Plot summary
The year is 46 BC. Having won the civil war, Julius Caesar is now the master of Rome. Gordianus the Finder and his family return home after their recuperative trip to Egypt, and are given grim news: Gordianus's friend, Hieronymus (whom Gordianus rescued from human sacrifice in Last Seen in Massilia ) has been murdered. Caesar's wife, Calpurnia, who has become more superstitious and paranoid with each passing day, believes there is a plot to kill her husband. In Gordianus's absence, she hired Hieronymus to investigate, and now his murder seems to lend credence to the threat. Calpurnia is frantic, since her information indicates that the prospective assassin plans for Caesar to be dead by the end of his great triumph.
As each day of the triumph goes by, Gordianus has no better plan than to follow in Hieronymus's footsteps, interviewing everyone he spoke with in the last days of his life. As he does so, Gordianus becomes conscious of just how many people have reason to want Caesar dead:
- Mark Antony: once Caesar's right-hand man in the Gallic Wars, Antony has been demoted, and placed under virtual house arrest after some of his questionable actions as prefect of Rome in Caesar's absence;
- Cicero: the last of Caesar's political enemies from the Roman Senate, Cicero has been humiliated by Caesar in both politics and war;
- Cleopatra: Queen of Egypt and Caesar's lover, trying to legitimize their son Caesarion's status as Caesar's heir, and frustrated at his refusal to publicly acclaim the child as such;
- Vercingetorix and Arsinoe IV: the former leader of the Gauls and Cleopatra's sister, respectively, both scheduled to be publicly executed during the triumph.
While all of these people seem to have the motive for plotting against Caesar, few seem to have the inclination (for instance, Antony seems more interested in spending his days in debauchery, and Cicero is slavishly devoted to his new young wife, Publilia) and those that do (such as Vercingetorix and Arsinoe) seem to lack opportunity.
During the triumph, Gordianus and his family happen to be in the crowd when a call by his simple-minded ward, Rupa, to spare Arsinoe's life, is taken up by the crowd, and moves Caesar to grant her pardon. No similar occurrence saves Vercingetorix, who is strangled in the Tullianum.
The last day of the triumph arrives, and Gordianus is hopeful that nothing will happen, though he is still nagged by the mystery of Hieronymus's death. In the afternoon, he and his family happen to be attending a ceremony at a temple where Caesar is formally inaugurating his new calendar. For a moment, Gordianus hallucinates that he sees Hieronymus's ghost in front of him, telling him he has arrived at the root of the plot against Caesar.
Suddenly, Gordianus realizes who the plotter is: Calpurnia's uncle Gnaeus Calpurnius, a descendant of King Numa Pompilius, and the high priest of the deified King's cult. King Numa gave the Roman people the calendar they are using now, and Gnaeus Calpurnius considers Caesar's replacement of it an unforgivable sacrilege. Just as he realizes this, Gordianus tackles Gnaeus Calpurnius shortly before he stabs Caesar in the back on the altar. Caesar remains oblivious to how close he came to death, and appears annoyed at Gordianus for disrupting the ceremony.
In the aftermath of the Triumph, Gnaeus Calpurnius is discreetly abducted and executed. When Gordianus reports to Calpurnia, he notices that her anxiety and paranoia have not been assuaged by his success at uncovering the plot; if anything, she seems even more convinced that Caesar will be dead before long. Gordianus, having seen how many enemies Caesar has made in his career, privately redoubles his resolve to distance himself and his family from Caesar as much as possible.
Gaius Julius Caesar was a Roman general and statesman. A member of the First Triumvirate, Caesar led the Roman armies in the Gallic Wars before defeating his political rival Pompey in a civil war, and subsequently became dictator from 49 BC until his assassination in 44 BC. He played a critical role in the events that led to the demise of the Roman Republic and the rise of the Roman Empire.
Marcus Antonius, commonly known in English as Mark Antony, was a Roman politician and general who played a critical role in the transformation of the Roman Republic from a constitutional republic into the autocratic Roman Empire.
Year 48 BC was a year of the pre-Julian Roman calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Caesar and Vatia. The denomination 48 BC for this year has been used since the early medieval period, when the Anno Domini calendar era became the prevalent method in Europe for naming years.
Year 44 BC was either a common year starting on Sunday, common year starting on Monday, leap year starting on Friday, or leap year starting on Saturday. and a common year starting on Sunday of the Proleptic Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Julius Caesar V and Marc Antony. The denomination 44 BC for this year has been used since the early medieval period, when the Anno Domini calendar era became the prevalent method in Europe for naming years.
This article concerns the period 49 BC – 40 BC.
This article concerns the period 59 BC – 50 BC.
Year 52 BC was a year of the pre-Julian Roman calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Pompeius and Scipio. The denomination 52 BC for this year has been used since the early medieval period, when the Anno Domini calendar era became the prevalent method in Europe for naming years.
Lucius Calpurnius Piso Caesoninus was a Roman senator and the father-in-law of Julius Caesar through his daughter Calpurnia. He was reportedly a follower of a school of Epicureanism that had been modified to befit politicians, as Epicureanism itself favoured withdrawal from politics. Piso was consul in the year 58 BC with Aulus Gabinius as his colleague.
Steven Saylor is an American author of historical novels. He is a graduate of the University of Texas at Austin, where he studied history and classics.
Roma Sub Rosa is a series of historical mystery novels by Steven Saylor set in ancient Rome and therefore populated by famous historic Roman citizens. The phrase "Roma Sub Rosa" means, in Latin, "Rome under the rose." If a matter was sub rosa, "under the rose," it meant that such matter was confidential.
Julius Caesar is a 2003 miniseries about the life of Julius Caesar. It was directed by Uli Edel and written by Peter Pruce and Craig Warner. It is a dramatization of the life of Julius Caesar from 82 BC to his death in 44 BC. It was one of the last two films of Richard Harris, released in the year of his death. The series was originally broadcast on TNT in two parts, airing June 29 and 30, 2003. The tagline for the miniseries was His Time Has Come. The miniseries was nominated for 2 Emmys for Outstanding Makeup for a Miniseries, and Outstanding Sound Editing.
Calpurnia was either the third or fourth wife of Julius Caesar, and the one to whom he was married at the time of his assassination. According to contemporary sources, she was a good and faithful wife, in spite of her husband's infidelity; and, forewarned of the attempt on his life, she endeavored in vain to prevent his murder.
The gens Calpurnia was a plebeian family at ancient Rome, which first appears in history during the third century BC. The first of the gens to obtain the consulship was Gaius Calpurnius Piso in 180 BC, but from this time their consulships were very frequent, and the family of the Pisones became one of the most illustrious in the Roman state. Two important pieces of Republican legislation, the lex Calpurnia of 149 BC and lex Acilia Calpurnia of 67 BC were passed by members of the gens.
Marcus Pupius Piso Frugi Calpurnianus was a Roman senator. Originally a member of the gens Calpurnia, which claimed descent from Numa Pompilius, the second king of Rome, a Calpurnius Piso Frugi, he was adopted by Marcus Pupius, when the latter was an old man. He retained, however, his family-name Piso.
Cleopatra is a 1999 miniseries adaptation of Margaret George's 1997 historical fiction novel The Memoirs of Cleopatra. Produced by Hallmark Entertainment, it stars Leonor Varela as the Egyptian queen Cleopatra, Timothy Dalton as Julius Caesar, Billy Zane as Mark Antony, Rupert Graves as Octavius, Sean Pertwee as Brutus and Bruce Payne as Cassius. Cleopatra was shown first on the ABC television network in two parts on two consecutive evenings in May 1999 and then released on videotape and DVD. Judy Farr, Martin Hitchcock and Frank Walsh were nominated for an Emmy in 1999 for outstanding art direction for a miniseries or a movie for their work on Cleopatra.
The military campaigns of Julius Caesar were a series of wars that reshaped the political landscape of the Roman Republic, expanded its territories, and ultimately paved the way for the transition from republic to empire. The wars constituted both the Gallic Wars and Caesar's civil war.
Rubicon is a historical novel by American author Steven Saylor, first published by St. Martin's Press in 1999. It is the seventh book in his Roma Sub Rosa series of mystery stories set in the final decades of the Roman Republic. The main character is the Roman sleuth Gordianus the Finder.
Last Seen in Massilia is a historical novel by American author Steven Saylor, first published by St. Martin's Press in 2000. It is the eighth book in his Roma Sub Rosa series of mystery stories set in the final decades of the Roman Republic. The main character is the Roman sleuth Gordianus the Finder.
A Mist of Prophecies is a historical novel by American author Steven Saylor, first published by St. Martin's Press in 2002. It is the ninth book in his Roma Sub Rosa series of mystery stories set in the final decades of the Roman Republic. The main character is the Roman sleuth Gordianus the Finder.
The gens Pupia was a plebeian family at ancient Rome. Members of this gens are mentioned as early as 409 BC, when Publius Pupius was one of the first plebeian quaestors, but over the course of centuries they achieved little of significance, and rarely held any of the higher offices of the Roman state.
