Steven Saylor - Arms of Nemesis

Iaia pursed her lips. 'Thank you, Gelina, but I think everyone here has already seen the work in progress.'

'No!' Gelina said. 'Gordianus hasn't, nor has his charming boy, Eco. They must be shown everything. Do you understand? We must conceal nothing from them, nothing at all. That's why they're here. To see, to observe. He has a sharp eye, they say. Not the eye of a connoisseur, I mean, but the eye of a hunter. Or a Finder, that's what you call yourself, isn't it? Perhaps tomorrow, Iaia, you can show him your work, and let him contemplate the wonder of your flying fish and terrible squids. Yes, I don't see why not, as long as there are no women in the women's baths, no women bathing, that is. Why not? I'm sure Gordianus appreciates art as much as any of us.'

Olympias cocked one eyebrow and looked at me coolly, then at Eco, who fidgeted under her gaze. Iaia, imperturbable, smiled and nodded. 'Certainly, Gelina, I'll be happy to give Gordianus a look at our work. Perhaps in the morning, when the light is at its best. But as long as we're speaking of art, I know that

Dionysius has a new play in progress, and we've hardly heard a thing about it.'

"That because Crassus always shuts him up,' Metrobius whispered in my ear.

'Actually, I've set aside my comedy for the time being.' Dionysius's thin Lips compressed into a smile. 'The events of the last few months, and especially of the last few days, have turned my thoughts to more serious matters. I am engrossed in a new work, a treatise with a timely subject — an examination of previous slave revolts, with some observations on how best to avoid such disruptions in the future.'

'Previous revolts?' Gelina said. 'You mean such things happened before Spartacus?'

'Oh, yes. The first that we know of was about a hundred and twenty years ago, after the war with Hannibal. Rome's victory resulted in a great capture of Carthaginians, who were held as hostages and prisoners of war. The slaves of these Carthaginians were captured as well, and were sold as booty. It happened that a large number of these hostages and. slaves came to be concentrated in the town of Setia, near Rome. The hostages contrived a plot to free themselves, and in this enterprise they embroiled their former slaves, promising them their freedom if they should rise up against their new Roman masters and help their former masters return to Carthage. Gladiator games were to be held in a few days' time at Setia; the plan was to rise up then and to slaughter the unsuspecting populace. Fortunately, two of the slaves betrayed the conspiracy to the praetor in Rome, who gathered a force of two thousand men and rushed to Setia. The leaders of the conspiracy were arrested, but there was a great flight of slaves from the town. Eventually they were all recaptured or slaughtered, but not before spreading terror through the vicinity. The two slaves who had wisely informed on their fellows were rewarded with twenty-five thousand pieces of bronze and given their freedom.'

'Ah!' Gelina, who had been listening, wide-eyed, nodded approvingly. 'I like a story with a happy ending.'

'The only thing more boring than politics is history,' said Metrobius with a yawn. 'In times of great crisis, such as we live in now, it seems to me that Dionysius would be doing the world a far greater service by producing a decent comedy instead of rehashing the dead past.'

'What on earth did a man like Sulla ever find to talk about with a man like you?' muttered Mummius.

Metrobius looked at him balefully. 'I might ask the same question about you and your-'

'Please, no unpleasantness after the meal,' insisted Gelina. 'It disturbs the digestion. Dionysius, do go on. How did you ever discover such a fascinating tale?'

'I have often given thanks to Minerva and to the shade of Herodotus for the magnificent library so assiduously collected by your late husband,' said Dionysius delicately. 'For a man such as myself, to reside in a house full of knowledge is almost as great an inspiration as to reside in a house full of beauty. Here in this villa, happily, I have never had to choose between the two.'

Gelina smiled, and there was a general murmur of approval at such a pretty compliment.

'But to continue: the aborted uprising at Setia was the first instance I can find of a general revolt or attempted escape by a large, organized body of slaves. There followed a few other, similar occurrences over the years, in Italy and elsewhere, but I can find only scanty documentation of them. And they are of no account compared to the two Sicilian slave wars, the first of which began about sixty years ago — in the year of my birth, in fact. I often heard tales of it when I was growing up.

'It seems that in those days the landowners of Sicily first began to accumulate great wealth and to amass vast numbers of slaves. Their wealth made the Sicilians arrogant; the constant influx of slaves from captured provinces in Africa and the East made them treat their slaves with little regard, for a slave crippled by overwork or malnutrition was easily replaced. Indeed, many landowners would send out slaves to work as shepherds without proper clothing or even food. When those slaves complained of their nakedness and hunger, their masters would tell them to steal clothes and food from travellers on the road! For all its wealth, Sicily degenerated into a lawless and desperate place.

'There was one landowner, Antigenes by name, who was known to everyone for his excessive cruelty. He was the first man on the island to brand his slaves for identification, and the practice soon spread all over Sicily. Slaves who came to him begging for food or clothing were beaten, chained, and put on humiliating display before being sent back to their tasks, as naked and hungry as before.

'This Antigenes did have a favourite slave whom he delighted in both coddling and humiliating, a Syrian called Eunus, who fancied himself a wizard and wonder-worker. This Eunus would tell of dreams in which the gods had spoken to him. People always like to hear such stories, even from a slave. Soon Eunus began to see the gods, or pretend that he did, in broad daylight, and to converse with them in strange tongues while others looked on in wonder. He could also spit fire from his mouth.'

'Fire?' Gelina was aghast.

'An old theatrical trick,' Metrobius explained. 'You bore holes into either end of a walnut or something similar, stuff it with fuel, light it and pop it into your mouth, then blow flames and sparks. Any conjurer in the Subura can do it.'

'Ah, but it was Eunus who first brought the trick from Syria,' said Dionysius. 'His master Antigenes would display him at dinner parties, where Eunus would fall into his trance, spit fire, and afterwards reveal the future. The more outlandish the tale, the better it was received. For instance, he told Antigenes and his guests that a Syrian goddess had appeared to him promising that he, a slave, would become king of all Sicily, but that they should not fear him, for he would have a very tolerant policy toward the slave owners. Antigenes' guests found this highly amusing and rewarded Eunus with delicacies from the table, telling him to remember their kindness when he became king. Little did they realize the dark course of the future.

'It came about that the slaves of Antigenes decided to revolt against their master, but first they consulted Eunus, asking him if the gods would favour their enterprise. Eunus told them that their revolt would be successful, but only if they struck brutally and without hesitation. The slaves, about four hundred of them, held a ceremony in an open field that night, exchanging oaths and perforrning rites and sacrifices as Eunus instructed. They worked themselves into a murderous frenzy and then broke into the city, killing free men, raping women, even slaughtering babies. Antigenes was captured, stripped, beaten, and beheaded. The slaves dressed Eunus in rich garments and a crown of gold leaf and proclaimed him their king.