Vittorio Carvelli

The Story of Gracchus

A Story of Ancient Rome
featuring Marcus

PRÆFATIO
Preface

Click here to skip the preface and go directly to where the story begins

The Glory that was Rome

The last age, sung of by the Cumaean Sibyl, is coming; – the great cycle of ages will start again – from the beginning 3;
Vigil – 'Eclogue'

The rise and fall of a great empire cannot fail to fascinate us, for we can all see in such a story something of our own times.But of all the empires that have come and gone, none has a more immediate appeal that the Empire of Rome. It pervades our lives today: its legacy is everywhere to be seen. It is generally agreed that the Roman Empire was one of the most successful and enduring empires in world history. Its reputation was successively foretold, celebrated and mourned in classical antiquity.

There has been a long after-life, creating a linear link between Western society today, and the Roman state, reflected in religion, law, political structures, philosophy, art, and architecture. Because of this, the Roman Empire has become the focus of many fantasies, and much that is imagined and unreal.

Lauded in much modern literature, and even mass media as an exemplary and beneficent power, it was also a bloody and dangerous autocracy.

Rome began as a small town on the Tiber river, and grew into a powerful force for civilization, law, and order in the ancient world. The Roman Republic, and its successor the Empire, was a federation of teeming cities linked by arrow-straight roads. It's much lauded but only apparent peace and prosperity – the legendary Pax Romanum – were safeguarded by the powerful legions, that held back the barbarian hordes.

But Rome also had a darker side: the cruelty of mass slavery and the bloody arena, the greed and opulence of the upper class, the unruly mobs pacified by bread and circuses, and the tyranny of many of the emperors, such as Caligula and Nero. The Empire eventually fell into darkness, but its ghost haunted the Middle Ages, and inspired the Renaissance – and still haunts us today.

Our story

Our story is an attempt to bring just a small part of the world of that great empire to life – without the fantasy and unreality that has dogged so many tales set in that time. The Story of Gracchus, which features the slave-boy Markos, is set at a time around the end of the reign of the Emperor Nero.

After the collapse of the Republic, the Empire, under the leadership of Gaius Octavian Augustus – the Princeps (emperor), – had enjoyed a sustained period of peace, prosperity and growth, (the Pax Romana), and this continued under his adopted heir Tiberius. There then followed the brief, but in some ways chaotic reign of Caligula, followed by the relative peace and stability of the Principate of Claudius. More disruption, however, followed with the reign of philhellene, Nero.

This period – from Augustus to the death of Nero – is usually referred to as the 'Principate of the early Empire', to distinguish it from the Republic, and the even earlier Kingdom of Rome.

It should be borne in mind, when reading this account (the fictional Story of Gracchus), that the culture of Rome, while superficially familiar to us, was in fact radically different in many aspects to European and American culture as they stand today.

The Roman Empire in the media

Part of the blame for the superficial familiarity that our awareness engenders when we think of Rome is the result of plays (from Shakespeare to Shaw, and beyond), books (Lloyd C Douglas, The Robe, and Wallace's Ben Hur), and of course the plethora of films, from Cecil B. DeMille right up to the appalling Gladiator.

The nearest that any works, either in drama, film or literature has ever approached to the 'real Rome' has been the film by Fellini of Pertonius' Satyricon, and television series, aptly named Rome – created by John Milius, William J. MacDonald and Bruno Heller.

With the image of Rome such a powerful recurring theme in Western culture, and it is not surprising that it has played such a major role in the cinema, however, it is the filmmakers of just three countries who have mainly turned to ancient Rome for inspiration: Italy, the United States, and Britain.

The film industries of France and Germany have rarely drawn upon their countries' distant histories as province or adversary, respectively, of the Roman Empire for filmic themes. Neither have Spanish filmmakers even though the Iberian peninsula settled down to be a loyal province after fiercely resisting Roman conquest for 200 years, even contributing two emperors, Hadrian and Trajan, and the philosopher Seneca.

Of course, the major factor is economics, because historical spectaculars that require the recreation of ancient buildings and cities, and the clothing of thousands of extras in period costumes, have always been extremely expensive.

But other factors are also operative such as culture and differing historical perspectives.

The Roman Empire at its peak of power and territorial extent also coincided with the pivotal event of the formation of European culture – the establishment and expansion of Christianity

The epic story of the birth of Christianity in the eastern extremity of the Roman Empire, and the subsequent spread of Christian teachings to the very heart of the great city of Rome would be an irresistible topic for generations of film-makers in various countries.

The Satyricon, however, avoids any mention of Christianity, doubtless because it is based on a 'fantasy novel' actually written by a 'pagan' Roman. It is a depiction of Roman society at the time of Nero, and is vastly more accurate than, say, Quo Vadis or Barabas, which are basically 'plugs' for protestant Christianity, and the 'American Way'.

Fellini Satyricon, or simply Satyricon, is a 1969 Italian fantasy drama film written and directed by Federico Fellini and somewhat loosely based on Petronius's work Satyricon, written during the reign of the emperor Nero and set in imperial Rome. The Satyricon liber ('The Book of Satyrlike Adventures'), is a Latin work of fiction believed to have been written by Gaius Petronius, though the manuscript tradition identifies the author as a certain Titus Petronius. The Satyricon is an example of Menippean satire, which is very different from the formal verse satire of Juvenal or Horace. The work contains a mixture of prose and verse (commonly known as prosimetrum); serious and comic elements; and erotic and homo-erotic passages. As with the Metamorphoses (also called 'The Golden Ass') of Apuleius, classical scholars often describe it as a 'Roman novel', without necessarily implying continuity with the modern literary form.

More recently, the television series Rome 1 and 2 has depicted the Empire in a slightly earlier period, at the time of Julius Caesar and his nephew, Gaius Octavian. Although its chronology was not quite right, and some of the events were, on occasions, invented, its general depiction of ancient Roman culture and society, particularly the aspects of Roman politics, sexuality and violence, was far more accurate than any previous depiction of Ancient Rome.

The Roman Empire, of course, was a pre-Christian society, and was the last great flowering of Classical Civilization.

Christianity and the early empire

During the time dealt with in this story (The Story of Gracchus) there were, of course, Christians in the empire. These were mainly of two kinds – the Jewish Christians, whom most people today would not recognize as Christians. These Jewish Christians worshiped in the Synagogues, and in the Jerusalem Temple, and it was only their conviction that the Messiah (Joshua) had finally come that distinguished them from their co-religionists.

The other Christians, that could be found in small numbers in Rome, some towns in Italy, and some of the cities of Asia Minor would be equally unrecognizable to today's Christians. These 'Followers of the Way' were part of the religious phenomena referred to a 'mystery religions', which were a prominent feature of Roman and Hellenistic society. Their religious writings (those surviving are among the writings of the Hellenized Jew, Paul of Tarsus) made no reference to Nazareth, Bethlehem, 'wise men' from the East, shepherds, or the long and involved 'passion narrative'.

Their 'Jesus' (a Latin name), was a young god who died and then rose again, like Osiris, Dionysus, and Attis. When they painted his likeness, they did not depict a Jewish rabbi, with long hair and a beard, but a young, cleanly shaved, short-haired god, looking suspiciously like 'Sol Invictus' (left), or the Hellenistic Helios (below), or they represented him as an equally young, Hellenistic looking god tending his sheep, like the Phrygian god, Attis – and they did not use the symbol of the cross.

Art is silent for the first 150 years of Christianity, with no Christian images being made – but no one knows why there is this lack of imagery. Christian images first start to appear in the 3rd century, in Rome, (long after The Story of Gracchus) in the form of funerary art – sarcophagi, wall and ceiling paintings in the catacombs. However, this art concerns itself with the afterlife, not with possible events from the life of Jesus. From its onset, and for its first 200 years, Christian art deliberately avoids the subject of crucifixion. The very first work of art portraying the crucifixion dates to the 5th century CE.

The numbers of Christians in the Empire however, for a number of centuries, was so small that, contrary to popular imagination, they had very little impact on the social mores of the people in general, and you may be relieved to know that no Christians appear in The Story of Gracchus.

So 3; during the period covered by The Story of Gracchus, the Empire is a pre-Christian, 'pagan' society and, as such, is very different from our own society.

Paganism is a term that developed among the Christians of southern Europe during late antiquity to describe religions other than their own. Throughout Christendom, it continued to be used, typically in a derogatory sense. The original word is Latin slang, originally devoid of religious meaning. Itself the word derives from the classical Latin pagus which originally meant 'region delimited by markers', paganus had also come to mean 'of or relating to the countryside', 'country dweller', 'villager'; by extension, 'rustic'. The later use referred to people who followed the religion of the traditional classical gods of Greece and Rome, along with the mores and morals associated with such beliefs.

Reconstructing Roman society

In order to produce a believable and, where possible, a realistic story, it has been deemed necessary to reconstruct Roman society.

This, however, is a task fraught with difficulty.

It was the elite of the Empire, – the emperors, senators, equestrians, and the local elites (the magistrates, town and city councillors and priests), who produced almost all the literature and the material culture which we think of as being, essentially, 'Roman'.

• The Roman Senate was, initially the council of the republic, and at first consisted only of one hundred Senators chosen from the Patricians. They were called Patres, either on account of their age or the paternal care they had of the state. The word senate derives from the Latin word senex, which means 'old man'. Therefore, senate literally means 'board of old men'.
• The Equites (Latin: eques nom. singular) constituted the lower of the two aristocratic classes of ancient Rome, ranking below the patricians (patricii), a hereditary caste that monopolized political power during the regal era (753 to 509 BC) and during the early Republic (to 338 BC). A member of the equestrian order was known as an eques (plural: equites).
• Roman magistrates were elected officials in Ancient Rome. Each vicus (city or town neighborhood) elected four local magistrates (vicomagistri) who commanded a sort of local police force chosen from among the people of the vicus by lot. Occasionally the officers of the vicomagistri would feature in certain celebrations (primarily the Compitalia) in which they were accompanied by two lictors.

It was the 'Imperial Elite' who stood at the summit of the Roman socio-economic pyramid. To qualify as part of this elite a person had to be worth more than 400,000 sesterces.

The sestertius, or Sesterce, (pl. sestertii) was an ancient Roman coin. During the Roman Republic it was a small, silver coin issued only on rare occasions. During the Roman Empire it was a large brass coin. The name sestertius (originally semis-tertius) means '2½', the coin's original value in Asses, and is a combination of semis, 'half', and tertius, 'third', that is, 'the third half' (0½ being the first half and 1½ the second half) or 'half the third' (two units plus half the third unit, or halfway between the second unit and the third). The Sestertius was also used as a standard unit of account, represented on inscriptions with the monogram HS. Large values were recorded in terms of sestertium milia, thousands of Sestertii, with the milia often omitted and implied. The hyper-wealthy general and politician of the late Roman Republic, Crassus (who fought in the war to defeat Spartacus), was said to have had 'estates worth 200 million sesterces'.

Among the possible 50-60 million people in the Roman Empire, at the time of our story, there were probably 5,000 adult men (women were not counted), possessing in excess of 400,000 sesterces. An average of 100 adult males in each of the 300 or so cities or major towns in the empire would provide another 30,000 odd very wealthy individuals.

Because of the steep socio-economic gradient in the Roman world, the elite probably held in excess of 80 percent of the total wealth of the empire.

As has been said, it was these individuals who wrote Roman history, either as literature, or in the form of architecture and art – and it is from them that we gain our (possibly distorted) image of ancient Roman civilization.

This story (The Story of Gracchus) focuses, for much of the narrative on the lives of slaves, and those who have little power or influence – tutors, Roman officers, freedmen, slave traders, gladiators and the like. There is some information about such people, and with some research we can, to a reasonable extent, reconstruct the lives, hopes and fears of such individuals.

The motivations of the Empire

Rome was originally a small village on the banks of the River Tiber. As the years passed, the sheer aggression and drive of the original settlers forged a vast Empire (which in the end they were completely unable to control or direct). The reason for Rome's aggressive and thrusting rise to power lay in the Roman attitude to morality, which they had inherited from the 'heroic age' of the Hellenic world.

In this 'heroic' morality, (perfectly described in the wrings of the German philosopher Frederich Nietzsche) 'good' picks out exalted and proud states of mind, and it therefore refers to people, not actions, in the first instance. 'Bad' means 'lowly', 'despicable', and refers to people who are petty, cowardly, or concerned with what is useful, rather than what is grand or great.

Good-bad identifies a hierarchy of people, the noble masters or aristocracy, and the common people. – in Rome the patricians and the plebeians.

The noble person only recognizes moral duties towards their equals; how they treat people below them is not a matter of morality at all – and this, of course lies at the basis of slavery – a key theme in The Story of Gracchus.

The good, noble person has a sense of 'fullness' – of power, wealth, and ability. From the 'overflowing' of these qualities, not from pity, they will help other people, including people below them. Noble people experience themselves as the origin of value, deciding what is good or not.

'Good' originates in self-affirmation, a celebration of one's own greatness and power. They revere themselves, and have a devotion for whatever is great. But this is not self-indulgence: any signs of weakness are despised, and harshness and severity are respected. A noble morality is a morality of gratitude and vengeance.

Friendship involves mutual respect, and a rejection of over-familiarity, while enemies are necessary, in order to vent feelings of envy, aggression and arrogance.

All these qualities mean that the good person rightly evokes fear in those who are not their equal and a respectful distance in those who are.

This struggle between masters and slaves recurs historically.

According to Nietzsche, ancient Greek and Roman societies were grounded in master morality.

The Homeric hero is the strong-willed man, and the classical roots of the Iliad and Odyssey exemplified Nietzsche's master morality. Historically, master morality was defeated as the vicious 'slave morality' of Christianity spread throughout the Roman Empire.

The Romans and religion

In attempting to reconstruct Roman society, it is essential to take into account the immense significance that religion had on Roman attitudes to all aspects of life, from marriage, to sexuality, the family and the home, and most significantly the political decisions taken by the state.

Roman religion was basically 'syncretic', deriving many features from the cults of Latium, Eturia and Alba Longa – the precursor of Rome. In addition there was the influence of Greek colonies in the south of the Italian peninsular.

From a range of deities adopted from the Greeks, the Romans altered the gods' identities, but left their characters unchanged.

The Greek king of the gods, Zeus, was in Rome the god Jupiter.

The Romans believed that Jupiter granted them supremacy because they had honoured him more than any other people had. Jupiter was 'the fount of the auspices upon which the relationship of the city with the gods rested.' He personified the divine authority of Rome's highest offices, internal organization, and external relations. The cult of Iuppiter Latiaris was the most ancient known cult of the god: it was practised since very remote times near the top of the Mons Albanus on which the god was venerated as the high protector of the Latin League under the hegemony of Alba Longa.

Hera was called Juno, Aphrodite was called Venus.

Most of the Greek gods could be found in Rome: going through the same drama, the same complications and conflicts.

Both cultures, Greek and Roman, incorporated the idea that the gods were susceptible to making mistakes, much like humans. Gods and goddesses were just as likely to fall into temptation as mortals, in fact, Roman gods were even prone to sexual liaisons, both heterosexual and homosexual, as their Greek counterparts.

Beginning in the culture of the Greeks, and then moving onward through that of the ancient Romans, there was also a tangled parallelism of human and divine action. In the absence of rational explanations for what the people of these cultures witnessed around them, it seemed as if everything that happened, good or bad, was due to the intervention of the gods. Military triumphs were seen as a sign of the celestial rewards, regardless of the comparative strength of the armies involved. Defeats were seen as an example of divine retribution, and an indication that certain gods demanded to be appeased.

During the intense battle sequences depicted in the last book of The Aeneid, Aeneas is badly injured. For a moment, it looks as if he would not survive. However, instead of leaving it to happen naturally, Aeneas' mother, the goddess Venus, intervenes.

There were all types of religious and mythological examples found sprinkled throughout Virgil's epic, all leading to the adoption of the mythology and beliefs of the Greeks by Roman society. Even the fables, actions, and faults have a direct correlation to those that had been believed in Hellas (Greece).

To the Romans, religion was less a spiritual experience than a contractual relationship between mankind and the forces which were believed to control people's existence and well-being.

The result of such religious attitudes were two things: a state cult, which was a significant influence on political and military events of which outlasted the republic, continuing on into the Empire and Principate, and a private concern, in which the head of the family oversaw the domestic rituals and prayers in the same way as the representatives of the people performed the public ceremonials.

As has been stated, to the Roman mind, there was a sacred contract between the gods and the mortals. As part of this agreement each side would provide, as well as receive, services. The role of the mortal in this partnership with the gods was to worship the gods.

Sacrifice

Essential to the Roman concept of worship was prayer and sacrifice, and for both of these activities there were firmly defined rituals. To perform these ritual correctly was of paramount importance. One mistake and one would have to begin all over again.

The very nature of Roman religion itself, with its numerous gods, many of which had multiple roles, was cause for problems. Particularly as in some cases not even the sex of a deity was clear. Hence the phrase 'whether you be god or goddess' was a widespread in the worship of certain deities.

Many Roman gods also had entire collection of additional names, according to what aspect of life they were a patron to. So, for example Juno was Juno Lucina in her role of goddess of childbirth, but as goddess of the mint she was known as Juno Moneta (this curious role came about because for a long time the Roman state mint was housed in her temple on the Capitoline hill).

For the official rituals of the state gods it was animals which most of the time were sacrificed, and for each god there would be different animals. For Janus one sacrificed a ram – for Jupiter it was a heifer (a heifer is a young cow which has not yet had more than one calf). Mars demanded a ox, a pig and or sheep, except for 15 October when it had to be the winning race horse of the day (the near side horse of a chariot team).

Such animal sacrifices were by their mere nature very elaborate and bloody affairs. The animal's head had wine and sacred bread sprinkled over it. The animal was killed by having its throat cut. It was also disembowelled, for inspection of its internal organs for omens. The most important organs of the dead beast would then be burnt on the altar. The rest of the animal was then either moved away, or later eaten as part of a feast. A priest would then say prayers, or better he would whisper them.

This too was a closely guarded ritual, by which the priest himself would be wearing some form of mask or blindfold to protect his eyes from seeing any evil, and a flute would be played to drown out any evil sounds.

Should anything about the sacrifice go wrong, then it had to be repeated, but only after another, additional, sacrifice had been made to allay any anger of the god about the failure of the first one. For this purpose one would usually sacrifice a pig. Thereafter the real sacrifice would be repeated.

Roman religion did not as such really practice human sacrifice. Although it was not totally unknown. In the third and the second century BC it was the case that slaves were walled up underground by demand of the Sibylline Books. Also the gladiatorial munera were a form of sacrifice to the dead.

In The Story of Gracchus Markos first banquet at the Villa Auri – to celebrate the birthday of Augustus Caesar – begins with sacrifices to Mars Ultor, Venus, the Divine Augustus and Mercury, and also features a munera involving three pairs of gladiators.

Oracles Augury

Of particular significance in Roman religion was the concept of augury. According to ancient sources the use of auspices as a means to decipher the will of the gods was more ancient than Rome itself. The use of the word is usually associated with Latins, though the act of observing Auspices is also attributed to the Etruscans. Cicero describes in De Divinatione several differences between the auspicial of the Romans and the Etruscan system of interpreting the will of the gods.

Though auspices were prevalent before the Romans, Romans are often linked with auspices because of both their connection to Rome's foundation and because Romans were the first to take the system and lay out such fixed and fundamental rules for the reading of auspices that it remained an essential part of Roman culture. Stoics, for instance, maintained that if there are gods, they care for men, and that if they care for men they must send them signs of their will.

Associated with augurs are the oracles of the gods. These were numerous, and in some cases renowned in Greece, and included the famous oracle of Apollo at Delphi. The Romans had their own oracle of Apollo, in this case situated at Cumae, in the person of the Cumaen Sibyl. Cumae, of course, is very close to Baiae, where, in The Story of Gracchus, the Villa Auri is situated and, in the story, Gracchus visits Cumae, and receives a significant oracular message from the Sibyl.

Roman slavery

Central to The Story of Gracchus is the concept of slavery.

The general Latin word for slave was servus. Slavery in ancient Rome played an essential role in society, and the economy.

Types of slaves

Besides manual labour, slaves performed many domestic services, and might be employed at highly skilled jobs and professions. Teachers, accountants, and physicians were often slaves. Agathon appears in The Story of Gracchus as a Greek slave, employed as a physician by Gracchus. Greek slaves in particular (and Markos was thought to be a Greek slave) might be highly educated. Unskilled slaves, or those sentenced to slavery as punishment, worked on farms, in mines, and at mills, or were used in the arena. Their living conditions were brutal, and their lives short.

Legal status of slaves

It is important to understand that slaves were considered simply as property under Roman law, and had no legal 'person-hood'. Unlike Roman citizens, slaves could be subjected to corporal punishment (whipping and beating), sexual exploitation (both female and male prostitutes were often slaves), torture, and summary execution. Roman slaves could, however, hold property which, despite the fact that it belonged to their masters, they were allowed to use as if it were their own. Therefore, highly skilled, or educated slaves were allowed to earn their own money, and might hope to save enough, eventually, to buy their freedom. Such slaves were often freed by the terms of their master's will, or for services rendered.

Rome differed from Greek city-states, and other ancient societies, in allowing freed slaves to become citizens.

After 'manumission', a male slave, who had belonged to a Roman citizen, enjoyed not only passive freedom from ownership, but active political freedom (libertas), including the right to vote. A slave who had acquired libertas was thus a libertus ('freed person', feminine liberta) in relation to his former master, who then became his patron (patronus). Terentius appears in The Story of Gracchus as a slave who has undergone manumission. Being a freedman, he appears in the story as a client of Gracchus (who is his 'patron'), and in this situation, Terentius is expected to work for Gracchus – in this case as his secretary and the supervisor of Gracchus' slaves.

If, however, a master freed a slave in his will on death, and left no heirs, but rather allowed the freed slave to inherit the master's wealth and property, then the newly freed citizen (the 'ex-slave') could choose a patron, if he so wished – and would be truly free.

Sources of slaves and buying and selling

A major source of slaves had been Roman military expansion during the Republic. The use of former soldiers as slaves led perhaps inevitably to a series of en masse armed rebellions, the 'Servile Wars', the last of which was led by Spartacus. During the 'Pax Romana' (see above) of the early Roman Empire (1st-2nd century CE), emphasis was placed on maintaining stability, and the lack of new territorial conquests dried up this supply line of human trafficking. To maintain an enslaved work force, increased legal restrictions on freeing slaves were put into place. Escaped slaves would be hunted down and returned (often for a reward).

One of the problems regarding the re-capture of slaves was the fact that slaves were not immediately identifiable in the general population. Normally they wore no special clothing (except some slaves of high status masters, who might wear the master's livery).

Some masters (like Gracchus in The Story of Gracchus), required slaves to wear a distinctive 'slave collar' (usually thin and made of iron). The slave collars used by Gracchus, however (in The Story of Gracchus) were unique, in being very heavy, and made of silver, with a distinctive medallion).

It is also worth noting that the majority of household slaves were allowed to mix with the general population in the towns and cities of the empire, and were not confined the the master's domus or villa.

New slaves were primarily acquired by wholesale dealers who followed the Roman armies. Many people who bought slaves wanted strong slaves, mostly men.

Julius Caesar once sold the entire population of a conquered region in Gaul, no fewer than 53,000 people, to slave dealers on the spot.

Within the empire, slaves were sold at public auction or sometimes in shops, or by private sale in the case of more valuable slaves. Slave dealing was overseen by the Roman fiscal officials called quaestors.

Usually, around the neck of each slave for sale hung a small plaque or scroll, describing his or her origin, health, character, intelligence, education, and other information pertinent to purchasers. Prices varied with age and quality, with the most valuable slaves fetching prices equivalent to thousands of today's dollars. Adult slaves were expensive, but the highest prices were paid for teenage slaves of both sexes, and in particular, well-educated, handsome young boys.

Because the Romans wanted to know exactly what they were buying, regardless of age or sex, slaves were presented naked. The dealer was required to take a slave back within six months if the slave had defects that were not manifest at the sale, or make good the buyer's loss.

Master and slave relations

Sexuality (see below) was a 'core feature' of ancient Roman slavery. Because slaves were regarded as 'property' under Roman law, an owner could use them for sex or hire them out to sexually 'service' other people. The letters of Cicero have suggested that he had a long-term sexual relationship with his male slave Tiro.

The Roman pater familias (father of the house) was an absolute master, and he exercised a power outside any control of society and the state. In this situation there was no reason why he should he refrain having sexual relations his houseboys. But this form of sexual release held little erotic cachet.

In describing the ideal partner in 'pederasty' (sex with boys), Martial prefers a slave-boy who "acts more like a free man than his master", that is, one who can frame the affair as a stimulating game of courtship.

One particular class of male slave was the the puer delicatus – a handsome slave-boy, chosen by his master for his boyish beauty. Unlike the freeborn Greek eromenos ('beloved'), who was protected by social custom, the Roman delicatus was in a physically and morally vulnerable position. The 'coercive and exploitative' relationship between the Roman master and the delicatus, who might be prepubescent, can be characterized in some cases as pedophilic, in contrast to Greek paiderasteia.

The boy was sometimes castrated in an effort to preserve his youthful qualities; the emperor Nero had a puer named Sporus, whom he castrated and 'married'.

A somewhat more mature version of the puer delicatus was the emperor Hadrian's 'Antinous', who mysteriously died before he reached maturity.

Pueri (boys) might be idealized in poetry. The beauty of the pueri was measured by Apollonian standards, – not too muscular, with smooth, pale skin, and absolutely no body-hair, with relatively small (obviously uncircumcised) genitalia, but with beautiful wavy hair, if possible fair in colour. The mythological type of the delicatus was represented by Ganymede, the Trojan youth abducted by Jove (Greek Zeus) to be his divine companion and cup-bearer. (In Chapter VIII of The Story of Gracchus, Markos is given the title of 'cup-bearer' by Gracchus).

In the Satyricon, by Petronius, the tastelessly wealthy freedman Trimalchio says that as a slave-boy he had been a puer delicatus, servicing both the master and the mistress of the household.

A slave's sexuality was closely controlled, and normally slaves were no permitted to engage in sexual activity without their master's permission or knowledge. In The Story of Gracchus Terentius instructs the Greek physician, Agathon, to fit Markos with a metal penis cage, in order to prevent him for engaging in penetrative or oral sex, or even masturbating, however, this device is removed so that Markos can have sex with another young slave, Cleon, who has been specially selected to 'service' him at regular intervals.

Slaves had no right to legal marriage (conubium), though they could, with permission, live together as husband and wife (contubernales). An owner usually restricted the heterosexual activities of his male slaves to females he also owned; any children born from these unions added to his wealth. Cato, at a time when Rome's large-scale slave economy was still in early development, thought it good practice to monitor his slaves' sex lives, and required male slaves to pay a fee for access to their fellow slaves.

Despite the external controls and restrictions placed on a slave's sexuality, Roman art and literature perversely often portray slaves as lascivious, voyeuristic, and even sexually knowing.

Ancient Roman sexuality

Interestingly, at the root of this virile 'master morality' was the Greco-Roman concept of sexuality. It is essential to note that Roman society was 'patriarchal' and 'phallocentric', and 'masculinity' was premised on a capacity for governing oneself, and others of lower status, not only in war and politics, but also in sexual relations. Virtus, 'virtue', was an active masculine ideal of self-discipline, related to the Latin word for 'man, vir. It should also be noted that sexual attitudes and behaviors in ancient Roman culture differ markedly from those in later Western societies.

Roman religion promoted sexuality as an aspect of prosperity for the state – prostitution, both male and female, was legal, public, and widespread – and what we today would consider to be 'pornographic' art was featured among the art collections in respectable upper-class households.

It was considered natural and unremarkable for men to be sexually attracted to teen-aged boys and girls – and pederasty was condoned as long as the younger male partner was not a freeborn Roman.

'Homosexual' and 'heterosexual' did not form a part of Roman thinking about sexuality, particularly as no Latin words for these concepts exist. No moral censure was directed at the man who enjoyed sex acts with either females or males of inferior status (usually slaves), as long as his behaviours did nor infringed on the rights and prerogatives of his masculine peers.

Most significantly, Roman attitudes towards sexuality were grounded in the terms penetrator and 'penetrated'. Male Roman citizens were, by definition, expected to take on the role of penetrator, and never be 'penetrated'. Roman ideals of masculinity were thus premised on taking an 'active role' that was the prime directive of masculine sexual behaviour, as well as political, economic and cultural behaviours for the Roman male citizen.

The impetus toward action might express itself most intensely in an ideal of 'dominance', that reflects the hierarchy of Roman patriarchal society, and the aggression that was responsible for the creation of the Empire. The 'conquest mentality' was part of a 'cult of virility' that particularly shaped Roman 'male on male' practices. It is no accident that one of the most common slang terms for the penis was 'gladius' – the name given to the Roman sword carried by legionaries, and used by gladiators, and male sexual activity was seen as essentially aggressive.

Roman male sexuality should therefore be seen in terms of a 'penetrator-penetrated' binary model; that is, the proper way for a Roman male to seek sexual gratification was to insert his penis in his partner. Allowing himself to be penetrated threatened his liberty as a free citizen, as well as his sexual integrity.

It was expected, and socially acceptable for a freeborn Roman man to want sex with both female and male partners, as long as he took the 'dominating' role.

Conclusions

So 3; when reading The Story of Gracchus, it is wise to take into consideration the great differences between Roman society in the early empire, and current European and American society. What may seem to us to be immoral, and maybe cruel and sadistic was, to the Romans, simply normal and acceptable behaviour. This story, therefore, makes no attempt to criticize, condemn or ignore Greco-Roman mores and values, and the narrative accepts, and presents unreservedly the cultural 'status quo' of the times.

If you have any qualms about this, then perhaps this is not a story for you 3;

if not 3; then read on for a raunchy, realistic and, a far as possible, an historically accurate serial novel, featuring the adventures of young Markos.

Editor's note

As far as is possible this story has bee made historically accurate.

Language, however, is a problem.

Many of the characters, Markos (some of the time), Gracchus (some of the time), Markos' Latin tutor Lucius, Terentius, the Centurion Servius Juvenalis, Nerva and others all speak Latin.

Markos (some of the time), Gracchus (some of the time), Markos' Greek tutor Agathon, Gracchus' physician Aristarchos, Glykon, Cleon (and other slave-boys), and others speak Greek – and this should be born in mind, as it is difficult to indicate.

Some words and phrases have been left in the original Latin or Greek (usually with an English translation when first encountered). Swearing, and what some consider to be obscene language (which was common at the time – particularly among young male slaves) has been translated into contemporary English, as it would have little impact in the original Latin (even Greek speakers, at this time, tended to swear in Latin, as Greek did not have a comparable vocabulary).

Peter Crawford

LIBER I
The First Book

I. Piratæ
1. Pirates

Marcus and his parents are sailing from Athens to Brundisium – but they never get there as intended. Their ship is attacked by pirates. Marcus, however, does arrive in Brundisium – alone – but by then he is known as Markos – and is a Greek slave

Skip the introduction on the Cilician pirates

Cilician pirates dominated the Mediterranean Sea from the 2nd century BC until their partial suppression by Pompey in 67-66 BC.

Although there were notorious pirate strongholds in Cilicia, 'Cilician' had long been a generic term for pirates.

With the destruction of Ancient Carthage, the demise of the Seleucid Empire, and Ptolemaic Egypt on the wane, there was no strong naval power left in the Mediterranean. Rome was the only major Mediterranean power left, but by this time her navy was reduced and Rome relied on hiring ships as necessity required. Rome only protected the Tyrrhenian and Adriatic seas, on account of their proximity, with expeditions sent against the pirate bases on the Ligurian and Illyrian coast. The Balearic Isles were cleared in 120 BC for the same purpose. As a result, the pirates became consolidated and organized.

The smaller communities of the Greek and African waters were left to make their own arrangements. Communities unable to fend off the pirate incursions were forced to come to an understanding with the pirates, and thus became havens. Crete at this time was still an independent Greek territory. Civil wars had devastated the land, and much of the population turned to piracy. Crete became a major haven for piracy, with its strategic position in the midst of the Mediterranean and because it did not fall under the control of any of the Mediterranean empires.

Cilicia was the other major pirate refuge. Like Crete, Cilicia enjoyed excellent natural harbors which geography rendered easily defensible. The Seleucids were too weak to suppress them, and Diodotus Tryphon, king of the Seleucid Empire from 142-138 BC, actually supported them, in order to strengthen his position.

Around 140 BC, Rome sent Scipio Aemilianus to assess the situation. He reported that the governments of the region were too weak or unwilling to settle the issue. Rome at this time was unwilling to spend the effort needed to reduce the Cilician pirates, perhaps because of the benefits piracy afforded the Romans. Consequently, the pirates remained the only considerable naval power in the Eastern Mediterranean. They eventually had bases all throughout the Mediterranean.

The main trade of the pirates was slavery, and it was Roman merchants bought the most slaves. Roman land owners held large plantations worked by slaves, and in particular Sicily was notorious for its slave plantations owned by Romans. At its heyday, a 100,000 slaves passed through its markets in a single day.

By the 1st century BC, what began as a nuisance became a plague on the Mediterranean commerce. The Cilician pirates roamed across the entire Mediterranean, and began to attack the towns of Italy itself – in fact, even Ostia, the port of the city of Rome was plundered.

Eventually, Rome took action.

In 75 BC, P. Servilius Isauricus led a campaign over land against the pirate bases in Cilicia and against their allies the Isauri, but this was only a temporary relief. Finally, after heated debate, Pompey was granted extraordinary powers to eliminate the Cilician pirates. Pompey divided the Mediterranean into thirteen districts, to each of which he assigned a fleet, and a commander. Pompey then swept through the western Mediterranean with his own powerful fleet, driving the pirates out or into the paths of his other commanders.

By keeping vigilance over all the sea at the same time (and at great cost), there was nowhere to run or hide.

Those Cilician pirates that did escape fled to the eastern Mediterranean, and Pompey was able to complete this first part of his campaign in 40 days. Pompey then turned to the eastern Mediterranean. He gave mild terms to those pirates who surrendered to him personally, as opposed to his other commanders. Some pirates surrendered their ships, their families and themselves up to Pompey. From these, he learned about where others were hiding.

Many pirates retreated to their strongholds of Asia Minor, where they gathered, and waited for Pompey to attack them. The Romans took the wealth the pirates had collected, and released many of their prisoners, whom the pirates intended to ransom; other prisoners, however, were sold into slavery.

The eastern campaign lasted 49 days.

In total, Pompey's campaign almost completely removed the Cilician pirates, who had held a stranglehold on Mediterranean commerce and threatened Rome with famine, in a mere 89 days, the summer of 66 BC. Piracy, however, although controlled, was not eliminated from the Mediterranean, and continued to be a danger to anyone undertaking a sea voyage. Only the Roman navy was immune from pirate attacks, and even Gaius Julius Caesar, when young, was capture, and held for a short time, by pirates.

So what is the connection between Cilician Pirates and our hero, young Markos?

Well – Marcus Gaius Aelius (later to be known as 'Markos') was the son of Gaius Agrippa Aelius – a lower ranking Roman official. Gaius Agrippa Aelius had been sent to Athens for a number of years, on Imperial business. During that time his wife had given birth to his only son, Marcus Gaius Aelius.

Young Marcus, being brought up in Athens, spoke Greek as his first language, despite the disapproval of his father, and unfortunately Marcus, as it later turned out, spoke Lain with a decidedly Greek accent – which proved not to be to his advantage – or maybe 3;

Regardless, inevitably, orders came from Rome, and Gaius was required to return to the city to take a more responsible post in the great metropolis. He was somewhat loath to return to Rome, however. It was in the final years of the reign of the Emperor Nero, shortly after the Great Fire, and the political situation in Rome was fraught and difficult.

Gaius, his wife and their son, Marcus were to embark at Piraeus, the port of Athens, and would then sail across the Sea of Adria (the Adriatic) to Brundisium. From Brundisium they would travel by road to Rome. Between Piraeus and the Sea of Adria, however, there was an area close to Crete, where there was a known danger from some of the remaining pirates who still attacked some of the shipping lanes.

The ship that the family were sailing on was a cargo ship – at this time there were no 'passenger ships' as we would understand the term. In this case the ship was carrying slabs of Pentelic marble, from the quarries at Penteli north of Athens, for Nero's massive building works in Rome, and also some bronze statues to adorn some the Imperial buildings. There were also a group of slaves – captives from the recent war in Armenia, against the Parthians, which had been successfully prosecuted by Gnaeus Domitius Corbulo, who were on their way to the slave markets in Brundisium. The only other passengers, apart from Marcus and his mother and father, were a troupe of dancing boys, escorted by their trainer, who were also headed for Rome.

It was early in the season – the weather was calm and fine, and the ship made good progress as it sailed out into the Sea of Adria. At first it was only a dot on the horizon, but then it grew larger.

Another cargo ship? – a Roman war galley, on patrol?

But as it drew closer, it was obvious – it was pirates!

The captain of the little cargo boat desperately tried to make for the coast, but the pirate ship was a galley, with sails and oars, and was easily able to outrun them. Gaius Aelius immediately hustled his wife and Marcus below decks, while he tried to organize the crew, in a futile attempt to fend off the pirates when they attempted to board the cargo ship. In a very short time the large galley had drawn alongside the merchant ship.

The captain wanted to surrender his ship, hoping that in that way he might be able to placate the pirates, and at least save his life, and the lives of his crew, even if he lost his ship and its cargo. Gaius Aelius, however, would hear non of it and, as the pirates swarmed aboard, he and some of the braver members of the crew attempted to fend off the marauders.

Gaius Aelius and the crew, however, were no match for the pirates, and soon most of the crew were either dead or captured. Gaius, himself, was overpowered, and could only watch helplessly as the pirates searched below decks for the passengers and the cargo. Gaius could hear his wife and son screaming, and then there was only the noise of shuffling feet, as the Armenian slaves, the boy's dancing troop and Marcus was dragged up onto the deck.

With Marcus was his mother. She was bleeding from numerous wounds, and as soon as she came up on deck she collapsed. Immediately three of the pirates finished her off with spears.

The captain of the cargo ship then had his hands tied behind his back, and was thrown over-board – he drowned in a matter of minutes. The pirates then transferred the slaves and remaining passengers onto their galley.

The pirates had found Gaius' papers, identifying him as a Roman official. Having been hunted down for years by the Imperial navy, the pirates were intent on wreaking their revenge on Gaius. He was unceremoniously stripped naked, emasculated, and his severed genitals were tied round his neck. He was then hung by his wrists from the main mast of the pirates ship.

Young Marcus, who was on deck with the Armenian slaves and the dancing troupe, was forced to witness his father's humiliation, and listen to Gauius squealing as he was emasculated.

Then, with the cargo ship in tow, the galley made off towards Crete, where the pirates had a safe harbor. Eventually, when the harbor at Crete came into sight, the pirates cut down Gaius, and threw him into the sea. With his wrists still tied, he drowned in a few minutes.

As the galley and the cargo ship docked in the small harbor, the pirates organized slaves to unload the cargo of Pentelic marble, and the bronze statues. Those items would later be transferred to another ship, and would be sold in Alexandria. The Armenian slaves, the boy dancers, and Marcus were then unloaded from the Galley, and placed in guarded pens, where they would later be sorted, and decisions would be made as to where they would be sold.

II. Servitutem
2. Slavery

And so Marcus waited, through the night, in the slave pen, on the island of Crete.

The closest parallels to enslavement in warfare were capture by pirates and brigands – defacto equivalent to standard military practice – but lacking public sanction.

Many slaves were provided to the slave-trade by eastern Mediterranean 'pirates' in the second and early first centuries BC, and there are many indications that communities based in Cilicia and Pamphylia, as well as Crete that had gained autonomy from the erosion of the great Hellenistic powers engaged in increasingly wide-ranging raiding ventures, that presumably entailed a considerable amount of slave-making. Significantly, it is possible to interpret the later, spasmodic character of Roman countermeasures, as a sign of tacit collusion between sellers and buyers. Rome certainly needed slaves at the end of the Republic, and after the death of Augustus, and were not always fussy about the sources of such slaves.

However, that explanation would have been of little interest to Marcus. Stripped down to his loincloth, he spent his first night on Crete, with the boy dance troupe, in a slave pen, awaiting his fate.

The pirates who had captured Marcus were concerned to keep a low profile with the Roman authorities, particularly as, during this raid they had killed two Roman citizens – Marcus' father and mother. They were not sure if Marcus was also a Roman citizen, or a slave-boy belonging to Gaius Aelius. The fact that the boy spoke Latin with a Greek accent inclined them to believe that he was a reasonably well educated Greek slave-boy.

It was noticed, once they had arrived in Crete, that Marcus was wearing a bulla, but the pirates were not sure of its significance, and presumed that as the boy was probably a slave, that it had been a gift from his master. They were going to take it from him – as it looked as if it might have been made of gold, but in all the confusion of getting the boys into the slave pens, it was forgotten.

The haste and lack of attention was undoubtedly because they were keen to be rid of Marcus, the boy dancers, and the Armenian prisoners of war, and were therefore prepared to quickly sell them on, without too much quibbling about the price to a local slave-trader.

While Marcus and his companions waited in the slave-pen, the leader of the pirates struck a deal with a young Greek slave-trader, over wine in a local hostelry.

The next morning the boys were chained together, and led to another merchant vessel. As fate would have it, the boat was bound for Brundisium, which had been the original destination of the family of Gaius Aelius and his wife and son.

Brundisium was an Ancient Greek settlement predating the Roman expansion. The Latin name Brundisium comes from the Greek Brentesion (Βρεντήσιον) meaning 'deer's head', which refers to the shape of the natural harbor. In 267 BC (245 BC, according to other sources) it was conquered by the Romans. Herodotus spoke of the Mycenaean origin for these populations. The necropolis of Tor Pisana (south of the old town of Brundisium) returned Corinthian jars in the first half of the 7th century BC. The Brindisi Messapia certainly entertained strong business relationships with the opposite side of the Adriatic and the Greek populations of the Aegean Sea, including, of course, Crete.

After the Punic Wars it became a major center of Roman naval power and maritime trade. In the Social War it received Roman citizenship, and was made a free port by Sulla. It suffered, however, from a siege conducted by Caesar in 49 BC (Bell. Civ. i.) and was again attacked in 42 and 40 BC.

The poet Pacuvius was born here about 220 BC, and here the famous poet Virgil died in 19 BC. Under the Romans, Brundisium – a large city in its day with some 100,000 inhabitants – was an active port, the chief point of embarkation for Greece and the East, via Dyrrachium or Corcyra. It was connected with Rome by the Via Appia. The termination of the Via Appia, at the water's edge, was flanked by two fine pillars.

The journey by sea was relatively safe, as the ship could stay reasonably close to the coast, but somewhat ironically, there was always the chance of meeting up with pirates again. As it happened, the voyage was uneventful, and they soon weighed anchor at Brundisium.

The slave trader who had agreed to buy the boy slaves, and Marcus, was a relatively young Greek called Arion. Despite his youth he was experienced and knowledgeable with regard to his trade, and over a number of years had built up a sizeable fortune by confining himself to the top end of the market, where profits could, if one was clever and lucky, be enormous.

The price of slaves varied greatly. Captives sold by Roman generals did not cost much, because generals were eager for quick sales and, on the trip back to Rome, dealers were liable to heavy losses from disease, fatigue and especially suicide. Some slaves, however, fetched huge prices.

Handsome, educated boys, like Marcus, and beautiful, accomplished girls could cost huge sums, sometimes being worth literally their weight in gold.

Arion had seen a good return from the young boys dancers – Greeks from about 10 to 14 years old, all healthy, apparently well-trained, and good-looking. He had not taken the boy's trainer, who was still languishing in Crete as, whoever bought the boys would either want to train them himself, or provide them with a trainer of his choice.

Marcus, however, intrigued him – as he would do many others. Arion did not believe for a moment that the boy was actually called Marcus, or was a Roman citizen. He saw that as a rather ridiculous ploy by the boy to avoid enslavement.

Arion, as he inspected his new, and very attractive acquisition, almost immediately noticed Marcus' gold bulla, which the pirates, in their haste (and surprise at the good price they were given), had failed to remove – and was still hung on a leather cord round Marcus' neck. Arion could only conclude that Marcus had stolen it – maybe before the voyage, or possibly on board ship. If Marcus had stolen the charm from another boy on the ship – a boy who would have obviously been a Roman citizen (only Roman boys wore a bulla), then Arion wondered what had become of that boy. The obvious solution to the puzzle was that Marcus had assumed the other boy's Roman name, and probably disposed of the lad overboard, when the pirates attacked.

Arion thought it was a clever ploy to obtain freedom, but it alerted him to the fact that Marcus was probably not only a smart, devious boy, but also a potentially dangerous boy. So this devious boy, as far as Arion, and everyone else from then on was concerned, became 'Markos' – which was the Greek version of his name – or perhaps his new owner would take to calling him Ares – as the name Marcus was related to 'Mars', the Roman God of War, and therefore to Ares, the Greek War God. A slave's name, however, belonged to his master, and a master could give his slaves whatever name he desired.

The boy, however, did speak fluent Greek, and even spoke Latin with a strong Greek accent. In addition, however, 'Markos' (as he was to be known), showed that he could not only read Greek and Latin, but could also write in both languages. This was not only unusual, but such skills, particularly in one so young, were very much in demand.

Arion spent a whole evening talking to 'Markos' (as he called Marcus), trying to tease out the truth – about where the lad came from, and his true identity – and the fact that they conversed in Koiné Greek (not a form of Greek that Roman citizens – even boys – would be familiar with), did not help Markos as he attempted to convince Arion that he was, in reality, a Roman citizen.

Hellenistic Koiné, ('Hellenistic supra-regional language'), was the common form of Greek spoken and written during Hellenistic and Roman antiquity. It evolved from the spread of Greek following the conquests of Alexander the Great in the 4th century BC, and served as the 'lingua franca' of much of the Mediterranean region, and the Middle East, during the following centuries. It was based mainly on Attic and related Ionic speech forms, with various admixtures brought about through dialect levelling with other varieties.

It was obvious that the boy came from Athens, but the story of his father being a Roman official, and his claim to be a Roman citizen seemed a clever fantasy. Before their talk Arion had Markos 'cleaned up', as the voyage, and the time in the slave pens, had left him looking disheveled and dirty. After bathing and a massage, Markos was brought to Arion's study.

Markos was naked, as he would be for the slave sale, but he did not in any way seem embarrassed. This further convinced Arion that Markos was, in reality, Greek, (male Roman citizens were averse to being naked, unlike Greek), and when questioned, Markos went on the explain that he had exercised regularly in the gymnasium, in Athens – and, of course, the Greek custom was to exercise naked.

All the while, one of Arion's slaves was assiduously writing down, in Greek, everything that Markos said.

The excercise in the gymnasion, Arion thought, obviously accounted for the lad's fine musculature – unusual in a boy so young, and his confident posture, even when completely nude. After a long interview, during which Markos had been given some bread, grapes and cheese, seasoned with garum, along with some wine, diluted with water. It was the first proper meal that Markos had had in many days. At the end of the interview Markos was dismissed, and escorted to a small, locked dormitory, where he found the other boys – the dancing troupe, all fast asleep.

It was only then that the grief and shock of the last few days overcame him, and he lay and sobbed quietly of his bed. But at least he had a bed – his previous nights had either been on the deck of a galley, or the hard floor of a slave pen.

Arion was obviously being careful with his valuable merchandise, and in the morning that was made even more obvious, as the boys and Markos breakfasted on olives, bread and cheese, and then were subjected to a long bath, followed by a manicure of finger and toe nails, followed by a haircut and a massage.

By then it was lunch time, and after a light lunch the boys and Markos were taken to the large hall reserved for the slave auctions. At one end of the hall, where they entered through ornate double doors, there was a large dais, separated from the rest of the hall by a low marble balustrade. On this dais was a desk, where the records were made of the sales. The remainder of the hall was taken up by a number of seats, at the back of the hall, and a large open space in front of the dais.

Slave dealers usually sold their wares at public auctions, which were supervised by aediles who ensured, on behalf of the state, that the rules and regulations. A tax was imposed on imported slaves, such as Markos and the dancing boys, who were offered for sale with their feet whitened with chalk (to indicate that they came from beyond Italia).

A slave was offered for sale usually with a scroll around his neck describing his character, on which was written the slave's name and nationality, and a statement saying that he was free from disease (especially epilepsy) and from a tendency to steal, run away, or commit suicide. If the slave had defects not shown in his guarantee, the dealer had to take him back in six months or make good the buyer's loss. A slave with no guarantee was made to wear a cap at the auction.

Slaves of unusual value (especially those of remarkable beauty) were sometimes offered at private sales to probable buyers – and this is what had been organized for Markos, and the other boys.

Arion, realizing that Markos was a slave of exceptional value, had insisted on a minimum bid, in gold, for the boy, and this meant that only the wealthiest buyers would even attempt to purchase him. It was likely, of course, that Markos would be acquired to serve as a Puer Delicatus (beautiful boy) – as he appeared to be still young enough to be classified as such, however, unlike most 'beautiful boys', who were often skilled in providing their master with various sexual pleasures, Markos had the added advantage – even if he might be sexually inexperienced, – of being able to speak, read and write Latin and Greek, and appeared to be very well educated. He could therefore provide not only 'beauty' and sex, but also companionship and conversation – a rare combination – and all this would be made clear to the potential buyers at the upcoming auction.

Once the potential buyers had assembled, and had been served wine and delicacies, the large double doors at the back of the dais opened, and the the auctioneer entered – not Arion, of course, – although young, he was rather too exalted to get involved in the actual selling.

Behind the auctioneer came the troupe of boys, and coming last was Markos. All were naked, but were not wearing the usual scroll round their necks – which Arion always thought broke up the fine lines of a beautiful slave's form – and instead the buyers had each been given a scroll with full details of the the various slave on sale.

Strangely, Arion had not removed Markos' bulla (perhaps he was still wondering if Markos' story may have had an element of truth entwined in the boy's unlikely tale.)

To begin the sale the auctioneer then read these details to the assembled buyers, so that no one could subsequently claim to be unacquainted with all the information regarding the 'merchandise'.

Markos was then brought forward. There was a distinct murmuring among the buyers as they rose from their seats, and pushed forwards for a better view, for rarely had they seen such an attractive lad – and in addition they had been informed that he read and spoke Greek and Latin, was an athlete, and had also received a classical education.

Soon the bidding began, and it gradually became quite frantic, as some of the potential buyers had set their heart on acquiring the handsome youngster. Then, quite unexpectedly a youngish man, wearing a fine, dark red tunic, emblazoned with an elaborate emblem worked in gold bullion, at the back of the agitated group of bidders, made a single bid.

Immediately the room fell silent.

The bid was of such an amount that no other person in the room could possibly conceive of equaling, or exceeding it – or even approaching it, for that matter. The auctioneer himself was startled by the bid, and simply muttered 'sold', as two of Arion's slaves led Markos away through the ornate double doors, and back to Arion's study.

Of course Markos was non the wiser. He had no idea of how much a slave would cost, so what had just happened had little effect on him.

'and the story continues – as young Marcus is taken by the mystery bidder by carriage from Brudisium, across Italy, to Baiae, where he is taken into one of the opulent and sumptuous villas of his new, and as yet unnamed master 3;

III. Domus Gracchi
Chapter 3. The House of Gracchus

At the conclusion of the sale, Markos was handed over to the 'mystery buyer'. He was a young man, in his twenties, wearing a white tunic, embroidered with gold thread, and over that a dark red cloak. The cloak was secured by a gold chain, and where the chain was attached to the cloak there were two gold medallions, sewn into the cloth. Each medallion was in the form of an ornate laurel wreath, within which were two intertwined initials of the letter 'G'. The young man wore no slave collar, so he was probably a freedman, but was presumably not the buyer, who appeared to be far too grand to inconvenience himself by attending a slave sale – even a high class one, as Arion'a certainly was.

Markos was sorry to leave Arion. Even although he was a slave trader, he had been considerate and polite, and had helped Markos to cope with his new position as a slave.

The freedman gave Markos and identical dark red cloak, with the same gold chain and medallions, to wear for his journey – for he was still completely naked, as he had been all during the slave sale.

Arion then said goodbye, stiffly and formally, to young Markos, and then Markos and the freedman made their way to the street, where a large, enclosed carriage awaited them. Usually a slave would be required to walk behind a wagon or litter on the journey to his master, no matter how long the journey may have been, but Markos was now so valuable that he would not only have to be guarded, (and prevented from possibly running away), but also carefully looked after, so that he would arrive in the best possible condition. The freedman had a muscular young slave with him – presumably a bodyguard – who rode beside the carriage during the journey.

Unknown to Markos, the destination to which he would be traveling was Baiae, (from which is derived the English word 'bay', as the town was situated on the Bay of Neapolis). Baiae was on the west coast of Italy – a considerable distance from Brundisium, which was on the east coast – and so they travelled all that afternoon, stopping once in the early evening for a light meal, and then traveling on into the night.

The journey was long, and Markos was tired.

Gradually, as the carriage swayed from side to side, he drifted off to sleep – but his dreams were disturbed by the visions and sounds of the death of his parents, and his sleeping did little to rest of refresh him. Eventually the noises of a busy market-place woke him up. It was early morning, and the carriage had arrived.

As if to answer his unsaid question, his companion – who appeared to be a relatively youthful freedman, announced, rather formally, "This is Baiae."

BAIAE
"The last age, sung of by the Cumaean Sibyl, is coming – and the great cycle of ages is beginning again – from the beginning 3; – Vergil – 'Eclogue'

Baiae was a mineral springs and coastal resort on the northwest shore of the Gulf of Naples. Baiae was very fashionable, and popular with the Roman 'super-rich', and was reckoned as superior to Pompeii, Herculaneum, both close by, and also Capri – famous, or maybe that should be 'infamous', for the Villa Jovis (Villa of Jupiter), once owned by the Emperor Tiberius.

Baiae was notorious for its hedonistic offerings, and the attendant rumors of corruption and scandal. Desirable for its healing thermal baths, mild climate and luxurious surroundings, Baia was conveniently situated in Campania of Southern Italy near the western corner of the Bay of Naples. The very essence of Baia inspired a spirit of idleness and pleasure among the nobility, the rich, and the famous in the Roman Empire. Some of the most notable Roman historical events happened in Baia. The Emperor Nero had his mother, Agrippina, murdered just outside the resort. Caligula built his famous bridge extending from Baia to Pozzuoli. Much later Hadrian died in Baiae in 138 AD, and it is said that Cleopatra was staying in Baia when Julius Caesar died in 44 BC. Baiae was said to have been named after Baius (Βαῖος), the helmsman of Odysseus's ship in Homer's Odyssey, who was supposedly buried nearby.

The adjacent Baian Gulf (Sinus Baianus) was named after the town. The volcanic area of 'The Phlegraean Fields' was the site of classic Greek and Roman legends, in Roman times well known by anyone of culture. Homer's Odyssey and Vergil's Aeneid both involved a descent to the underworld somewhere in this region. Cumae, the seat of the prophet of the God Apollo, known as the Cumaen Sibyl, is very near Baiae – (go to the Sibylline Books for more information) – and in Baiae itself is the Oracle of the Dead – one of the entrances to Hades. Later, in 'The Story of Gracchus', Gaius Gracchus consults the Cumaen Sibyl, and receives a remarkable prophecy, which is 3; well you will have to read a lot more of the story 3;

And so, back to the story 3;

The young freedman continued – "And now we are approaching the house of my lord, the Villa Auri (in domum domini mei), and my name is Terentius."

All Markos could do was blink in the bright sunlight. He had no idea how he should address this young man, or whether the many question that he wanted to ask would be acceptable – so he simply lowered his eyes, and remained silent for the moment.

"Is there anything that you want to ask me!" Terentius suggested, rather unnerved by the boy's silence.

"Are you Greek or Roman?" Markos mumbled.

"I am a Greek. I originally came from Corinth. As a abandoned child I was taken into slavery. It was my very good fortune, when I became a youth, to be bought by my lord. He had me educated, with the intention of making me one of his close helpers. Later, when I became a man, he offered me my freedom, but on the understanding that I would still serve him. He gave me a Latin name, as he does with most of his slaves and freedmen. Now I manage his estate, here in Baiae."

"So you are, like, my master?" Markos interrupted.

"No! In the Villa Auri, and all the other villas, houses and lands that my lord owns there is only one lord and master. I simply follow my lord's instructions which, in my turn, I will give to you. So you shall obey me as you would obey him."

note – in Latin the word for 'master' and 'lord' are the same – Dominus.

"And who is your lord?" Markos asked, growing a little more confident.

"Your lord – and my lord – will tell you himself, when he thinks the time is auspicious."

And with that the conversation came to an abrupt end, as the carriage drew up in from of the entrance to a magnificent villa. Terentius got out of the carriage first, went up the the huge bronze double doors, and using one of the large bronze rings, knocked. The sound of bronze on bronze echoed with dull reverberations, – a sound as if coming from lofty halls and long marble corridors – which, of course, it was.

Meanwhile, Markos got out or the carriage, all the while looking entranced at the dazzling marble facade of what he had been told was the Villa Auri.

Slowly the door opened, and a young, smiling slave appeared.

"Good morning, Sir!" came the cheery greeting.

"I see you were most successful in your quest!" the young slave continued, as he looked with obvious approval at Markos, still only wearing his dark red cloak, who was standing behind Terentius.

"Yes, Glykon," Terentius replied, as he gently guided an obviously overawed Markos through the magnificent entrance portico.

Once inside the vast entrance hall, Terentius spoke in a quite serious tone to Markos.

"Here, in the Villa Auri, is where you will be staying for the present. Now I want you to see the chief slave, Nerva, who will show you your quarters, get you fed and bathed, and the get you fitted with a slave-collar, and proper clothing. You will then report back to the entrance hall – where I will inspect you, and give you your duties."

Terentius then called Nerva over, and had a few quiet words with him, while Markos waited. Marcus noticed that Nerva was shaking his head as Terentius spoke to him. Nerva then led the way, taking Markos through a small side door, and into a corridor. At the end of the corridor was a flight of marble steps, leading to a landing, and another corridor. There were numerous elegantly paneled, wooden doors leading off from this corridor. On each door, at eye level, was a small bronze plaque with a name or number inscribed in neat Roman lettering. Nerva took Markos to the only door without a plaque.

"When my lord has decided on a fitting name for you, a plaque will be attached to your door, and will be suitably inscribed," Nerva told Marcos.

Nerva then opened the door and invited Marcos into the room.

Cubicula were small rooms used for a number of different purposes; on the upper story and in the interior of the house they often functioned as bedrooms, while the small rooms off the atrium may have been used for private meetings, libraries, etc. While the bedroom here, from the Villa Auri, has wonderfully fine wall paintings, many cubicula were decorated more simply. Bedrooms were often furnished with no more than a sleeping couch and a small chest;

"Remember always that you may not invite any one else into your room. Terentius, or myself, may enter to inspect the room, and of course my lord may enter any room in the villa – invited or not. Here you will keep your clothing in the chest, and any other items provided for your work, and here you may sleep. You may not bring food or drink into this room. Do you understand what you have been told?"

"Yes sir," Marcus replied respectfully, rather surprised by the spaciousness of the room, and the fine quality of the furnishings.

People in the Roman Empire was obsessed by status. Even among slaves there were various classes. Lowest of all were slaves who worked in the mines or rowed the galleys. Then after them came agricultural workers. There were also slaves who worked on the many building projects and public utilities who were of low status. Household slaves' status depended first on the status of their master, and then on the work that they were required to perform for their master. The same applied to slaves in the Imperial Household. As a result even a slave in the Imperial Household could be of low status if his task was the wash out the latrines. If he was the curator of his master's library, and helped to manage his master's financial affairs, then he would be of very high status, and treated accordingly, with excellent food, clothing and housing. It was therefore possible for some slaves to have a better life-style than even affluent plebeians. Markos' situation, at this point in his career was highly unusual, and noticed by other members of the household, because his task appeared to be an .assistant doorkeeper, and yet he was accorded a very high status – and a very fine cubiculum.

"My lord obviously already values you very highly, for reasons of which I have no knowledge – having given you such a fine room, and right at the start of your service with him, without even having met you. You are fortunate. Make sure that you live up to my lord's high opinion of you," Nerva told the boy, seemingly puzzled by the favor being shown to Markos.

"So now," said Nerva, "give me the traveling cloak, and I will take you to the bath."

They returned down the staircase, with Markos now stark naked, and turned into another corridor, and through a door. The bath – even the bath for the high ranking slaves – in the Villa Auri was as palatial as the rest of the building, and Markos wondered what the bath used by the owner of the villa would be like.

So Markos relaxed in the bath, and after about half an hour Nerva returned and took him to another room, where a young slave gave him a massage. Then he was taken down a narrow passage-way. Unlike the other passages and corridors, this passage-way was not sheathed in marble veneers or decorated, but instead it was just plastered. Coming up the passage-way was the smell of smoke, and as they came to the end of the passage they came out onto what appeared to be a metal working shop. There were swords, spears and pieces of armour lent against, and hanging from the walls. There was a fire, with bellows for heating metal, and an anvil, and a big muscular slave, stripped to the waist, and bearded.

"Our lord has deigned to call our blacksmith Vulcan – which, you will probably realize, being an educated boy, was the name of the master craftsman of the gods." Nerva told Markos, with a broad grin on his face.

"For reasons I can't go into now, Vulcan cannot talk."

Then Nerva spoke to Vulcan. "Use one of your finest silver slave-collars. Make sure it's a good fit, and rivet it well. We don't want this young stallion running off."

Vulcan nodded.

While he went off to select a collar, Nerva spoke in a serious manner to Markos.

"This collar, which is very valuable, will be riveted round your neck. If you were ever so foolish as to try and run away, you would find it very hard to get it removed. Vulcan has a very special skill in these matters, and anyone else trying to remove the rivet would probably seriously injure, or even kill you – it's not worth the risk. If my lord ever deigns to free you, then Vulcan – or if Vulcan is no longer here, then his apprentice, will remove it safely, and it will be a gift to you. And just to remove any thoughts from your mind about leaving my lord's service – after you have had the collar put on, I will show you something that will make it clear to you what would happen if you decided to leave us without my master's permission."

Vulcan then set to work.

"Now come with me, boy, and I will show you a disobedient slave."

Nerva led Markos through a doorway at the back of the workshop, which led to an enclosed square courtyard. It was quite large, but the walls were windowless and high. There was, however, a door in each wall – including the one that Markos and Nerva used. The walls were of rough, unfinished stone that had been badly whit-washed.

"This is the punishment area," Nerva announced, solemnly.

And it was quite obvious to young Marcus, because, in one corner a naked young slave was tied to a cross-beam, and impaled through his anus. He was groaning pitifully, jerking up and down, literally 'fucking' himself, in a hopeless attempt to lift himself off the thick wooden post which was, by then, deep in his guts. To add to his humiliation, the poor lad was horribly sexually excited, with a large erection which was dribbling semen, as a result of being forcibly penetrated.

Nerva explained, "He tried to run away. Went to Neápolis, but no one there would remove his slave collar. They all knew where he had come from, because the collar was thick silver, and he was soon reported, found, and sent back here. My lord had no other choice but to subject him to this punishment. If slaves are not punished then why should they obey their lord?"

Markos was shocked, but tried not to show it.

"So how long has he got?" he asked, trying to be somewhat nonchalant.

"He's struggling so hard that he will tire soon and sink right down on the post, which will mangle his guts completely, and he will bleed to death – probably by the morning."

The sedile a structure protruding from the upright of the execution frame that allowed the condemned man to take some of the weight off of his shoulders and arms, which drew out the death process and prolonged his suffering. Using a sedile could more than double the time it would take for the man to die. Probably the most common sedile was a simple rod, or plank, that jutted straight out of the upright post, and went between the victim's legs. To increase the suffering of the condemned individual, sometimes the sedile was made out of a flat piece of wood, that had been sharpened to a fine edge, and there is evidence that some sediles were even made of a triangular shaped piece of iron. It is therefore likely that prisoners crucified in that matter slowly castrated themselves as they struggled. There was also a more humiliating type of sedile that was used, mainly for the punishment of the most serious crimes.

Instead of a plank or post that went between the legs, a fairly stout rod was used, made of wood or metal, with a large round bulb at the end, that was greased and positioned into the condemned man's rectum so that it was forced into him, positioned actually inside him. This type of sedile would significantly increase his suffering and humiliation. The condemned man would then be forced to 'rape' himself as he struggled up and down. This usually produced a very strong penile erection, accompanied by one or more ejaculations of semen before the unfortunate victim died.

Nerva and Markos turned to go.

"Help me!" the boy grunted, as he pulled himself up, and then, unable to hold his position, dropped even further down on the post, squealing as he fucked himself, and forced more spunk from his obscenely jerking, stiff penis.

Nerva closed the door on the repulsive sight, and he and Marcos turned into another corridor, where Markos would be fitted out with some clothing.

"Remember, Markos, the villa is well guarded, so it would be foolish ever to try to leave without the permission of my lord or Terentius." Nerva stated, as a final warning.

Having been fully 'kitted out', allocated a room, and shown the consequences of disobedience, Markos was ready, despite the fact that it was his first day, to start working.

He was taken back to the entrance hall by Nerva, where they found Terentius chatting to Glykon.

"Everything has been done according to your instructions, sir," Nerva deferentially said to Terentius.

"Excellent!" Terentius beamed, scrutinizing Markos appearance carefully, and approvingly.

"What should I do with the boy's bulla?" Nerva asked.

Terentius look puzzled. Nerva was referring to the gold 'locket' that Markos wore on a leather strap round his neck. It had been removed by Vulcan, when the silver slave-collar had been fitted.

The boy had a bulla? 3; Strange, I never noticed it at Arion's, or on the journey here. Why would a young Greek slave-boy have a bulla? – I must give it the the Dominus – as it is a sacred amulet – and leave him to deal with it, Terentius mused quietly to himself.

Terentius, however, was privately worried. He had been stupid not to notice the bulla, and if it indicated that the boy Markos was not a slave, then there could be serious legal repercussions for both Terentius and his master, if the matter was ever discovered by the authorities. Freeborn Roman citizens, by law, could not be bought as slaves.

"Thank you Nerva – you may go," Terentius said to his chief slave, being careful not to communicate his concern.

A bulla, is an amulet worn like a locket, was given to male freeborn boys in Ancient Rome nine days after birth. A bulla was worn around the neck as a locket to protect against evil spirits and forces. A bulla was made of differing substances depending upon the wealth of the family. Before the age of manhood, Roman boys wore a bulla, a neckchain and round pouch containing protective amulets (usually phallic symbols), and the bulla of an upper-class boy would be made of gold. Other materials included leather and cloth. A boy would wear a bulla until he became a Roman adult. His bulla was carefully saved, and on some important occasions, like his becoming a general and commanding a parade, the bulla was taken out. He would wear the bulla during the ceremony to safeguard against evil forces, like the jealousy of others.

Then turning to Markos: "Now. Markos, you will be on duty here with Glycon," Terentius continued.

"Glykon is our most trusted door-keeper, and he has knowledge of the identities of all who call here at the Villa Auri."

"Yes, sir," Markos replied, obediently.

"Our lord is a great and an important man, and he is patron of numerous clients, who come to visit him regularly, particularly in the mornings. There are some, however, who come on the off-chance, who are not recognized as our lord's clients, and such men may not be admitted. Your task, at present, is simply to watch Glykon, and take note, remembering the faces and names of those who are to be admitted as clients of our lord. Is that clear?"

"Yes, sir," Markos replied.

"Good!" Terentius continued, "And I will speak to you again – soon. And Glykon will arrange for you meals, and give you any further help that you may need."

Patronage (clientela) was the distinctive relationship in Roman society between the patronus (patron) and his cliens (plural clientes, client). The relationship was hierarchical, but obligations were mutual. The patronus was the protector, sponsor, and benefactor of the client; the technical term for this protection was patrocinium. Although, almost always, the client was of inferior social class, a patron and client might even hold the same social rank, but the former would possess greater wealth, power, or prestige that enabled him to help or do favors for the client. From the emperor at the top to the local municipal man at the bottom, the bonds between these groups found formal expression in legal definition of patrons' responsibilities to clients.

Benefits a patron might confer include legal representation in court, loans of money, influencing business deals or marriages, and supporting a client's candidacy for political office or a priesthood. In return, the client was expected to offer his services to his patron as needed. A freedman became the client of his former master (as in the case of Terentius). The regulation of the patronage relationship was believed by the historians Dionysius and Plutarch to be one of the early concerns of Romulus; hence the relationship dated to the very founding of Rome. An important man demonstrated his prestige or dignitas by the number of clients he had. The client and patron were not allowed to sue or to bear witness against each other, and had to abstain from any injury to each other.

And so the days passed, with Marcos watching as Glykon greeted a succession of obviously wealthy and influential individuals, attended by their slaves and freedmen.

While Markos tried to remember the name, Glykon would politely but firmly deny some access to the villa, while others he would direct to one of the three atria close to the main entrance hall.

Atria were a common feature in Ancient Roman dwellings, providing light and ventilation to the interior. Such a court was partly open to the sky, with an impluvium – a shallow pool sunken into the floor to catch the rainwater. In the Villa Auri the main Atrium, reserved for the most important guests, contained a little chapel to the ancestral spirits (lararium), and a bust of the master of the house. Normally there would only be one atrium in a house or villa, but the Villa Auri was built on such a grand scale, and was required to cater to so many guests, that there were three atria – the main atria being where the lararium was situated.

But Markos was bored and lonely. Each day began with bathing and a massage and attention to his hair – all performed by lowers status slaves. He soon learned the names of the various clientes who called at the Villa, usually in the morning, and who was permitted access, and to which atrium they should be sent, and other than that there was little to do.

Unlike slaves in small villas and domum (houses), who usually took their meals by snacking in the kitchen, in the Villa Auri there was a separate room where the high status slaves, (which included Markos), ate, while lower status slaves served them. There Markos had the opportunity to talk occasionally to Glykon, but it was obvious that the other slaves were very wary about talking to him – being unsure as to why such a newly acquired slave should have gained, almost immediately, such high status. They realized that Markos spoke both Greek and Latin, and it was rumored that he could read and write in both languages – and they were unsure of his real role or function in the villa.

Markos was expected to stay on duty in the main entrance hall every night until nearly midnight, and then had to rise just after dawn – and all the time Neva was watching and checking on him, and reporting to Terentius.

'and the story continues – as young Marcus meets his new master for the first time – a fateful meeting, because many things change for Markos after his 'interview with Gracchus' 3;'

IV. A Graccho Disputatio
4. An Interview with Gracchus

Then, after an interval of over two weeks, Terentius fulfilled his promise, made on the day that Markos arrived at the Villa Auri, and came to speak to Markos once again.

"So 3; Young Markos, how are you finding things here at the villa Auri?" Terentius began tentatively.

"I cannot complain, sir," Markos replied carefully. "I find my work is not difficult, and I am well looked after."

"But I think that you do not find your work challenging enough, or interesting," Terentius interjected, "and I think that you may be lonely, as the other slaves are – quite rightly – wary of you 3; and anyway, we do not want you getting too friendly with the other slaves. Your place is with us."

While Markos knew that what Terentius said was true, he found the freedman's last statement very puzzling. Who did he mean by 'us', and why was it desirable for him to avoid friendships with the other slaves?

"Come with me, Markos," Terentius then said to the puzzled looking boy.

"There is someone who wants to meet you."

Obediently Markos followed Terentius at a respectful distance, as the young freedman strode through the main Atrium, and then through a doorway leading to a wide, elaborately decorated corridor. At the end of the corridor were a pair of imposing bronze doors, with gilded panels and decorations in the form of double 'G' monograms, surrounded by wreaths of laurel leaves. On either side of the door were tall, young slave-boys. As Terentius approached the doors, the slave-boys carefully swung them open. Just before he went through the doors, Terentius turned to Markos.

"You are meeting your lord – so show respect!" he whispered.

The room, despite its huge double doors was not particularly large, and was obviously equipped as a study or an office. Markos stepped into the room, hesitantly – and there, sitting relaxed and at ease was the lord of the Villa Auri, and much else besides.

This was Gnaeus Octavius Gracchus.

"So, at last we meet, young Markos – or is it Marcus?" Gracchus, said gently, with a smile playing round his lips. "And in case you haven't realized, I am your master. I am Gnaeus Octavius Gracchus."

"Yes 3; my lord," Markos replied.

He was terrified, but was intent on not showing it.

"Terentius has told me much about you 3; but there is still much that remains a mystery."

Gracchus settled himself in his chair.

"As you may have guessed, Terentius was in Brundisium the night the ship bringing the consignment of slaves arrived. Intrigued by your appearance and manner, he immediately made contact with the captain of the ship, feigning that he was interested in a troupe of dancing boys. He took the captain to a waterfront tavern and plied him with wine 3; and discovered that a boy answering your description had been accompanied by his parents on the boat they had attacked, and that both parents had been killed in the attack. Terentius also discovered that the ship had come from Piraeus (but Gracchus used the Greek, Πειραιάς, to see if it would evoke any response from Markos), and, therefore, presumably from Athens."

"Yes lord," Markos said, careful to agree with everything Gracchus was saying.

Gracchus then turned to Terentius. "You may leave us now. I will speak to you later."

Terentius thanked Gracchus, and walked towards the doors, which mysteriously opened as he left. The doors then closed with a soft thud, and Markos was alone with Gracchus.

"So now we come to the question of who are you 3; Terentius arranged for Arion, a local slave-trader that he knew well, to buy you from the captain. The captain sold cheaply, because he wanted to get away to the safety of Alexandria, and sell the remainder of his cargo. Arion being Greek, would hopefully gain your confidence, and you told him the strange story about being a Roman citizen, and the son of a Roman official in Athens. I have had inquiries made, and there seems to be no Roman officials missing from Athens, but then things in Rome are very difficult at the moment, and their records may not be accurate. You are obviously well educated 3; but then many Greek boys are. Unusually, as well as speaking Greek perfectly, you speak Latin, but with a Greek accent. I am also informed that you read and write both Greek and Latin. And your physique indicates that you have undergone a considerable amount of athletic training. You, Markos 3; are a puzzle!"

Gracchus looked at the boy keenly, as if expecting a response, but Markos just stood looking down at he floor.

"So, anyway, to continue your story, Markos – Arion and Terentius had already agreed a price before the auction – which was really just a sham, and you were then brought to Baiae, and the Villa Auri. As soon as you arrived Terentius explained the situation to me. And he handed me this!"

And Gracchus held up Markos bulla, which dangled from its leather cord, and glitterd in the sunlight that pierced the shadows of Gracchus' study.

"So where did it come from?" Gracchus asked, quite aggressively.

"It's mine, sir. I've always had it – for as long as I can remember," Markos replied, beginning to panic.

"And what is a little Greek boy doing with a bulla " may I ask?" Gracchus asked persistently.

"But it's mine 3;" Markos replied, unable to explain the matter any further.

Grachus looked long and hard at Markos. He then put the bulla into an elaborately veneered ivory and gold box.

"Well 3; young man 3; I will keep it or you – and who knows, one day we may find a use for it," Gracchus concluded, smiling weakly at Markos, who was very nearly on the verge of crying.

Gracchus then settled himself in his chair, and perused a scroll on his marble topped table.

"And now I have to decide what to do with you."

Gracchus settled himself more comfortably in his chair.

"Tell me, Markos, would you like to continue your education?"

"If it is your wish," Markos replied deferentially.

"Look, boy! I want to know what you want, not what you think I want!"

This was a new side to the urbane, polite Gracchus that Markos had imagined his master to be. Gracchus was obviously annoyed, even angry, and Markos was fearful.

"I am sorry my lord," Markos stuttered. "Yes, my lord, I would very much like to continue studying."

"That's better!" Gracchus continued, recovering his calm pleasant demeanor.

"Send me Quintus!" he called to one of the slave-boys standing near the door, in the shadows.

Quintus must have been standing just outside the door, because he appeared almost immediately.

"Markos, this is Quintus, on of my secretaries.

Quintus! Take this down! 3;

I will engage two tutors for Markos. One to continue his education in Greek, and the other to continue his education in Latin. Markos will therefore study grammar, rhetoric, lectio, partitio, Law and philosophy, and I will obtain monthly reports from his tutors regarding his progress. I will also engage for Markos an athletics coach. His duties will be to coach Markos in using a javelin, to fight in armor, and to ride a horse, and also to box, to wrestle, and to swim.

Lectio is basically literary criticism. Partitio is the analysis of poetry. Rhetoric is the art of discourse, an art that aims to improve the capability of writers or speakers to inform, most likely to persuade, or motivate particular audiences in specific situations. As a subject of formal study and a productive civic practice, rhetoric has played a central role in the Roman tradition.

Have you got that, Quintus?"

"Yes, Dominus," Quintus replied.

Now make a copy for Terentius, and bring me the original, and the copy, for me to sign and seal, and then give the copy to Terentius, and tell him to get to work on it!" Gracchus continued.

"Of course, Dominus!" and with that Quintus, and his wax tablets quickly disappeared.

A wax tablet (cerae) is a tablet made of wood and covered with a layer of wax, often linked loosely to a cover tablet, as a 'double-leaved' diptych. It was used as a reusable and portable writing surface in Roman times. Cicero's letters make passing reference to the use of cerae. Writing on the wax surface was performed with a pointed instrument, a stylus. Wax tablets were used for a variety of purposes, from taking down students' or secretaries' notes to recording business accounts. Early forms of shorthand were also used.

As Quintus made his way out of Gracchus study, Markos summoned up his courage and spoke.

"May I ask a question, my Lord?"

"Of course my boy, and I will answer it, if I can."

Markos screwed up his courage.

"Why are you doing all this for me?"

There was a long pause, and Markos felt that he had made a terrible mistake in asking such a question – but Gracchus was still smiling.

"It's very simple, Markos. Because it pleases me."

There was then an awkward silence, as Markos waited for the rest of the answer.

But that was it.

Gracchus was being, possibly, deliberately inscrutable.

"Send in Terentius!" Gracchus ordered one of the slave-boys.

Moments later Terentius arrived.

"I have decided to continue Markos' education, and his physical training. You are to make all the necessary arrangements immediately. I leave the choosing of tutors to you. His athletic coach shall be a young centurion, and I will arrange prolonged leave for him through the tribune Marcellus, who is one of my clients. Quintus is even now transcribing my instructions from his wax 'scrawl' onto a decent roll of papyrus which I shall sign and seal.

A centurion (Latin: centurio; Greek: κεντυρίων) was a professional officer of the Roman army after the Marian reforms of 107 BC. Most centurions commanded groups of centuries of around 100 men but senior centurions commanded cohorts, or took senior staff roles in their legion. Centurions were also found in the Roman navy. Being held personally responsible for the training and discipline of the legionaries under their command, centurions had a well-deserved reputation for firmness – which undoubtedly would be good for Markos.

The word papyrus refers to a thick paper-like material made from the pith of the papyrus plant, Cyperus papyrus. Papyrus can also refer to a document written on sheets of papyrus joined together side by side and rolled up into a scroll, an early form of a book.

"When you have the document in your possession, add an addendum, to be written by Markos in Latin, in which he states that he will study and train diligently, and get him to sign it – in Greek and Latin, and then you must witness it with your own signature as a freedman."

"Yes, Dominus!" Terentius replied looking somewhat surprised.

As soon as Markos' tutors and his athletic coach are in place, Markos shall assist Glykon in the morning for only two hours, then have his midday meal, and then start studying with his tutors – Greek one day, Latin the next. Later in the afternoon, when it is cooler, he shall work with his trainer until just before sunset and then bathe and have a massage. In the evening he shall work on his studies, and be provided with papyrus scrolls, ink, pens, and sufficient oil and lamps to do so. Is that clear?"

"Yes, Dominus," Terentius replied.

"Now you may take the boy back to the entrance hall, and we shall speak more of this later."

"Thank you, Dominus," Terentius said, as he turned to Markos.

"What do you say, boy?"

"Thank you, my lord," Markos echoed, mechanically and obediently, as Terentius hustled the overawed boy out of Gracchus' study.

What Markos didn't see, as he left, was the broad grin of Gracchus' face.

and the story continues – as young Marcus begins his studies and his physical training under the watchful eye of Terentius, and finds a friend in the young centurion, Servius 3;

V. Opus non Ludem
5. Work – and No Play

Three days after Markos' interview with Gracchus, Terentius came to the entrance hall in the early morning.

"Come with me, Markos, – there are people I want you to meet."

Terentius led Markos down a corridor – one that he had not seen before, – and took him into a large room. I was obviously Terentius' office, and there were a number of slaves working on tablets and papyrus scrolls. At one end of the room was an imposing table, with bronze legs and a marble top, with various documents scattered on it. Around the table stood three men. One was fairly young, and obviously a Greek, – the other was older, and dressed in Roman style, and the third was young, and very athletic looking. Markos guessed who they were, but let Terentius introduce them.

"These gentlemen will be responsible for your education, and your training," Terentius announced, in his most formal manner.

Terentius then turned to his three guests. "This is the young man that we have been speaking of. As you already know, he has an excellent command of spoken Greek and Latin, and also reads and writes in both languages. What he needs, however, is to lose his Greek accent when he speaks Latin – that is essential, – and his style of speech need to be polished in both languages. Also he has almost no knowledge of the masters of Greek and Latin literature, I mean, of course, in the first place, Homer and Virgil. He has little knowledge of rhetoric, and no knowledge of philosophy or law. He also needs a basic grounding in mathematics, geometry and astronomy. As for his physical training, he has undertaken some athletics in the past, and has an above avergae physique for his age. I think you will agree that he is just at the right age to put on some muscle, and in the process he must learn all the martial arts. Also he cannot swim, and this is not permissible, as the villa itself it built right by the sea. I know that we have already discussed this, but I am reiterating this in the presence of the boy, so that he realizes that we are all aware of his shortcomings, and are aware of the need for him to make a consistent effort in his studies and training."

The two tutors, and the trainer, all nodded gravely as Terentius finished speaking. And by this time Markos simply wanted to sink into the marble floor and disappear.

"This is Αρισταρχος (Aristarchos)," Terentius said, gesturing to the Greek looking gentleman, "who will be you Greek tutor." – and Aristarchos bowed, politely.

"And this is Lucius, your Latin tutor," Terentius said, gesturing to the Roman looking gentleman, who nodded briskly in Markos direction.

"And, finally this is Servius Juvenalis, a Roman centurion of the Legio XIII, who will be your athletics coach."

Servius smiled broadly at young Markos.

Legio tertia decima Geminia, in English the 13th Twin Legion, also known as Legio tertia decima Gemina, was a legion of the Imperial Roman army. It was one of Julius Caesar's key units in Gaul and in the civil war, and was the legion with which he famously crossed the Rubicon on January 10, 49 BC. Its symbol was the lion.

"And this, gentlemen, is young Markos, about whom we have already discussed – in some detail."

Marcus blushed, and stood with his hands behind his back, looking at the floor.

"A fine looking lad," centurion Servius commented, while the two tutors nodded in obvious agreement.

Then Terentius concluded the interview by turning to the coach and the tutors.

"You will begin your work, gentlemen, with your, hopefully, keen pupil tomorrow."

Terentius then turned to Markos.

"So, Markos, – tomorrow, after two hours in the entrance hall, a slave will collect you and take you to your study room. And now you may leave us."

"Thank you, sirs," Markos said respectfully, and bowed as he left, to return to the entrance hall.

And so 3; the next day, a slave came to the doors at the entrance hall where Glykon and Markos were on duty.

"Morning, boys," the young slave said cheerily.

"I've been sent to get Markos."

"That's me," Markos replied.

"Enjoy your lessons, Markos," Glykon said – jesting, but also, to some extent, jealous of his friend's privileges.

The two slaves then went off for their midday meal, and then to the rooms that had been allocated by Terentius for Markos' study. The young slave left Markos outside the door. Markos then knocked, and a stern voice told him to enter. It was his Latin tutor, standing behind a table on which were piles of scrolls.

"Good day, sir," Markos said, deferentially.

The tutor nodded, and beckoned him over to the table.

And so the first day, after his midday meal, was filled with a dissertation by Lucius on the glories of Virgil, and the adventures of Aeneas – but you will probably be pleased to know that while Markos had to listen and take notes, you may, if you wish, just read this very brief explanation of the importance of Virgil, and the Aeneid – or you may go on with the story.

Publius Vergilius Maro (October 15, 70 BC – September 21, 19 BC), usually called Virgil or Vergil in English, was an ancient Roman poet of the Augustan period (the period when Gaius Octavian was Emperor, many years before Marcos was born). Virgil is known for three major works of Latin literature, the Eclogues, the Georgics, and the epic Aeneid. Virgil is traditionally ranked as one of Rome's greatest poets, and his Aeneid, about the foundation of Rome by the Trojan hero Aeneas, has been considered the national epic of ancient Rome, and a favorite of Gracchus, which is why Markos had to study it.

Markos, however, was required to write a précis of Lucius' talk about Virgil, so he knew that he would be busy for the rest of the evening, and possibly late into the night.

But it was now later in the afternoon, and the slave who had brought Markos to Lucius, now returned to take Markos to Servius Juvenalis, the Roman centurion of the Legio XIII. Markos was taken to the γυμνάσιον or gymnasion, the private exercise area of the villa, where Servius, Markos' gymnastai (coach/trainer) was waiting for him.

The word gymnasion, of course, (and as Lucius – Markos' Latin tutor – would undoubtedly tell us) is the Latinisation of the Greek word for 'gymnastic school', which is derived from the common Greek adjective γυμνός (gymnos) meaning 'naked', by way of the related verb γυμνάζω (gymnazo), whose meaning is 'to train naked'. The verb had this meaning because Greeks always trained naked.

The Villa Auri also had a Palaistra that was the part of the gymnasium devoted to wrestling, boxing and ball games.

Romans had a problem with nakedness. It was one of their cultural quirks, that separated them from the Greeks. While the Romans were not prudish in any way (with naked sculpture, and painted and carved phalli (phalluses) on everything from jewelery and charms to signs outside shops, it was not deemed appropriate for male Roman citizens to expose their genitals in public – hence the loincloth or thong. For slaves (who were not citizens) there was no problem, however, and it was quite acceptable for them to be naked in public – both male and female.

Markos arrived at the large, beautifully equipped gymnasion, which was deserted, apart from Servius, who was waiting for him. After their formal greetings Servius told Markos to strip, as he was to train naked, wearing only his slave-collar. Fortunately, Markos was quite used to this, as he had trained naked for a couple of years previously in the gymnasion in Athens. Servius, however, as Markos' gymnastai (trainer), and a roman citizen, would remove his tunic, but retain a brief loincloth. Servius appraised the naked lad's body carefully, getting him to flex one set of muscles after another.

"For your age, Markos, you have a very well developed physique. You are a credit to your gymnastai in Athens."

Markos blushed, and starred down at his feet. "Thanks," he mumbled.

"I think that Gracchus did well to choose you, – but tell me, do you shave your body?" Servius asked, hesitantly.

"Of course not," Markos replied, rather surprised, and embarrassed by the question.

"Well I only ask because most boys of your age, and physical development, have at least some pubic hair, and you appear to have none – and I thought, maybe, that you had shaved, as Gracchus likes his boys without body-hair."

Markos look confused.

"You did know that Gracchus likes boys?" Servius asked, trying to explain matters.

"No," Markos stammered, now looking even more confused, and concerned.

"You see," Servius went on to explain, "Gracchus is married, but has no children, and his wife never lives in the same villa as Gracchus – and as you may have noticed, all the slaves here are male, and mostly teenage boys."

Markos looked around, uneasily 3;

"I didn't realize – I never thought," he mumbled.

"But don't worry," Servius went on, "I don't think he's interested in you in that way – at least not for himself. And as you are, in some strange way, his favorite, you are strictly off limits to all the other slaves, and myself, for that matter, and your tutors and Terentius."

At this Markos looked somewhat relieved.

"But, Markos, if you don't mind me saying, I think you are somewhat inexperienced in these matters," Servius went on.

"Perhaps," Markos replied, trying, somewhat unconvincingly, to be non-committal.

"That's no problem," Servius said, encouragingly, "And I am sure that, if you wish it, I could make some arrangement with Gracchus and Terentius to find someone appropriate, of you own age, to improve matters for you in that respect."

"Perhaps," Markos replied, still being non-committal.

"Well then, that's settled. – so let's get on with the training."

That night, after his bath and massage, Markos worked on late, writing the précis which Lucius' would require the next time they met – but all during the time he wrote thoughts kept popping into his mind about the various things that Servius had said about Gracchus, teenage boys and sex.

The following morning, after assisting Glykon in the entrance hall, Markos was once again taken to the study room. This time he was to study Greek, and his Greek tutor, Aristarchos, was waiting for him. Aristarchos was younger, and more friendly that Lucius, but was just as single-minded in his determination to instruct and educate his young charge.

The subject of Aristarchos was Homer – but as before, you will probably be pleased to know that while Markos had to listen and take notes, you may, if you wish, just read this very brief explanation of the importance of Homer and the Iliad – or you may go on with the story.

Ὅμηρος – Homer – is best known as the author of the Iliad and the Odyssey. He was believed by the ancient Greeks to have been the first, and greatest, of the epic poets. When he lived, as well as whether he lived at all, is unknown. Herodotus estimates that Homer lived no more than 400 years before his own time, which would place him at around 850 BCE or later. The importance of Homer to the ancient Greeks is described in Plato's Republic, which portrays him as the protos didaskalos, 'first teacher', of the tragedians, the hegemon paideias, 'leader of Greek culture', and the ten Hellada pepaideukon, 'teacher of all Greece'. Homer's works, provided models in persuasive speaking and writing that were emulated throughout the ancient Roman world – so it is easy to see why Markos had to study his works.

Marcos, not surprisingly, was required to write a précis of Aristarchos' talk about Homer, so now he had two pieces of work to complete.

It was now later in the afternoon, and the slave who had brought Markos to Aristarchos, now returned – but instead of taking Markos to Servius Juvenalis, the slave had instructions to take Markos to Gracchus' personal physician.

Like almost all good physicians in the Empire, this physician was a Greek. The physician, young, dark-haired, bearded and tall, introduced himself as Agathon.

"Well, Markos 3; as you are new here at the villa, Terentius has asked me to have a look at you to check that you are healthy 3; so take off your clothes, and let me have see you."

Markos started to strip.

"So tell me, where, in Greece, do you come from?" Agathon asked casually, as he carefully watched Markos strip.

"I was born in Athens," Markos replied, warily.

"Ah, that is quite close to where my family come from – Aegina," Agathon said casually, as he started to feel the muscles in Markos arms and shoulders.

"And your appetite is good?"

"Yes, sir," Markos replied politely.

"And you use the toilet regularly, and have no trouble making water?" Agathon asked.

"No problems, sir," Markos replied.

"And what about sex? Are you sexually active?" Agathon, as casually as if he were asking the time of day.

"Do you want me to be honest?" Markos answered nervously.

"Of course boy – I'm your physician. We must be honest with each-other."

"Well – since my parents died, quite recently, I have had no sexual feelings at all," Markos replied.

"Yes, I have been told about your parents. You have my sympathy," Agathon said, in a softer tone.

"I also note that you have no growth of pubic hair, which is unusual in a boy as well developed as yourself," Agathon continued, bending down an gently feeling Markos' smooth, hairless scrotum.

"You are well endowed, but there seems to be a lack of some essential sexual characteristics – which is unusual."

Agathon stepped back and looked at Markos directly.

"Tell me, do you prefer girls or boys?" he asked.

"I don't know, sir. I have not had sex with either."

"Well – at least you seem to be honest," Agathon said, smiling.

"Well, my boy, you are very healthy, but I think that your recent experiences have depressed you slightly, which is why you have no sexual feelings at present. As for the physical development I will ask for you to have roast goat's testicles on a daily basis, along with extra garlic with coriander – to be taken in neat wine, and also the water of boiled wild asparagus. It's all very tasty, so it will be no hardship."

Yes 3; these are genuine cures for sexual dysfunction in ancient Rome, but how effective they are is difficult to tell, and if you wish to experiment with these remedies, you do so at your own risk.

"But I think to really help you you will need to indulge in some penetrative sex, on a fairly regular basis. A strong lad like you, once my remedies have started working, needs a physical outlet – but not too much, mind you – and after my dietary treatment I think that you will need empty yourself of your excess seed in an appropriate manner. So get dressed, and I will call for you in about ten days."

And so Markos left Gracchus' Greek physician, and went to train with Servius Juvenalis, who was waiting for him in the Gymnasion.

Now 3; as you will have probably guessed, the physician's check-up was not accidental, but was rather the result of a conversation between Servius and Terentius.

They were, quite rightly, somewhat worried about Markos, and without letting him know, were intent on making him as content in his new situation as possible – after all, the happier Markos was, the happier Gracchus would be – and that was important for everyone involved with the the master of the Villa Auri.

'and the story continues – as young Markos 'finds' love – or is it rather – lust? – in the form of the beautiful young slave-boy, Cleon.'

VI. Amor invenit Markos
6. Love Finds Markos

A couple of days after Markos' session with the Greek physician Agathon, Terentius met Markos, not at all by accident, at the entrance hall.

"And how are you today, my boy?" Terentius inquired in an avuncular manner.

"Very well, sir, thank you," Markos replied, wondering what the real reason for this encounter would be.

"And how are you enjoying your goat's testicles?" Terentius asked, with a slight smile playing round his lips."

"The're good, sir 3; Surprisingly tasty," Markos replied, trying to take Terentius' questioning seriously.

"Well, Agathon was very pleased with you, and it seems that there is nothing to worry about – it's just a matter of good diet and time – as you mature."

Terentius paused for a moment, as if weighing up was he was going to say next.

"I have been speaking to your tutors. You are studying very well, but they consider that the intensity of the studying may be counterproductive, and they think that you may need a little more time to relax and rest. This does not apply to your physical training, however, as you seem more than capable of coping with that. Servius is very pleased. I have decided, therefore, that your study sessions should be divided into two day sessions – Latin one day and Greek the other – separated by a day for rest and relaxation, although you will still be expected to do some light training, maybe swimming, on the rest day. Do you understand this?"

"Yes sir, Thank you very much," Markos replied, relieved that there had been no complaints about him, and pleased that at last he would have some free time.

So it was back to his Latin, with Lucius. By now Lucius had got on to Cicero – probably his favorite Roman author.

Marcus Tullius Cicero (Greek: Κικέρων) – (3 January 106 BC – 7 December 43 BC) was a Roman philosopher, politician, lawyer, orator, political theorist, consul, and constitutionalist. He came from a wealthy municipal family of the Roman equestrian order, and is widely considered one of Rome's greatest orators and prose stylists.Cicero has traditionally been considered the master of Latin prose. The writing he produced from about 80 BC until his death in 43 BC exceeds that of any Latin author whose work survives in terms of quantity and variety of genre and subject matter, as well as possessing unsurpassed stylistic excellence. Cicero's many works can be divided into four groups: (1) letters, (2) rhetorical treatises, (3) philosophical works, and (4) orations. His letters offer a vivid picture of the public and private life among the Roman governing class. Cicero's works on oratory are important for Roman theories on education and rhetoric, and his philosophical works are exceptionally influential – so there was a lot for Markos to learn.

And so Markos spent that night poring over scrolls of Cicero's works that Lucius had given him to read – with the promise that he would be tested during his next Latin study session.

In the late afternoon it was off to the Gymnasion, and Markos' coach Servius. At that time, it was the part of the day Markos enjoyed the most. Whereas in the rest of the villa everything was hushed, quiet and dignified, in the Palaistra Markos could run around naked, and laugh and shout as he played ball with Servius.

Also, in the Palaistra Servius had started to teach Markos the finer points of wrestling. This Markos enjoyed, but also, strangely, he welcome the closeness of another human body, – of oiled skin against oiled skin, in a forceful, but somewhat playful 'embrace'.

Undoubtedly, Markos thought of Servius as a friend – probably because, apart from his tutors, Servius was one of the few people somewhat distanced from the Villa – for he was a Roman army officer, and not a slave or freedman belonging to Gracchus.

In this way, Servius had an objective, independent view of the life Marcos was leading – which Markos appreciated. But it was not his friendship with Servius that brought love to Markos. Servius was, and would remain a friend – but that would be as far as it would go – for the moment, at any rate.

The following day it was the turn of Aristarchos, the Greek tutor, to give Markos his lessons.

Markos, however, was still expected to spend two hours in the main vestibule, helping Glykon with the numerous clients, and would-be clients who knocked on the massive bronze doors. By this time, Markos was quite well known by many of the regular visitors, usually older men, who liked to flatter themselves that they had a handsome young 'friend' at Gracchus' Villa.

Of course the clients remained 'masters', and Markos remained the 'slave', and any apparent friendship that they had was purely superficial, and pursued simply for the sake of the older man's vanity.

And so Markos returned to his lessons, and the days lessons, on this occassion were a continuation of the study of Homer. Markos' Homeric studies would continue for many months, beginning with an introduction to the Iliad.

Ἰλιάς – the Iliad is written in Classical Attic; and is sometimes referred to as the Song of Ilion or Ilium – Troy – is an ancient Greek epic poem in dactylic hexameter, traditionally attributed to Homer. Set during the Trojan War, the ten-year siege of the city of Troy (Ilium) by a coalition of Greek states, it tells of the battles and events during the weeks of a quarrel between King Agamemnon and the warrior Achilles. Although the story covers only a few weeks in the final year of the war, the Iliad mentions or alludes to many of the Greek legends about the siege; the earlier events, such as the gathering of warriors for the siege, the cause of the war, and related concerns tend to appear near the beginning. Then the epic narrative takes up events prophesied for the future, such as Achilles' looming death and the sack of Troy, prefigured and alluded to more and more vividly, so that when it reaches an end, the poem has told a more or less complete tale of the Trojan War.

Once again Markos spent that night poring over scrolls of the first chapters of the Illiad, (in Greek, of course) that Aristarchos had given him to read – with the promise that he would be tested during his next Greek study session.

In the late afternoon, Markos was once again off to the Gymnasion, and Markos' coach Servius. For this session, however, Servius took him to Gracchus' indoor pool, and Markos had his first swimming lesson. He told Servius about his visit to Agathon, and the remedies that the Greek physician had ordered for him.

Very commendably, Servius confessed that it was he who had mentioned the subject to Terentius, and had recommended a visit to the physician.

"That's no problem," Markos replied, "You are my gymnastai – my coach, and it is part of your professional duties to look after my health, and send me to the physician if you think it necessary."

Servius smiled at the rather stilted language that young Markos had used, and tousled the boy's hair.

"Come on – let's get you swimming."

After the swimming lesson, and a massage, Marcos returned to his room and settled down to read the first chapter of the Iliad. He read until late, because he knew that there would be no lessons on the next day.

The following morning Markos performed his usual duties in the entrance hall with Glykon.

While he was in the entrance hall, Terentius came by.

"Good morning, Markos! 3; and how are you today?" Terentius inquired.

"Very well, sir, thank you," Markos replied, wondering what the real reason for this encounter would be.

"Well 3; this is your first day off – so I do hope you enjoy your evening," Terentius continued, with an enigmatic smile, that puzzled Markos.

Later, after his midday meal, he had an early session with Servius, who was continuing Markos' swimming lessons in the pool. Markos then returned to his room in the late afternoon.

A period of leisure was, by this time, something strange to Markos.

He wasn't allowed out of the Villa, however, and he wasn't allowed to roam the corridors or atria of the huge house. Access to the gymnasion and the pool was only permitted if he was accompanied by Servius. He was allowed to bathe, and take meals, but other than that, he was confined to his room.

This was the less pleasant side of slavery.

Granted he had to do very little work, and had the great privilege of gaining a first rate education. He also had access to health facilities and a private gymnasion and pool that would be the envy of even the sons of wealthy aristocrats, and a luxurious room that few plebeians could even dream of owning – but essentially he was not free.

And on that night it came home to him, as he sat on his bed, wondering how to fill in the hours before he slept.

So Markos gathered up his scrolls of the Illiad, went over to his desk, and decided that he may as well start reading, in preparation for his next lesson.

Now Cupid was the god of love in Roman mythology. The name Cupid is a variation on Cupido ('desire'), and this god was also known by the name Amor ('love'). It was commonly believed that Cupid was the son of Venus – the Roman goddess of love – and this association between Venus and Cupid was quite popular in myth, poetry, literature, and art. Significantly, the ancient Romans often depicted Cupid as beautiful winged boy, who carried a bow and quiver full of arrows. Indeed, the Roman poet Ovid seems to delight in portraying Cupid as a willful and capricious young lad in many of his poems from the Amores and the Art of Love. Cupid was known to the Greeks as Eros – from which we derive the word 'erotic'.

Undoubtedly, the beautiful boy had been 'stalking' Markos, and on this night, it would seem, one of Cupid's well-aimed arrows had pierced young Markos' heart.

It was at that moment that there was a soft knock on the door.

Markos was startled.

He had never had anyone come to his door at this hour, and he could not imagine who it might be. It was unlikely to be Terentius or Nerva, as this was his evening off.

He went over to the door, unlocked and then opened it. There in the corridor was a boy, – obviously a slave-boy because he was wearing only a white thong, and a silver slave collar, identical the the collar that Markos wore.

The boy was about the same age as Markos, with deep blue eyes, a shock of pale brown hair, and wide, sensuous lips.

"Hi! I'm Cleon!" he said, brightly, in Greek.

Markos stared at the boy, uncomprehending.

The Latin form of Κλεων (Kleon), a Greek name derived, (very apropriately in this case), from κλεος (kleos) 'glory'.

"Terentius sent me – to amuse you on your evening off," Cleon said brightly.

Cleon was apparently Greek, so Markos continued to speak to him in Greek.

"What do you mean?" Markos stuttered, still not understanding what the boy meant.

"Well 3; Terentius said you were inexperienced, but 3;," and he smiled, delightfully.

Markos was still looking puzzled, and had not fully opened the door to his room.

Cleon lent forward. "I'm here so you can fuck me," he whispered, in a conspiratorial tone.

"Is this a joke?" Markos whispered, unable to believe what young Cleon had just said.

"Of course not. It would be more that my life's worth to lie about the noble Terentius, and – in case you don't know, – our lord has forbidden any slave or freedman to touch you, without his consent. I, however," he continued proudly, "have been selected to befriend you, and be you pullus, if you will have me."

"Well why not," Markos replied, still confused by what young Cleon had said.

THIS IS IMPORTANT – Pullus was an affectionate word traditionally used for a boy (puer) who was loved by someone (male) "in an physical, sexual sense." More accurately Cleon, probably without realizing it, was taking the part of a concubinus. It was Roman custom that boys (who were Roman citizens) on reaching puberty would be provided with a slave-boy (preferable younger), as a 'bed-mate' for the boy, in order to discourage masturbation. Masturbation was frowned upon as being 'unmanly', as a Roman citizen (male) should find his sexual satisfaction by penetrating a person of lesser status (wife, slave-boy or slave girl, or defeated enemy). Slave-boys were preferred, for the simple reason that slave-boys did not get pregnant – thus avoiding any complications regarding inheritance. It was probably this custom that was responsible for so many Roman men (citizens – even including Emperors) preferring boys to women as sexual partners in later life. What was odd about the arrangement that Gracchus made for Markos was that Markos was (apparently) not a Roman citizen, but rather a slave – and not entitled to a concubinus. And so the mystery deepens.

"You'd better come in," Markos said, opening the door fully.

"Nerva did tell me that I couldn't have anyone else in the room, but if Terentius sent you – then I suppose it's all right."

"Well 3; what a room! What did you have to do to get this?" Cleon exclaimed.

"Nothing! Nerva brought me here the day I arrived at the villa, and told me that Terentius had allocated this room to me," Markos explained, feeling rather guilty.

"And a double-bed, I see! Just what we need!" Cleon continued, as he looked around admiringly at the decorations and the furniture.

"And what's all this!" Cleon said, picking up one of the scrolls from Markos' desk.

"It's my school work," Markos replied.

"They send you to school!" Cleon exclaimed, with a look of total disbelief on his face.

"No – Gracchus has two tutors, one Greek and one Roman to teach me, and a Roman centurion as my athletics coach. He's ok, but the others are a bit weird," Markos continued.

"I really don't believe it!"Cleon responded.

"No wonder Terentius thinks you need a good fuck to get all that study out of your system!" he went on, enthusiastically.

"And I'm lucky, 'cause you're Greek, and real cute, and maybe you'll give a good fuck, who knows. So why don't we do it?" Cleon suggested, as he slipped off his thong.

And like Servius had said – all Gracchus' slave-boys were shaved, or so young that they didn't have any body-hair, – and that was the case with young Cleon, who was, however, very 'well-hung'.

"Well – as you may have been told, I've never done it before – with a girl of a boy, so lets take it easy, and make allowances for me," Markos said apologetically, as he pulled off his tunic.

There was already a significant bulge in his white thong, which Cleon 'noticed'.

"Now I think that you are really ready for this – by the look of you." Cleon giggled, pointing at Markos' bulging crotch, and with that he slipped off the tiny thong, and Markos' stiffening cock jerked up eagerly suggestively.

"Come on, let's get on the bed!" Cleon said encouragingly, and took his hesitant partner's hand.

Markos lay back on the bed, and Cleon lay on top of him. Almost immediately the two boys passionately embraced, their arms and legs intertwining. Markos had tears in his eyes and was taking deep breaths – almost sobbing. He had had no emotional outlet for so long, that the feel of young Cleon's warm flesh against his, and the boy's lips and tongue exploring his mouth he found almost overwhelming.

At the same time, Cleon, who was skilled in matters of love-making, was reaching down to fondle Markos' well-filled ball-bag, and then worked upwards, along the shaft of his now, incredibly stiff, cock.

"If you want you can enter me," Cleon whispered.

"You do it," Markos suggested. "It may be easier the first time if you just go down on my stiff cock."

And that's exactly what Cleon did, facing Markos and slowly sinking down on the trembling boy's huge 'tool'. As it slowly disappeared inside Cleon, the Greek boy moaned in obvious delight.

"Fuck! That feels so good!" Markos groaned, as he felt Cleon's strong arse muscle rhythmically tightening on his swelling cock.

Then Cleon started 'riding' Markos' cock, while at the same time jerking himself off. After a few minutes of this it all got a bit too much for Markos.

"Oh shit! I think I'm gonna cum!"Markos blurted out.

"Don't worry," Cleon replied, as he kept as still as possible, in order to avoid stimulating Markos to orgasm.

"I'll turn and face the other way, and lie against you, so that you can do the thrusting, and control things better."

It was obvious that young Cleon was quite an expert, and also a bit of an athlete, as he changed his position, while ensuring that Markos' cock stayed inside him. The new position gave Markos much more control, and he was able to play with Cleon's cock and balls, while at the same time thrusting into him in a steady and controlled rhythm.

Slowly, however, the pace of Markos' thrusting became faster and more insistent as he became more excited. At the same time he worked frantically on the thick, long shaft of Cleon's huge cock.

Eventually, as Markos approached the point of no return, Cleon's strong anal muscles began to rhythmically grip Markos' cock, and Cleon's cock began to jerk and swell even more as he reached his orgasm.

"Fuckin' shit!" he groaned as his creamy boy-seed spurted and splattered over his smooth, flat belly.

"Shit! I'm cummin'!" Markos cried out, at the same time, as his hot spunk gushed inside Cleon.

Almost immediately both boys flopped back on the bed, breathing heavily, grinning and still dribbling spunk. Both sweaty lads were still quite hard – their cocks twitching, as the last effects of their orgasms subsided.

"That was good!" Cleon panted. "You can fuck me any time!".

Markos laughed.

So the boys lay on the bed, and set to talking long into the evening.

Cleon explained that he had been born a slave, in Corinth, but then his master had lost a great deal of money (Cleon did not know how), and had to sell many of his slaves. Cleon was one of the slaves who was sold. Terentius (although Cleon did not know him at the time) was at the auction, and on the look-out for attractive slave-boys for Gracchus. Although Cleon had no particular skills (he had simply helped in the kitchen of the small villa his master owned), his looks meant that Terentius thought he would be a good investment for Gracchus. Cleon had now been at the villa for four years.

Cleon then went on to talk about Markos. "When you arrived many of Gracchus' favorite slaves – and I like to think that I am one of those – were very puzzled. As I said, you got this really nice room – usually reserved for Gracchus' freedmen. And then you hardly seemed to do any work. Then one of the boys said that in the afternoon you spent time with a Greek freedman, and an older, Roman freedman, and after, you had athletics sessions in the gymnasion, with a young man, whom, it was rumored was a citizen – some suggested an army officer. One thing we did know from the 'door slaves' was that you had only seen Gracchus once – so it seems he was not having sex with you, or getting you to 'perform' for him."

"What do you mean – 'perform for him'?".

"Yes. I forgot. You don't know much about Gracchus."

"Now don't tell anyone I told you – but its an open secret anyway – Gracchus likes boys."

"I know. My coach told me," Markos interjected.

"But, it seems, it doesn't like to fuck them – at least not often. Instead he likes to watch," Cleon continued.

Voyeurism is the sexual interest in watching people engaged in intimate behaviours, particularly sexual activity. The voyeur does not normally interact directly with the subject of his interest, as the essence of voyeurism is observing. Voyeurism has high prevalence rates in most populations, and in ancient Rome it was considered quite acceptable for high status citizens to stage 'performances' involving their slaves, (male and female, or male on male) sometimes just for their own enjoyment, or in many cases as an 'entertainment' for their guests, and such events were often performed at banquets. An aspect of these voyeuristic practices was to be found also in the Roman theater (at the time of this story), where slaves would enact plays (often on a mythological basis) involving real sexual activity. Similar 'performances' also took place a interludes between gladiatorial contests in the arena.

"He like to see us fuck, jerk-off and suck cock. Sometimes, when he has many guests, he gets us to wrestle in the triclinium – the winner, of course gets to fuck the loser – and his guests bet on the outcome."

A triclinium (plural: triclinia) is a formal dining room in a Roman building. The word is adopted from the Greek τρικλίνιον, triklinion, from τρι-, tri-, 'three', and κλίνη, klinē, a sort of 'couch'. Each couch was wide enough to accommodate three diners who reclined on their left side on cushions while slave-boys served multiple courses, and others entertained guests with music, song, dance, wrestling, and sometimes 'performances' as described above. Dining was the defining ritual in Roman domestic life, lasting from late afternoon through late at night. Typically, 9-20 guests were invited, arranged in a prescribed seating order to emphasize divisions in status and relative closeness to the dominus (lord – in this case Gracchus). As privileged space, dining rooms received extremely elaborate decoration. Smaller triclinia, of which there were a number in the Villa Auri, would be used for smaller dinner parties, with a more exclusive set of guests.

"And you do this?" Markos asked, quite amazed.

"Well yes – but not just the sex. We serve Gracchus' guests with food, and dance and perform acrobatics – and sometimes wrestle. That's why there is a gymnasion and a Palaistra in the villa. Me and the other boys have a Greek dancing master, athletics coach and wrestling coach, and we spend quite a lot of time training – but not when you're there. And sometimes, as we always train naked, Gracchus comes and watches – like I said, he likes to watch!"

Cleon paused.

"But of course, it's only the ones that Gracchus likes the look of that do this. There are lots of other slaves – some of them quite old – but we have nothing to do with them."

Cleon, who was lying next to Markos, looked at his newly found friend.

"But what is he planning for you, I wonder?"

'and the story continues – life at the villa goes on for Markos. He now has a friend, and 'lover' in Cleon, and a friend in Servius, but his thoughts now turn to the freedom that he once had 3; He gains some freedom – in one sense – but gets 'caged' in another – while Servius springs a surprise – or is it?'

VII. Sol et spiritus libertatis
7. The Sun, & Freedom's Breath

Now you may think that from the title of this chapter that Markos is going to try to escape – but you'd be wrong.

Markos is not that stupid. He knows that the life outside the villa is hard, and very dangerous.

It is important to note that the Roman Empire was not a well organized welfare state. Many people were living well below the poverty line, and half starved people can be very dangerous – particularly as, in most areas of the empire, including most of Italy, there was no organized police force. For an inexperienced teenager, like Markos, living on the street could well be fatal.

And one should remember that life at the Villa Auri, even for slaves, was very comfortable and secure. There were armed guards at all the entrances, and everyone was checked leaving or entering. Food, for the slaves, was plentiful, and their living conditions far more pleasant than those of most plebeians (ordinary, free working people). For a highly favored slave, like Markos, his situation was on a par with the son of a wealthy aristocrat – except of course that he was not free.

But then teenage sons of Roman citizens were completely under the control of their father, just as Markos was under the compete control of Gracchus.

But Markos wanted just a little more freedom – but that could be difficult.

As dawn broke, Cleon got up and left his still sleeping companion, and went back to his own room in another wing of the villa. Interestingly, he said nothing to his companions, although they noticed that he was missing from his room that night – however, they just assumed that he had been required to 'entertain' one of Gracchus guests who was staying at the villa.

When he awoke a little later, Markos was sad to find his bed empty, – he was hoping that maybe he and Cleon could 'make love' in the morning, before they separated to start their day's work.

As usual, Markos had his breakfast with some of the other 'senior' slaves, and then went to assist young Glycon at the main entrance. By this time Markos knew all the regular clients, and his main task was to chat with them until they were called to meet with Gracchus.

Once again Terentius stopped by.

"So, Markos, did you enjoy your day off?" Terentius asked knowingly.

"Very much, sir. Thank you," Markos replied, as always very respectfully.

"And I hope that you enjoyed the little extra gift that we provided for you," Terentius was obviously referring to young Cleon.

"Yes, sir. I'm very grateful."

"Well for the moment you may keep your little friend. He can come to you each time you have a free day, if you wish – but take my advice, and do not become too attached to him," Terentius warned.

It was obvious that Terentius was serious, and Markos took note of the warning.

As usual, after helping Glykon in the entrance hall, it was back to his studies, however, for Markos. Today it was Latin, with his boring tutor Lucius. After some testing about the work and significance of Marcus Tullius Cicero, Lucius went on to a new topic.

Markos breathed a sigh of relief.

At least Lucius had seemed satisfied with the answers that he had given and, in addition, they were leaving dry old Cicero behind, at least for the moment. Today it was to be Horace.

Quintus Horatius Flaccus (December 8, 65 BC – November 27, 8 BC), also known as Horace, was the leading Roman lyric poet during the time of Augustus (also known as Octavian). The rhetorician Quintillian regarded his Odes as just about the only Latin lyrics worth reading: "He can be lofty sometimes, yet he is also full of charm and grace, versatile in his figures, and felicitously daring in his choice of words." Horace also crafted elegant hexameter verses, and caustic iambic poetry (Epodes). The hexameters are amusing yet serious works, friendly in tone, leading the ancient satirist Persius to comment: "as his friend laughs, Horace slyly puts his finger on his every fault; once let in, he plays about the heartstrings". His career coincided with Rome's momentous change from Republic to Empire.

Now Markos quite liked Quintus Horatius Flaccus – he was certainly a lot more interesting to a boy of Markos' age than Cicero. So once the lesson was ended, Markos was sent off with an essay to write about the Odes of Horace.

Then it was a light meal, and off to the pool for more swimming lessons with Servius. Markos was unsure whether he should tell Servius about Cleon. He also wondered if Servius knew anyway, as Servius and Terentius seemed to be quite close.

After about ten minutes of the coaching session, Servius and Markos were sitting on the side of the pool.

"So I've heard that you've found a friend?" Servius questioned, gently.

Markos was relieved that Servius had brought up the subject – it seemed obvious that he had been told by Terentius.

"Yes," Markos replied, trying to be casual. "He's a Greek boy called Cleon."

"That's good! 3; and if you don't mind me asking 3; did you fuck him?"

"Well 3; as you ask, yes," Markos replied, rather taken aback by Servius blunt question.

"And was it good?" Servius continued.

"Well 3; what do you think?" Markos replied, grinning.

"So now you feel a bit better!" Servius said.

"Yes 3; but 3;" Markos began, but then his comment tailed off.

"But what? You've got a cute young boy to fuck, and jerk you off – and someone to talk to. So what's the problem?" Servius replied, sounding a bit exasperated.

"It's like this – and don't laugh. Whenever I think of Cleon I get 'horny', and as I only wear a short tunic and loincloth – it shows," Markos explained, blushing heavily.

"Yes – and your doing it now, just mentioning him," Servius said, looking down at the wet, naked boy's crotch.

"Well, better that, than no feeling down there at all. And it's quite natural," Servius said, breezily.

"Yes 3; but what am I to do?" Markos pleaded.

"You can always go and see Agathon, that Greek physician. See what he can recommend," Servius replied.

"Yes – perhaps I will speak to Terentius tomorrow. But there's something else," Markos continued.

Servius looked at the boy, quizzically.

"Since I came here, I have never been outside the villa. I just long for the sun. I have been told that I am in Baiae, but all I have ever seen of it was some streets, when I arrive here with Terentius one morning. I was wondering if, now that I am starting to swim a bit, if we could go to the beach. I know the sea is near, because I can hear the waves at night, in my room," Markos pleaded.

"Well I don't see why not, but the problem, of course, is that Terentius would be concerned that you might try to run away. and then there would be real trouble from Gracchus for both me and Terentius, – and of course, if they caught you – you would end up being impaled," Servius warned.

"Yes – but why would I run away. I have no friends or family to go to outside the villa. I would have nowhere to live, and no money, and as soon as anyone saw this collar I would be brought back here, and end up like the young lad I saw on my first day here, naked and dying with a stake up his arse!"

"True!" Servius mused, reflectively. "I will speak to Terentius and see what I can do. As for seeing Agathon – that should not be a problem as I'm your coach – and if he want's to know why you're seeing him, I'll say it's a bit 'private'. As for going swimming on the beach, I'll do my best, but I can't promise anything."

Markos felt a little better after his talk with Servius, and went back to his room to set to work on Horace.

The following morning Markos was surprised when Cleon came to his room.

"No time for any 'fun'," Cleon said, despondently, "That'll have to wait until your next day off. I'm just here to take you to Agathon ."

Agathon was prepared and waiting for Markos.

"I have been told that you have – let's say – a delicate problem to discuss with me," Agathon began.

"Yes, sir," Markos paused for a moment, deciding how he should explain the matter.

"Since I had sex with one of the slave-boys here, I have been having unwanted and embarrassing erections."

Agathon showing no surprise, went over to cabinet and took out something wrapped in gray cloth.

"That would be young Cleon," he suggested.

Markos nodded. It seemed that he had no secrets from anyone.

"Yes – he's a nice boy 3; I'm not surprised that you have taken to him. Well I have something here that I know will help." he went on, unwrapping the gray cloth.

The gray cloth contained an item made of bright, silvery metal, in the form of a cage, shaped like a flaccid penis. Along side the cage was a large ring, with prongs attached.

"This is something that I use on those slave-boys who 'perform' sexually for my lord and his guests."

He continued 3; "It is in the form of a cage, shaped like a male member, but not an erect one. The ring is placed behind the scrotum – containing the testicles – with the testicles holding it in place. The cage is then slotted into the prongs on the ring, and secured with a small piece of wire, which is fastened with a lead seal. In that way I can see if the cage has been tampered with, or removed. Because of the way it is made the boy can urinate quite easily while wearing it, but because the cage is quite small, it is impossible for the boy wearing it to have an erection, masturbate, or have penetrative or oral sex. This effectively blocks any emission of seed, so that when it is finally removed, and the boy has sex, his erection is very strong, and his emission is very full. Do you understand?".

Markos looked at the finely made, glittering object in amazement.

"Yes, sir," he muttered.

Agathon picked up the ring as he continued his explanation.

"You will find that, although it takes some getting used to, it is quite comfortable, and in no way interferes with you normal activities. – So 3; take off your loincloth, and I will ft it for you."

The ring, which had to pass over Markos' penis and his scrotum was too tight, and Agathon had to find a slightly larger ring – but as he explained, it still needed to be tight to hold the cage securely. Once the ring was in place, Agathon slotted on the cage, which was also a tight fit round Markos' penis, as he was a well endowed boy. Agathon then secured the cage with a small, thin piece of wire, and used a special kind of 'pliers' to clamp a tiny lead seal onto the wire.

"There you are, my boy! – And I will remove that the day after tomorrow, in the early evening, ready for your visit from Cleon."

Markos the replaced his loincloth, and feeling somewhat strange left Agathon's consulting room.

After visiting Agathon, it was time to visit Aristarchos for a lesson. It looked, to Markos, like he would be studying the Iliad for rather a long time, as Aristarchos had decided to analyze the work in terms of themes. Suitably for Markos, perhaps, the first theme that Aristarchos had chosen was 'Fate'.

Fate (κήρ, kēr, 'fated death'), Aristarchos maintained, propels most of the events of the Iliad. Once set, gods and men abide it, neither truly able nor willing to contest it. How fate is set is unknown, but it is told by the Fates and by Zeus through sending omens to seers such as Calchas.

In Greek mythology, Calchas (Κάλχας, possibly meaning 'bronze-man'), son of Thestor, was an Argive seer, with a gift for interpreting the flight of birds that he received of Apollo: "as an augur, Calchas had no rival in the camp". He also interpreted the entrails of the enemy during the tide of battle. In the Iliad, Calchas tells the Greeks that the captive Chryseis must be returned to her father Chryses in order to get Apollo to stop the plague he has sent as a punishment: this triggered the quarrel of Achilles and Agamemnon, the main theme of the Iliad.

Men and their gods continually speak of heroic acceptance and cowardly avoidance of one's slated fate. Fate does not determine every action, incident, and occurrence, but it does determine the outcome of life. Linking the Iliad with Virgil, and Lucius' teaching, Aristarchos shows that Fate allows Aeneas escapes the wrath of Achilles and survives the Trojan War.

Whether or not the gods can alter fate, they do abide by it, despite its countering their human allegiances; thus, the mysterious origin of fate is a power beyond even the gods, and despite the earthly powers of the Olympian gods, only the Three Fates set the destiny of Man – as Fate had, seemingly set Markos' destiny. So Markos was set to write an essay about 'Fate' in the Iliad for his next lesson with Aristarchos.

Then, after something to eat, it was off to see Servius at the pool. On arriving at the pool, Markos stripped off, and Servius looked admiringly at the gleaming metal cage that now encased the young lad's penis.

"It almost looks like a piece of jewelry!" Servius exclaimed, grinning.

"Is it uncomfortable?" he asked.

"Well at first if feels a bit heavy, but after a while you don't notice it," Markos replied.

"And does it work?" Servius inquired, pointedly.

"Well of course!" Markos exclaimed.

"You can't get 'hard' – and you definitely can't jerk-off or fuck. So tomorrow, before I see Cleon, Agathon will have to take it off – for obvious reasons." Markos paused. "But what about the beach? Did you speak to Terentius?" Markos asked urgently.

"Yes I did – and he says it will be alright for tomorrow – that's your day off – as long as you undertake not to do anything 'stupid' – by that I think he means try to run off."

"Well of course I won't do anything 'stupid'. As I said, I have nowhere else to go except here, and it's here that my friends are, like you and Cleon."

Servius smiled, and ruffled Markos' hair.

"Of course – I know – and I think Terentius knows as well."

The swimming lesson went well – as Markos was becoming quite adept in the water, and so Servius was quite willing to test the boy out in the sea the following day.

At the end of the day, Markos, tired but more content than he had been for many days, returned to his room to work on his essay for Aristarchos.

Markos was awoken by some discomfort in his groin, and realized that he had woken, as was usual, with a strong erection – except that his penis could not become erect because of the restraining cage. Normally he would 'jerk-off' first thing in the morning, but now that was not an option. However, the discomfort was such that the beginnings of his erection soon subsided, and he had to be content with 'going without' until the evening, when he would be able to fuck young Cleon to his heart's content.

Markos then went off to have his morning meal, and then reported to Glykon at the main entrance. After a couple of hours on duty, Markos then went to the pool, where Servius was waiting for him. Servius then led Markos through some doors that led to a changing room. (Markos had never used the changing room because he usually just stripped off his loincloth when he entered the gymnasion.) From the changing room another door led out to a colonnaded peristyle.

In Hellenistic Greek and Roman architecture a peristyle (Greek περίστυλος) is a columned porch or open colonnade in a building surrounding a court which contains a garden. Tetrastoon (from Greek τετράστῳον, 'four arcades') is another name for this feature.

Leading from the peristyle were more gardens, this time stepped, and filled with rare shrubs and mythological statuary, that led down to the private beach of the Villa Auri.

Markos looked at the scene, wide-eyed. He had never imagined for a moment that such a wonderful vista lay so close, and yet, unknown to him.

The day was fine and sunny. There was a gentle, warm breeze, and small waves rippled up onto the golden-yellow sand. The beach itself was deserted, although there were some of Gracchus' guards on duty at various vantage points.

"This is amazing!" Markos exclaimed to a smiling Servius.

"Yes I though that you would like it," Servius said, patting the naked young boy on the back.

"Go on! 3; Jump in! 3; the beach is shallow, so it's quite safe!" Servius said, encouragingly, and Markos needed no more encouragement, but ran down the beach, and splashed into the warm waters of the Sinus Cumanus (Gulf of Naples). He was quickly followed by Servius, who then insisted that instead of just splashing around, Markos should show off his new swimming skills.

Encouraged by such a fine environment, Markos was swimming very well, and Servius watched his young protégé admiringly.

Later, after a long swimming session. Markos and Servius came out of the sea, and flopped down on the sand to sunbathe.

The Romans knew about sunbathing, and had a word for it, at least as practiced by men: apricatio. Seneca states that sunbathing (apricatio) was popular; and provision was made in some Roman baths specifically for this purpose. Seneca and Martial also state that professional 'depilators' made themselves available at the baths. Many wealthy Roman men felt the need of cosmetic depilation, or a healthy sun-tan, partly because they were putting their naked bodies on public show at the baths, and at the exclusive beach resorts in the south of Italy; – public bathing having become a part of the upper class Roman way of life.

They lay on the beach, side by side – Markos lying on his back, and Servius lying prone. They were lying close to a parapet, which overlooked them, so they were out of sight of any of Gracchus' guards, and in a completely private situation.

Then Markos, whose eyes were shut, felt Servius' hand move gently across his chest, and onto his shoulder. Without a doubt, Servius was embracing him. Servius then raise his body, and moved over slightly, facing Markos, and kissed him tenderly on the lips.

"I can't help it!" Servius whispered, "Your so beautiful – and boyish."

In fact, Markos had been expecting this for some time, and was not surprised, or shocked. Servius was handsome, with a fine, slim, yet muscular physique, and a sweet personality, and Markos could not hope for anyone better to 'fall for him' – but, of course, it could be dangerous.

However, both Terentius and Gracchus realized that, although Markos was technically 'out of bounds', leaving a young man like Servius with an attractive boy like Markos – especially when the boy was naked most of the time, could only end one way – if Servius was a real man, – and as long as Servius kept his 'activities' with the boy discreet, then no one would be really concerned.

"Will you let me fuck you, Markos?" Servius pleaded. "I really need to."

"Well, yes," Markos relied, hesitantly, "but be gentle – go carefully," he continued.

Servius rose to his knees and removed his bulging, white cotton loincloth. His thick, straight penis was already fully erect, and was framed by a dark, neatly trimmed pubic 'bush'. His scrotum was smooth, and well filled, with heavy testicles.

"If you will lie face down, I think it will be more comfortable, as you're wearing that cage," Servius said, spitting on his hand, pulling back his foreskin, and lubricating his large, bulbous cock-head.

He then positioned himself, kneeling behind Markos, and pushed his rampant 'tool' between Markos' well-muscled buttocks. Markos grunted, as he felt Servius' large, stiff cock enter him, and Servius groaned with obvious pleasure as he felt Markos' tight arse muscles grip his swollen 'tool'.

"Markos! You're so tight and hot!" Servius grunted, as he started thrusting into the prone young lad.

For Markos it was somewhat uncomfortable. Servius was very well endowed, and so Markos found it difficult to take his huge thrusting 'member' and, in addition, he was responding sexually to Servius' attentions, and his own penis was trying to become erect, but was being uncomfortably restrained by the 'cage' he was wearing. However, although he wasn't able to 'cum', he did find the experience stimulating and exciting. Just knowing that Servius wanted him, sexually, was very satisfying for Markos.

Servius, of course, had no trouble 'cumming', and was soon moaning as he squirted his hot seed into young Markos. Servius, after 'cumming' forcefully, then slowly pulled his shrinking penis from the young lad, and they both rolled over, onto their backs, and lay panting in the sun.

So 3; Markos, wondered, as he lay in the sun, on the beach, was this the 'Fate' that Aristarchos had been talking about during that morning's lesson?

"We must be careful, Markos," Servius said, turning and looking at Markos, seriously.

"I know – but it makes you happy – and I like that," Markos sweetly replied.

"We could do this again tomorrow, if you can get Agathon to take off the cage a little earlier, and then, when I fuck you, you could get 'hard', and 'cum' – 'cause I want to see you really 'hard', and spurting. Of course, – you understand, – I can't let you fuck me – you're still a slave, and a boy, – but there's nothing to stop you 'jerking off' while I'm fucking you, and you 'cumming' as well."

"That's what I want to do!" Markos said eagerly.

'and the story continues – Markos has an exciting day with Servius – and with Cleon, – and also has his second interview with Gracchus.

VIII. Et Ganymedes est Philhellene
8. The Philhellene & Ganymede

And the night after Markos' encounter with Servius on the beach, Markos dreamed of himself, Servius and Cleon, having a 'three-way' sex session on the beach, – with himself in the middle, 'jerking off', while Servius fucked his arse-hole, and Cleon fucked his mouth – however, at the point where Markos was about to have his orgasm, he awoke from the discomfort caused by the 'cage' that he was still wearing, which was preventing him from having an erection.

The morning, however, was the morning of his day off from taking his lessons so, after helping Glykon for a short time in the main entrance, he hurried to the consulting room of Agathon, and asked the Greek physician to remove the 'cage' from his penis.

Agathon was quite wiling to do this, and wished Markos 'good luck' with Cleon, little knowing that Markos would have a previous assignation with Servius.

In the study of Gracchus

Gracchus was sitting at his desk, surrounded by scrolls and wax tablets. There was a quiet tap on the huge double doors of his study.

"Enter!" Gracchus commanded.

One of the slave door-keepers popped his head round the door. "Terentius would like to speak to you, Dominus," he said quietly – almost apologetically.

"Show him in – of course!" Gracchus replied, seeming pleased to have an excuse to take leave of his scrolls for a while.

Terentius entered. "Good morning, Dominus!" he began, respectfully.

"Good morning, Terentius. I hope you are not bringing me a problem."

"No! Not as far as I am aware, Dominus. I have simply come to see you to report on young Markos," Terentius replied.

"Ah, Markos! – So how is the boy," Gracchus said, with a smile playing on his lips.

"He is good, Dominus. He works hard at his lessons, and he trains well with young Servius. All is going well," Terentius continued.

"So why do you seem concerned?" Gracchus asked, looking puzzled.

"Not concerned, but I am left wondering."

"About what?" Gracchus asked.

"May I be frank, Dominus?" Terentius asked, obviously unsure of himself.

"Well, you always have been in the past. Not always to my liking – but always you have spoken in by best interests."

"Thank you, Dominus," Terentius paused.

"Well, I wonder about the boy. What is he to you that you favour him so? I bought him for you because he was young, good-looking, and more importantly clever – intelligent. You have many handsome slave-boys, and good-looking gladiators – but no one with whom you can share your cultural and intellectual interests. So I bought him for you. But there's something else bout him. Something that I – and others – don't understand."

Gracchus was gazing, almost absently mindedly, at a bust of Virgil. He then starred straight at Terentius.

"Yes – there is something – but it is something that I don't understand either. I feel that the boy has some important part to play. What it is, I cannot say – but I feel that I must prepare him. Hence all the lessons, and the study, and the training."

"I see, Dominus," Terentius answered, realising that his questions were not to be answered – at least in a simple manner.

"But you do well Terentius – and with the boy, I am pleased – and we shall see what transpires, as more time passes."

"Thank you Dominus. May I go now."

"Of course – and tell young Markos that I am pleased with him."

And with that Gracchus returned to his work, and Terentius left the study.

Meanwhile

As soon as Markos was 'uncaged', he rushed down to the gymnasion to meet Servius. Straight away they went to the pool, where Markos ripped off his loincloth to show Servius that he had the 'cage' removed.

After swimming a few lengths of the pool, Markos and Servius went down to the deserted beach. There Servius took off his loincloth, and he two embraced and fell to their knees on the sand, kissing. It was then that Markus' 'rode' on Servius huge, stiff cock, while at the same time jerking himself off, and the two lad's managed to 'cum' at almost the same time. After one more fuck and 'jerk-off', this time face to face, Markos and Servius parted – not wanting to tempt 'fate' by lingering on the beach too long.

Markos then returned to his room, and after about an hour of study there was a knock on the door. It was a slave-boy that Markos had never seen before, saying that Markos was wanted by Gracchus. Now, of course, Markos was terrified that Gracchus had found out about him and Servius, but there was nothing that he could do other than face his lord and master, and make the best of it.

Once again, Markos walked down the the corridor to where a pair of imposing bronze doors, with gilded panels and decorations in the form of swags of laurel leaves stood, – the doors guarded by tall, young slave-boys. As Markos reached the doors the slave-boys opened them, apparently knowing who he was, and expecting him.

There was Gracchus, sitting and looking relaxed, with just the hint of a smile on his lips.

"Hello Markos!" he said gently. "And so we meet again."

"Yes, lord," Markos replied nervously.

"I have been receiving lots of reports about you," Gracchus began.

This is it, thought Markos – he knows about me and Servius.

"And they all seem to be good!" Gracchus said, much to Markos' surprise. "Your tutors, and particularly your Greek tutor – what's his name?"

"Aristarchos," Markos interrupted, hopefully helpfully.

"Yes – Aristarchos – he's particularly pleased with your work on Homer. And you look so much better – thanks obviously to Servius. And Servius now says that you can swim properly. This is all very good."

Gracchus paused for a moment – obviously collecting his thoughts.

"I am particularly pleased with the reports of your Aristarchos, regarding your Greek studies because I am what is known as a Philhellene, and I am sure that you, being 'apparently' Greek, and a Greek speaker know the meaning of that word."

And for those readers who are not 'apparently' Greek, and who do not speak Greek, here is some information about that word.
Philhellene ("the admirer of Greeks and everything Greek"), from the Greek φίλος philos 'friend, lover' and ἑλληνισμός Hellenism 'Greek', was an intellectual fashion prominent in the Roman empire among the well educated, male elite, at the period in which our story is set. The literate upper classes of Rome were increasingly Hellenized in their culture, and among Romans the career of Titus Quinctius Flamininus (died 174 BC), who appeared at the Isthmian Games in Corinth in 196 BC and proclaimed the freedom of the Greek states, was fluent in Greek, stood out, according to Livy, as a great admirer of Greek culture; the Greeks hailed him as their liberator. There were however, some Romans during the late Republic, who were distinctly anti-Greek, resenting the increasing influence of Greek culture on Roman life, an example being the Roman Censor, Cato the Elder and also Cato the Younger who lived during the 'Greek invasion' of Rome, but towards the later years of his life he eventually became a Philhellene after his stay in Rhodes. The lyric poet Quintus Horatius Flaccus (recently studied by Markos) was another Philhellene. He is notable for his words, "Graecia capta ferum victorem cepit et artis intulit agresti Latio" (Conquered Greece took captive her savage conqueror and brought her arts into rustic Latium), meaning that after the conquest of Greece the defeated Greeks created a cultural hegemony over the Romans. Roman emperors known for their Philhellenism include Nero, Hadrian and Marcus Aurelius

So Markos was left puzzled – not by the word Philhellene, but rather by the word 'apparently'. What, he wondered, did Gracchus mean by that?

But Gracchus went on. "Like the late Emperor Tiberius – who owned a villa – I think it was called the 'Villa Jovis', near here, I love all things Greek, an also, like Tiberius, I am fascinated by Greek mythology."

And where was all this leading? Markos wondered.

"My love of boys, of which you are no doubt aware, is inspired by Greek custom, and the art that I commission is an attempt to bring new life to the Hellenistic ideal. This is why I appointed for you a Greek tutor, as well as a Latin tutor. Many Roman fathers neglect to give their sons a Greek as well as a Latin education, but in your case, you have both Greek and Latin."

Gracchus then looked a little confused, and quickly corrected himself. "Of course, you are simply a slave – not a son – but the same logic applies."

Gracchus cleared his throat, obviously embarrassed.

"So – to get to the point." Gracchus continued, "Tomorrow there is to be a dinner for some of my close friends. There will be mythological re-enactments, and some of the boys will dance, do some gymnastics, and wrestle. I would like you to be there."

"Of course, lord," Markos quickly interrupted.

"I wish you, at this dinner, to be my 'cup-bearer'. As you may know, a cup-bearer can be a person of high rank, and it is his duty to serve the drinks at the lord's table. In this position, your confidential relations with myself could, in the future, grant you a position of great influence, so remember – the position of cup-bearer is greatly valued, and given to only a select few. You will be like Ganymede – without the abduction and rape of course (Gracchus was smiling) – to my Zeus."

Γανυμήδης, Ganymēdēs is a divine hero in Greek Mythology, whose homeland was Troy. He was the son of Tros of Dardania, from whose name 'Troy' was supposed to derive, and of Callirrhoe. His brothers were Ilus and Assaracus. As a boy, he was abducted and raped by Zeus, in the form of an eagle, and then served as cup-bearer in Olympus. Homer describes Ganymede as the most beautiful of all boys. The myth was a model for the Greek social custom of paiderastía, the socially acceptable erotic, and usually sexual relationship between a man and a boy. The Latin form of the name was Catamitus (and also Ganymedes), from which the English word 'catamite' derives.

"I don't know what to say, Lord," Markos answered.

"Now go and speak to Terentius in the main Atrium, and he will give you more information 3; You may go."

"Thank you lord," Markos said respectfully, as the great doors opened and he left the room.

When Markos got back to his own room, after talking to Terentius, he was confused. It was not, however, confusion about what Terentius had said to him. Terentius had simply explained to him, carefully, and in detail, his duties for the next evening as 'cup-bearer'.

It was Gracchus who had confused Markos. He wondered about what Gracchus had meant about 'confidential relations in the future', and why Gracchus should confuse Roman sons with Roman slaves, and how it was that he had referred to Markos as 'apparently Greek'.

To Markos, Gracchus was an enigma.

While Markos was pondering the strangeness of his master Gracchus, there came a soft knock at the door, which sounded to Markos' like Cleon's knock. And it was, and sweet young Cleon was standing at the door, wearing, as usual, only his tiny little white thong.

"Is it alright – me visiting tonight?" he asked, apologetically.

"Of course! Come in!" Markos replied, genuinely pleased to see his cute, young friend.

"So, what's been happening?" Cleon asked.

"Well 3; I had another interview with Gracchus," Markos replied – thinking it better not to tell Cleon anything about the sex he'd had on the beach with Servius.

"And what?" Cleon prompted.

"Well 3; he told me that there's going to be a big dinner tomorrow, and he wants me to be cup-bearer. And then he went on a lot about the Greeks, and Ganymede, and how it was a great honor for me, and so on," Markos said, breathlessly.

"Sounds good 3;," Cleon replied, "but you need to be careful when older guys start talking about Ganymede – it could me something to do with sex. Which reminds me 3; aren't we supposed to be having some – sex I mean?"

Cleon then pulled off his thong, and plonked himself down on the bed. He was already partly erect, and beckoned Markos over, to join him. Markos smiled – pulled off his own thong, and straddled his eager, young friend. Cleon immediately started playing with Markos' cock and balls, getting it his young friend's prick nice and hard. He then turned round and lowered himself onto Markos' now huge, and stiff member. Both boy's groaned as Markos's thick cock slowly disappeared into Cleon's tight 'hole'.

"That's so fuckin' good!" Markos grunted, as Cleon started jerking up and down.

"Really go for it!" Markos moaned, pushing his hips up as Cleon lowered himself repeatedly.

"I really need to 'cum'!"

After that the conversation stopped, and there was only the sound of the two naked lads panting and grunting, as their exertions became faster and more intense. As he became more 'excited', Cleon grabbed hold of his own cock, which was by the then standing vertically. For a few moments he just held on to the thick, twitching 'rod' tightly, but then he started jerking himself off, very forcefully, pulling at his swollen shaft, so that his foreskin pulled back and forth over his partially expose glans. All the while he was dribbling 'pre-cum' from his gaping 'cock-slit', and drooling at the same time.

Eventually his hefty balls, which had been flopping up and down, pulled up to his hairless crotch, signaling that he was about to reach his orgasm.

"Fuck, Markos I' gonna 'cum'!" he grunted.

"Hold on a moment! I'm nearly there!" Markos pleaded.

"Yes!" Markos then gasped, as Cleon's 'arse-hole' and 'cock-root' started to convulse, rhythmically, as he squirted out huge ropes of creamy seed.

"Oh fuck!" young Cleon then moaned, at the same time as Markos' hot seed gushed up inside him.

When he'd finished spurting, Cleon then turned round and collapsed onto Markos' gleaming chest, as Markos' cock, still jerking and dribbling spunk, flopped out of Cleon's 'arse-hole'.

"You are really great!" he panted, smothering Markos' chest and face with kisses.

"You too!" Markos answered, somewhat overwhelmed by Cleon's obvious enthusiasm.

Both boys, naked and relaxed after their exertions, lay on the bed, gazing up at the ceiling.

"So tell me, Cleon," Markos said dreamily, as he gently caressed his young friend's chest," what's this dinner that Gracchus was talking about going to be like?"

"Well, it depends if it's one of Gracchus' small, private 'parties', or a bigger 'banquet'." Cleon replied.

"The small dinners are more – sort of 'Greek' affairs – like a symposium – a convivium. You know what Gracchus is like with his 'hellenism'. The bigger 'banquets' are more 'Roman'."

In ancient Greece, the symposium (Greek: συμπόσιον symposion, from συμπίνειν sympinein, 'to drink together') was a drinking party. Literary works that describe or take place at a symposium include two Socratic dialogues, Plato's Symposium and Xenophon's Symposium, as well as a number of Greek poems such as the elegies of Theognis of Megara. Symposia are depicted in Greek and Etruscan art that shows similar scenes.

The equivalent in Roman society is the Latin convivium. Food and wine were served. Entertainment was provided, and depending on the occasion could include games, songs, flute-girls or boys, slaves performing various acts, and hired entertainment.

"So will you be there?" Markos asked.

"Yes, I will be serving food and drink to the guests. And maybe later me, and some of the other boys, will be selected by Gracchus for one of the guests, – and then the guest can take me off to a cubiculum, and fuck me! – Hopefully he will be a nice, young guy!"

Cubicula were small rooms used for a number of different purposes; on the upper story and in the interior of the house they often functioned as bedrooms, while the small rooms off the atrium may have been used for private meetings.

"But the banquets are different – and I think that tomorrow it will be a banquet, as there will be a cup-bearer – you! The banquets can be quite tame affairs – it all depend on who the guests are. If some of the guests are the 'newly rich', rough and ready types, then things can get difficult for us slaves."

Cleon probably means, here, nouveau riche (French: 'new rich') – a term, that is usually derogatory, to describe those whose wealth has been acquired within their own generation, rather than by familial inheritance. The equivalent English term is 'the new rich' or 'new money' (in contrast with "old money"). Towards the end of the reign of the emperor Nero, many 'nouveau riche' Romans fled from Rome to Southern Italy, to avoid Nero's murderous attempts to raise money for the rebuilding of Rome after the Great Fire. Many acquired property around Baiae – which was reckoned as superior to Pompeii, Herculaneum, and Capri for the 'super-rich'. Although Nero had a sumptuous villa at Baiae, he rarely used it towards the end of his reign, and the area was considered relatively safe for the wealthy. Baiae was renowned during the late Republic and early Empire as a center of Hellenistic culture.

"How do you mean?" Markos asked – now getting increasingly curious about Gracchus' symposia and banquets.

"Well 3; at a symposium – what the Romans call a convivium, us slaves just have to serve food and drink, maybe do some dancing and sing – and later some of us may get fucked – but in private – and that satisfies Gracchus' philhellene friends. But at a cenam – a banquet, it's mainly Roman clients, who want Roman entertainments, so they like to see us slave-boys naked – fucking and jerkin'-off, and doing wrestling, that ends up with the loser being fucked – what the plebs call 'fuck-fights'."

While slaves had no status in Roman society as a whole, even they had differing levels of social standing. (Markos, being a favoured slave, had a far higher social standing than a 'kitchen-slave'). In this way, losing a wrestling bout, and then being sexually abused in public, was an ultimately demeaning experience for the slave in question, although it had practically no meaning for the non-slaves who observed the event – other than as a source of some amusement – or maybe 'arousal'.
Plebs – short for plebeians – usually means the ordinary citizens of Rome, as distinguished from the elite. The word is related to the Greek word 'plethos' for 'crowd' or 'common people'. While there were 'nobel plebeians' – novi homines, – the term was often used in a derogatory way, referring to the poor and uneducated. Even high status slaves, (like Cleon and more particularly Markos), privately looked down on plebs

"Worst of all – if it's some big festival, then they will have a couple of pairs (or more ) of gladiators fight – and that always ends up with a few being mutilated, raped and killed – and that's messy, 'cause we boys have to clear it up. Fortunately for us, though, the gladiators are likely to be the older slave-boys, that Gracchus usually uses as his 'guards'."

By now Markos was wide eyed.

"What do you mean, mutilated?" Markos asked – a bit naively.

"They get their 'bits' cut off – you know – their balls, and possibly their cock as well."

Markos looked horrified, remembering what the pirates had done to his father, some weeks before.

"An' usually the're finished off by being dragged over to a big, gold Krater."

κρατήρ - krater (from the verb κεράννυμι, keránnymi, 'to mix') is a large vase, which was usually used to mix wine and water.
At a symposium, kraters were placed in the center of the room. They were quite large, so they were not easily portable when filled. Thus, the wine-water mixture would be withdrawn from the krater with other vessels. In Gracchus' banqueting hall – when there were fights – one gold plated krater was reserved to receive the blood of defeated fighters.

"The defeated guy is then made to kneel with his head over the Krater. The winner then grabs hold of the loser's hair – 'cause by now the poor boy's stark naked, – and then chops off his head – so all the blood spurts out into the Krater. It's less messy that way. They then hold up the dead boy's head, for the guests to applaud, and what's left of the poor lad's body is dragged out of the room. It's not very nice – but you may get to see it – tomorrow."

"I really hope not!" Markos replied – looking quite worried.

"So how come Gracchus uses his slave-boys as gladiators?" Markos asked, now becoming even more curious about Gracchus.

Cleon explained, "For one thing it's a good way to rid himself of unwanted slaves. Of course he could sell them – but he gets more respect from his clients if he makes a show of getting rid of them – and I think it 'amuses' him – like I said before – he likes to watch. It certainly gets the respect of the other slaves. So when a slave-boy gets older, and is less attractive, if he's not got a special skill that Gracchus values, then he makes way for new and younger boys. You see – Gracchus might be really interested in everything Greek, but he is a Roman – and the one thing that almost all Romans really like is gladiators – and that's how he started making his money."

Cleon settled back on the bed, making himself comfortable, as he got into his story.

"As a very young man – so I'm told – he specialized in buying and selling slaves – muscular, fit young guys, who he sold as gladiators, boxers and wrestlers. Later, when he got some money together, he kept the fighting slaves for himself, and hired them out to arenas, or rich guys who need body-guards, or a bit of 'muscle'. He then got a permit, and built his own, private amphitheater, and had his own ludus (gladiator school). He made so much money out of that, that he was able to buy land, and start up all sorts of other businesses, and became incredibly rich – as you know. Now, of course it's just a hobby of his. He still has a small amphitheater here in Baiae – and he stages 'Games' at regular intervals. Of course, they are not like the 'games' in Rome, or the 'games' run by the magistrates in other towns. Gracchus 'games' are not free – it's only the well off can go – and he also stages Greek style wrestling and boxing, and mythological re-enactments mime, and beast hunts. He also has a permit from the local magistrates to carry out public executions. It's all very Roman!" Cleon exclaimed, yawning and turning over to go to sleep.

'and the story continues – the day of the Banquet dawns – and Markos gets to see Gracchus' wrestlers and gladiators for the first time.

IX. Convivium in Villa aurea
9. Banquet at the Villa Auri

The day of the banquet dawned.

Called, in general terms, a convivium (or banquet), the Romans also distinguished between specific types of gatherings, such as the epulum (public feast), the cena (dinner, normally eaten in the mid-afternoon), and the comissatio (drinking party). Dinner parties took place in private residences, in which the host entertained a small group of family friends, business associates, and clients. Elite, private banquets, were designed to be a kind of feast for the senses, during which the host strove to impress his guests with extravagant fare, luxurious tableware, and diverse forms of entertainment, all of which were enjoyed in a lavishly adorned setting. A Roman dinner party included three courses: the hors d'oeuvres (gustatio), the main course (mensae primae), and the dessert (mensae secundae). At the Roman banquet, wine was served throughout the meal as an accompaniment to the food.

At the Villa Auri a banquet required an elaborate table service comprising numerous vessels and utensils that were designed to serve both functional and decorative purposes. The most ostentatious tableware was made of costly materials, such as silver, gold, bronze, or semi-precious stone (such as rock crystal, agate, and onyx). The final component of the banquet was its entertainment, which was designed to delight both the eye and ear. Musical performances often involved the flute and the lyre, as well as singing. Active forms of entertainment could include troupes of acrobats, dancing, gladiatorial fights, mime, pantomime, and even trained animals, such as lions and leopards. There were also more reserved options, such as recitations of poetry (particularly the new Roman epic, Virgil's Aeneid), histories, and dramatic performances. It was normal for the staff and slaves of the house were incorporated into the entertainment: singing cooks performed as they served guests, while young, attractive, slave-boys provided an additional form of visual distraction. At the Villa Auri each guest (and they were usually only male) was allocated a slave-boy to attend to his needs during the evening – which could include sexual services in one of the cubicula reserved for such purposes.

Markos awoke, and Cleon had already left – as was his usual way.

For a change there was a lot of bustle and noise in the villa, as supplies arrived and rooms were prepared. In the corridor where Markos had his room (cubiculum), there was a lot of activity, as the other cubicula, which were normally empty, were cleaned and prepared. These rooms would have to be ready, in case any of Gracchus' guests wished to have some intimate time alone with the slave-boy that had been allocated to them.

After a quick 'bite' to eat, Markos hurried down to the entrance hall, where Glykon was busy answering the door, sending various individuals with deliveries to the slave's entrance, and explaining to clients (presumably those who had not been invited to the banquet later in the day), that the master was not available until the following day.

"So Markos – you have been given the task of 'cup-bearer' – congratulations!" Glykon said cheerfully, between giving instructions the grumpy trades-men.

"And what will you be doing – during the banquet?" Markos asked.

"I will be here as usual – answering the door. Then, later, I will come and help clear the dishes, and maybe watch the gymnastics and wrestling – or gladiators – if Gracchus is having them today. Then, when it's all over, I will see them out, and check that they haven't left anything behind – or, more to the point, that they are not trying to smuggle out any of the table ware, or a cute slave-boy!"

As they were talking, Terentius came over to speak to Markos.

"So, Markos 3; this is an important day for you. Your first appearance, if you like, in public!".

"Yes, sir," Markos replied respectfully. "I hope that I am a credit to my lord!" he continued, laying it on a bit thick.

"I am sure that you will be, my boy!" Terentius replied in a strangely familiar manner. "Today," he continued, "as it is a special day, you can miss your session with your tutor, and may spend the afternoon with Servius. After that I want you to spend a lot of time in the baths, have a long massage, and instruct the slave to leave a reside of the olive oil on your skin, to give it a darker, gleaming sheen – after all, you must look your best for our guests."

"So excuse me sir, but why is this a special occasion?" Markos asked.

"Well I'm surprised that a well educated boy like you doesn't know," Terentius replied, looking a little shocked. "It's the birthday of the 'divine' Augustus."

"I knew his birthday, sir, but I lost track of time after I left Athens."

"Ah, that explains things," Terentius continued.

"Well, your master Gracchus has little interest in politics, as you may realize – which has probably kept him alive all these years – when so many rich men have died – for reasons I am not able, yet, to go into. By living away from Rome, and not running for any public office, he has managed to live quietly, and amass substantial wealth. But he has always had a deep respect for Gaius Octavian, after whom he is named – a self made man – albeit one who inherited a name and wealth."

There had, of course, been four emperors since Augustus had died – (Tiberius, Caligula and Claudius and the present emperor, Nero). When Augustus died, however, the Senate unhesitatingly pronounced him divus – the deified one. The deification of Augustus cemented the Princeps' position as not merely one of the greatest men to have ever lived, but as something more; something eternal, ethereal, indissoluble and, literally, supernatural.

Terentius continued, as if he was one of Markos' tutors, –

"Today's celebrations will therefore begin with a sacrifices to Mars Ultor, the Divine Augustus, Venus – from whom Gaius Julius Caesar, and by adoption, Gaius Octavian Augustus were descended, – Apollo – Augustus' patron god, and of course, Gracchus' own patron deity, Mercury."

Augustus created the cult of Mars Ultor (Mars the Avenger) to mark two occasions: his defeat of the assassins of Caesar at Philippi in 42 BC, and the negotiated return of the Roman battle standards that had been lost to the Parthians at the Battle of Carrhae in 53 BC.

The Temple of Mars Ultor, dedicated in 2 BC in the center of the Forum of Augustus, gave the god a new place of honor. Some rituals previously conducted within the cult of Capitoline Jupiter were transferred to the new temple, which became the point of departure for magistrates as they left for military campaigns abroad. Augustus required the Senate to meet at the temple when deliberating questions of war and peace. The temple also became the site at which sacrifice was made to conclude the rite of passage of young men assuming the toga virilis ('man's toga'), around age 14.
On various Imperial holidays, Mars Ultor was the first god to receive a sacrifice, followed by the Genius of the emperor. At the Villa Auri the sacrifice will be an 'intact' (un-castrated) ram. The Temple of Apollo Palatinus (Palatine Apollo) was a temple on the Palatine Hill of Rome, which was first dedicated by Augustus to his patron god Apollo. It was only the second temple in Rome dedicated to the god, after the Temple of Apollo Sosianus.

Terentius continued – "Later, in the festivities, there will be a munera. Three pairs of gladiators will fight – and three will become sacrifices to the 'genius' of the Divine Augustus."

Munus (plural: munera) describes a commemorative sacrificial duty owed the manes of a dead ancestor by his descendants. The Munera was therefore a sacrificium in the strict sense of the word. The presentation of gladiatorial contests, initially at funerals, developed because there was a common Roman belief that "souls of the dead (Manes) were propitiated by sacrifice and human blood 3;" For this reason, true Munera, unlike the non-religious Ludi, required the gladiators to fight to the death.

In Roman religion, the Di Manes are chthonic deities (relating to or inhabiting the underworld) representing souls of deceased loved ones. They were associated with the Lares, Lemures, Genii', and Di Penates as deities (di) that pertained to domestic, local, and personal cult. They belonged broadly to the category of di inferi, 'those who dwell below', the undifferentiated collective of divine dead. In the case of Augustus, because he had been deified on death, the munera (commemorative sacrificial duty) was dedicated to the genius of the Divine Augustus. In Roman religion, the genius (Latin: plural geniī) is the individual instance of a general divine nature that is present in every individual person, place, or thing. The Greeks called their genii, daemons.

Terentius then gently took Markos' shoulder, and said, "Now I think Glykon is managing here quite well, so before you go off for you training with Servius – if you come with me – I will show you the reception hall where you will be working this evening."

Terentius then took Markos down some very beautifully decorated corridors – which he had not seen before, – which ended in set of large, ornate bronze double doors, guarded by two tall slave-boys. The boys smiled and bowed to Terentius, and opened the doors.

Markos was amazed at the size of the hall. Like the rest of the Villa, the Reception hall had been designed by the prominent Roman architect, Lucius Severius. Surprisingly, despite his philhellenism, Gracchus had chosen a Roman architect rather that a Greek for his magnificent villa by the sea. The reason, of course, was that Gracchus wanted some large areas, uncluttered with columns. Greek architects, unfortunately had a habit of inserting rows of columns in any large internal space, – which was not what Gracchus wanted at all. So Gracchus had chosen an architect who was a master at creating magnificent spaces using concrete.

The Reception Hall was large enough to accommodate over one hundred people, and had no internal columns, as it was roofed with a coffered, concrete barrel vault. The vault was finished in white stucco, with plaster ornamentation finished with gold leaf. The doors to the hall were masterpieces, cast in bronze, enormously heavy, and then lacquered, and ornamented with the most tasteful gilded decoration, which included Gracchus' monogram on each door. All the walls of the hall were veneered in the most expensive off-white, veined Greek marble. And the floor was finished in marble mosaic, polished with olive oil.

As he had approached the huge bronze doors Markos had heard the muffled sound of wood smacking against wood. Markos was puzzled, but soon he was able to understand. As the doors were swung open by the tall slave-boys, he not only saw the magnificent hall, but also two practically naked, older slave-boys, sparring with wooden swords, in the center of the mosaic floor. Apart from the usual silver slave collars, each boy was only wearing a leather thong, leather wrist guards and gloves.

"These boys are preparing for tonight's munera," Terentius explained.

As Markos watched them, he wondered which one of them would be dead before the end of the night.

When the sparring boys saw Terentius enter the hall with a young slave-boy (Markos), they respectfully stopped their training,and bowed to Terentius.

"Good morning, sir!" they both said in unison.

"Good morning!" Terentius replied to the sweating, panting slave-boys. "I trust that you would put on a good display this evening."

"It will be an honor for us!" the older, and slightly taller boy replied.

Terentius nodded in acknowledgement, and then turned to Markos.

"There, at the end of the hall, on the dais, the slaves have already set a gilded bust of the Divine Augustus. When the celebrations begin, a couch and a table, where your lord will sit, will be placed in front of the bust, and it is there that you will serve him during the feast."

Terentius and Markos then left the reception hall and, as the moved into the corridor, they could hear once again, the noise of the two slave-boys sparring with their wooden swords.

Terentius then took Markos to his study, and went over some final details regarding the events at the banquets. He then dismissed Markos, who went off to have some midday food, before going to the gymnasion to train with Servius.

Servius was waiting for Markos, as usual, in the gymnasion. They swam in the pool and did some stretching exercises.

"So are you going to this banquet tonight?" Markos asked, trying to be casual.

"Well, I'm obliged to. You see I have to come as Tribune Marcellus' side-kick. It was the tribune who got me this rather nice duty," Servius said, smiling at Markos, and ruffling his hair.

"Presumably you will be there – on duty, perhaps?" Servius continued, obviously eager to know if he would see Markos that evening.

"Yes," Markos replied, a little wearily. "It's all a bit weird," he continued. "Gracchus saw me and said that he wanted me to be his 'cup-bearer'. Then he went on about Ganymede and Jupiter. He says that being 'cup-bearer' is and important position, but as far as I can see I'm just going to be a glorified 'waiter'."

"Not quite," Servius interrupted. "It is a special position, and will show to everyone that he holds you in high regard – although I think that most people round here know that already."

"Well what worries me is that, from what I've been told about Jupiter and Ganymede, I might end up having to sleep with him tonight!" Markos said, rather despondently.

"I don't think so," Servius said very slowly. "I don't think he thinks of you like that at all."

"Then what's he playing at?" Markos asked petulantly.

"I think that he's just trying to raise your profile. You're a very clever boy – and I think he's got some plan for you. I don't know what it is – but if he just wanted you as a 'catamite', I think he would have 'had' you, right at the beginning," Servius thoughtful replied.

"Well, I hope you're right. But I have to go now – 'cause Terentius wants me to take some time getting ready – so 3; see you tonight!"

And with that, Markos, still looking concerned, left for his room.

'IN CONVIVIUM'

The Banquet

Roman banquets usually start in the late afternoon – (what we would call 5pm), and go on until when-ever 3; in fact, Roman banquets sometimes lasted for 10 hours.

Starters might involve cheese, olives, eggs, mushrooms, sausages, and other finger foods; after that would come a selection of legumes, boiled or pickled vegetables, stewed greens, or salads (which were quite dense and mushy, not a side salad). The main course would consist of meat – usually pork, boiled or roasted and served with a dizzying array of sauces; and as for seafood, the Romans ate just about anything they could pull out of the ocean. They also ate poultry and fowl, game like deer and rabbits, and goats or sheep if they were plentiful (if not, they'd be saved for non-food purposes, which is why the Romans almost never ate beef). Bread was present throughout the meal, and all courses included a variety of condiments, the most popular being olive oil, vinegar, and a fish sauce called garum. Romans were enormously fond of sauces and seasonings, as well as chutneys, relishes, dips, and spreads. The beverage of choice was wine diluted with water or fruit juice; flavored wines were popular, as were mixed punches and herbal tisanes. Desserts were based on fruits, nuts, cheese, honey, and baked goods, all served with warm spiced wine. (Incidentally, Romans did not make a habit of vomiting up food to make room for more – and the so-called vomitarium is in fact the Latin name for an exit in an amphitheater – these are Christian attempts to make the 'pagans' appear thoroughly unpleasant).

Having changed into a new white, Greek Style tunic, Markos went to see Terentius before entering the Aula de Convivium (the Banqueting Hall).

There he met the two slave-boys who would assist him in serving Gracchus – Ανδώνιος (Adonios) and Ἀρίστων (Ariston). Being now, apparently, junior to Markos, the two boys were dressed in only a white loincloth, and white leggings. In addition to Markos' new Greek-style tunic, Terentius had further indicators of Markos' new status. These consisted of a gold filigree headband, and two woven bracelets, with gold filigree clasps.

"These are gifts from your master, Gracchus, in recognition of the progress that you have made in your studies and your training. You are permitted to wear them on all formal occasions within the villa."

Markos was surprised – but also very pleased.

"Please thank my lord!" he replied respectfully.

"There will be no need," Terentius said, "as you may thank him yourself at the convivium, later."

And so Gracchus finally arrives at the convivium – accompanied by two guards, a pair of slave-boys, and Markos, his 'cup-bearer'. Previously, Gracchus had made a sacrifice to his patron God, Hermes, in the permanent shrine situated in the main Atrium of the Villa Auri.

Hermes – (Mercury in the Roman Religion) – Messenger of the Gods, transgressor of boundaries and taboos, God of mysteries, bringer of sleep, dreams, and visions, Psychopompos (guide of the dead), patron of herdsmen and heralds, God of Luck and Unexpected Fortune, God of translation and language, God of gymnasia and athletic youth, God of logos, or world order, God of trade and commodities.

Meanwhile, some local priests, who were also clients of Gracchus made sacrifices to the three main deities to be honored at the feast (conviviusm). Those deities, (as has already been mentioned), were Mars Ultor, Venus and the Divine Augustus. The sacrifices were made in one of the peristyles of the villa, where temporary plinths had been set up to take the three statues of the deities. The priests, and some of the more pious guests then returned to the banqueting hall.

Markos, who's place was just behind Gracchus, ready to serve him, was suprised that Gracchus did not recline, like the other guests – but apparently he found such a posture too undignified for a person his his status, and preferred to 'sit' in what was almost 'imperial state' on a vast, throne like couch of heavily gilded, ebonized wood.

The other strange fact that Markos noticed was that no one else sat anywhere near Gracchus, so it seemed a rather lonely banquet for Markos' 'lord and master'.

Terentius, of course, was there, and brought up various guests to greet Gracchus, and among the guests was the Tribune Marcellus, and his young companion, Servius – looking very smart in very fine 'parade armour'.

Once all the guests had had their fill, they settled back and started to pick at the various bowls of 'finger food', which Gracchus' young slave-boys brought round. Occasionally a guest would take a liking to one of the boys, and would suggest that the lad shared his couch – and in some cases this 'sharing' lasted the rest of the evening.

Early on Markos noticed that his young boy-friend, Cleon, had been quickly 'picked up' by a rather older man – whom Markos recognized as a regular morning visitor to the villa – one of Gracchus' long term 'clients' – and Markos was somewhat relieved that all he had to do was to see that Gracchus's wine cup was kept filled, and that there were always tender morsels available for him to eat.

Once the guests were relaxed and chatting it was time for some entertainment. The first diversion was a number of young slave-boys who performed some gymnastics. As the name suggests, ('gymnazein' – to exercise naked) the boys performed completely nude. The boys had been carefully trained by Gracchus' coaches, and were able to put on a show that was not only very skillful and athletic, but was also intensely erotic.

The eroticism, of course was facilitated by the fact that the boys were nude.

Agathon (Gracchus 'in-house' Greek physician) also enabled the boys to perform erotically by providing them with a mixture of a red-leafed root in the orchid family' called, appropriately, 'Satyrion', combined with the juice of an exotic tuber called 'Skirret'.

More prosaically, most of the boys were fitted with silver rings, which were worn round the base of the penis, behind the scrotum, and which constricted the flow of blood from the penis, thus ensuring a strong and long lasting erection.

One of the most startling performances on this particular evening was one involving a young slave-boy in and act of auto-fellatio. This was about as immodest and salacious as one could get in Roman terms.

In Ancient Rome, fellatio was considered profoundly taboo. As was explained in the preface, sexual acts were generally seen through the prism of 'submission' and 'control'. This is apparent in the two Latin words for the act: irrumare (to penetrate orally), and fellare (to be penetrated orally – from which is derived the term fellatio). Under this system, it was considered to be abhorrent for a male to perform fellatio, since that would mean that he was penetrated (controlled), whereas receiving fellatio from a woman or another man or boy of lower social status (such as a slave) would not be considered humiliating. The Romans regarded oral sex as being far more shameful than, for example, anal sex – and known practitioners were supposed to have foul breath, and were often unwelcome as guests at a dinner table.

All this was well understood by the guests, but the act of auto-fellatio was not only an obvious form of 'self-abuse' (and extreme form of masturbation), but was also a remarkable feat of flexibility and self control – and boys who could perform in that way had to be trained to do so from an early age.

The Latin term masturbari was only one among half a dozen terms that Romans used for the act. Originally it meant only to 'rub by hand' or to 'agitate', without negative connotations. Over time, however, the term gained associations of disturbance and defilement. Some authors came to associate the term with 'manus sinistra', meaning the left hand, indicating uncleanliness, since the Romans linked the left hand with elimination functions. Masturbation in itself was not considered to be bad, but was, however, associated with male slaves, as male teenage Roman citizens had a concubinus (slave-boy), and adult Roman citizens had wives, prostitutes (male and female), slave-boys and slave-girls.

The slave-boy on the night of the banquet who demonstrated auto-fellatio to the guests as part of the erotic gymnastic performance was assisted by the insertion of an extremely large dildo in his anus, and by wearing a tight silver penis ring behind his scrotum, and another, smaller silver ring behind his 'glans' (Latin for 'acorn').

The final result was that the boy released his 'member' at the moment of ejaculation, and swallowed the greater part of his semen – much to the amusement of the guests.

Markos watched all this with a certain amount of fascination.

Interestingly, the English word, fascination, derives directly from the Latin, fascinus, which in ancient Roman religion and Roman magic, was the embodiment of the divine phallus (erect penis) – (the word derives also from Latin related verb fascinare, 'to use the power of the fascinus').

The Vestal Virgins tended the cult of the fascinus populi Romani, the sacred image of the phallus that was one of the tokens of the safety of the state (sacra Romana). It was thus associated with the Palladium.

As a divinized phallus, the god 'Fascinus' shared attributes with the imported Greek god 'Priapus'. In Greek mythology, Priapus (Πρίαπος, Priapos) was a fertility god, protector of livestock, fruit plants, gardens and male genitalia. Priapus was described as the son of Aphrodite by Dionysus. Priapus is marked by his oversized, permanent erection, which gave rise to the medical term priapism. He became a popular figure in Roman erotic art and Latin literature. He features strongly in the 'novel' by Petronius The Satyricon.
Phallic charms, were ubiquitous in Roman culture, from jewelry to bells and wind chimes to lamps and graffiti.

Like almost all Roman boys of his age, Markos was very familiar with masturbation, and since entering the Villa Auri, he had had sexual experiences with Cleon and Servius. Something like fellatio, and even more surprisingly, 'auto-fellatio', however, were beyond his experience. Finally, however, the slave-boy gymnasts came to the end of their performance with a fitting finale from two particularly attractive youngsters.

Meanwhile, Gracchus' teenage gladiators were being prepared by slave-boys in the nearby coluisse locus, or more accurately apodyterium (locker-rooms or dressing-rooms), for the coming munera.

Petronius is a teenage Greek slave, (named by Gracchus 'Pretonius' – a Latin name, meaning 'of the countryside' or 'rural' – because the boy originally came from Arcadia – yes – it's a real place – in the Peloponnese).
He is, not surprisingly, a favorite of Gracchus, (mainly for his looks and physique – being a rather unsophisticated 'yokel'), and it is presumed that he will be matched against a poor fighter, as Gracchus will not want to lose a remarkably attractive slave-boy.

It should be noted that many of the contests arranged by Gracchus were, what we would now consider, 'rigged'.
This was in some cases for personal reasons (as in this case), or for ritual reasons, if the contest was part of a munera, or because the contest was presented as a 'dramatic enactment' – 'good' against 'evil' or such-like).

'and the story continues – after the boy gymnasts there is a short pause in the festivities before the start of the Munera – and it is here that Markos learns of Gracchus' intense interest in Gladiators.

X. Munera ad Augustum
10. The Munera for Augustus

Augustus will "again set up the Golden Age amid the fields where Saturn once reigned, and shall spread his empire to a land that lies beyond the stars, and beyond the paths of the year the sun and the glittering stars." Virgil – (The Aeneid)

Panting and sweating, the slave-boy gymnasts lined up in front of the far end of the hall, where Gracchus sat, surrounded by his two guards, his slave-boy attendants and Markos. The young, nude gymnasts bowed, – received a desultory wave from Gracchus, and some polite applause from the guests. Gracchus then turned to Markos.

"Come!" he said, "I need to stretch my legs."

Markos put down the ornate, gilded wine jug, and followed his master. As Gracchus rose from his seat, the other guests rose, as a sign of respect. Gracchus then left the hall by a carefully concealed side-door, located by one of the large marble pillars, with Markos dutifully following. The door led into yet another one of those secretive corridors, the existence of which was totally unknown the Markos, and perhaps to many others, who daily worked in the vast, opulent, labyrinthine villa. The corridor led to another door. Gracchus opened it, and strode in.

Surprisingly, for Markos, the room was an apodyterium (changing room) – in this case reserved for the young gladiators who were to take part in the Munera. The room contained six young gladiators – plus a number of slaves who were attending to them. One of the boys was having oil rubbed into his shoulders and chest, while two others were having leather body harnesses buckled and adjusted. Two of the lads, including the boys being oiled, were stark naked. The other boys already had on brief thongs, along with arm-guards – and all wore Gracchus' silver slave collars – they were all Gracchus' boys.

The birth of the munera gladiatoria originated with their Campanian (southern) or Etruscan (northern) neighbours. The usual explanation for the Munera was that it was an Etruscan custom of making human sacrifices to celebrate the death of a nobleman, in order to appease the spirit of the dead. The theory of the Romans adopting the munera gladiatoria from their Etruscan neighbour seems eminently credible because of the evidence and information supporting it, and it is the origin which was believed by the Romans themselves. For example, although there are representations of bloody combat from both Etruria and Campania, the physical remains from Etruria exist earlier by a century or more.

Campania was colonised by Ancient Greeks and was part of Magna Græcia. During the Roman era, the area maintained a Greco-Roman culture. Campania is rich in culture, especially in regard to gastronomy, music, architecture, and boasts such towns as Pompeii, Herculaneum, Paestum and Velia, and of course Baiae (the site of Gracchus' villa), and Cumae. The name of Campania itself is derived from Latin, as the Romans knew the region as 'Campania felix', which translates into English as 'fertile countryside'.

In addition, when the surviving written records from the Roman period mention early munera they are given an Etruscan flavour. Furthermore, a slain gladiator was removed from the fighting area by a man dressed as the Etruscan death-demon Charon. In addition, the Romans imported the ideas of the afterlife from Etruria. Finally, it has been ascertained that the Latin word for a trainer of gladiator is derived from the Etruscan language.

The justification for the Munera, it appears, was that combat served a more positive function than direct human sacrifice that had been practice in the past. Even though killing still occurred, at least the victor came out of the ritual alive. The Munera, therefore were at first a part of religion and magic, though later on these features became less apparent and were almost forgotten, as the Munera was transformed into the Ludi (Gladiatorial Games).

Gracchus' Munera

Here at the Villa Auri, Gracchus had re-instated a true Munera, dedicated to the deceased Emperor – the Divine Augustus. In order to provide 'authenticity' to the re-enactment of an ancient custom, Gracchus had employed the services of his old friend, Novius (we will meet with Novius later, when he helps to solve the mystery of the prophecy of the Sibyl). Novius claimed descent from the ancient Etruscan priesthood, and was learned in Etruscan ritual, and an expert on the Ertruscan and Oscan languages.

Etruscan was the spoken and written language of the Etruscan civilization, in Italy, in the ancient region of Etruria (modern Tuscany plus western Umbria and northern Latium) and in parts of Campania, Lombardy, Veneto, and Emilia-Romagna (where the Etruscans were displaced by Gauls). Etruscan influenced Latin, but was eventually completely superseded by it. Attested from 700 BC to AD 50, the language is not related to any living language; attempts to classify its origins and relations have continued for centuries. Grammatically, the language is agglutinating, with nouns and verbs showing suffixed inflectional endings and ablaut in some cases. Etruscan religion influenced that of the Romans and many of the few surviving Etruscan language artifacts are of votive or religious significance. Etruscan was written in an alphabet derived from the Greek alphabet; this alphabet was the source of the Latin alphabet. The Etruscan language is also believed to be the source of certain important cultural words of Western Europe such as 'military' and 'people', which do not have obvious Indo-European roots.

Oscan is an ancient Indo-European language of southern Italy. The language is also the namesake of the language group to which it belonged. As a member of the Italic languages, Oscan is therefore a sister language to Latin and Umbrian. Oscan was spoken by a number of tribes, including the Samnites, the Aurunci (Ausones), and the Sidicini. The latter two tribes were often grouped under the name "Osci". The language was spoken from approximately 500 BC to AD 100. Oscan had much in common with Latin, though there are also many striking differences, and many common word-groups in Latin were absent or represented by entirely different forms.

As with the ancient form of Munera, at the end of each fight the loser would be sacrificed over the gilded bronze krater set by the steps at the far end of the banqueting hall (see images of nude wrestling and Oscan priests for representations of ancient kraters – above).

According to many scholars ancient ceramic kraters (large pots – normally intended for mixing wine) imitated shapes designed originally for metal. Among the largest and most famous metal kraters in antiquity were one in the possession of the Samian tyrant Polycrates, and another one dedicated by Croesus to the Delphic oracle. Their main production centres were Sparta, Argos and Corinth, in Peloponnesus. The Vix bronze crater, found in a Celtic tomb in central France is the largest known Greek krater, being 1.63 m [5'4"] in height and over 200 kg [450 lbs] in weight. The use of bronze kraters was introduced into Italy by the Etruscans, and formed an essential part of sacrificial ritual. In Imperial times (when our story is set) patricians would often have bronze kraters gilded.

Sacrifice to deities of the heavens (di superi, 'gods above') required white, infertile victims of their own sex: Juno a white heifer (possibly a white cow); Jupiter a white, castrated ox (bos mas) – however, Di superi, with strong connections to the earth, such as Mars, Janus, Neptune, were offered fertile victims. For this reason, a sacrifice to the 'Divine Augustus', being Di superi, required that a losing fighter be castrated before his blood was spilled into the sacrificial krater.

The Munera that Gracchus was celebrating was a revival of a mos maiorum – and 'ancestral custom'. The 'customs of the ancestors' was and aspect of Roman culture which was of particular concern to Gracchus – for he felt that the neglect of such customs had been a contributing factor to what he saw as the recent the decline of the Roman state.

For this Munera the slaves taking part in the fighting – who were known as bustuarii (from the Latin bustum – meaning 'tomb' or a 'funeral pyre') – rather than gladiators, were 'kitted out' in white and black liveries.

Three boys wore white thongs, leg and arm guards, and gloves. Three of the boys wore black thongs, leg and arm guards, and gloves. If there was any significance in the choice of these two colours, non of the guest was aware of it.

It was announced by Terentius – who was acting as master of ceremonies – that each contest would be fought white against black – and to the death of one or both combatants. In the case of this reconstruction by Gracchus of an ancient munera, the weapon (gladius), used by each fighter was specially designed. The two cutting edges of the blade were blunted, and the sharp, pointed tip was fitted, a short distance up the blade (from the tip), with a metal flange. The purpose of the flange was to prevent the blade from penetrating deeply enough to cause any serious injury, while at the same time creating a superficial wound, accompanied by a copious blood flow (such blades were used by the presenters of 'Games', when they wanted to minimize gladiator losses, and were justly unpopular with Roman audiences – and were also used in the later stages of gladiator training).

The fight itself would continue until one or more such wounds had been inflicted. The fighter showing the most bleeding would then be declared the loser, disarmed, and stripped. He would then be castrated by the supervising slaves, (as was required for a sacrifice to deities of the heavens – di superi, 'gods above' – see above), and then dragged over to the sacrificial krater. There, the slave dressed as Charon would stun the the defeated fighter (who was being held with his head over the gilded krater), with a heavy wooden mallet, in the same way that large sacrificial animals were stunned, prior to being sacrificially slain.

The partially unconscious, castrated fighter would then be decapitated and, while his blood poured from his neck into the krater, his head would be lifted high by his hair to be shown the assembled guests.

In this way, Gracchus maintained all the accepted rules and rituals for a legitimate religious sacrifice.

The fights

Like most 'gladiatorial' contests, these fights were 'fixed'. This may surprise aficionados of the 'media' (Films, TV and the like), which feature 'gladiators', but it would be a very foolish lanista who risked losing his best fighters because of some accidental slip, stoke of bad-luck, or 'off day'.

It was the lanista who provided his troupe of gladiators for sale or hire to the producer of the show. A reviled figure in Roman literature, compared by Martial with libellous informers and liars, the lanista was infamis, and regarded as both a butcher (lanius), and a pimp (leno), because he traded in humans for profit. Gracchus, in our story is in an unusual position. Technically he owns all the slaves who appear and work in his arena. He then 'lends' the slaves them to his freedmen, who allocate certain of these slaves to 'senior slaves' (such as Pretonius), who train, manage an discipline the slaves. The slaves in question, who appear in the arena are both male and female, and are not only gladiators, wrestlers and boxers, but also singers, instrumentalists, actors, dancers and mimes.

Good gladiators, especially if they were good looking, as well as being strong and skilful were literally worth their weight in gold. It was therefore financially essential to ensure that some valuable individuals, while they might appear in the arena because they were a great attraction for the audience, would be protected form injury and/or death. To take part in what was, in effect, a sacrifice, required the consent of the participants.

When sacrificing animals, the sprinkling of the victim's head with water (or mola salsa – see below) would cause the animal to nod or bow its head, which was perceived as a gesture of acceptance.

In ancient Roman religion, mola salsa ('salted flour') was a mixture of coarse-ground, toasted emmer flour and salt used in every official sacrifice. It was sprinkled on the forehead, and between the horns of animal victims before they were sacrificed, as well as on the altar and in the sacred fire. It was a common offering to the household hearth. The substance was described as pius ('reverently prepared' in this sense) and castus ('ritually pure'). The mola salsa was so fundamental to sacrifice that 'to put on the mola' (Latin immolare) came to mean 'to sacrifice', hence English 'immolation'. Its use was one of the numerous religious traditions ascribed to Etruscan tradition.

Naturally, animals were not always fully cooperative, but in principle, the victim had to indicate its consent, particularly by lowering its head. For this reason, it would generally be tied by a harness fastened to a ring at the foot of the altar so that, with a little help from the sacrificer, it would make the gesture of acquiescence. Once the victim showed its submission, the knife was finally uncovered, a few hairs from the animal's head were shorn off with it and thrown into the altar fire.

It was for the reasons described above that the six boys were required to consent (supposedly of their own 'free' will) to taking part in the 'Munera ad Augustum'. In reality, of course, being slaves, they had very little choice in the matter.

Gracchus had carefully selected the three slave-boys who were to loose their fight and be sacrificed, or equally, one might say, he had selected the slave-boys who would survive the munera.

Petronius; not only one of Gracchus favourites, but also an important individual, involved in the planning and preparations of presentations in Gracchus' arena, would obviously survive. He had been matched against Valentius – a young gladiator who had not proved himself during his training period. Slow and 'dim-witted', if he was not killed in the munera, then he would be killed in his first fight. Gracchus therefore thought it best to let the boy be a sacrifice, and it least in that way he might prove himself of some value.

A young lad called Asper had been matched against Durus. For this fight Durus had 'drawn the short straw', so to speak, and was destined to be killed.

For the final fight Atticus had been matched against Ferox. Ferox was a good, 'up and coming fighter'. Atticus, however, while a good swordsman, was ill-disciplined and unruly, being appallingly over-sexed, and making himself a constant nuisance to the younger slave-boys.

Gracchus had therefore decided that it would be best to be rid of him, and while he could have easily sold the boy, (Gracchus did not like selling 'bad' slaves, as the buyers would probably be dissatisfied, and his reputation as a respected dealer would be damaged), it seemed more appropriate, and better for his reputation to have the hot-blood of the young 'buck' used in the sacrifice.

Being castrated before his decapitation, would also seem to be appropriate for such an obviously 'over-sexed' young lad.

Once the boys were fully 'kitted out', the attending slaves, plus three freedmen lined up to process into the banqueting hall, via the main, double doors. On their way they collected a couple of cornicenes (trumpeters), courtesy of Tribune Marcellus, and a pair of priests. In this way, they formed a small pompa, although, being a 'proper' munera, this pompa would have none of the elaboration to be seen in Gracchus' arena, and would be nothing like the 'over-blown' shows put on in Rome. The six teenage gladiators, along with the members of the pompa entered the reception hall, to the subdued applause of the guests.

As this was a munera – a religious rite, not further applause, cheering, or noise of any kind was then permitted. It was then the turn of the priests to make a petitionary prayer to 'ingenium Divi Augustus' (the genius of the Divine Augustus), and sprinkle the boys' heads with sacred water from the Temple of Apollo at Cumae. Mola salsa was then sprinkled on each boy's hair, and the boys bowed towards the raised area where Gracchus was seated in front of the bust of Divi Augustus (the Divine Augustus). The bow symbolised their willingness to accept the fact that they would be sacrificed if they lost the fight.

The four bustuarii who were not fighting yet then left the banqueting hall, as it was not considered advisable for them to witness the possible fate that awaited them.

Prima pugna
(The first fight)

The supervising slaves then moved to the sides of the banqueting hall, and two slaves brought in swords, one of which was given to each of the bustuarii who were to begin the munera. One of the swords was not only flanged, but was also blunted at the tip, and was given to Valentius, so Petronius was almost certain to win this fight, and Valentius would be killed.

As soon as the fight began it was obvious that Petronius was the superior swordsman. It was equally obvious that Valentius' blade had been blunted. While Petronius' jabs had drawn blood on Valentius' belly and chest, none of Valentius' jabs had any effect on Petronius. By then although, as intended, Valentius had not sustained any serious injury, he was declared the loser by the senior supervising slave, and ordered to give up his gladius. Valentius had no choice, and handed over the useless sword.

At this point young Bellus came forward.

So who was Bellus?

Bellus was a new young slave, who had been given the Latin name 'Bellus' by Gracchus. 'Bellus' is Latin slang for 'cute'. The boy was to be used as an 'arena-slave', that is a slave who took part in events in the arena, but not as an actual performer. His role was a little different to an 'amphitheater worker', who was a slave who was involved in cleaning, maintenance, construction etc. Arena slaves often made contact with performers in the arena, and on most occasions were involved in supervising and/or assisting events in the arena. As such they were require to appear in the arena itself, in the presence of the audience. They were therefore required to be attractive, and normally wore a uniform of black leather braccae (what we would call trousers or breeches) black leather cross-belts and studded black leather wrist-guards, with exposed arms and upper body. 'Bellus', because he was so youthful-looking and 'cute', was being trained to perform actions intended to humiliate defeated combatants in the arena – for example tying up individuals, and applying mild forms of torture. Eventually he would be required to emasculate and rape defeated combatants before the were 'finished off' by their opponents, but that would be in the future, if he proved himself suitable.

In this Munera, it was Bellus' job (possibly with some assistance from an older, more experience slave) to tie the hands of the defeated bustuari behind his back. This was easy for Bellus, as by this point Valentius had effectively 'given up'.

Meanwhile, Petronius, completely unmarked from the combat, stood and watched.

Bellus then untied Valentius' thong. Valentius looked shocked as the as the cute young boy untied the chords that secured the brief loincloth. He had obviously not realized the actuality of what was happening to him, but could do nothing as the bulging pouch dropped away, revealing a leather harness which was combined with a silver ring.

It was basically a leather thong, with a hole in the front, – the hole edged with a silver ring, from which poked Valentius' bulky genitals. Above the silver ring, and covering his pubic 'bush', was a triangle of leather, attached to which were four, thin horizontal straps, which secured his thick penis in an upright position. The combination of silver ring round the root of his genitals, and straps round his penis, of course, had given the lad a sizeable erection. His stiff cock was held vertically, and what the Romans called the 'glans' (acorn) was exposed.

For the Romans, who were all uncircumcised, the exposure of the 'glans' was the greatest obscenity imaginable, and therefore the greatest humiliation – and in addition, Valentius was so excited that 'preseminal fluid' ('pre cum') was dribbling from his meatus (literally passage or pathway – cock slit).

The purpose of this leather harness, however, was not to create an erection, or to humiliate the wearer, but was rather to completely expose the boy's scrotum, containing his testicles, in order to make it simple and easy for the supervising slaves to castrate him.

Bellus and his companion then forced the shocked and exposed boy down onto his knees. The older slave then brought out a knife from a leather scabbard at his side, while Bellus watched, fascinated.

"No! Please!" Valentius groaned quietly. "Not my balls! 3; Not my bollocks! 3;"

The slave with the knife reached down, and as he did so Valentius' cock swelled and stiffened. The slave grasped the boy's well filled, shaved ball-sack.

"Oh! 3; No! 3;," Valentius sighed as, looking down at his now fully erect cock and, unable to help himself, his creamy seed shot up, splashing his chin, and then splattered over his heaving, sweaty chest and belly.

As he squirted his 'seed', the knife cut through his bulging scrotum, removing his testicles, – instantly making him a 'gelding'. His plump, shaved, and now bloody scrotum fell to the marble floor, and blood started spurting from his mutilated crotch.

"Oh fuck!" he grunted, realizing that he was about to be killed, while he slumped down onto his back, with his legs jerking spasmodically.

Valentius' cock had by then shrivelled, and it was easy for young Bellus, who had been holding him, to remove the now soft, still dribbling penis from the leather harness, which he then unbuckled and stripped from the castrated young bustuari.

The two slaves together then turned Valentius over onto his belly.

"Shit! I've got no balls 3;!" Valentius moaned quietly, as he was flopped over onto the cold marble floor. Having just been castrated, Valentius couldn't use his legs, so the slaves dragged the naked, mutilated fighter on his belly, over to the gilded bronze krater.

As the slaves dragged the groaning young bustuari over to the krater, with his legs trailing behind him, and occasionally twitching, he left a trail of blood from his mutilated groin.

At the same time, a sinister figure entered the banqueting hall. He was wearing black leather, like the other supervising slaves but, in addition, he was wearing the mask of the Etruscan daemonem Charon (Karun), and was carrying a hammer.

In Etruscan mythology, Charon acted as 'psychopompoi' of the underworld.

The Etruscan Charon was fundamentally different from his Greek counterpart. Guarding the entry to the underworld he is depicted with a hammer (his religious symbol), and is shown with pointed ears, heavy brow ridges, snakes around his arms, and a blueish coloration symbolizing the decay of death, large lips, fiery eyes, and snakes around his arm. There are examples, on the sarcophagus of Laris Pulenas, as well as a red figure stamnos from Orbetello, that illustrate Charun in a menacing fashion, depicting him threatening a male figure with his hammer. Much later, in Rome, a figure based on Charon, called Dispater, would strike the loser of a combat with a heavy hammer. Charon's task at the Munera, therefore, was to strike the loser with the hammer, so that he would be partially stunned, and therefore unlikely to resist the fatal cut. Such resistance would be considered a bad omen, and possibly invalidate the sacrifice, which would then have to be repeated.

The slave, who had been responsible for castrating Valentius, picked up the defeated fighter's bloody, severed scrotum, and followed the slaves, who were dragging the body over to the krater. While the trembling, twitching body of Valentius was draped over the krater, with his head centered on the 'mouth' of the large vessel, the slave with the defeated fighter's testicles dropped them onto the marble floor beside the terrified lad.

Later the severed scrotum would be put into into a bronze bowl – the bowl supported by a gilded tripod, standing close to the krater.

Charun now stood over the naked young bustuari.

"Please! 3;," Valentius groaned, helplessly.

The priests took that a auguring well, indicating that the victim was consenting to being sacrificed, and nodded to Charun to strike the boy. In fact Valentius was probably begging for mercy, but that was neither here not there, as Charun swung his hammer, stunning the boy with a heavy blow.

The slave who had performed the castration then went over to Valentius with a sword, and pulled the young lad's head up by his hair.

Valentius, who was already spraying urine from his fat, limp, dangling prick down onto the marble floor, starred pitifully up to where Gracchus was sitting, with Markos standing beside him, in front of the gilded bust of Augustus.

The slave, holding his head up by his hair, then sliced through his neck, decapitating the naked boy. Valentius farted loudly, and his headless body jerked convulsively, with his legs twitching uncontrollably for a few moments, as his blood gushed from his severed neck into the krater.

Then the castrated, headless lad went completely limp.

Valentius head was initially place on the ornate floor, close to his severed balls.

The two slaves who had been holding him then lifted the naked corpse off the krater, and turned the bleeding body over, onto it's back, while Charun held up Valentius' severed head. The young lad's final expression was one of pleading shock, with its mouth open, and eyes staring wide.

Petronius had seen enough; and turned to leave the banqueting hall, but a slave approached him to tell him that Gracchus wished to personally congratulate him.

Secundo pugna
(The second fight)

After the conclusion of the first fight, and the resulting sacrifice, there was a faint hum of conversation from the assembled guests.

Meanwhile, the next two bustuarii were ushered into the banqueting hall. These boys were Asper and Durus.

Durus, although he did not know it, was the boy to be sacrificed. Undoubtedly the guests would have been hoping that he would be the victor, as he was undoubtedly the 'cutest' out of the two boys.

Again, two slaves brought in swords, one of which was given to each of the bustuarii who were to begin the munera, and it was Durus who got the blunted sword. The fight unfolded very much as the previous fight had – although in the munera, unlike the Ludi, it was the sacrifice that was important, and not the fight. Durus, of course, lost, which disappointed many of the guests.

The handsome young lad was quickly tied up and stripped of his tiny loincloth. Like Valentius, he was wearing an elaborate leather thong, with a silver ring, and straps holding his penis upright. Being younger than Valentius, he had much less pubic hair, and relatively small genitals, however, his scrotum was bulging and well filled, and was an easy target for the slave who was responsible for castrating the 'cute' bustuari.

"Oh shit!" was all the lad quietly grunted, as the supervising slave pulled at his ball-bag, causing Durus to involuntarily 'cum'.

The slave, showing consideration for the young bustuari, allowed the naked boy's orgasm to subside. A second later the boy, with spunk dribbling down his belly onto his neat little 'bush', squealed "Fuck!" as the knife cut away his balls. His severed scrotum, containing his testicles, was finally lying in a small pool of blood on the marble floor of the banqueting hall.

The slaves then quickly unstrapped the complex, leather thong from the naked boy's penis and crotch. At that point his legs were convulsively twitching, and his delicately lashed eyelids were fluttering. As young Durus appeared to have fainted, it was therefore an easy matter for the slaves to drag him over to the krater.

Charun, realising that the mutilated, naked boy was barely conscious, saw no need to stun him, and just gave the lad's head a symbolic tap with his hammer. Durus grunted, and then in a few seconds, his pretty little head had been sliced from his body. At that point, as a slave lifted the dead boy's head for all the guests to see, the only sounds that could be heard was the sound of Durus' blood splashing down into the already partly filled krater, and the sound of his piss splattering onto the marble floor.

Asper, looking as if the fate that Durus had undergone had shocked him, quietly left the banqueting hall.

Meanwhile Durus' corpse was pulled off the krater. He was turned over onto his back, and laid beside Valentius, while a slave added Durus' testicles to those of Valentius, which were already in the bronze bowl mounted on the tripod.

Tertio pugna
(The third fight)

The final combat of the munera was between Atticus and Ferox. This proceed like the previous two fights. The two bustuarii were ushered into the banqueting hall, and this time it was Atticus who was to be the boy to be sacrificed.

Again, two slaves brought in swords, one of which was given to each of the bustuarii who were to begin the munera, however, quite by accident (?), it was Ferox who got the blunted sword. The mistake (presuming it was just a mistake), became obvious very early on in the fight, with Ferox unable to make a mark on Atticus, while Ferox himself was very soon bleeding quite profusely.

Gracchus was furious – as he had wanted to be rid of Atticus for some time – but there was nothing that he could do. This was a munera, and as such a religious rite, and no one could interfere, or intervene, in the proceedings. Atticus, however, was grinning from ear to ear, realizing that he had undoubtedly won. And so Ferox declared the loser by the senior supervising slave, and ordered to give up his gladius.

Poor Ferox had no choice.

"It's not fair!" he grumbled, confidentially to the senior supervising slave, "I should have won!".

However, he had no option but to and hand over his useless gladius. At the same time two slaves came up behind him, grabbed his arms, and tied them behind his back. Atticus then handed his own gladius over to the slave who usually dealt with the castration of the loser and, without so much as a 'by your leave', took over.

"Let's see what you've got in there!" he said quietly to poor Ferox, who was tied up and held by two of the arena slaves.

With that he untied the cords of Ferox's loincloth, to expose the leather harness which was holding the boy's penis vertically. There was very little need for the straps, however, as Ferox was massively erect.

"Let's have the knife!" Atticus said to the arena slave who was accompanying him.

Somewhat reluctantly the arena slave gave the blustering young fighter the knife used for the castrations. Atticus then grabbed hold of Ferox's ball-bag, which was poking out of the silver ring of the harness, along with his huge, engorged prick.

"No! Please!" Ferox groaned, looking down at his huge cock, which was already dribbling pre-cum.

Atticus squeezed and twisted the helpless boy's scrotum.

"Shit! NO! 3;My fuckin' balls!" Ferox moaned, and then squirted his spunk.

The first spurt hit his chin, and the rest splattered over his chest and belly. As he was 'cumming', Atticus pulled the knife up from the root of the squirming boy's ball-bag. Ferox's hefty balls came away in Atticus hand, and he handed the knife back to the slave standing beside him.

"What's it feel like, Ferox!" Atticus asked quietly, dropping the boy's severed testicles onto the marble floor.

Looking down at his bleeding, mutilated crotch, Ferox said nothing, but just groaned, as he sank to the marble floor, with blood running down the inside of his muscular, twitching thighs. While Atticus watched, the slaves stripped Ferox, now a helpless eunuch, of his leather thong, and dragged the naked, castrated boy over to the gilded bronze krater.

"Oh God!" Ferox groaned, obviously appalled at the prospect of his imminent death.

The priests, however, interpreted it as a good augury, and encouraged Charun to incapacitated the lad before anything could go wrong. A swift, hard blow to Ferox's skull, knocked young Ferox out 'cold', and a slave swiftly decapitated the already urinating lad. Ferox's severed head, with its gaping mouth, was then held up by one of the slave, much to Gracchus' annoyance.

Meanwile, Ferox's naked, headless corpse was pulled off the krater. He was turned over onto his back, and laid beside Durus and Valentius, while a slave added Ferox's testicles to those of Durus and Valentius, which were already in the bronze bowl mounted on the tripod.

Munera epicinium
(Aftermath of the Munera)

The bloody and violent munera itself was at an end. The naked and mutilated bodies of the slain fighters were then dragged out of the banqueting hall, feet first. The mosaic and marble floor washed.

At the same time the krater, now nearly filled with fresh blood, and the bowl, containing the six testicles from the three boys, which was mounted on the ornate tripod, were removed from the banqueting hall.

Then, a group of ten young slave-boys, all decorously dressed in white, entered by the main doors to the reception hall, accompanied by Lucius (Markos' Latin tutor) – dressed in his finest white toga, and bearing in his hands a rolled parchment. The boys stood in a line, and sang a short choral ode to the memory of the 'Divine Augustus'. Lucius then stepped forward, cleared his throat, and bowed to Gracchus.

"Here now is the Res Gestae Divi Augusti," he proclaimed rather grandly.

He then began his reading from the parchment:

Res Gestae Divi Augusti (The Deeds of the Divine Augustus) is the funerary inscription of the first Roman emperor, Octavian Augustus, giving a first-person record of his life and accomplishments. The Res Gestae is especially significant because it gives an insight into the image Augustus portrayed to the Roman people. The inscription is grouped in four sections, political career, public benefactions, military accomplishments and a political statement. Augustus left the text with his will, which instructed the Senate to set up the inscriptions. The original was engraved upon a pair of bronze pillars, and placed in front of Augustus' mausoleum.

In my nineteenth year, on my own initiative and at my own expense, I raised an army with which I set free the state, which was oppressed by the domination of a faction. For that reason, the senate enrolled me in its order by laudatory resolutions, when Gaius Pansa and Aulus Hirtius were consuls (43 B.C.E.), assigning me the place of a consul in the giving of opinions, and gave me the imperium. With me as propraetor, it ordered me, together with the consuls, to take care lest any detriment befall the state. But the people made me consul in the same year, when the consuls each perished in battle, and they made me a triumvir for the settling of the state.

I drove the men who slaughtered my father into exile with a legal order, punishing their crime, and afterwards, when they waged war on the state, I conquered them in two battles.

I often waged war, civil and foreign, on the earth and sea, in the whole wide world, and as victor I spared all the citizens who sought pardon. As for foreign nations, those which I was able to safely forgive, I preferred to preserve than to destroy. About five hundred thousand Roman citizens were sworn to me. I led something more than three hundred thousand of them into colonies and I returned them to their cities, after their stipend had been earned, and I assigned all of them fields or gave them money for their military service. I captured six hundred ships in addition to those smaller than triremes.

Twice I triumphed with an ovation, and three times I enjoyeda curule triumph and twenty one times I was named emperor. When the senate decreed more triumphs for me, I sat out from all of them. I placed the laurel from the fasces in the Capitol, when the vows which I pronounced in each war had been fulfilled. On account of the things successfully done by me and through my officers, under my auspices, on earth and sea, the senate decreed fifty-five times that there be sacrifices to the immortal gods. Moreover there were 890 days on which the senate decreed there would be sacrifices. In my triumphs kings and nine children of kings were led before my chariot. I had been consul thirteen times, when I wrote this, and I was in the thirty-seventh year of tribunician power (14 A.C.E.).

When the dictatorship was offered to me, both in my presence and my absence, by the people and senate, when Marcus Marcellus and Lucius Arruntius were consuls (22 B.C.E.), I did not accept it. I did not evade the curatorship of grain in the height of the food shortage, which I so arranged that within a few days I freed the entire city from the present fear and danger by my own expense and administration. When the annual and perpetual consulate was then again offered to me, I did not accept it.

When Marcus Vinicius and Quintus Lucretius were consuls (19 B.C.E.), then again when Publius Lentulus and Gnaeus Lentulus were (18 B.C.E.), and third when Paullus Fabius Maximus and Quintus Tubero were (11 B.C.E.), although the senateand Roman people consented that I alone be made curator of the laws and customs with the highest power, I received no magistracy offered contrary to the customs of the ancestors. What the senate then wanted to accomplish through me, I did through tribunician power, and five times on my own accord I both requested and received from the senate a colleague in such power.

I was triumvir for the settling of the state for ten continuous years. I was first of the senate up to that day on which I wrote this, for forty years. I was high priest, augur, one of the Fifteen for the performance of rites, one of the Seven of the sacred feasts, brother of Arvis, fellow of Titus, and Fetial.

When I was consul the fifth time (29 B.C.E.), I increased the number of patricians by order of the people and senate. I read the roll of the senate three times, and in my sixth consulate (28 B.C.E.) I made a census of the people with Marcus Agrippa as my colleague. I conducted a lustrum, after a forty-one year gap, in which lustrum were counted 4,063,000 heads of Roman citizens. Then again, with consular imperium I conducted a lustrum alone when Gaius Censorinus and Gaius Asinius were consuls (8 B.C.E.), in which lustrum were counted 4,233,000 heads of Roman citizens. And the third time, with consular imperium, I conducted a lustrum with my son Tiberius Caesar as colleague, when Sextus Pompeius and Sextus Appuleius were consuls (14 A.C.E.), in which lustrum were counted 4,937,000 of the heads of Roman citizens. By new laws passed with my sponsorship, I restored many traditions of the ancestors, which were falling into disuse in our age, and myself I handed on precedents of many things to be imitated in later generations.

The senate decreed that vows be undertaken for my health by the consuls and priests every fifth year. In fulfillment of these vows they often celebrated games for my life; several times the four highest colleges of priests, several times the consuls. Also both privately and as a city all the citizens unanimously and continuously prayed at all the shrines for my health.

By a senate decree my name was included in the Saliar Hymn, and it was sanctified by a law, both that I would be sacrosanct for ever, and that, as long as I would live, the tribunician power would be mine. I was unwilling to be high priest in the place of my living colleague; when the people offered me that priesthood which my father had, I refused it. And I received that priesthood, after several years, with the death of him who had occupied it since the opportunity of the civil disturbance, with a multitude flocking together out of all Italy to my election, so many as had never before been in Rome, when Publius Sulpicius and Gaius Valgius were consuls (12 B.C.E.).

The senate consecrated the altar of Fortune the Bringer-back before the temples of Honor and Virtue at the Campanian gate for my retrn, on which it ordered the priests and Vestal virgins to offer yearly sacrifices on the day when I had returned to the city from Syria (when Quintus Lucretius and Marcus Vinicius were consuls (19 Bc)), and it named that day Augustalia after my cognomen.

By the authority of the senate, a part of the praetors and tribunes of the plebs, with consul Quintus Lucretius and the leading men, was sent to meet me in Campania, which honor had been decreed for no one but me until that time. When I returned to Rome from Spain and Gaul, having successfully accomplished matters in those provinces, when Tiberius Nero and Publius Quintilius were consuls (13 B.C.E.), the senate voted to consecrate the altar of August Peace in the field of Mars for my return, on which it ordered the magistrates and priests and Vestal virgins to offer annual sacrifices.

Our ancestors wanted Janus Quirinus to be closed when throughout the all the rule of the Roman people, by land and sea, peace had been secured through victory. Although before my birth it had been closed twice in all in recorded memory from the founding of the city, the senate voted three times in my principate that it be closed.

When my sons Gaius and Lucius Caesar, whom fortune stole from me as youths, were fourteen, the senate and Roman people made them consuls-designate on behalf of my honor, so that they would enter that magistracy after five years, and the senate decreed that on thatday when they were led into the forum they would be included in public councils. Moreover the Roman knights together named each of them first of the youth and gave them shields and spears.

I paid to the Roman plebs, HS 300 per man from my father's will and in my own name gave HS 400 from the spoils of war when I was consul for the fifth time (29 B.C.E.); furthermore I again paid out a public gift of HS 400 per man, in my tenth consulate (24 B.C.E.), from my own patrimony; and, when consul for the eleventh time (23 B.C.E.), twelve doles of grain personally bought were measured out; and in my twelfth year of tribunician power (12-11 B.C.E.) I gave HS 400 per man for the third time. And these public gifts of mine never reached fewer than 250,000 men. In my eighteenth year of tribunician power, as consul for the twelfth time (5 B.C.E.), I gave to 320,000 plebs of the city HS 240 per man. And, when consul the fifth time (29 B.C.E.), I gave from my war-spoils to colonies of my soldiers each HS 1000 per man; about 120,000 men i the colonies received this triumphal public gift. Consul for the thirteenth time (2 B.C.E.), I gave HS 240 to the plebs who then received the public grain; they were a few more than 200,000.

I paid the towns money for the fields which I had assigned to soldiers in my fourth consulate (30 B.C.E.) and then when Marcus Crassus and Gnaeus Lentulus Augur were consuls (14 B.C.E.); the sum was about HS 600,000,000 which I paid out for Italian estates, and about HS 260,000,000 which I paid for provincial fields. I was first and alone who did this among all who founded military colonies in Italy or the provinces according to the memory of my age. And afterwards, when Tiberius Nero and Gnaeus Piso were consuls (7 B.C.E.), and likewise when Gaius Antistius and Decius Laelius were consuls (6 B.C.E.), and when Gaius Calvisius and Lucius Passienus were consuls (4 B.C.E.), and when Lucius Lentulus and Marcus Messalla were consuls (3 B.C.E.), and when Lucius Caninius and Quintus Fabricius were consuls (2 B.C.E.), I paid out rewards in cash to the soldiers whom I had led into their towns when their service was completed, and in this venture I spent about HS 400,000,000.

Four times I helped the senatorial treasury with my money, so that I offered HS 150,000,000 to those who were in charge of the treasury. And when Marcus Lepidus and Luciu Arruntius were consuls (6 A.C.E.), I offered HS 170,000,000 from my patrimony to the military treasury, which was founded by my advice and from which rewards were given to soldiers who had served twenty or more times.

From that year when Gnaeus and Publius Lentulus were consuls (18 Bc), when the taxes fell short, I gave out contributions of grain and money from my granary and patrimony, sometimes to 100,000 men, sometimes to many more.

I built the senate-house and the Chalcidicum which adjoins it and the temple of Apollo on the Palatine with porticos, the temple of divine Julius, the Lupercal, the portico at the Flaminian circus, which I allowed to be called by the name Octavian, after he who had earlier built in the same place, the state box at the great circus, the temple on the Capitoline of Jupiter Subduer and Jupiter Thunderer, the temple of Quirinus, the temples of Minerva and Queen Juno and Jupiter Liberator on the Aventine, the temple of the Lares at the top of the holy street, the temple of the gods of the Penates on the Velian, the temple of Youth, and the temple of the Great Mother on the Palatine.

I rebuilt the Capitol and the theater of Pompey, each work at enormous cost, without any inscription of my name. I rebuilt aqueducts in many places that had decayed with age, and I doubled the capacity of the Marcian aqueduct by sending a new spring into its channel. I completed the Forum of Julius and the basilic which he built between the temple of Castor and the temple of Saturn, works begun and almost finished by my father. When the same basilica was burned with fire I expanded its grounds and I began it under an inscription of the name of my sons, and, if I should not complete it alive, I ordered it to be completed by my heirs. Consul for the sixth time (28 B.C.E.), I rebuilt eighty-two temples of the gods in the city by the authority of the senate, omitting nothing which ought to have been rebuilt at that time. Consul for the seventh time (27 B.C.E.), I rebuilt the Flaminian road from the city to Ariminum and all the bridges except the Mulvian and Minucian.

I built the temple of Mars Ultor on private ground and the forum of Augustus from war-spoils. I build the theater at the temple of Apollo on ground largely bought from private owners, under the name of Marcus Marcellus my son-in-law. I consecrated gifts from war-spoils in the Capitol and in the temple of divine Julius, in the temple of Apollo, in the tempe of Vesta, and in the temple of Mars Ultor, which cost me about HS 100,000,000. I sent back gold crowns weighing 35,000 to the towns and colonies of Italy, which had been contributed for my triumphs, and later, however many times I was named emperor, I refused gold crowns from the towns and colonies which they equally kindly decreed, and before they had decreed them.

Three times I gave shows of gladiators under my name and five times under the name of my sons and grandsons; in these shows about 10,000 men fought. Twice I furnished under my name spectacles of athletes gathered from everywhere, and three times under my grandson's name. I celebrated games under my name four times, and furthermore in the place of other magistrates twenty-three times. As master of the college I celebrated the secular games for the college of the Fifteen, with my colleague Marcus Agrippa, when Gaius Furnius and Gaius Silanus were consuls (17 B.C.E.). Consul for the thirteenth time (2 B.C.E.), I celebrated the first games of Mas, which after that time thereafter in following years, by a senate decree and a law, the consuls were to celebrate. Twenty-six times, under my name or that of my sons and grandsons, I gave the people hunts of African beasts in the circus, in the open, or in the amphitheater; in them about 3,500 beasts were killed.

I gave the people a spectacle of a naval battle, in the place across the Tiber where the grove of the Caesars is now, with the ground excavated in length 1,800 feet, in width 1,200, in which thirty beaked ships, biremes or triremes, but many smaller, fought among themselves; in these ships about 3,000 men fought in addition to the rowers.

In the temples of all the cities of the province of Asia, as victor, I replaced the ornaments which he with whom I fought the war had possessed privately after he despoiled the temples. Silver statues of me-on foot, on horseback, and standing in a chariot-were erected in about eighty cities, which I myself removed, and from the money I placed goldn offerings in the temple of Apollo under my name and of those who paid the honor of the statues to me.

I restored peace to the sea from pirates. In that slave war I handed over to their masters for the infliction of punishments about 30,000 captured, who had fled their masters and taken up arms against the state. All Italy swore allegiance to me voluntarily, and demanded me as leader of the war which I won at Actium; the provinces of Gaul, Spain, Africa, Sicily, and Sardinia swore the same allegiance. And those who then fought under my standard were more than 700 senators, among whom 83 were made consuls either before or after, up to the day this was written, and about 170 were made priests.

I extended the borders of all the provinces of the Roman people which neighbored nations not subject to our rule. I restored peace to the provinces of Gaul and Spain, likewise Germany, which includes the ocean from Cadiz to the mouth of the river Elbe. I brought peace to the Alps from the region which i near the Adriatic Sea to the Tuscan, with no unjust war waged against any nation. I sailed my ships on the ocean from the mouth of the Rhine to the east region up to the borders of the Cimbri, where no Roman had gone before that time by land or sea, and the Cimbri and the Charydes and the Semnones and the other Germans of the same territory sought by envoys the friendship of me and of the Roman people. By my order and auspices two armies were led at about the same time into Ethiopia and into that part of Arabia which is called Happy, and the troops of each nation of enemies were slaughtered in battle and many towns captured. They penetrated into Ethiopia all the way to the town Nabata, which is near to Meroe; and into Arabia all the way to the border of the Sabaei, advancing to the town Mariba.

I added Egypt to the rule of the Roman people. When Artaxes, king of Greater Armenia, was killed, though I could have made it a province, I preferred, by the example of our elders, to hand over that kingdomto Tigranes, son of king Artavasdes, and grandson of King Tigranes, through Tiberius Nero, who was then my step-son. And the same nation, after revolting and rebelling, and subdued through my son Gaius, I handed over to be ruled by King Ariobarzanes son of Artabazus, King of the Medes, and after his death, to his son Artavasdes; and when he was killed, I sent Tigranes, who came from the royal clan of the Armenians, into that rule. I recovered all the provinces which lie across the Adriatic to the east and Cyrene, with kings now possessing them in large part, and Sicily and Sardina, which had been occupied earlier in the slave war.

I founded colonies of soldiers in Africa, Sicily, Macedonia, each Spain, Greece, Asia, Syria, Narbonian Gaul, and Pisidia, and furthermore had twenty-eight colonies founded in Italy under my authority, which were very populous and crowded while I lived.

I recovered from Spain, Gaul, and Dalmatia the many military standards lost through other leaders, after defeating te enemies. I compelled the Parthians to return to me the spoils and standards of three Roman armies, and as suppliants to seek the friendship of the Roman people. Furthermore I placed those standards in the sanctuary of the temple of Mars Ultor.

As for the tribes of the Pannonians, before my principate no army of the Roman people had entered their land. When they were conquered through Tiberius Nero, who was then my step-son and emissary, I subjected them to the rule of the Roman people and extended the borders of Illyricum to the shores of the river Danube. On the near side of it the army of the Dacians was conquered and overcome under my auspices, and then my army, led across the Danube, forced the tribes of the Dacians to bear the rule of the Roman people.

Emissaries from the Indian kings were often sent to me, which had not been seen before that time by any Roman leader. The Bastarnae, the Scythians, and the Sarmatians, who are on this side of the river Don and the kings further away, an the kings of the Albanians, of the Iberians, and of the Medes, sought our friendship through emissaries.

To me were sent supplications by kings: of the Parthians, Tiridates and later Phrates son of king Phrates, of the Medes, Artavasdes, of the Adiabeni, Artaxares, of the Britons, Dumnobellaunus and Tincommius, of the Sugambri, Maelo, of the Marcomanian Suebi ( 3;) (-)rus. King Phrates of the Parthians, son of Orodes, sent all his sons and grandsons into Italy to me, though defeated in no war, but seeking our friendship through the pledges of his children. And in my principate many other peoples experienced the faith of the Roman people, of whom nothing had previously existed of embassies or interchange of friendship with the Roman people.

The nations of the Parthians and Medes received from me the first kings of those nations which they sought by emissaries: the Parthians, Vonones son of king Phrates, grandson of king Orodes, the Medes, Ariobarzanes, son of king Artavasdes, grandson of king Aiobarzanes.

In my sixth and seventh consulates (28-27 B.C.E.), after putting out the civil war, having obtained all things by universal consent, I handed over the state from my power to the dominion of the senate and Roman people. And for this merit of mine, by a senate decree, I was called Augustus and the doors of my temple were publicly clothed with laurel and a civic crown was fixed over my door and a gold shield placed in the Julian senate-house, and the inscription of that shield testified to the virtue, mercy, justice, and piety, for which the senate and Roman people gave it to me. After that time, I exceeded all in influence, but I had no greater power than the others who were colleagues with me in each magistracy.

When I administered my thirteenth consulate (2 B.C.E.), the senate and Equestrian order and Roman people all called me father of the country, and voted that the same be inscribed in the vestibule of my temple, in the Julian senate-house, and in the forum of Augustus. When I wrote this I was seventy-six years old.

Lucius' reading of the 'Res Gestae Divi Augusti', and his Latin, were flawless, and there followed some polite applause.

Sunt Auguriis et Funeris
The Omens and Funeral Rites

While the 'Res Gestae Divi Augusti' was being read, each of the three headless boys had his belly slit open and, having been being deftly disemboweled, had his liver removed and examined by one of the priests, who was a haruspex. This was 'de rigeur' if a sacrifice was to be legitimate.

In the Roman religion, a haruspex (plural haruspices; also called aruspex) was a person trained to practice a form of divination called haruspicy (haruspicina); the inspection of the entrails (exta), hence also extispicy (extispicium) of sacrificed animals. The reading of omens specifically from the liver is also known by the Greek term hepatoscopy (also hepatomancy). The Roman concept is directly derived from Etruscan religion, as one of the three branches of the disciplina Etrusca – much beloved on Novius. The art of haruspicy was taught in the Libri Tagetici, a collection of texts attributed to Tages, a childlike being, who figures in Etruscan mythology. The Libri Tagetici were translated into Latin and employed in reading omens. The continuity of the Etruscan tradition among the Romans is indicated by several ancient literary sources, perhaps most famously in the incident related by Suetonius in which a haruspex named Spurinna warned Julius Caesar to beware the Ides of March. The emperor Claudius (who reigned just prior to this to this story), was a student of the Etruscan language and antiquities, and opened a college to preserve and improve their art.

Fortunately the livers of all the three boys exhibited excellent omens. If they had not, then the whole munera would have had to be repeated.

The bodies, (including the head and genitals), of the three boy were then given funerals, late that same night, in the grounds of the villa. In accordance with the mos maiorum (the 'traditions of the ancestors'), the body of each boy was washed, and anointed. The liver was replaced, and the slit belly was sewn up. The head and the scrotum were then sewn back onto the body, so that the boy could enter the afterlife 'whole'. An obol (coin) was placed in the mouth of each boy, for Charon. The bodies were then each dressed in a white tunic of expensive, imported cotton.

The bodies were then carried on a gilt wood bier, and they were followed by a group of slaves who had been known to the lads during their time at the villa. Petronius, Asper and Markos were among the mourners, but predictably Atticus did not attend. (Markos had not known Durus, Valentius or Ferox, but as Petronius had asked him to attend the funerals, he felt obliged).

None of the freedmen or Gracchus attended as this was a funeral for slaves.

The funeral itself was paid for by Gracchus (this was unusual, as gladiators would normally have to 'club together' to pay for funeral arrangements, and the bodies of slaves were often simply discarded – at Baiae often thrown into the sea.).

While the funeral pyres were burning a libation of the finest wine, and expensive, imported incense was sprinkled over the flames. Finally, when the funeral piles burned down, more fine wine was used to douse the embers, so that the ashes could be gathered and placed in funerary urns.

On Gracchus orders, the extremely expensive funeral urns were then retained in the villa, and were later placed in a shrine to the Divine Augustus, that Gracchus had later built in one of the smaller atria of the villa.

To the modern reader the treatment of the slave-boys at Gracchus' munera might seem reprehensible. It must be remembered, however, that under Roman law a master had 'potestatem vitae et mortis', (the power of life and death) over his slaves. He could execute his slaves, although it was generally accepted that this should only be done for good reason. The case of Publius Vedius Pollio, who lived some time before Gracchus, is a case in point. When his slaves displeased him, he had them fed to muraenas, that he maintained for that purpose – and it is significant that his 'friend', the Princeps Augustus, stepped in and forbade the practice, and publicly repudiated Pollio. Gracchus' treatment of the slave-boys at the munera, however, would be seen at the time as perfectly correct. In principle they had been offered the opportunity to take part in the munera, and had apparently consented of the own free will. The munera itself was not seen as a cruel 'entertainment', but as a religious rite, undertaken on behalf of the community, and the defeated boys were sacrificed in strict accordance with the ritual requirements of Romanae religionem. Subsequently, the boys who had been sacrificed were provided with the required (and very lavish), funeral rites, all paid for by Gracchus, on behalf of the community. The only individual who was open to any criticism, in Roman eyes, was the slave-boy Atticus – who may well have been responsible for the switching of the gladius at the munera, and who, equally reprehensibly, had not attended the funeral ceremonies of the three, dead boys – and of course, Gracchus would 'deal' with Atticus at a later date.

Post festum
(After the Banquet)

But back to the convivium – Gracchus then rose from his seat, and accompanied by his 'entourage', (including Markos), he walked down the center of the hall – spoke briefly to Lucius, and then left the hall – leaving his guests to finish their conversations and meal, and later take their leave.

Meanwhile, Terentius relieved Markos of the exquisite, and expensive, wine jug that Markos had been carrying throughout the evening as 'cup-bearer', and told him to go and assist young Glykon at the main entrance to the villa.

And so ended the banquet at the Villa Auri – held to commemorate the birthday of the late Emperor Octavian Augustus – the first Princeps.

It may seem very strange to the modern reader that a banquet could be held that would involve eating and drinking, a sexually explicit performance by naked slave-boys, followed by three bloody gladiatorial fights to the death, and then the performance of a choral hymn to the memory of a dead emperor, and a long, flowery, (and mainly political) recitation.

Such a series of entertainments at a banquet for members of elite Roman society were not, however, unusual, and are attested to by numerous literary and historical sources – and, in fact, much stranger 'goings on' regularly occurred at many a high class convivium (feast or party).

Politicorum
(Politics)

The reading of the Res Gestae Divi Augusti, towards the end of the convivium surprised many of Gracchus' more astute guests, including the Tribune Marcellus. Gracchus was an individual who always ensured that he steered well clear of all matters political. He was one of the richest men in the empire and, of course, a senator, although he rarely attended meetings of that august body, except on what were deemed to be 'ceremonial' occasions. He had never run for public office, and it was almost unknown for him to comment on political matters.

He gave the impression that he was a wealthy 'provincial' aristocrat, interested in art and literature, and all things Greek, and ran, as a hobby, a small amphitheatre in Baiae, and that his money came from the land he owned. It was generally not known to his friends and 'clients' that, apart from the Villa Auri, he had numerous other magnificent villas scattered around the countryside in Souther Italy, and also in Greece.

Because he was careful to keep a 'low profile', both politically and financially, he had managed to survive the depredations of the current emperor, Nero, that had ruined many wealthy senators and persons of influence.

While no mention, let alone criticism of Nero had been made at the convivium, anyone with a modicum of intelligence could see that, by detailing the achievements of the 'Divine Augustus', there was the possibility of a comparison between the reign of Augustus, and that of Nero – to the detriment of Nero.

Initially, of course, Gracchus had cautiously approved of the young Nero, as Nero was a philhellene, and therefore there were similarities between Gracchus' tastes and those of the new young Emperor.

As time went on, however, Gracchus had privately disapproved of Nero, and while not blaming the emperor (as many did) for the fire in Rome, he was unable to support Nero's rebuilding schemes, which were financially ruining the empire.

The Great Fire of Rome was an urban fire that started on the night between 18 and 19 July in the year 64 AD. It caused widespread devastation, before being brought under control after six days.

It was in an attempt to raise money for his absurd building schemes that Nero had relieved so many rich and influential Roman citizens of their money, and in many cases their lives.

As has already been stated, Gracchus conducted himself in such a way that he had escaped Nero's attentions.

Some, who had attended the convivium, wondered if Gracchus had some knowledge concerning Nero's possible 'fall', and that he had therefore felt it was possibly 'safe', at that point, to make this relatively 'veiled' criticism. As it happened, the convivium took place on 23 September 67 AD, and Nero committed suicide on 9 June 68 AD.

'and the story continues – first – find out what happened after the munera!

Then it's a matter of rumors about Markos and Gracchus swirling around the villa, but are nothing compared to what is happening in the outside world as the Roman Empire totters on the verge of collapse, – and Gracchus consults the Sibyl at Cumae, in a desperate attempt to find out what the future may hold!

XI. Rumor et Prophetia
11. Rumour & Prophecy

'aurea puer ad mare'
The Cumaean Sibyl

Post Munera
After the Munera

The day after the munera, a furious Gracchus had Terentius in his study, 'tearing a strip' off the unfortunate freedman for allowing Atticus to get away with swapping over the swords, which had resulted in the killing of young Ferox. Gracchus had tried to arrange for Ferox to win the fight, as he was a good lad, tall and well muscled, who had responded well to his training. Now all that was left of Ferox was a pile of ashes, sealed in a grey marble funeral urn – the boy's corpse had been cremated the previous night.

But, there was little to be done.

Gracchus had his plans for taking his revenge on Atticus, but to begin with he would give the stupid boy some time the believe that he had got away with his crime.

The main task for the imediate future was to replace the slaves who had been killed, as Patronius needed to keep up the numbers of his fighters. For this reason Terentius, partly as a penance, was sent off to Brundisium. It was quite a long journey, and it would give Terentius some time to consider how he could keep a more careful eye on his young charges. And why Brunsidium, when there were slave markets in Neapolis, yet alone Rome?

Well Brundisium was the port were most of the slaves destined for Italy arrived, so the best choice of slaves was to be found in that bustling, if rather disreputable port (it was where Terentius had bought Markos). And Gracchus wanted three handsome, muscular, reasonably intelligent young slave-boys. They would be expensive, but that was not really a problem for Gracchus.

Once the new boys had arrived at the Villa, and before they were transferred to the Amphitheater, they would get the collars last worn by the three defeated bustuarii the previous evening. At the same time they would be given the names of those same boys – Durus,Valentius and Ferox.

To Romans, names were vitally important, often encapsulating an individuals status, or a family's history. Few slaves were allowed to retain their original names. Renaming them took away their individuality, and their connection with their previous life – and that 'break' was in the interests of their masters. Marcus was an unusual case, as he was simply given the Greek version of his Roman name – Markos – which effectively sounds very similar. Performers (including gladiators) who appeared in the arena almost always had 'stage names', usually indicating something about their character – rather like modern film and pop stars.

And so the meanest looking of the three boys that Terentius brought back from Brundisium was called 'Durus' – which indicates harshness. The most ferocious looking lad was now called 'Ferox', which indicates ferocity, and the strongest looking boy was called 'Valentius' or 'Valens' for short, which indicates strength or power. Who they originally were was immaterial, as they each had a fine Roman name, and were to begin their first arduous months of training.

Oracula
The Oracle

In the Roman world an oracle was a person or agency considered to provide wise counsel or prophetic predictions or precognition of the future, inspired by the gods. As such it is a form of divination. The word oracle comes from the Latin verb ōrāre 'to speak', and properly refers to the priest or priestess uttering the prediction. In extended use, oracle may also refer to the site of the oracle, and to the oracular utterances themselves, called 'khrēsmoi' (χρησμοί) in Greek.

On of the most famous, and oldest of the the oracles was at Δωδώνᾱ – Dodona, in Epirus. This was the oracle of Zeus, and the oracular utterances were made known by the rustling of the oak leaves (the oak was sacred to Zeus – and to Jupiter) in a sacred grove.

The pre-eminent oracle was, of course, at Δελφοί – Delphi, in Greece. Python, offspring of Gaia (the Earth Goddess), was the earth dragon of Delphi, represented as a serpent and became the chthonic deity, enemy of Apollo, who slew her and possessed the oracle. The oracle at Delphi, was said to be infallible, and only gave prophecies the seventh day of each month, seven being the number most associated with Apollo, during the nine warmer months of the year; thus, Delphi was the major source of divination for the ancient Greeks.

Apollo – Ἀπόλλων, Apollōn is one of the most important and complex of the Olympian deities in classical Greek and Roman religion and Greek and Roman mythology. The ideal of the kouros (a beardless, athletic youth), Apollo has been variously recognized as a god of music, truth and prophecy, healing, the sun and light, plague, poetry, and more. Apollo is the son of Zeus and Leto, and has a twin sister, the chaste huntress Artemis. Apollo is known in Greek-influenced Etruscan mythology as Apulu. Apollo was the patron god of Octavian Augustus.

The oracle spoke through a priestess, known as the Πυθία – Pythia, who sat on a bronze tripod set over a crack in the floor of a cave. Fumes arose from the crevice, and the priestess became intoxicated, and gave frenzied and incoherent utterances, which were interpreted by priests.

Other temples of Apollo were located at Didyma on the coast of Asia Minor, at Corinth and Bassae in the Peloponnese, and at the islands of Delos and Aegina in the Aegean Sea.

Oracles were thought to be portals through which the gods spoke directly to people. In this sense they were different from seers ('manteis' – μάντεις) who interpreted signs sent by the gods through bird signs, animal entrails, and other various methods.

For the Romans, however, the most influential oracle was the Sibylline Oracle, and the Sibylline Books. The Books are a collection of oracular utterances written in Greek hexameters ascribed to the Sibyls. In the ancient world, sibyls were prophetesses associated with a particular location. Many of their prophecies played key roles in determining the direction of important events. Though there were variations based on the Sibyl of Cumae, the sibyls all seem to share some characteristics. They gave their prophecies in an ecstatic state, under the power of a particular deity (often Apollo), and they were usually associated with a specific ancient oracle or a temple.

The Cumaean Sibyl is probably the best known of sibyls. Her cave was located near the town of Cumae, close to Gracchus' villa, on the western coast of Italy, in the same location as a temple of Apollo. While most often known as the Cumaean Sibyl or the Sibyl of Cumae, she is also variously referred to as: Herophile, Demo, Phemonë, Deiphobe, Demophile, and Amalthea.

Virgil famously described her cave as having a hundred openings. It was said this oracle, or Sibyl, dwelt in the mouth of this cave in Cumae, (originally an ancient Greek settlement near what is now Naples).

"A spacious cave, within its far most part, Was hew'd and fashion'd by laborious art Thro' the hill's hollow sides: before the place, A hundred doors a hundred entries grace; As many voices issue, and the sound Of Sybil's words as many times rebound."

Written in 19 BC, the Aeneid, which Markos was studying, with the help of his Latin tutor, Lucius, chronicles the adventures of Trojan warrior Aeneas, including his encounter with a mysterious ancient oracle. In Book III of the Aeneid, Aeneas visits a priest/prophet who tells him to visit the Cumaean Sibyl.

"And when, thither borne, thou drawest near to the town of Cumae, the haunted lakes, and Avernus with its rustling woods, thou shalt look on an inspired prophetess, who deep in a rocky cave sings the Fates and entrusts to leaves signs and symbols." -Virgil (The Aeneid)

The Sibyl had important news for Aeneas:

"The nations of Italy, the wars to come, the mode whereby thou art to flee or face each toil, she will unfold to thee; and, reverently besought, she will grant thee a prosperous voyage." -Virgil (The Aeneid)

In other words, the fate of the founding of Rome rests on the prophecy she gives Aeneas.

In Book VI, Aeneas finally visits Cumae and finds the Sibyl. She tells him that though he has survived the troubles of Troy, and the dangers of his sea voyage, he has further troubles ahead.

"O thou that at last hast fulfilled the great perils of the sea – yet by land more grievous woes await thee 3;. Wars, grim wars I see, and Tiber foaming with streams of blood 3; Even now another Achilles is raised up in Latium, he, too, goddess-born; nor shall Juno anywhere fail to dog the Trojans, whilst thou, a suppliant in thy need, what races, what cities of Italy shalt thou not implore! The cause of all this Trojan woe is again an alien bride, again a foreign marriage!" -Virgil (The Aeneid)

She says, however, that Aeneas should not fear this fate, that he has the ability to rise above it. As it happens, there is a portal to the underworld nearby. As he wanted to go there anyway, Aeneas asks the Sibyl if she will take him there to see his dead father. She says that he must first find a 'golden bough' in the forest. On that bough will be a fruit. If he is able to pick the fruit, he will be worthy to visit the underworld.

Having completed the task (and burying one of his crew who had challenged the gods to a trumpet-blowing contest and been killed by Triton), Aeneas returns to the Sibyl, who escorts him into the underworld. There, Aeneas meets his father, Anchises. After discussing some of the particulars of the underworld, Anchises shows Aeneas his future and the future of his descendants.

"Come now, what glory shall hereafter attend the Dardan line, what children of Italian stock await thee, souls illustrious and heirs of our name – this will I set forth, and teach thee thy destiny." -Virgil (The Aeneid).

Anchises recounts the destiny of all of Aeneas' descendants. Anchises tells Aeneas that among his descendants are Romulus, founder of Rome and, significantly, Caesar Augustus (the first Princeps). According to Anchises, Augustus will

" 3; again set up the Golden Age amid the fields where Saturn once reigned, and shall spread his empire to a land that lies beyond the stars, beyond the paths of the year and the sun, where heaven-bearing Atlas turns on his shoulders the sphere, inset with gleaming stars." -Virgil (The Aeneid)

Apart from the Sibyl's involvement with Aeneas, the most famous story concerning the Sibyl dates to the time of the last Roman King, Tarquinius Superbus, around 500 BC. According to the story, the Sibyl approached the king with nine books of prophesy, collected from the wisest seers, available to the king for a very dear price. The king haughtily refused her price. In response, the Sibyl burned three of the books, then offered the remaining six books at the original high price. Again he refused. Of the remaining six books, she threw three more onto the fire, and repeated her offer of the final three books, at the original price. Afraid of seeing all the prophesy destroyed, he finally accepted.

These books, which foretold the future of Rome, became a famous source of power and knowledge, and were stored on the Capitoline Hill in the Temple of Jupiter Optimus Maximus, in Rome. In 82 BC, the books were destroyed in the burning of the Temple of Jupiter, and in 76 BC envoys were sent around the known world to rebuild the books of prophesy. The new books managed to survive until 405 AD, near the end of the Roman Empire.

The Cumaean Sibyl would later appear in the works of Ovid.

The Sibylline Books (sometimes called the Cumaean Books) became crucial in the ongoing decisions of Rome. The Lecti Viri – a group of two (Duumviri) men that grew to 10 (Decemviri) and eventually 15 (Quindecimviri) – guarded the books.

When the senate's seers could not divine the meaning of extraordinary events, or when Rome needed direction in times of crisis, they would order these men to consult the Sibylline Books. The books often clarified the meaning of certain divine events, or ordered particular sacrifices and oblations to avoid a disaster.

Livy reports that, while preparing for war:

"The state was at this time suddenly occupied with a question of a religious nature, in consequence of the discovery of a prediction in the Sibylline books, which had been inspected on account of there having been so many showers of stones this year. It ran thus: When-soever a foreign enemy should bring war into the land of Italy, he may be driven out of Italy and conquered, if the Idaean Mother should be brought from Pessinus to Rome."

The Romans took these books so seriously that, according to Dionysius, dereliction of one's duty to care for the books could have disastrous results. When someone reported that one of the guardians of the books had allowed someone else to borrow one of them, King Tarquinius "ordered him to be sewed up in a leather bag and thrown into the sea 3;"

Harsh, but perhaps not too harsh, given the role they played in the fate of Rome. According to tradition, the Sibyl would have sung her prophecies, or written them on oak leaves which she would leave at the mouth of the cave. Clearly, the Cumaean Sibyl plays a crucial role in the founding and ongoing fortune of Rome. If it were not for her, the Romans would not have had the guidance of the Sibylline Books. If it were not for her prophecy, Aeneas would not have been prepared to rise above his fate in his journey towards Italy.

So what has all this – interesting though it may be – to do with our Markos and Gracchus?

Well, it is not surprising that Gracchus, being a devotee of Virgil, and steeped in the legend of Aeneas, would be prepared to question the Cumaean Sibyl with regard to his own future – and as we have seen, Markos' future seems to be, in many ways, bound up with that of Gracchus.

Fama

Since the evening of the convivium young Markos had become a 'hot' topic of conversation among some of the slaves at the villa. As has been previously explained, Roman society was concious of status to a fanatical degree – and this applied to slaves to the same degree as it applied to the most fastidious patrician.

The 'lower class' slaves – those involved in menial work – kitchen boys, gardeners workmen of various kinds, and the like, took little interest in those slaves who were what might be described as the 'slave aristocracy' – of which Markos now seemed to be a member.

The young men who had been trained as wrestlers and gladiators, and who were used as security guards for the villa, and its vastly extensive grounds, and were used as bodyguards for Gracchus and some of his senior freedmen, existed in their own, close-knit group, and were little concerned with other matters, except where it might impinge on their concerns regarding security.

There were, however, numerous slaves in the intermediate levels, who had either seen Markos in his role of 'cup-bearer', at the convivium, or had been told of the matter, and among them speculation was rife. The initial rumour was, not surprisingly, that Gracchus was having an 'affair' – in other words, having sex – with Markos.

Equally, it was suggested that Gracchus was planning to have Markos castrated, in the same manner that Nero had his Puer Delicatus, called Sporus, (σπόριο) castrated. It was then added that Gracchus might, like the Emperor Nero, marry his castrated 'Ganymede'.

Sporus was a boy to whom Nero took a liking. He was a Puer delicatus, who were sometimes castrated in an effort to preserve their youthful qualities. The puer delicatus generally was a slave-boy, chosen by his master for his beauty as a 'toy boy'. It was suggested by Cassius Dio (AD 155-235) that Sporus was a freedman, but this is highly unlikely, and is undoubtedly a slur on Nero's character. While it was just acceptable to castrate a slave-boy, the castration of freedmen was not permitted. Nero's wife, Poppaea Sabina, was probably killed by Nero in 65. In the beginning of 66, he married Statilia Messalina. Later that year or in 67 he married Sporus. Nero had earlier married Pythagoras, who played the role of Nero's husband, as Sporus played the role of Nero's wife.

Soon after Nero's death, in 68AD, Sporus was taken by the Praetorian prefect Nymphidius Sabinus, who took part in the final conspiracy against Nero, persuading the Praetorian Guard to desert the emperor, but when he attempted to have himself declared emperor, he was killed by his own soldiers. Nymphidius treated Sporus as though they were married, and called him 'Poppaea'. After Nymphidius' death, Sporus, in the year 69, become involved with emperor Otho, who was also killed by his enemies later that year. Sporus was then taken by the new emperor, Vitellius, who planned for Sporus to play the title role in the 'Rape of Persephone' for the viewing enjoyment of the crowds during a gladiatorial Ludi. Sporus then committed suicide to avoid being raped in public.

Like most rumours, this rumour had little basis in fact. Gracchus had very many slave-boys, from the age of ten years, to boys who were just leaving adolescence, as they reached their final 'teen' years. None of Gracchus' slave-boys had ever been castrated, and in fact Gracchus had no taste for effeminate boys, and forbade Terentius from buying any boy who might be in the slightest way be described as a Cinaedus.

Cinaedus is a derogatory word denoting a male who was 'gender-deviant'; his choice of sex acts, or preference in sexual partner, was secondary to his perceived effeminacy and deficiencies as a 'male' (vir). Cinaedus is not equivalent to the English vulgarism 'faggot', except that both words can be used to deride a male considered deficient in manhood, or with androgynous characteristics.

The clothing, use of cosmetics, and mannerisms of a cinaedus would also marked him as effeminate. The cinaedus thus represented the absence of what Romans considered true maleness, and the word is virtually untranslatable into English.

Originally, a cinaedus (Greek 'kinaidos') was a professional dancer, characterized as non-Roman or 'Eastern'; the word itself may come from a language of Asia Minor.

His performance featured tambourine-playing and movements of the buttocks that suggested anal intercourse.

In addition, strange as it may seem, it did not appear that Gracchus 'used' his slave-boys sexually. Perhaps, as young Cleon had suggested, Gracchus just liked to 'watch'. In consideration of this, the possibility of Gracchus 'marrying' Markos, whether castrated or not, was obviously absurd.

And so, like most rumours, these rumour had no basis in fact.

Gracchus, of course, had been appalled at much of Nero's behaviour. The emperor, it appeared, had murdered his mother, killed his wife and unborn child, and had then gone on to indulge in numerous perverted sexual practices, which, as has been described, included his marriage to a castrated slave-boy, and his indulging in sexual practices where he permitted himself to be 'penetrated' by one of his freedmen.

To Gracchus all this was totally unacceptable, but prudently he kept his condemnation and disgust to himself, and remained, to all who knew him, bafflingly inscrutable. In this he shared a quality – inscrutability and mystery – that many also saw, to some extent, in Markos.

The mere existence of such rumours after the munera tended to isolate Markos from the other slaves to an even greater extent. He still had the friendship of Cleon and Glykon, and there was still his friendship with Servius and, since the munera, he had become friendly with the teenage gladiator Petronius.

As an aside – shortly after the convivium, Markos heard from Servius that Gracchus' wife had died. Markos had never seen, or met her, (and nor had Servius) as she lived in another of Gracchus' villas, just outside Rome. Nothing occurred at the Villa Auri to indicate that anything had happened, and Markos would never had known if Servius hadn't told him.

Apparently, Gracchus had no children and, as far as anyone knew, he had no brothers or sisters – so perhaps now he was alone.

Gracchus himself, however, remained as inscrutable as ever, pursuing his business interests, regularly meeting with his numerous 'clients', and keeping a watchful eye over his many freedmen and slaves.

Prophetiæ
Prophecies

But what about the 'prophecy'?

Well, since the convivium Gracchus had become more and more concerned about the political situation in Rome. As we have said, Gracchus tried hard to be outwardly apolitical, but the reports that he had recently received from Rome, and some reports from the provinces indicated to him that the Imperial administration was approaching a state of complete collapse, with varying groups vying for power as the fall of the current emperor, Nero, seemed inevitable.

Just before the convivium for the birthday of the Divine Augustus, in 65AD, the conspiracy of Gaius Calpurnius Piso had rocked the empire. The plot reflected the growing discontent among the ruling class of the Roman state with Nero's increasingly despotic leadership, and as a result it is a significant event on the road towards Nero's eventual suicide, and the chaos which followed that event.

Gaius Calpurnius Piso, a leading Roman statesman, benefactor of literature, and orator, intended to have Nero assassinated, with the goal of having himself declared Emperor of Rome by the imperial bodyguard, known as the Praetorian Guard. He enlisted the aid of several prominent senators, equestrians, and soldiers. According to Tacitus, the ringleaders included Subrius Flavus, a tribune of the Praetorian court, and the centurion Sulpicius Asper.

On April 19, CE 65, a freedman named Milichus discovered the conspiracy and reported it to Nero's secretary Epaphroditos. After the conspiracy was revealed, Nero ordered Piso, and its other leaders, to commit suicide.

The philosopher Seneca, his nephew Lucan, and the satirist Petronius (probable author of the Satyricon) were also implicated in the plot, and dealt with in a similar fashion. At least 41 individuals were accused of being part of the conspiracy. Of the known 41, there were 19 Senators, 7 Equites, 11 soldiers, and 4 women.

In late 67, Caius Julius Vindex, governor of Gallia Lugdunensis, rebelled against Nero's tax policy, with the purpose of substituting Servius Sulpicius Galba, governor of Hispania Tarraconensis, for Nero. Gaius Julius Vindex was a member of the former royal family of Aquitania, which had lost its throne when Julius Caesar had subdued their country. However, it was still an influential family, and the father of Julius Vindex became a Roman senator after the emperor Claudius had permitted noblemen from Gaul to enter the august college. Vindex subsequently committed suicide. Vindex's revolt in Gaul was unsuccessful, and Galba was declared a 'public enemy' by the Senate.

Servius Sulpicius Galba was born into an aristocratic family on December 24, 3 BCE to Gaius Sulpicius Galba and Mummia Achaica. An older brother, Gaius, (ten years his senior) would later commit suicide in 36 CE, due to 'financial embarrassment', after incurring the ire of Emperor Tiberius. It was reported that the Emperor Augustus singled Galba out of a group of young boys and said, "You too will taste a little of my glory, boy," suggesting that Galba would one day be emperor. Galba is almost unique in Roman accounts as being described as, what we would term today, a 'homosexual', being solely attracted to mature, muscular men.

In June 68, the Praetorian Guard prefect, Nymphidius Sabinus (who later became the 'husband' of the boy Sporus – see above), as part of a plot to become emperor himself, incited his men to transfer their loyalty from Nero to Galba.

It was after the revolt in Gaul that Gracchus decided to consult the oracle of Phoebus Apollo at Cumae.

Now to the average reader, seeking the advice of what in 'modern' times would be considered to be a 'fortune teller' appears to be the height of ignorant superstition.

Gracchus, however, was by no means an ignorant man. Well educated, and well read, – a student of philosophy, and in many ways a sceptic, he was, however, as we all are, 'a man of his times'.

Throughout the ancient world, as we have already explained, from the most ignorant peasant to the most learned, and the most powerful, people sought the advice of, and believed in the great oracles, and one of the greatest was the Cumaean Sibyl.

Of course Markos, along with the other slaves in the villa, had no knowledge of the disturbing events in Gaul and Rome, and for Markos life continued as usual, with lessons, training, and the occasional amorous interlude, mainly with Cleon.

One morning, however, while he was performing his usual duty helping Glykon at the entrance hall, Terentius called him over.

"The dominus wants you to accompany him on a short trip. I will be coming as well. Dress well, and be sure to bring your cloak, as we may be away for more than one day."

Markos was shocked and surprised. It was to be the first time, since the precipitous carriage ride with Terentius from Brundisium, that he had left the villa.

'and the story continues – Gracchus – accompanied by Markos and Terentius – goes to Cumae to consult the Sibyl – only to receive a mysterious and baffling answer to his question 3;

XII. Oracula
12. The Oracle

'novum initium et finis'
The Cumaean Sibyl

At Cumae

Apollo was the patron god of Octavian Augustus, and the Sibyl was the prophetess of Apollo. Virgil's Aeneid, which refers specifically to Apollo, Cumae and the Sibyl, is written partly in praise of Octavian Augustus. After 36BC, Augustus refurbished the temple of Apollo at Cumae, and also the cave of the Sibyl.

Then to Apollo, a temple of solid marble shall I found,
and holy days, in the name of Phoebus*.
For you, too, there awaits a great shrine in our kingdom,
and here I shall place your oracle, and the riddling prophecies spoken to my people,
and to your service, O gracious one, I shall dedicate chosen priests.
Only do not consign your words to leaves,
to be confused and mocked by every wind that blows,
Sing them in your own voice, I beg of you.
Virgil – 'Aeneid'
* Phoebus is another appellation for Apollo.

Of course, as soon as the other slaves in the villa heard that Markos had left the villa, along with Gracchus, and his freedman Terentius, the rumours began once again.

Gracchus used the same carriage that Markos had rode in when he had been brought from Brundisium to the Villa. Markos, however, had no idea where they were going, or what the reason was for the trip, and he was too nervous to ask.

By Roman standards it was luxurious and comfortable – an ancient Roman version of a Rolls Royce or a Cadillac. Markos found the journey uncomfortable, however. This was not a physical discomfort, though. The carriage was provided with many well filled cushions, and blinds to keep out the dust from the road.

The discomfort for Markos was caused by the fact that the whole journey was completed in utter silence. Neither Gracchus, nor Terentius, who both looked serious and preoccupied, spoke a single word.

Fortunately, Cumae is only a few kilometres from Baiae, so Markos did not have to endure his discomfiture for long. After a short while Terentius leaned forward to Markos, and whispered in a conspiratorial tone, so as not to disturb Gracchus, who was obviously deep in thought: "This is Cumae!"

Markos knew about Cumae from his studies with his Latin tutor, Lucius, but had no idea that famous town was so close to the villa.

On their arrival at Cumae, Gracchus decided to have a light meal at a local hostelry. Markos was unceremoniously 'parked' at a table, which was laden with delicious delicacies, while Gracchus and Terentius stood some distance away, in the bright sunshine, apparently deep in conversation.

Eventually Gracchus and Terentius walked over to where Markos was sitting, and sat down opposite him.

"So, Markos, what do you know about Cumae?" Gracchus asked, seemingly a little more relaxed.

Marcus, surprised that Gracchus was finally speaking to him, cleared his throat, nervously, "Well, dominus, my Latin tutor has been teaching me about Virgil, and the Aeneid, where Aeneas goes to Cumae, and meets the Cumaean Sibyl. Lucius gave me the scrolls of the Aeneid to study, and I read there about the cave of the Sibyl."

Markos then decided to show off, and quoted a piece from the Aeneid that Lucius had got him to learn 'by heart'.

"A spacious cave, within its far most part, Was hew'd and fashion'd by laborious art Thro' the hill's hollow sides: before the place, A hundred doors a hundred entries grace; As many voices issue, and the sound Of Sybil's words as many times rebound."

Gracchus smiled. "That's very good, Markos! It seems that my tutors deserve their pay."

By now Markos, Gracchus and even Terentius were all smiling, and the earlier tension of the journey seemed to have lifted.

"Well, Markos, we are going to Apollo's temple first, and then to the cave that you have so eloquently described," Gracchus continued.

Markos, of course, was bursting to know the purpose of Gracchus' visit. Was it just a sightseeing visit, the like of which so many Greek and Roman tourists made, or was Gracchus intending to put a question to the Sibyl? – and if it was a question, what was it about?

They finished their meal, Terentius paid the hostelry keeper, (Gracchus never handled money) and, returning to their carriage, they were taken to the Temple of Apollo.

In Virgil's Aeneid VI, Daedalus flies to Cumae, using his remarkable wings, and founds a temple there, dedicated to the god Apollo, and long afterwards Aeneas confronts the sculpted golden doors of the temple – and after 36BC, Augustus refurbished that temple, and also the cave of the Sibyl. In Greek mythology, Δαίδαλος – Daedalus ('to work artfully') was a skilful craftsman and artist. He is the father of Icarus. The most familiar literary telling of the story of Daedalus, explaining Daedalus' wings, later left in the temple, is a late one, that of the Roman poet Ovid: in his Metamorphoses (VIII:183-235). Daedalus set to work to fabricate wings for himself and his son Icarus. When both were prepared for flight, Daedalus warned Icarus not to fly too high, because the heat of the sun would melt the wax. However, the boy, forgetting himself, began to soar upward toward the sun. The blazing sun softened the wax which held the feathers together and they came off. Icarus quickly fell in the sea and drowned.

Markos thought the Temple of Apollo very beautiful. It was, in fact, very similar to the larger Temple of Apollo Palatinus that Augustus had built in Rome.

Octavian built the temple in thanks to his patron god, Apollo, faced in Carrara marble, in thanks for the victory over Sextus Pompeius at the Battle of Naulochus in 36 BC, and over Mark Antony and Cleopatra at the Battle of Actium 31 BC, and was built on a site where a lightning bolt had struck the interior of Augustus' property on the Palatine. It was dedicated on October 9 of 28 BC. Augustus' private house was directly connected to the terrace of the sanctuary via frescoed halls and corridors.

On arrival at the temple they were treated as honoured guests, as some of the priests (in this case flamines) at the temple were, in fact, clients of Gracchus (and two of the priests had attended the convivium celebrating the birth date of the Divine Augustus).

It must be understood that Roman priests were in no way like the sanctimonious, (and in many cases, celibate,) individuals who pass as priests in modern times. Rather, Roman priests were charged with performing the rituals of the Roman religion with exactness and scrupulous care, so as to maintain the gods' good will and support for Rome. They didn't necessarily have to understand the words, but there could be no mistake or untoward event; otherwise, the ceremony would have to be re-staged. They were, in many ways, administrative officials, often members of the government, rather than mediators between men and gods.

These priests were very respectful towards Gracchus, and fussed over Markos, who they knew had been Gracchus' 'cup-bearer' at the convivium, and who was therefore presumed to be Gracchus' 'favourite'.

Gracchus, having planned this trip sometime earlier, had prepared the way, and had ordered a new cult statue of Apollo to be created for the temple, (the model for the sculpture was young Petronius – the teenage gladiator who had fought in the munera for Augustus).

It was therefore no problem for Gracchus – along with Terentius and Markos, to be taken immediately to the cave of the Sibyl. The cave of the Sibyl was, to say the least, 'spooky'. The cave itself has many entrances, though not the hundred mentioned by Virgil, and is 5 meters [16 feet] high by 131 meters [430 feet] long, with several side galleries and cisterns. At the entrance there are cisterns, cut into the rock, and filled with water, where visitors could cleanse themselves before approaching the more sacred areas of the cave. There are also seats cut into the rock, where visitors could sit while they discussed matters with the priests.

While many groups and individuals visited the oracle, no one of note, (apart from Gracchus, now), had questioned the Sibyl since the visit by the Emperor Tiberius Claudius Caesar Augustus Germanicus (usually referred to as Claudius).

Undoubtedly, the one person who would have benefited from a consultation with the wise Sibyl would have been the wayward Nero – and perhaps, if he had listened to the advice of the oracle, he might have avoided the appalling fate that awaited him.

But that was all in the future – the future that Gracchus was so eager to know.

So 3; while Gracchus was in deep conversation with two of the priests of the oracle, and Terentius was organising a sacrifice on behalf of Gracchus, in the temple above, Markos wandered around the dark and dank cave – wondering, nervously, if he might 'bump into' the Sibyl.

The most disturbing aspect of the Sibylline cave was the echo. The slightest sound would reverberate, and then seem to return from everywhere, distorted and unreal. And this was, apparently, one way in which the oracle made its presence felt.

After what seemed to Markos an endless conversation, the priests left Gracchus sitting on one of the stone benches. They then went off into the bowels of the cave, presumably to give Gracchus' request to the Sibyl.

Markos stood uneasily, and watched his master, who sat patiently, while far above the sacrificial victims were being bled on the altar of Apollo on Gracchus' behalf. Markos also thought of the three boys, sacrificed at the munera ad Augustum, and wondered if their blood would have also assisted Gracchus in his search for answers.

The silence deepened, and seemingly also the darkness.

Then Markos could hear a voice – a woman's voice – muttering and moaning, as if troubled by dreams. The voice echoed strangely, and Markos was unable to distinguish any words, in either Greek or Latin. This, in fact, was the answer to Gracchus' question, but it would need the priests to interpret it.

It would then be written out on vellum, and given to Gracchus, but only after the priests had discussed the contents of the oracular pronouncement with Gracchus.

At this point Terentius returned from the temple. And as Terentius arrived, Markos saw the leading priest return to where Gracchus was sitting. There then followed another one of those long discussions, and finally the priest was given a scroll by a slave, which he then handed, rather ceremoniously, to Gracchus.

Hesitantly, Gracchus unrolled it – and read, while the priest backed away – obviously trying to avoid any further questions.

The Latin of the Sibyl was weird and ungrammatical, but this is what it seemed to mean (in English):

'Four shall seek to follow the path of the 'Comet Star',
and three – one fat and two bald – shall fall.
Then from the east shall come a saviour – and peace.
But you – Gracchus – shall be an end in the new beginning -
but not forever, and by your own hand -
for the 'golden boy from the sea', shall bring your name to life once more -
and all your works shall prosper.'

at the top of the scroll were the words 'novum initium et finis' and at the bottom of the scroll were the words 'aurea puer ad mare' – meaning 'an end and a new beginning', and 'the golden boy from the sea'.

Gracchus shook his head, completely puzzled. He handed the scroll to Terentius, who read it, at least twice, and then shrugged his shoulders. Both men were completely baffled.

Now this is not surprising.

Oracular pronouncements from the Olympian Gods were notoriously opaque, and often contained information that could be easily misinterpreted – bringing tragic consequences in some cases.

Gracchus, Terentius and Markos quickly made there way back to the temple of Apollo, where the carriage was waiting. Immediately they set off.

The journey back to the villa was very different to the 'silent' outward journey, and Gracchus and Terentius were deep in conversation. Markos 'listened in', without making it too obvious.

It seemed that fortunately, Gracchus had a very old friend – a 'client' of Oscan origins, Novius, who was well known for his knowledge of the auspices, oracles and Etruscan ritual. He had helped Gracchus in organising the munera ad Agustum, and would probably be willing to try to help decipher the Sibyl's pronouncements.

Apparently the only lead that Gracchus had was the phrase 'Comet Star' – but he needed to get back to his study and consult his scrolls to be sure of the exact meaning of the phrase.

It was evening when the carriage arrived back at the villa. Faithful young Glykon was at the doors to the villa to greet them.

"I hope you had a successful trip, Dominus!" Glykon asked cheerfully, obviously 'fishing' for information.

"Yes! Very successful!" Gracchus replied, somewhat untruthfully, as he firmly grasped the baffling scroll.

Gracchus them thanked Markos very profusely for accompanying him, which thoroughly embarrassed Markos, particularly as Glykon was listening. Markos then went off to his room, trying to avoid any awkward questions from Glykon, (there would be enough of those in the morning), while Gracchus instructed Terentius to send a messenger-boy to Novius, asking him to visit the next morning.

Markos, of course, couldn't sleep.

He hadn't been shown the scroll, and so he had little idea of what it contained. Gracchus and Terentius, however, had been talking about a stella cometa (comet star) on the journey back to the villa, so in the end, Markos got out of bed and starting searching through his scrolls for that elusive phrase.

And he found a reference – to a comet sighted after the assassination of Gaius Julius Caesar – popularly known as Caesaris astrum.

Of all the ancient writers on comets, the one to emerge with most credit is Lucius Seneca, a Roman of the first century AD. Seneca contested Aristotle's view that comets were sudden fires, arguing instead that they were celestial bodies moving on orbits like planets and that they might reappear, given time. Prophetically he wrote: 'Men will some day be able to demonstrate in what regions comets have their paths, why they move so far from the planets, what is their size and constitution'.

Caesar's Comet was known at the time of our story as the Caesaris astrum ('Star of Caesar'). Caesar's Comet was one of only five comets known to have had a negative absolute magnitude and may have been the brightest daylight comet in recorded history. It was not periodic and may have disintegrated.

Markos was puzzled. If the comet appeared after the assassination of Julius Caesar, did the reference to a comet in the oracle mean that Nero was to be assassinated?

What Markos didn't realize, however, was that initially the comet that appeared after Julius Caesar's death was popularly associated with the idea of the 'genius' of Gaius Julius Caesar, ascending to the Olympian heavens – thus confirming his divinity.

Subsequently, in January 42, the Senate pronounced Gaius Julius Caesar 'Divus Julius' (Divine Julius), thus officially confirming him as a god of the Roman people, and so the comet was no longer required as proof of his divinity. There was, however, a new Caesar, and Caesaris astrum then became the star of that new Caesar – Gaius Octavius – the 'Divine Augustus' celebrated at Gracchus' recent convivium.

In the light of this development, the Cometes stella templo (Temple of the Comet Star), or more correctly Aedes Divi Iuli (Temple of the Divine Julius), was built by Octavian (Augustus).

The young Octavian (he was only just out of his teens) loved to be considered the real subject of any kind of 'Messianic' prophecies and accounts 3; so, during the public speech about the appearance of the comet, he specified that he, the new ruler of the world, was born (politically) at the very appearance of his 'father' Julius Caesar as a comet in the sky of Rome, and his (adoptive) 'father' was announcing his own (political) birth. So he was the one who had to be born under the comet, and whom the appearance of the comet was announcing. The temple therefore ended up representing both Julius Caesar, as a deified being, and Octavian himself, as the 'newborn' under the comet, and the 'comet-star' itself was an object of public worship.

But what had all this to do with Gracchus? – apart from the fact that he had recently held a convivium and munera in honor of Augustus (Octavian). Confused and wondering, Markos returned to his bed, and to dreams of flaming comets in the skies.

When morning came, it was back to the main entrance of the villa for Markos. Young Glykon, of course, was bubbling with questions. Markos felt that he had to be careful with his answers. He knew only too well that there were many rumours floating around the villa, and while he felt that he could trust Glykon, it was more than likely that the boy might let slip information that could cause problems.

Markos explained that they had gone to Cumae, to the temple of Apollo, to visit the priests, who were Gracchus' 'clients', and to discuss arrangements for the new cult statue of Apollo that Gracchus was having made. That seemed to be enough for Glykon, and Markos carefully made no mention of the Sibyl's cave, or the oracle.

Early on, an old man turned up at the doors of the Villa, and introduced himself to Glykon as Novius, saying that Gracchus was expecting him. It seems that earlier Terentius had advised Glykon that this 'client' would be arriving, and so Glykon asked Markos to escort Novius to the main atrium, and then inform Gracchus that his guest had arrived.

As usual, Markos was nervous as he walked down the corridor to the huge doors leading to Gracchus' study. The tall, muscular slave-boys who guarded the door, recognizing Markos, immediately opened the doors for him. Gracchus was there, and as usual he was sitting at his desk surrounded by numerous scrolls.

"Good morning Dominus!" Markos said, quietly. "Your client Novius is here to see you, as you requested."

"Excellent, Markos! Show him in straight away!"

Considering how perturbed Gracchus had seemed the previous evening, Markos was surprised to find him so bright and cheerful. So then Markos returned to the Atrium, where Novius was waiting patiently.

"My master will see you now!" Markos said politely to the old, grey-haired gentleman.

The two of them then proceeded to Gracchus' study, where the doors were opened. Gracchus instantly rose from his desk.

"Nonius, my friend! Welcome!"

"Gnaeus Octavius! You look so well! It is so good to see you after all this time!"

Markos was surprised to hear someone address Gracchus by his first name – and it was obvious that the two men were old friends.

Gracchus turned to Markos. "Thank you Markos! You may leave us!"

And so, at least at that point, Markos was not to hear anything further about the oracle.

"Nice looking boy!" Novius said, once Markos had left the room.

"Is he new!" Novius asked, trying to be casual.

"Yes – and he's a bit of a puzzle. But nothing like the puzzle that I've got for you this morning".

Gracchus looked intently at Novius.

"Now I don't want you to be offended. We've known each-other a long time – and I trust you – but you must promise not to say a word about the matter I wish to discuss with you to anyone!"

"Of course, Gnaeus!" Novius replied, intrigued by the secrecy.

"I want your advice about this!" Gracchus said dramatically, as he passed the scroll of the oracle to Novius.

Novius read the scroll carefully, at least twice.

"So this is from the Sibyl – yes?"

"How did you guess!" Gracchus asked, surprised.

"Well, the Latin is so strange – obviously the oracle was originally given in Oscan."

Oscan is an ancient Indo-European language of southern Italy. The language is also the namesake of the language group to which it belonged. As a member of the Italic languages, Oscan is therefore a sister language to Latin and Umbrian. Oscan was spoken by a number of tribes, including the Samnites, the Aurunci (Ausones), and the Sidicini. The latter two tribes were often grouped under the name 'Osci'. The language was spoken from approximately 500 BC to AD 100. Oscan had much in common with Latin, though there are also many striking differences, and many common word-groups in Latin were absent or represented by entirely different forms.

"So – you are right, but what does it mean?" Gracchus asked, leaning forward, and then speaking more quietly.

"Terentius and I have been puzzling over it all night, and all we can recognize in it is the 'comet-star', which we take to be Caesaris astrum – and that could make the document dangerous, because the 'comet star' was associated with an assassination – and we don't want any involvement with any plots regarding assassinations – particularly if they involve the Domus imperialis (the Imperial House)."

"Well I don't think that you need necessarily connect the Caesaris astrum with an assassination," Novius interjected.

"The text refers to 'the path of the comet star', which I would interpret as the path that the 'Divine Augustus' took – the path to Imperium – so it may suggest that there will be four individuals who will seek to be Emperor – probably around the same time," Novius explained, cautiously.

"Yes! And that implies the possibility of civil war!" Gracchus murmured.

"It seems so – and obviously only one will succeed."

"So what about this saviour from the East?" Gracchus asked.

"That's difficult. Perhaps a general from the eastern provinces, who brings an end to the civil war, but it's not clear if he will be one of the four," Novious opined.

"Well – if three have fallen, and one remains – then it seems likely that he is the 'saviour from the east'," Gracchus stated, feeling that he had neatly settled the matter.

"Probably!" Novius agreed.

"So what of the next section, which mentions me?" Gracchus then asked.

"That's difficult," Novius said, now looking very serious.

"I'm afraid to say that it may – just may – refer to your demise – but only after the upheavals mentioned at the beginning of the text."

"I see," Gracchus said thoughtfully.

"I think that is the meaning of the words 'novum initium et finis'." Novius added.

"Yes – you may be right," Gracchus agreed.

"And what's all this business about a 'golden boy from the sea'," Gracchus asked tetchily.

"Well – you have many slave-boys. So – to be obvious – do any of them come from the sea!" Novius asked, smiling.

"Well no! Not that I know of," Gracchus answered, puzzled.

"Well, as a suggestion, the gold may refer to fair hair, or maybe skin color, or maybe the amount paid for the boy – in gold. They're just suggestions. As for the 'sea' – I don't know," Novius continued.

Gracchus, however, was feeling very uneasy, and troubled.

"I really don't like this," he muttered. "The fair haired slave-boy who brought you here 3; He was bought in Crete for much 'gold,' and he was brought to the slave market by pirates, who captured him at 'sea'!" Gracchus said, weakly.

"Well, it looks like you have found your 'aurea puer ad mare'!" Novius said, with a glint in his eye.

"But the Sibyl! How would she know about a young slave-boy? Emperors and generals perhaps. – Even Gracchus! But a mere slave-boy!" Gracchus groaned, becoming quite overwrought.

"My dear Gnaeus! Calm yourself! The great Apollo knows all things, and through his oracle at Cumae he will make known those things which men need to know. This 'mere' slave-boy, I feel, may be much more, and of great importance to you. As the oracle says, 'he shall bring your name to life once more – and all your works shall prosper.' – and that shall be 'by your own hand'. So take this boy 'in hand', while you still have time – for he may be your salvation – in a way that none now can even imagine."

Gracchus sat stunned. It was almost as if Apollo himself had spoken through his dear old friend Novius.

There was silence in the room for a moment. Novius then rose from his seat.

"I must go now, Gnaeus. I fear I have maybe said too much. But we should meet again – soon – for I think that momentous events shall soon transpire."

And with that he quietly left Gracchus' study.

'and the story continues – after the day at Cumae, the message from the Sibyl and Novius' alarming explanation of the scroll, Gracchus finds himself in a position where he has to plan for an uncertain, and difficult future – that will have profound implications for young Markos.

XIII. Aurora nova
13. A New Dawn

'novum initium et finis'

Gracchus remained cloistered in his study for the rest of the day – seeing no one – not even Terentius. He retired late, but was unable to sleep – his mind troubled by the disturbing contents of the prophecy that had been given to him by the god Apollo, through his oracle, the Sibyl.

As the first rays of the morning sun turned the sky a delicate pink, Gracchus rose from his bed and went down, accompanied by two of his young bodyguards, to the peristyle where the almost finished statue of Apollo had been placed. The marble was still in the process of being polished, and the god's lyre was still to be gilded, but it was almost complete.

The model for the nude statue of Apollo, holding a lyre, had been Gracchus' teenage slave-boy, Petronius. As one of Gracchus' most handsome slaves, he was an ideal model for the most beautiful of all the Olympian gods.

As Gracchus stood and contemplated the magnificent statue, he said, quietly to himself, a prayer to the great god – patron god of the young Octavian – later known as the 'Divine Augustus' – asking for the god's guidance in the difficult future that undoubtedly lay ahead.

After having a little breakfast, Gracchus called for Terentius. Terentius arrived at Gracchus study looking understandably concerned.

"I was worried, Dominus," he began. "After you saw Novius, you locked yourself away, and I was concerned about what the old gentleman might have said to you."

"Well, Terentius, I needed time to think," Gracchus explained.

"And what did Novius have to say about the scroll, Dominus?" Terentius asked.

"Well, he agrees with us about Caesaris astrum, but he says that it is meant to represent the desire to become Emperor – and this is where the contents of the scroll become dangerous for anyone, including you, who becomes aware of the meaning of the oracle," Gracchus explained.

"I understand, Dominus. My lips are sealed," Terentius said, reassuring Gracchus.

"So it seems that there will be four individuals who will attempt, soon it seems, to become emperor, but only one will succeed – and this will probably result in some kind of civil war," Gracchus continued wearily,

"Well, there's nothing we can do about that – except avoid getting involved," Terentius said, wondering where all this would lead.

"The most worrying thing that Novius said was that that he foresaw my demise some time after the political upheavals – and that's where the strangest part of the prophecy lies. It seems that the 'aurea puer ad mare' is our young Markos," Gracchus went on.

"But that's doesn't make sense!" Terentius exclaimed, "He's only a slave-boy! Why should he be included in a prophecy from the Sibyl?"

"Exactly!" Gracchus replied, "And that's what I said to Novius, but the prophecy seems quite clear and quite specific. From the way that I read it, it appears that after my demise he should take my name, and position, and carry on my work 3;" Gracchus continued to an incredulous Terentius.

"But that's absurd!" Terentius blurted out, forgetting for a moment his position as Gracchus freedman.

"Absurd it may seem," Gracchus replied, "But I knew from the beginning that there was something strange about the boy. His manner, his bearing – his speech. He was not a normal slave-boy. And what about that tale that Arion gave you – where the boy claimed to be the son of the Roman official killed by the pirates, and not the official's Greek slave-boy."

"Yes. But that's a story many slaves give, claiming to be freeborn," Terentius interjected.

"Yes – but they don't get a prophecy from an Olympian god to back up their claim!" Gracchus retorted.

There was silence in the room for a moment, as the implications of what Gracchus had just said became plain.

"I'm sorry, Dominus," Terentius then said, quietly. "I was forgetting myself. You are quite right. There is much more to this than appears on the surface, and you need to plan what you should do carefully. And I swear to you that I shall help and support you in every way that I can," Terentius continued.

"Thank you Terentius. I knew I could rely on you."

"So what shall we do?" Terentius asked.

"About the men who would be emperor, and the civil war? Nothing!" Gracchus replied. "The god has given us a timely warning, and it should enable us to avoid becoming involved. For our own safety we must say absolutely nothing about this. As for my demise – that is in the hands of the gods. As for Markos – that will need some thought." Gracchus continued. First you must go back to Arion, the slave trader, and question him thoroughly, but without letting him know the reasons for your questions. Say that your questions are prompted an inquiry from Rome. Meanwhile I must speak carefully to the boy today – and start making plans. And before you go to Arion, see that the statue of Apollo is gilded and finished immediately, and then have a second statue made, with young Petronius as the model. The original shall be dispatched as soon as possible to the temple at Cumae. And get the architect to design a shrine to Apollo in the main Atrium – opposite the shrine to Hermes, – and have him bring me the drawings as soon as possible."

"Of course, Dominus!" Terentius replied.

While Terentius started his long and arduous journey to Brundisium, Gracchus called for a messenger-boy to go and collect Markos. At the same time, he called for Quintus, as he wanted a record of his intended conversation with Markos. Quintus bustled into the room, with his cerae (wax tablets).

"Quintus – I want a record of my interview with this boy. When he enters the study, see that he is seated, as I want him to feel comfortable. In that way we may be more likely to get at the truth," Gracchus said, as he tidied his desk.

"Yes, Dominus!" Quintus replied, as he prepared a chair for Markos.

Markos, as usual in the morning, was at the main entrance to the villa with Glykon when the messenger-boy found him.

"Gracchus wants to see you!" the boy said breathlessly.

Glykon raided his eyebrows, wondering what was afoot, while Markos looked worried. Markos started to think about all the possible occasions, recently, when he may have said something untoward, that Gracchus might have taken exception to, especially regarding the trip to Cumae, but could think of nothing. Reluctantly, he followed the messenger-boy to Gracchus' study. As soon as he entered, Quintus offered him a chair. This was very odd – as slaves never normally sat in the presence of their master.

"Don't worry, Markos," Gracchus said reassuringly. "Sit down. I want you to be comfortable for our little chat."

Markos sat – by now very worried at this strange turn of events. Meanwhile, Quintus settled himself in a corner, with his stylus hovering over his wax tablet.

"Thank you, Dominus!" Markos said nervously.

"You have been here some considerable time, Markos – and I have been very pleased with your work, and your attitude towards your studies and your training. I have given you privileges, and special treatment because you are obviously intelligent – but also already well educated. Some have suggested that you are too well educated for an average slave – so there lingers in my mind the question of who you really are. Well?" Gracchus leaned back, leaving the question hanging in the air.

"You know who I am." Dominus, Markos said unsteadily. "Arion, the slave dealer explained that to Terentius."

"Yes, but even Arion was unsure of his facts." Gracchus retorted.

Markos was by then panicking. "But Dominus – if I say anything else, I may find myself being beaten, or something even worse!"

"If you tell me the truth, then no harm will come to you," Gracchus said, reassuringly.

"My father was Gaius Agrippa Aelius, and my name, before I was captured, was Marcus Gaius Aelius," Markos said slowly and with difficulty. "I was born in Athens. I never met any of my parent's family, and have no idea who they are. My father saw that I was well educated, but I had problems with both my parents, and spent most of my time with my father's Greek slaves, and other Greek friends – which is why I have a Greek accent. When my parents were killed, I deeply regretted being a bad son, and so as not to disgrace them any further, I allowed people to think I was my parents' Greek slave-boy. Now I am happy here in your 'domus'. The pirates could have killed me, but instead they allowed me a new chance in life – and although I am now a slave, I consider that Tyche has been kind to me."

Tyche (Τύχη) meaning 'luck'; Roman equivalent: Fortuna – was the presiding deity that governed fortune and prosperity. She is the daughter of Aphrodite and Zeus or Hermes. In literature, she might be given various genealogies, as a daughter of Hermes and Aphrodite, or considered as one of the Oceanids, daughters of Oceanus and Tethys, or of Zeus. She was connected with Nemesis and Agathos Daimon ('good spirit'). The Greek historian Polybius believed that when no cause can be discovered to events, then the cause of these events may be fairly attributed to Tyche. The constellation of Virgo is sometimes identified as the heavenly figure of Tyche, as well as the goddesses Demeter.

As Markos finished, he hung his head, as if ashamed – and there was a palpable silence in Gracchus' study.

"If you wish to beat me now, or do worse, then do so – if you think I have lied, but I swear to you that I have told you the truth," Markos finally said.

"Leave us!" Gracchus said quietly to Quintus, "And say nothing of this to anyone!"

Quintus, obviously confused by what had transpire, left the room.

Gracchus was staring at Markos.

"Well, young Marcus, it looks like Terentius has made an unnecessary journey. I sent him to speak to Arion, but I hardly think that is needed now," Gracchus smiled, but Markos (or was it Marcus?) didn't realize, because he was still sitting shamefully, with his eyes lowered.

"So, young man – what are we to do with you?"

"I do not know, Dominus," Markos mumbled.

"For the moment, Marcus, nothing will change. You will continue to be the slave-boy Markos – but I intend to give you further training in the work of my freedmen, such as Terentius," Gracchus said, and Markos nodded in acknowledgement.

"You will say nothing about our conversation, – nothing about your parents, and nothing about your time in Athens," Gracchus continued. "I will only say this to you – in confidence. It has been given to me that the gods, and one in particular, favor you, – and that there is a great future for you – if you can be patient. Study hard – learn – and wait. You may go!"

"Thank you, Dominus!" Markos replied, quietly – and with that he left Gracchus' study – bewildered, but somewhat relieved.

and the story continues – Gracchus, as a result of the prophecy from Apollo – decided to train Markos further, and introduces him to the world of the arena and gladiators.