The Ides of March (34 page)

T
ITUS
S
PURINNA
– Etruscan augur. Suetonius remembers him as the man who warned Caesar against an imminent threat on the Ides of March. On the fatal day, mocked by Caesar who reminded him of his dire prophecy, Spurinna replied that the Ides of March had come but were not yet gone.

V
IBIUS
– Fictional character. A scout (
speculator
) like Rufus, he is the exact opposite of his friend, physically: his dark hair and black eyes are typical of his Apulian origins. The bond between Vibius and Rufus comes through in their easy camaraderie, seeming to incarnate the simplicity and courage of the Italic peoples.

‘T
HE
W
RESTLER
’ – Fictional character. Works for Caesar’s supporters. He knows the territory like the back of his hand, and his brutish appearance belies his skilfulness and intelligence. He struggles against all odds in the attempt to get the message that could save Caesar to Rome.

Places of Ancient Rome

(
mid first century BC
)

C
AESAR’S
V
ILLA
B
EYOND
T
HE
T
IBER
– It is not known exactly where the villa stood; presumably in the modern Trastevere district, in the direction of Ostia. The villa which housed Cleopatra was surrounded by extensive gardens, rich with trees, statues and waterlilied ponds. Antony’s villa was probably not far away, perhaps on the Janiculum.

C
AMPUS
M
ARTIUS
– An area north-west of the city and outside the metropolitan territory dedicated, since the age of the kings, to Mars, the god of war. The ‘Field of Mars’ was once used for growing crops, but became urbanized during the Republican and Imperial ages. Pompey had a theatre built there, along with the Curia where Julius Caesar was assassinated.

D
OMUS
P
UBLICA
– The residence of the Pontifex Maximus, located near the
Regia
(meaning ‘royal residence’) where the kings of Rome were said to have lived. Religious rites were celebrated at the
Regia
in Caesar’s day.

F
ORUM
– The forum was the political, economic and religious heart of the city, the place that preserved the most ancient memories of the origin of Rome. The area was once a marsh before it was drained by the Tarquinian kings who built the city’s first sewer, the
Cloaca Maxima
, which made it possible to pave the area and transform it into a public meeting place. The forum was surrounded by the great basilicas, the Senate Curia, the
Regia
, the House of the Vestals and the Rostra, the great tribune from which orators spoke.

H
OUSE OF THE
V
ESTALS
– Residence of the vestal virgins and the Vestalis Maxima, the chief vestal, whose duty it was to ensure that the sacred fire burning in the circular Temple of Vesta never went out. It was located at the point where the Via Sacra joined the Via Nova, which led to the Palatine.

P
OMPEY’S
C
URIA
– The temporary seat of the Senate. Pompey’s Curia was one of the great monumental structures raised in the
Campus Martius
. It was part of an enormous complex built in 55 BC that included a temple, a theatre and a gigantic four-sided portico that ended with the Curia where the Senate held its session on the Ides of March, 44 BC. Opposite it were four Republican temples whose ruins are still visible today at the Largo di Torre Argentina square.

P
ONS
F
ABRICIUS
– Built in 62 BC, the oldest masonry bridge in Rome. It still connects the left bank of the Tiber with the Tiber Island.

P
ORT OF
O
STIA
– The settlement, which probably dates back to the fourth century BC, was founded, according to tradition, by none other than Ancus Marcius, the fourth king of Rome. It was the harbour and emporium of Rome. Ships arrived from all over the Mediterranean laden with goods that were redistributed on to smaller boats that sailed up the Tiber to the city, where they were then unloaded into the warehouses lining the riverbanks.

T
EMPLE OF
D
IANA
– There were several temples dedicated to Diana in Rome; the most famous stood on the Aventine hill. The one where Caesar and Servilia meet in the novel is found in the area of the Flaminius Circus in the
Campus Martius
.

T
EMPLE OF
J
UPITER
O
PTIMUS
M
AXIMUS
(Capitolinus) – Perhaps the most ancient sanctuary of Rome. Standing on the Capitoline hill, it was built during the age of the Tarquinian kings and dedicated to the Capitoline Triad ( Jupiter, Juno and Minerva). It was burned down, restructured and restored numerous times. Its original architecture must have closely resembled an Etruscan temple, with a tufa podium, masonry walls and a wooden roof, decorated with multi-hued terracotta ornaments.

T
EMPLE OF
S
ATURN
– The oldest temple in Rome, along with the Temple of Jupiter Capitolinus. Construction was begun during the age of the kings and the temple was inaugurated in the fifth century BC. Completely rebuilt by Munatius Plancus three years after Caesar’s death.

T
EMPLE OF
V
ENUS
G
ENETRIX
– Built by Julius Caesar in his forum. The sanctuary was dedicated to the legendary forebear of the
gens Julia
who was believed to have descended from Julus, the son of Aeneas, who was the son of Venus herself. The propagandistic intent was evident: Caesar was the new father of his homeland, following in the steps of Aeneas.

T
IBER
I
SLAND
– An alluvial island in the Tiber river, connected to the mainland by two bridges, the Pons Fabricius and the Pons Cestius. In the first century BC, it was given the shape of a ship, achieving an extraordinary monumental and scenic effect. The Temple of Aesculapius, god of medicine, was built on the island in 290 BC, after a great plague broke out in Rome. The island may have been one of the reasons Rome was originally chosen as a settlement site, acting as a natural ford between the north and south banks of the Tiber, thus connecting the north and south of the Italian peninsula.

T
ULLIANUM
P
RISON
(later Mamertine Prison) – The oldest prison in Rome, excavated in the south-eastern slopes of the Capitoline hill. Notable prisoners included Tiberius Gracchus, Lentulus and Cethegus – Catiline’s fellow conspirators – Vercingetorix, Jugurtha the King of Numidia and, according to an early Christian tradition, the apostle Peter.

V
IA
S
ACRA
– The street that went from the
Velia
, where the
rex sacrorum
lived, to the
Regia
. From here, it continued to the Temple of Saturn where it turned into the
Clivus Capitolinus
.

V
ICUS
J
UGARIUS
– The street which began at the Tiber river and led to the Forum, passing between the Temple of Saturn and the Basilica Julia.