The Bow of Heaven - Book I: The Other Alexander

by Andrew Levkoff

  This book being a work of fiction, I have taken several liberties interpreting the life of Crassus, based on the premise that because of his singular defeat at the battle of Carrhae, his story was rewritten by pro-Roman historians. (It's not like it hasn't happened before.) For this reason I have cherry-picked the details of his life. My errors, hopefully, were more of omission than commission, with the possible exception of his home on the Palatine. It is unlikely that the house was as grand as I describe, for like his father, Crassus lived modestly and without ostentation. As Mary Agnes Hamilton says in Ancient Rome: The Lives of Great Men, "at a time when he owned half the houses in Rome, and so many members of the Senate were in debt to him that they dared not vote against his wishes, he built for himself only one house, and that of moderate size."

  I ask those of my readers whose knowledge of ancient Rome is second only to their love of this glorious, insane time in history to be patient with one new to their ranks.

  GLOSSARY

  Abolla A loose, woolen cloak

  Acheron One of the five rivers leading to Hades: the river of woe

  Aediles Municipal magistrates and record keepers

  Ala Wing, of a house; also, a cavalry unit

  Amphorae Storage vessels, usually large, to contain liquids

  Ampullae Jugs or bottles, usually clay

  Ampullae oleariae Bottles of oil for bathing, sometimes perfumed

  Analecta Dining room slave

  As Roman coin worth one-quarter of one sestercius.

  Atriensis Chief slave or majordomo of a Roman household.

  Aureus Gold Roman coin worth 400 as, 100 sesterces, 25 denarii.

  Caecubum According to Theodor Mommsen, “the most prized of all” wines before the age of Augustus

  Calamus Reed pen, writing utensil

  Calidarium Roman steam bath

  Caligae Boots

  Capena Gate The gate through which the Appian Way enters the city of Rome

  Cenaculum Apartment, flat; plural: cenacula

  Century Roman army unit composed of ten contuberniums, or eighty legionaries

  Clientes Clients: those who depended upon the power and influence of their patrons

  Columba Dove

  Commisatio Drinking bout

  Comitium The center of all political activity in Rome

  Compluvium An opening in the roof of a Roman atrium which let in light and air. Rainwater would fall to be collected in a pool below called an impluvium

  Consuls Similar to co-presidents, they were joint heads of the Roman state and were elected to a one-year term

  Contubernium The basic eight-man unit of the Roman army in the first century B.C.E. Also the term used for an intimate relationship between two slaves, who were not allowed to marry

  Cubiculum Bedroom in a Roman house or villa

  Culina Latin: kitchen

  Curia Where the senate met in the Comitium

  Cursus honorum The progression of offices each magistrate had to climb on his way up the Roman political ladder

  Decuria A group of ten slaves

  Denarius Silver Roman coin worth four sesterces

  Domina Mistress of a Roman household

  Dominus Master of a household

  Domus House

  Drachm A coin of the ancient Middle East

  Familia The family members, including servants and slaves, of a Roman household

  Famula A female slave, handmaid

  Fibula Clasp or brooch

  Fortuna Goddess of Luck

  Frigidarium The bathing pool in the Roman baths that was unheated

  Furina Goddess of thieves

  Furtum Theft

  Garum Aromatic fish sauce

  Gladius Short sword, plural: gladii

  Grammaticus Teacher

  Imperatore General who has won a great victory

  Imperium the power of magistrates to command armies and (within limits) to coerce citizens

  Impluvium A shallow pool, usually to be found in the atrium, that captured rainwater from an opening in the roof (the compluvium)

  Insulae Apartment houses

  Kalends The first day of the month in the Roman calendar

  Lacerna A cloak fastened on the right shoulder by a buckle (fibula)

  Lares Domestici Minor Roman deities whose function was to guard and oversee all that transpired in the home

  Lararium Household shrine usually found in the Atrium

  Latifundium Large Roman farming estate

  Laudatio Funebris Eulogy

  Lectus Couch, bed

  Legate Commander of a legion; one with authority delegated by a consul or magistrate

  Liburna A faster and more maneuverable warship than the trireme

  Lora A cheap wine for slaves made from grape-skins, pulp and stalks left in the vat, soaked in water and allowed to ferment; a thin, bitter brew

  Lorarius A slave whose job it was to punish other slaves by flogging; also, in the arena, a person who encouraged reluctant animals or humans with a whip

  Lorica Armor

  Lorum A leather whip

  Ludi Public games

  Magus Sorcerer, magician

  Maniple Roman army unit. Two centuries equal one maniple.

  Ministratore Servant, waiter

  Nobiles Patrician families possessing most of the power in the Republic

  Optimates Conservative, aristocratic senators who wished to limit the power of the popular assemblies in favor of the senate

  Optio Junior officer, assistant to a centurion

  Orarium A small, linen handkerchief for wiping the face

  Ornator Slave who adorned or dressed his master; f. ornatrix (who concentrated more on her domina’s hair

  Otium The Roman concept of leisure, ideally occupied by pursuits of philosophy, art and music in a natural setting

  Paedagogus A slave or freedman in charge of educating children of rich Roman households

  Palla Cloak

  Paludamentum The official cloak worn by a Roman commander in the field

  Pater The seventh and highest level of Mithraic initiation. Only the pater was allow to marry

  Paterfamilias Head of the household: the father.

  Pater Patratus In Mithraism, the equivalent of Pope

  Peculium Long sleeveless tunic worn by Roman women

  Peplos Long sleeveless tunic worn by Roman women

  Peristyle A spacious courtyard, open to the sky, framed by a covered colonnade

  Petronia Amnis Stream running along the Quirinal Hill

  Pilum Roman throwing spear; plural: pila

  Plebeians Free, non-citizens of Rome, also called plebs

  Polykleitos Greek sculptor, ca. 430 B.C.

  Pomerium The spiritual limits of the city of Rome, marked by cippi, small pedestals used as boundary posts

  Pontifex Maximus Supreme supervisor of all things religious, and of matters of worship both public and private. Guardian of the ancient customs. The Pontifex was not subject to any court of law or punishment. The pontifex maximus was elected for life.

  Populares Aristocrats, like the optimates, but favoring stronger representation of the people in the popular assemblies and tribunes of the plebs who wielded power to veto senate rulings.

  Praefurnia Ovens used to heat Roman homes and baths

  Praetor Chief law officer and deputy to the consuls

  Principale Junior officer in the Roman army

  Pteruges Leather strips protruding from under the cuirass that offered some protection for the shoulders and thighs

  Puglio Dagger

  Quaestor In charge of military and civic treasury, as well as record-keeping

  Quirinal One of the seven hills of Rome

  Quintilis The seventh month of the Roman calendar, i.e. July

  Quinquereme Roman warship with five rowers to a side on three levels

  Raeda 4-wheeled carriage, usually pulled by two, sometimes four horses

  Rosaceum Roman perfumed oil for
bathing

  Rostra The place in the Comitium where consuls and other magistrates spoke to the Roman people

  Sagum Military cloak

  Salve Good Day! Good Morning! Also used in bidding farewell

  Sambucus Berries from the elder tree, used by the Romans as a cure-all

  Scutum Roman shield

  Sestercius Brass Roman coin worth one quarter of a silver denarius; plural: sesterces

  Sixth hour The Roman sixth hour of the day was always noon; The sixth hour of the night was always midnight

  Sol Invictus Latin: another name for Mithra

  Somnus Roman god of sleep

  Stola Long sleeveless tunic worn by women over other tunics; a symbol of marriage

  Strigil In the Roman baths, a curved metal tool used to scrape dirt and sweat from the body

  Subligatum Underwear

  Tablinum Room usually between atrium and peristyle where guests were received and records kept.

  Taburnae Retail shops usually located on the ground floor of insulae

  Tali Dice made from the knucklebones of sheep or goats, used in possibly the most popular game in ancient Rome

  Tepidarium The warm bath where Romans soaked after the steam bath, then cleaned themselves before venturing into the frigidarium, or cold pool.

  Tetradrachm A coin with a value equal to four drachms

  Tonsore Barber

  Trierarch Captain of a Trireme

  Trireme Originally Greek, then Roman galley

  Triumph The crowning achievement of a Roman general. City-wide celebration of a great victory awarded to the returning victor.

  Tyche Greek goddess of luck

  Unctuarium Roman anointment room, where perfume and oils were applied and sweat and dirt were scraped off.

  Urbs City

  ***

  The Bow of Heaven

  Book Two: Nemesis

  On the fields to the east of Brundisium, before the troops prepared to board the ships, Crassus assembled the army. There he offered up many cleansed and garlanded sacrifices: seven lambs, seven bulls and seven pigs. A city augur, proud of girth and unashamed of excess, possessed of such capacious jowls they’d have made a roomy pair of mittens, this practical priest had allowed his mouth to be stuffed with bribes too prodigious for a lesser man to swallow. What a completely expected relief came, after the sacred birds had been released, when the blessed father interpreted their flight as an auspice that our enterprise was looked upon favorably by the gods.

  Crassus had had crafted seven of the most exquisite and opulent standards, taller and richer than any soldier had ever seen, crested with eagles of hammered silver and gold. The priest had blessed and anointed each with sacred oil. They were mounted in a row at the back of a raised reviewing stand, seven sanctified emblems that were the soul and strength of each legion. Beneath them, rustling gently in the slight breeze were many mounted, tasseled, purple vexilla, banners numbered with gold thread and images of wild animals, woven from the finest Tarentum lamb’s wool. Before these flags and standards stood the officers of the senior officers of the army, their helms and breastplates shining as brightly as the standards above their plumed heads.

  It is said the Hebrews would march to war carrying a small cabinet containing stones marked by the hand of their god. With this gilded ark leading them to battle, their armies would be blessed and protected; their god would not let them suffer defeat. Judea and its god, rebellious and troublesome, now squirm under the heel of Rome. Every army finds some pretty mystery on which to pin their hopes of victory: success proves faith justified; does defeat strip it away?

  At a trumpeted signal from two dozen cornicines standing on a separate platform, men secreted among the 420 centuries raised thirteen foot tall standards stacked with bronze disks, silver wreaths and purple tassels that ended in a honed and oiled spear point, itself over eight inches long. (The warlike Hebrews marched into battle with but a single divine emblem of their invincibility; Roman history was rife with evidence that where one was good, hundreds of blessed symbols were better.)

  As each decorated pole was offered humbly to every century’s standard bearer, the shout that went up from the troops created such a noise that within the city walls those that were not already watching the spectacle were joined by everyone else, bringing commerce, shipping and the entire city of Brundisium to a standstill.

  As he mounted the wooden steps to the main dais, Crassus handed his plumed helmet to me and smiled. I marveled at the weight of it, but he seemed to wear his armor lightly. His eyes were alight as they had not been since before Luca, three years earlier, the grievous events at that meeting having darkened and narrowed his vision. He stepped crisply up to the raised wooden platform, his armor glowing dully under the overcast sky. The roar of the army escalated to madness as soon as his grey head could be seen climbing the steps. He took his time, greeting and complimenting his lieutenants, warmly grasping their forearms, each in his turn: Cassius Longinus, his quaestor, Octavius, Petronius, Vargunteius and the other legates.

  I returned to my contubernium, giddy with the enormity of this spectacle. I imagined what it would feel like to don the general’s helmet, to wear, just for a moment, the trappings of a god. Until that moment, I suppose I had never truly understood the power of the man with whose fate my own had been lashed. As the general spoke, his words, having been memorized by the banner-bearers, were repeated loudly from where they stood so that all in the great multitude could hear. The timing was imperfect, creating eerie waves of words, cresting and falling in dissipating ripples.

  “Have you ever seen a legionary weep?” Crassus shouted. “I don’t mean the man who has lost at knucklebones ten times running; that poor wretch has cause to cry. I speak of a soldier, battle-dressed, armed with gladius and pilum, brilliant in polished helm and painted scutum. No, not this man, trained, strong, deadly: this is not a man who weeps. Yet today, your general stands before you, water welling in his eyes. Shall I tell you why? Because in my forty years of service to our people, I have seen and fought with many armies, but none such as this. The cohorts that blanket this field are the finest group of veterans that Rome has ever assembled! We are a Roman army - there is none finer in all the world! So, should my tears fall,” he shouted above the roar, “should my tears fall it is because I stand here, now, with you and for you, at the proudest moment of my life! And because you men of valor have chosen to stand here with me...,” Crassus said, but this last went unheard, buried in an avalanche of cheers.

  “You all know we march to Syria. Do you think proconsul Gabinius is such a poor governor we must come to his rescue with such a force? Last I heard, Antioch still stood.” Crassus’ voice rose in volume and authority with every sentence. “Does this look life a relief force?” The “NO!” that answered each question was a thunderclap. “Are you baby sitters? Will you be content to gaze at palm trees from the safety of a sleepy garrison? Are you armed and girded for peace? NO! I know men on their way to WAR when I see them!” The cry of affirmation was deafening. I had to put my hands to my ears, almost dropping the general’s helmet.

  Crassus waited and let his eyes sweep across his legions. “You must also know that the senate has withheld its blessing.” Boos and whistles swarmed like locusts. “The day that decision was made the senator’s wives must have gone to the curia while the men rummaged through their houses searching for their testicles!”

  While he waited for the laughter to subside, Crassus looked down and scanned among the closest ranks, men of the first century of the first cohort. Then he looked up again and called out, “Would you like to know the secret of our invincibility?” He was departing from the script and the banner bearers were forced to kept up as best they could.

  A legionary shouted, “We march for the First Man of Rome!”

  “Gratitude,” Crassus said, pressing the cheers to silence with outstretched arms. “But our strength does not come from me, nor from any you see upon this platform.
For the answer, I shall demonstrate. “You,” he said, pointing. “Leave your shield and ascend the rostrum.”

  Behind me, my large and stunned tent-mate muttered under his breath, “You have got to be kidding me.” Drusus Malchus, a man I had known since my first days in the house of Crassus, broke rank and the safety of anonymity to join his general. Behind Crassus, the legates were smiling. The stair planks creaked as Malchus climbed, gripping the rough-hewn hand rail for the equilibrium he had suddenly misplaced. A large splinter speared his left hand and before his mind could stop his mouth he shouted, “Fucking son of a whore.” His brain reminded him where he was before he finished speaking so that the last word was more miserable whimper than curse. Face flushed with crimson, he let the long sliver remain rather than risk any more unmilitary gestures. He could be whipped for such an outbreak. If that was his fate, he’d have plenty of company: those within earshot, and there were many, laughed out loud with as much lack of intention. It was hard to say who was more embarrassed.

  To break the solemnity of such a moment was surely an ill omen. Crassus could not have that, so he saved them all by laughing along with them. With such lofty permission, the wave of amusement spread until Malchus had made the top of the stage. He came to parade rest several feet from the general, as if the aura surrounding him were palpable. Even with cradled helmet, he was still a full head taller than anyone on the dais and half again as broad. Yet pulled from his place in the ranks, the poor man looked like a gasping fish tossed up onto a hot beach; the sea of his brothers-in-arms just beyond reach.

  “Do you need a medic, son?” More guffaws. Drusus shook his head spasmodically. “Let’s have a look then,” Crassus said, motioning him closer. There was a stirring of awe as their godlike leader took the legionary’s hand in his own. Crassus gave a crisp, hard yank and pulled the two-inch sliver from Malchus’ palm. There was a tumultuous cry as he held it aloft.

  “Let this,” he shouted over the cheers, “let this be the first and last casualty of our campaign!” Crassus grabbed Malchus’ hand and as he finished his next sentence flung it aloft as if Malchus were the winner of an Olympic wrestling contest. “Let Mars Invictus cause the Parthian spears to fall like harmless splinters against our Roman shields!”