by Randy Singer
As the new emperor slowly made his way through the Forum, I could tell he was trying hard not to enjoy the moment too much. He didn’t allow his face to break into the kind of beaming smile that he must have been feeling inside.
Out of their disdain for Tiberius and love for Germanicus, the Roman mobs were offering Caligula absolute power. Even Augustus had not been deified in his lifetime. But watching the fervor on the faces of those who adored their new “son”—tears streaming down the cheeks of the women, mothers holding their children out toward him for a blessing, men cheering lustily for this new Roman savior—I knew that Caligula could just say the word and become a god.
But I also knew the man in a way that others did not. And the smug look of satisfaction on his face as he waved at the crowd terrified me. If this was Rome’s new savior, may the gods help us.
CHAPTER 42
In an unprecedented move, selected representatives of the equestrian order and common citizens were invited to the Senate for Caligula’s inaugural speech. Because of my role in the treason trial of Apronius, I was one of the chosen ones who received an invitation.
I arrived early and found a spot in the back, against the wall, squeezed in with more than a hundred others. It was a good vantage point from which to watch the senators parade in. There was a lot of backslapping and hand shaking as they milled about waiting for Caligula’s arrival. The mood was much lighter than the last time I had been here.
Apronius came by and chatted with me. Marcus Lepidus greeted me as well. Crispinus, Mutilus, and Otho shot me a few threatening looks from the other side of the chamber, but I ignored them. The power had shifted like the sands of the Mediterranean. Nobody quite knew how it would shake out, but there was a general feeling that senators like Crispinus and his ilk would be on the outside looking in.
Cato eventually called the meeting to order, and the senators took their seats. All eyes turned toward the huge bronze doors in the back. The trumpets blared, the guards parted, and Gaius Julius Caesar Augustus Germanicus entered the chamber.
The senators stood as one and burst into enthusiastic applause. Caligula walked down the center aisle, nodding at the men as he made his way to the front. He stopped for a few minutes at the polished marble floor where I had made my defense of Apronius. He glanced around and acknowledged the senators and equestrians he knew. He didn’t notice me in the back of the chamber. I didn’t expect him to.
He took his place between the two consuls on the dais, and I was struck by how calm he appeared. Cato seized his moment in the sun and introduced the new emperor with flowery oratory that would have made any normal man blush.
Caligula looked regal enough. His crisp white toga had a gold brooch on the shoulder, reflecting shafts of light from the high windows in the chamber. When he rose to speak, there was another round of thunderous applause. He basked in it for a while and then motioned for the senators to take their seats.
He began his speech by complimenting the senators and lauding the importance of their august body. Because of my training, I couldn’t resist the urge to grade his delivery. I found it to be somewhat pedestrian. He had the entire speech memorized, and it lacked spontaneity. His eyes darted this way and that, reflecting his nervousness. His hand motions were short and abrupt.
He promised to share power with the Senate in a way that Tiberius had not. Twice he referred to himself as their son. His pronouncements, though poorly delivered, were punctuated with standing ovations as even the senators who had looked skeptical at the start of his speech seemed to be warming to the young Caesar.
As he grew increasingly comfortable, his voice lowered half an octave and he became more animated. Caligula announced with great confidence that he was putting an end to the maiestas trials altogether. Applause broke out, but he spoke over it. All who had been exiled or imprisoned under Tiberius would regain their status and freedom immediately. All documents connected with the trials would be destroyed. Those trials were a disgraceful chapter in Rome’s history, and it was time to move on.
During this part of his speech, the applause grew louder with each sentence. By the time he announced his pardon for those who had been exiled, the senators were standing. When he declared that it was time to move forward, there was a sustained standing ovation inside the chamber, echoed by cheering in the streets outside. Even Crispinus, Otho, and Mutilus were standing and clapping, though they didn’t look happy about it.
By the time the applause died down and the senators took their seats, I was starting to think that maybe Caligula had changed from the self-centered and spoiled fourteen-year-old I had known. Whether he had or not, I could still breathe easier, less concerned about Crispinus’s threats of legal revenge.
Caligula next addressed the issue of Tiberius’s will. Even though the Senate had invalidated the will, Caligula decided to honor the bequest by Tiberius to grant each member of the Praetorian Guard one thousand sestertii. I glanced at the soldiers, and they were all smiles. Caligula promised that within a week they would be paid that bonus, which was roughly an entire year’s salary for each soldier.
And he didn’t stop there. Each member of the Roman police force and each firefighter would receive five hundred sestertii. Not only that, but every single citizen in the Roman Empire would receive three hundred.
Needless to say, the cheering was more boisterous than ever, and my ears rang from the sound. I clapped along but secretly wondered how much money Tiberius had left in the public treasury. Could Rome afford all of this benevolence?
Caligula next requested that the Senate consider granting Tiberius the same honors that Augustus Caesar had received after his death, including elevation to the status of a god and inclusion in the Roman Pantheon. This time, the senators held their applause.
I wondered if Caligula had anticipated that response. There could be no love lost between Caligula and the man who had killed his mother and brother. Perhaps Caligula wanted to make a request he knew the senators wouldn’t accept so that they would feel like they had already regained some of their authority. At the same time, Caligula could say that he had done everything possible to honor Tiberius but the Senate had overruled him.
It was clever. And it reminded me of the types of double-crossing Caligula had engaged in when we studied together under Seneca.
By the time he finished, I might have been the only person in Rome with mixed emotions about the new emperor. He announced that Tiberius would be given a proper burial, followed by one hundred straight days of chariot races, plays, and gladiator games. He had already begun making the arrangements for importing the exotic animals.
Caligula walked out of the Senate chamber to more deafening applause, and he was followed closely by senators now savoring the afterglow of his glory. By the time I filed out of the Senate, the emperor had been swallowed up by the wildly enthusiastic crowd. There was not a cloud in the sky as Caligula worked his way down the Forum.
“What do you think of our new emperor?” a voice behind me asked.
I turned to make sure that Seneca was alone before I answered. “I think I’d like to go back to Judea,” I said.
“Only if you take me with you.”
CHAPTER 43
It had been years since Flavia had seen a man inside the House of Vestal. By law, the only man allowed in the Vestal dwelling was the spiritual ruler of the household, the Pontifex Maximus. For the past eleven years, that man had been ruling from the island of Capri. Though Tiberius had technically designated the functions of Pontifex Maximus to Sejanus for some of those years, Sejanus had seldom set foot in the House of Vestal.
It took Caligula less than three days to pay a visit.
He came with an hour’s notice, and Flavia had never seen her colleagues more flustered.
Calpurnia, the head of the Vestals, barked out orders to ensure the place was spotless and that the ladies themselves were ready to be seen by the Princeps.
It took Flavia nearly thirty minutes just
to prepare her hair on the off chance that she would actually get to meet the young emperor. On most days, if she was not going to be seen in public, she just gathered her hair into a bun on the back of her neck or coiled it into a knot on top of her head. But today she had her hairdresser tie her hair tightly into the braided style of the Vestals, complete with ribbons on the crown of her head and a few ringlets that she allowed to fall and frame her face.
She applied her makeup and appraised herself in the mirror. She thanked her hairdresser and put on her perfumes.
Caligula had been at the house for an hour before a servant came to Flavia’s room and requested her presence. Earlier, Calpurnia had promised the women that she would try to introduce them to Caligula. Accordingly, the servant’s request wasn’t unexpected, though it still made Flavia’s palms wet with anxiety.
When she arrived at the main meeting hall and realized she was the only Vestal who had been summoned, she had a hard time catching her breath.
Flavia looked the young emperor in the eye, struck anew by how out of place Caligula looked. She had a hard time picturing him as a supreme ruler. He was tall with spindly legs and a thin neck. His eyes were round and a little buggy. He had curly red hair that was trimmed so that it sat on his head like a crown. And especially in comparison to Tiberius, he seemed so young. His face was as smooth as a young boy’s, and he was sunburned on his arms, neck, and face, bringing out his freckles. Could anyone his age really be prepared to rule the empire?
Flavia bowed, waiting for Caligula to extend the hand bearing the signet ring. “Hail, Caesar.”
“Please,” he said, reaching out his hand to take hers and pulling her upright. “I’m not one to stand on formal greetings.”
Flavia stole a glance at Calpurnia, their eyes both reflecting the same message. How refreshing.
“I just wanted to meet the Vestal brave enough to intervene in the execution of Lucius Apronius,” Caligula said.
Flavia murmured something in response, not really sure if it made sense. “I was looking forward to meeting you too,” or something like that.
He asked if they could go for a private walk in the gardens, and Flavia’s face grew hot. She looked at Calpurnia, who nodded.
And just like that, Flavia found herself taking a private stroll in the Vestal gardens with the young emperor, knowing that every other Vestal was peeking at them through the windows.
She warmed up to him quickly when he insisted that she dispense with the formalities and call him Caligula. She complimented him on his speech to the Senate and particularly his abolishment of the maiestas trials. He asked a dozen questions about life in Rome, primarily focused on the political climate and the leanings of certain senators. He seemed to be nervous and consequently talked fast. Flavia knew she had that effect on men in general but never thought that an emperor would be among them.
They found common ground when it came to Greek culture, particularly the plays. It was almost scandalous to hear a man in Caligula’s position profess a love for drama and a desire to be one of the actors. “It’s the only thing that kept me alive on Capri,” he said.
“Greek drama?”
“No, my ability to act.”
They sat under a marble statue of one of the most revered Vestal Virgins from the Republican era, and Caligula unburdened himself. Though in his inaugural speech he had urged the Senate to deal gently with Tiberius’s legacy, he now revealed the agony he had gone through living with the man who had ordered the deaths of his mother and brother. Intrigue was rampant on the island, and Tiberius had watched his grandson like a hawk. Caligula had to remind himself every day that he was just an actor in a play. The slightest sign of sorrow at the death of a family member might lead to his own execution.
Flavia had known that Caligula was trapped on Capri with Tiberius but had never really thought about the psychological torture the young man had endured. Even from a distance, Tiberius was feared for his short temper and arbitrary punishments of imagined conspirators. She couldn’t imagine living with that kind of person every day.
Sitting under the statue and listening to Caligula describe the house of horrors on Capri in such matter-of-fact tones drew out an emotion that Flavia never thought she would experience with the new emperor. She actually felt sorry for the man. He seemed like he needed a friend. He seemed overwhelmed by his new responsibilities and scarred by the past. And who wouldn’t be?
They started walking again, this time more slowly, and Caligula sought her counsel.
“It’s been two days since I spoke to the Senate,” he said. “My advisers tell me the Senate is ready to issue a decree of damnatio memoriae, damning the memory of Tiberius and expunging him from all public records. They say the Senate will also grant me whatever additional powers I request. That the people will revolt if the Senate offers any resistance.”
They took a few steps in silence. “Is that what you want?” Flavia asked. “The same kind of power that your grandfather had?”
The question seemed to catch Caligula off guard. He looked at Flavia for a moment and then turned his attention back to the path in front of them. “That’s the problem. I’m not entirely sure how to navigate this.”
You’ve come to the right place, Flavia wanted to tell him. She had a few opinions on how the empire should be run. And now here, as if served to her on a golden platter, was an opportunity to influence the most powerful man alive.
“Would you like my advice?”
“Absolutely.”
Something deep in her spirit told her not to trust the man, but she decided to take a risk. What if this was her one opportunity, brought to her by the gods themselves, to help set things right?
“Follow through on your promise to end the maiestas trials,” she said. “They turn senators into cannibals, eating each other alive and redistributing fortune and power to the most greedy and deceptive among them. Those trials have turned perjury and conspiracy into an art form.”
She waited for a reaction, but Caligula just kept walking. “Okay, what else?”
Flavia glanced over the shoulder of Caligula and saw a head pull away from a window. This was fun! Every other Vestal would be asking her later to recount the conversation word for word.
For the next thirty minutes, she discussed politics and policies with the new emperor. Caligula had clearly given these matters a lot of thought, and he impressed Flavia with his desire to usher in a new era in Rome.
But just when she started to drop her guard, Caligula stopped walking and stared at her for a moment, an awkward gaze from head to toe like he was sizing her up. She felt more than a little uncomfortable, though she quickly reminded herself that the young man had been bottled up on Capri and shouldn’t be expected to possess normal social graces.
“We didn’t have women like you on Capri,” Caligula eventually said.
Flavia blushed and didn’t know how to respond. Men didn’t speak to the Vestal Virgins that way. But this was the emperor. Who knew what the rules were with him? “I’ll take that as a compliment,” she said.
“As you should.” The statement itself was innocent enough, but his tone was foreboding.
When he left the house later that morning, Flavia had mixed emotions. On the one hand, she hoped he would follow her advice and become the kind of emperor Rome needed. On the other, she couldn’t help but worry about a man like Caligula when he possessed such unfettered power.
That night, a full moon shone in a clear sky over the city, a sure sign that the gods were smiling on the new reign of the popular son of Germanicus.
Flavia was enjoying a night in the Vestals’ private baths with three of the other Virgins. Adrianna was talking about what a breath of fresh air it was to have a new emperor. A young emperor. A man of the people.
Flavia kept her thoughts to herself. She too was hopeful that Caligula would restore some of the decency and glory of Rome. But it was easy to make speeches. There was still a lot of work to be done.
> It was nearly midnight when Flavia saw a figure on the cliff of the Palatine Hill, on the grounds of the emperor’s palace overlooking the House of Vestal. She could see the outline of somebody squatting there, staring down at them.
“Don’t everyone look at the same time,” Flavia said, “but there’s a man watching us from the cliffs of the Palatine Hill.”
The other two Vestals stole a glance and said they didn’t see anything. By the time Flavia looked up again, the figure was gone.
“I’m going inside,” Flavia said.
There were strict rules about honoring the privacy of the Vestals. During the entire reign of Tiberius, nobody had been allowed on the palace grounds that overlooked the bath complex. Yet now, during the first few days of Caligula’s reign, that barrier had been breached.
Perhaps it was just coincidence. Flavia certainly hoped so. But her instincts, and her interaction earlier that day with Caligula, told her otherwise.
She lay awake for a long time that night, staring at the ceiling. She waited until the house was perfectly silent and the only Vestal awake would be the one assigned to the eternal flame in the temple of Vesta. She waited until she knew the public baths in Rome had shut down for the night and most of the city would be sound asleep.
It was perhaps four hours before dawn when she rose and quietly dressed. She made sure no one was following as she left the house, her sandals in her hand, careful to make as little noise as possible. She stayed in the shadows and made her way across the Forum and down the hill. She stopped in an alley and put on her sandals.
