novel comes from page 70 of David Stockton’s The Gracchi.
3. Tiberius Gracchus’ answer to Titus Annius’ question on page 91 of the novel comes from page 117 of Plutarch’s Lives.
4. Blossius’ comments to Tiberius’ clients on page 116 of the novel come from page 119 of Plutarch’s Lives.
5. Blossius’ exchange with Publius Nasica on pages 125-126 of the novel comes from page 121 of Plutarch’s Lives.
6. Aemilianus’ description of his dream on pages 159-162 of the novel closely follows Cicero’s essay The Dream of Scipio.
7. Tiberius’ words to Gaius in the dream described on page 208 of the novel come from page 123 of Plutarch’s Lives.
8. Cornelia’s letter to Gaius on pages 210-211 of the novel comes from pages 42-43 of Richard A. Bauman’s Women and Politics in Ancient Rome.
9. Gaius Gracchus’ speech to the People’s Assembly on pages 239-240 of the novel comes from page 125 of Plutarch’s Lives.
10. Gaius Gracchus’ speech to the People’s Assembly on pages 268-269 of the novel comes from pages 183-184 of David Stockton’s The Gracchi.
THE AUTHOR
Dan Armstrong is the editor and owner of Mud City Press, a small publishing company and online magazine operating out of Eugene, Oregon. Information about his books, short stories, political commentary, humor, and environmental studies is available at www.mudcitypress.com.
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