Steven Saylor: The Triumph Of Caesar

The placard was ripped asunder-that part of my dream, at least, came true. Uncle Gnaeus tumbled head over heels. The knife flew from his grasp. He came to a halt and lay groaning and dazed on the ground amid the ruined remains of the calendar.

Red faced and sputtering, Arcesilaus looked ready to explode. Calpurnia let out a little scream and swooned; the lictor caught her. Diana ran into my arms; she trembled like a doe. The priests and camilli cried out in confusion. And Caesar…

Caesar alone, of everyone in that tent, appreciated the absolute absurdity of the moment. Resplendent in his gold-embroidered toga, wearing his crown of laurel leaves, the descendant of Venus and master of the world put his hands on his hips, threw back his head, and laughed.

I sat in my garden.

By the calendar-Caesar's new calendar-exactly a year had passed since the dedication of the Temple of Venus Genetrix.

In fact, the days that had transpired numbered substantially more than a year; before the new calendar could begin, some sixty or so days were simply added to the old calendar of Numa, which then expired forever.

The correction had successfully realigned the days with the seasons. And so, on the twenty-sixth day of September, six days before the Kalends of October, in the year one of Caesar's calendar, I sat in my garden, enjoying the mild weather of early fall, noting wistfully how short the days were growing.

It seemed strange, in a way, that September should again be an autumnal month and not the middle of summer; but a part of me, deep within, felt gratified beyond words. Man's calendar and the calendar of the cosmos had been reconciled. A flaw in the man-made world had been set right, and we had Caesar to thank for that.

Sitting in my garden, I thought back to the events of a year ago.

Immediately following Gnaeus Calpurnius's unwitting destruction of the placard, confusion reigned. Caesar laughed. Arcesilaus raged. Lictors sought to remove Diana and me from the tent, but I managed to make my way to Calpurnia. In a hurried whisper, I told her all I had realized about Uncle Gnaeus. She was in such a state that I couldn't be certain she understood me. The lictors swept me away.

The ceremony proceeded. On the temple steps, showing not a trace of discomposure, Caesar announced the introduction of his new calendar, but without the placard and without Uncle Gnaeus, who was nowhere to be seen. Calpurnia, too, had vanished.

Days passed. I attempted to visit Calpurnia. I was not admitted. Nor did I hear from her.

I did not hear from Caesar, either. He might at least have thanked me for saving his life.

I brooded in silence, until finally I wrote a message to Calpurnia. I pointed out that my purpose in assisting her had been, first and foremost, to discover the killer of Hieronymus and to obtain justice for my murdered friend. Did she understand what I had told her in the tent? Did Caesar understand what had occurred? What did the two of them intend to do about it? Rashly, perhaps, I demanded that the killer of Hieronymus must be punished. I told her I had no intention of seeing the matter swept under the carpet.

The next day I received her reply:

I regret to inform you that Uncle Gnaeus is no longer with us.

The night of the dedication, he succumbed to a sudden illness-a fever followed by delirium, copious sweating, and a seizure which stopped his heart. He died like a proud Roman, praising the achievements of our ancestors to his final breath. "Numa" was the last word he spoke.

You may remember his unfortunate fall in the tent, earlier that day. There are some who claim they saw a person throw an object at Uncle Gnaeus; Caesar himself did not witness the onset of my uncle's staggering fall, but I did, and I have explained to Caesar that it appeared to be caused by a sudden fit or spasm. Caesar apologized profusely for laughing at Uncle Gnaeus's clumsiness. He thinks this strange spasm must have been the first symptom of my uncle's illness. Caesar is surely right, as I am certain you will agree, should Caesar ever discuss the matter with you.

The funeral was conducted in a very private manner, as my uncle would have wished. I made no public announcement, as I did not want sad news to spoil the people's enjoyment of Caesar's generous entertainments.

As for the matter you raised in your last message to me, we shall never speak of it again.

Along with the note, the messenger delivered a small but very heavy box. I considered sending it back-I had told Calpurnia I would accept no payment-but Bethesda had seen the box and demanded to know what was inside. I let her sort the coins and tally their value. The task gave her great pleasure.

Justice, of a sort, had prevailed. A year had passed, and in all that time I had received no more visits from Hieronymus, in my dreams or otherwise. Did that mean his lemur was at peace? I hoped so.

The triumphs of Caesar marked the end of the old world and the beginning of the new, but the dedication of the Temple of Venus Genetrix was only the midpoint in the festivities. The days that followed were full of yet more feasting and celebration, as the people of Rome were presented with a dazzling array of diversions, including plays, which were staged all over the city. Syrus took first place among the playwrights, and the prize of a million sesterces. Laberius-who presented his satire uncut, including the thinly veiled references to Caesar-came in second, and received half a million sesterces. Caesar's fawning admirer and his sardonic critic both became wealthy men, thanks to the largesse of the dictator.

There were chariot races, athletic competitions, and equestrian exhibitions in the newly expanded Circus Maximus. There were contests in which gladiators were pitted against wild beasts. Spectacular reenactments of famous battles were staged in a special enclosure on the Field of Mars, in which hundreds of captives and condemned men fought to the death. A naval battle was waged on a man-made lake created especially for the purpose, using a thousand men on each side. Many died fighting or were drowned when their ships were set afire and sank.

The citizens of Rome grew sated with spectacle. The gory gladiator contests and staged battles created carnage on such a huge scale that some spectators began to question whether Caesar had not already caused enough bloodshed. Others were outraged at the profligacy of Caesar's expenditures. It was said that the dictator had robbed the whole world of its wealth and was now squandering his ill-gotten gains like a drunken brigand.

Most dissenters did no more than grumble, but at one point a group of disgruntled soldiers staged a small riot in the Forum. Caesar, chancing to come upon the disturbance with his lictors, apprehended one of the ringleaders with his own hands. The priest of Mars declared that three of the rioters must be put to death. The executions were carried out as a religious rite-yet another occasion for celebration. The men were sacrificed on the Field of Mars. Their heads were placed on stakes in the Forum. Did their grisly punishment remind people of the atrocities of Sulla? Such thoughts were spoken only in whispers.

Eventually, the celebrations came to an end. Life went on.

To deal with the last remnants of the Pompeian opposition, Caesar left Rome for Spain. Gaius Octavius had fallen ill and could not travel with him. In the month of Martius (by the new calendar), a decisive battle took place on the plains of Munda. Caesar lost a thousand men. The enemy lost thirty thousand. The opposition was crushed. Young Octavius arrived too late to take part in the slaughter.

Back in Rome, Marc Antony put aside Cytheris and married Fulvia. She encouraged him to travel to the Spanish frontier, where he placed himself at Caesar's disposal, and the two men were reconciled.