Author: AdamAH

by

Mythologia: The Reluctant Hero – Retelling the Story of Bellerophon and the Chimera

What does it take to make a real Hero? In this vast world filled with mortals, what makes one stand out in the eyes of the Gods?

These questions are not new. They’ve been explored in storytelling for millennia. They have inspired us and guided us, and forced us to take an honest look at ourselves.

The stories in mythology are not just about entertainment, they are about teaching, about bettering ourselves and preparing each of us for our own ‘Hero’s Journey’ through this life.

We’ve all been tested these last couple of years through the modern plague we are enduring and, I suspect, we’ve all had to take a good look at ourselves, our purpose, and the lives we lead. It’s not easy, to be sure, but such introspection is essential to our survival.

In a way, we are, each of us, the hero in our respective stories.

Which leads me to the story of a hero from Greek and Roman Mythology: Bellerophon.

Last week, Eagles and Dragons Publishing launched the fourth book in the Mythologia fantasy series, The Reluctant Hero: The Story of Bellerophon and the Chimera.

In this short post, we’re going to take a brief look why I wanted to re-tell this particular myth, as well as discuss the research that went into bringing it to life in this new, full-length novel in the series.

Bellerophon and the Chimera

SPOILER ALERT!

If you plan on reading, or have not yet finished The Reluctant Hero, you may wish to finish the book before reading this blog post…

The myth of Bellerophon and the Chimera is one that I have been wanting to explore for some time, not only because it provided an opportunity to tell the story of a good old ‘monster battle’, but also because it involved the winged horse, Pegasus.

When I was a child of about six, my first taste of Greek Mythology was seeing the original Clash of the Titans film, and every time I watched it, Pegasus was always the focus of my attention. I loved seeing Pegasus, and wished for such an ally and friend. It was Pegasus who brought me to Bellerophon, though at first I had only associated him with the hero Perseus.

Fresco of Bellerophon, Pegasus and Athena from Pompeii (Wikimedia Commons)

It is strange that most people will know the myth of Perseus, but have only a passing knowledge of Bellerophon, mainly as it relates to the Chimera, and not the man himself. In truth, Bellerophon is one of the central heroes of Greek Mythology, but we seem to have forgotten about him somewhat in the modern age. Perhaps this is due to the film that I, like so many, enjoyed as a child? Popular culture is a powerful thing in the modern age.

I thought it was time to give Bellerophon his due, and the Mythologia series was the perfect place to do it.

When it comes to the Greek myths, the primary sources are often sparse and scattered, our knowledge of them pieced together through fragments of text, artwork, and retellings by Roman writers in later centuries.

Many ancient writers mention Bellerophon and the Chimera, such as Hesiod (Theogony), Pindar (Olympian 13; Isthmian 7), Euripides, and Apollodorus. However, the earliest mention of Bellerophon comes from Homer in the sixth book of the Iliad in which, Glaucus, the grandson of Bellerophon, tells others of his lineage and the story of his grandfather and the Chimera. It is actually quite a long description of the tale, which is a blessing for later writers and ourselves. Interestingly, the description of Bellerophon’s tale by Homer is the first and only mention of actual writing in the Iliad. In reference to the letter that King Proetus has Bellerophon carry to King Iobates of Lykia, Homer writes:

To slay him he [King Proetus] forbare, for his soul had awe of that; but he sent him to Lycia, and gave him baneful tokens, graving in a folded tablet many signs and deadly, and bade him show these to his own wife’s father, that he [Bellerophon] might be slain.

(Homer, Iliad, Book 6, 170)

The sources are varied to be sure. Homer speaks of Bellerophon fighting and defeating the Solymi, the Amazons, and the Chimera, but makes no mention of Pegasus. However, Hesiod does mention that Pegasus and Bellerophon both defeated the Chimera who was the offspring of Typhon and Echidna, and the sibling of Cerberos (the three-headed hound of Hades), and the Lernaean Hydra which Herakles later defeated. It is a fascinating, and sometimes difficult, process to link together the various traditions of a particular myth to create a coherent story, but I believe it has worked in the case of Bellerophon and the Chimera.

The Chimera of Arezzo

Some readers may notice that, for the purposes of the story I wanted to tell, I have changed the order of Bellerophon’s tasks. In Homer, for instance, Bellerophon first slays the Chimera, then fights the Solymi, and finally, defeats the Amazons. Because I wanted the Chimera to be the climactic battle, I thought that it was acceptable to change this order. However, the battle with the Chimera did not end up being the primary focus of this book. Originally, as mentioned above, I had the idea of writing a ‘monster-battle’ novel, but as often happens, things changed as the story developed. At its heart, Greek Mythology is often about very human trials and emotions. To me, though the battle with the Chimera is the climax of the book, the main focus is Bellerophon’s journey from a shadowy no-one to a true hero as he overcomes his own demons and finally discovers himself.

Map showing location of Corinth, Argos and Tiryns

As usual, I have also tried to set the story in the real-world locations in which it was said to have taken place. I have opted to use the name of Bellerophon’s home of Corinthos (Corinth) because it is familiar to us today, but in the ancient texts, and at that time, it was known as Ephyra. I visited ancient Corinth on my first trip to Greece many years ago and remembered being overwhelmed by it, but also saddened at the destruction wrought by Rome on that great and ancient city. It was then that I visited the Acrocorinthos, the enormous mountain that overlooks the city.

Ancient Corinth and the Acrocorinthos (Photos: A Haviaras)

Today, all one sees on the Acrocorinthos are the remnants of the vast medieval castle, but it was not difficult to imagine the place during the Greek Heroic Age. To stand up there and look down on Corinth and the sweeping beauty of the lands south toward Mycenae and Argos over the mountains is, simply-put, breathtaking. I decided to make that the place where Bellerophon’s story begins, where he trains and commits the act that gets him banished from his home, specifically the killing of Belleros which gives Bellerophon his name, ‘Belleros Killer’.

There are other sites in the first part of the tale that you might be familiar with, such as Argos, and the great fortress of Tiryns where Bellerophon stays with King Proetus and Queen Stheneboea (also known as Anteia). Having visited those sites, it was a joy to go back to them and write about the landscape and palace of Tiryns especially. To read more about Tiryns, that ancient fortress of myth and legend, you can read a blog post about my visit HERE.

Artist Reconstruction of the Citadel of Tiryns

Another ancient site that is truly fascinating is the guardhouse where Bellerophon first meets King Proetus’ men. I located this guardhouse at the mysterious Pyramid of Hellinikon, just outside of Argos. This site is believed to be either a tomb, or a guardhouse built during the wars between Proetus and his brother, Acrisios. You can read about the pyramid and watch a short video tour of the site HERE.

The Pyramid of Hellinikon near Argos

Once Bellerophon journeyed across the sea, I was in uncharted territory for myself, never having travelled to modern-day Turkey where the ancient Kingdom of Lykia is located. The research for this was fascinating.

Map showing where parts of The Reluctant Hero take place

Not far from the Greek islands of Rhodes and Kastellorizo is the mouth of the river Xanthos which leads north a short distance to the ancient city of Xanthos (outside modern Kinik). This ancient Greek and Roman city had many structures such as a theatre, agora, monuments and shrines, as well as unique ‘pedestal tombs’, but there is very little in the way of remains for the period in which this story takes place. There was an acropolis overlooking the river below, and that is where I chose to set King Iobates’ palace in the story.

Likewise, I elaborated on the fictional village of the Solymi where Bellerophon fights the leader of their tribe, though their lands were located in the ancient region known as Pisidia.

When it comes to the Amazons, I chose to set their capital in Phrygia since it was said that there were Amazon tribes in that remote region north of Lykia. In searching for a geographic setting, I chose the ancient city of Hierapolis which is located at modern Pamukkale, known for its mineral-rich thermal waters flowing down white travertine terraces on a nearby hillside. This was a sort of ancient spa town, but for the purposes of this story, I decided to make it the Amazon base.

The hot springs at Pamukkale,Turkey, in ancient Phrygia.

In Turkey today, there is a place known as Mount Chimera, and this is located near the sea to the southwest of Xanthos. Though I chose to make this a remote mountain region to the northeast in the story, I did try to remain true to the setting, mainly the Chimera’s cave and the strange fires that are constantly burning from out of the rocky earth in that place. These are in fact methane gas emissions that are on fire, and have been for centuries, but for as long as people can remember, they have been called ‘fires of the Chimera’. It is here that the climactic battle in the story takes place.

The Cave and Fires of the Chimera (Lykia) (Wikimedia Commons)

Lastly, there is a bit of a nod to my own heritage at the end of the book when Bellerophon and Polyidus meet on the island of Chios, where the paternal side of my family comes from. The reason I chose to do this is because on the island, just north of Chios town, near the sea, is a site known as ‘Homer’s Rock’ or ‘Daskalopetra’. In Greek, daskalos means ‘teacher’, and it was said that Homer himself used to sit upon this rock and tell his tales of the Trojan War and of Odysseus’ travels. This was my acknowledgment of that tradition.

Daskalopetra – Homer’s Rock (Chios, Greece)

One of the most difficult tasks of writing this story was figuring out the family tree and timelines for the characters inhabiting the story. I soon realized that with so many references over time to various characters, it is not as clean-cut as one might think. One question I wrestled with was whether Perseus lived before or after Bellerophon, for the latter dealt with King Proetus whose brother was King Acrisios, the father of Danae, Perseus’ mother. Another question was, which Amazon queen was alive when Bellerophon faced the Amazons. At first I thought it would be Myrina, who was supposedly a friend of Horus (yes, the Egyptian Horus), but then I read that Queen Otrera was the mother of both Hippolyta and Penthesilea. However, Otrera is also said to be the very first Amazon queen. It is all a bit confusing for the modern reader and researcher, but when I decided not to cling to an absolute timeline, the story began to take shape beautifully.

Amazon Warrior (depiction c. 500 B.C)

In mythology, Bellerophon’s parents are Eurymede (sometimes known as Eurynome) of Megara and Glaucus, the son of Sisyphus who founded Corinth and who was one of the great sinners the Gods imprisoned in Tartarus for all time. Mythology does indeed tell us that Glaucus was eaten by his own horses after losing the chariot race at the funeral games of Pelias, and this trauma haunts Bellerophon in this version of the story.

As I have mentioned, King Proetus of Tiryns was the brother of King Acrisios of Argos, and he was married to Stheneboea of Lykia, the eldest daughter of King Iobates, who did send troops to help Proetus in the war against his brother.

King Iobates is one of the main characters in the myth, and in this story, but as is often the case in ancient texts, the women who were a part of the tale get little mention. I wanted to change that with The Reluctant Hero.

This allowed me to delve further into Philonoe’s character (the daughter of King Iobates) as I wanted to bring her to the fore. To me, she languished in the background in the primary sources. The story is, I feel, much more interesting for it, and for the fact that she is not a damsel in distress, ‘saved’ by the hero who shows up. In this story, Philonoe is a hero in her own right.

4th Century Mosaic Fragment showing Philonoe and Bellerophon (photo: Barbara McManus)

In myth, Bellerophon and Philonoe had three children: Hippolochos, Isander, and Laodameia.

As mentioned above, in Homer, it is the son of Hippolochos, Glaucus, who tells the tale of Bellerophon in the Iliad. He led the Lykian army during the Trojan War. As for Isander and Laodameia, they were less fortunate in their lives, for Isander was supposedly killed while fighting the Solymi, slain by Ares, and Laodameia was the mother of Sarpedon by Zeus, later to be killed by Artemis for angering that goddess.

One thing is certain, the mythological family trees are never boring!

But what of Philonoe and Bellerophon?

The ancient texts make no mention of Philonoe’s end that I have seen, so I decided that she should meet an end worthy of her lineage, giving her children the chance to take over the kingdom.

As for Bellerophon, the ancient texts make no mention of his death either, but Homer does say the following:

But when even Bellerophon came to be hated of all the gods, then verily he wandered alone over the Aleian plain, devouring his own soul, and shunning the paths of men…

(Homer, Iliad, Book 6, 200)

It is true that most Greek myths, especially those of the heroes, often end in tragedy, but why was Bellerophon shunned by the Gods? In his lost tragic play, Bellerophon, Euripides spoke of Bellerophon’s attempt to fly up to Mount Olympus upon Pegasus, and Zeus’ subsequent anger at this. The king of the gods sent a fly to sting Pegasus, and Bellerophon, the slayer of the Chimera, tumbled back to earth. He survived the fall, but was crippled by it and wandered alone until the end of his days.

It was a sad end for a great and misunderstood hero, and I hope that I have done his story justice.

If you want to explore the myth of Bellerophon more deeply, you can check out Book IV in the Mythologia series, The Reluctant Hero: The Story of Bellerophon and the Chimera.

If you haven’t checked out any of the titles in the Mythologia series, you can get the first three in the Mythologia: First Omnibus Edition HERE or directly from Eagles and Dragons Publishing.

Thank you for reading.

Facebooktwitterpinterest
by

Mythologia: A Song for the Underworld – Researching the Story of Orpheus and Eurydice

Greetings Readers and History-lovers!

Greek Mythology is vast, and the variety of the tales therein is something to be studied and enjoyed over a lifetime. No matter what a person’s age, there is always some enjoyment to be had, something to be learned.

The stories of Greek Mythology often deal with such things as consequence and revenge, the toils of the human race under the watchful eyes of the Gods, and of trying to find one’s place and purpose in the world we inhabit.

The myths also contain great stories of Love.

Orpheus Mourning the Death of Eurydice (by Ary Scheffer, 1814)

The myth of Orpheus and Eurydice is, perhaps, one of the most romantic and tragic in the constellations of mythology that have come down to us. It is the ultimate, tragic love story, and as such it has inspired countless works of art, music, plays, operas, and literature throughout the ages.

With the Mythologia series, it is sometimes difficult to decide which myths to adapt. There are so many!

I was reminded of the story of Orpheus and Eurydice when I first listened to the song, Orpheus, by Sara Bareilles. The absolutely beautiful melody and Ms. Bareilles’ voice wove a spell, and upon hearing the phrase “Don’t you turn like Orpheus, Just stay here…”, I knew that I had to write this story.

Orpheus and Eurydice (by Carl Goos, 1830)

In a way, my own version of this story began with a song.

Once I began to research this myth more fully, I became more and more engrossed in the story, curious about its impact over the ages.

There are a few primary sources from the ancient world that relate the story of Orpheus and Eurydice. For this retelling, I’ve used parts from each, having decided not to limit myself to one particular version. For this story, I’ve used elements from Euripides’ play, Alcestis, which is one of the earliest recorded tellings of the myth, and from the more fulsome versions by the Roman writers Virgil (Georgics) and Ovid (Metamorphoses). There are references to Orpheus in many other ancient sources such as Pindar (the Pythian odes), Plato (Symposium), Apollonius of Rhodes (Argonautica), Diodorus Siculus, and Pausanias.

Apollo and the Muses on Mount Helicon (by Claude Lorrain, 1680)

Though the Mythologia series is fantasy, and requires a suspension of disbelief, I have still tried to include places or settings that are tied historically to Orpheus and Eurydice. The sacred spring of Hippocrene on Mount Helicon, where the Muses were said to gather, was supposedly made by Pegasus when he stomped his hoof into the rock there. The ancient author, Pausanias, tells us that there was a statue of Orpheus in that place. The ancient region of Pieria, around the base of Mount Olympus, which I have also included in the book, was said to be where the Muses lived, and perhaps where Orpheus was raised. Both Mount Helicon and Pieria were major cult centres of the Muses in ancient times.

When it comes to the entrance to the Underworld, the cape of Tainaron in the southern Peloponnese was believed by our ancient ancestors to be one of the gateways to Hades’ realm, a truly forbidding, rocky place with a sanctuary of Poseidon and, supposedly, an altar of Death.

The ‘Gate to Hades’ at Tainaron, southern Greece

In the story, Orpheus and Eurydice range all over the land of what we know as Greece, but Thrace in particular played a big part in the myth for it was there that Orpheus was supposed to have met Eurydice, but also where he met his end. There was a strong Orphic tradition for millennia in Thrace. In mythology and the history of ancient Greece, the landscape is as much a part of the story, and by exploring it we can truly get closer to the myths.

Traditionally, the Muse, Calliope, is Orpheus’ mother, but there are a couple of traditions around who his father was. Often it is King Oeagrus of Thrace, but then sometimes Orpheus’ father is Apollo himself. I decided to include hints at both in this story, but opted for the latter tradition since it seemed more fitting that Calliope and Apollo would be parents to the greatest musician. However, in mythology, King Oeagrus was indeed the father of the satyr, Marsyas, who did challenge Apollo. For his hubris, Apollo flayed the skin from Marsyas’ body, and there is a famous statue of the satyr in this sad state. For my version of this story, I liked the juxtaposition of having King Oeagrus as Marsyas’ father, and Apollo as Orpheus’.

Calliope, Muse of Epic Song, and mother of Orpheus

When it comes to the death of Orpheus, he was torn to pieces by the Thracian Maenads, but for varying reasons. Sometimes, it is because they each wanted him for themselves and fought over him. Other times, it is because of his loyalty to the memory of Eurydice, and his refusal of anyone else. One tradition has Dionysus turn against him because Orpheus preferred to honour Helios over him. I chose a slightly different route by making the cessation of his music the reason that the Maenads turned on him. Either way, what is agreed upon is that after they slew poor Orpheus, the pieces of his body were thrown into the river Hebros and floated down to the sea, his head still singing in death. The head landed on the shores of Lesbos where the people there treated Orpheus’ remains with honour. As a result, the Muses granted the Lesbians the special gift of music and art. This is fitting, considering that Sappho, one of the greatest poets of the ancient world, was from Lesbos.

Thracian Girl Carrying the Head of Orpheus on His Lyre by Gustave Moreau (1865)

Of course, one of the central features of the myth is Orpheus’ journey to the Underworld to get back his love, Eurydice. One of my favourite challenges as an author is to write about the Underworld. How does one portray such a realm as that? One cannot fit in every detail, and accounts in ancient texts vary. No one can truly know the mysteries of the Afterlife, so conjecture is acceptable. Another attempt of mine to portray the Underworld can be found in my book, Saturnalia. I hope this particular interpretation is a just offering.

The story of Orpheus was so profound and imbued with such meaning that from it sprang one of the great mystery religions of the ancient world: Orphism.

I won’t go into the details of Orphism here. We cannot know much because it was a mystery religion, similar to the Eleusinian Mysteries.

Orpheus leading Eurydice out of the Underworld (by Jean-Baptiste-Camille Corot, 1861)

What we do know is that the Orphic Hymns were central to its practices and beliefs, as was Orpheus’ journey to the Underworld and back. It is thought by some to be a reform of ancient Dionysian religion, with a focus on the suffering and death of Dionysus who also went to the Underworld. Humanity’s dual nature was central to the philosophy of Orphism. It also had ideas in common with Pythagoreanism, notably an ascetic life free of contamination, including rules such as a strict vegetarian diet. It is believed that Pythagoras himself was an Orphic initiate.

Orphics, as the followers of this ancient religion are known, believed in an afterlife in which they would spend eternity alongside Orpheus and other heroes. Those who were not initiated into the mysteries were reincarnated.

As always, as an author and historian, I find this oneness of myth and religion infinitely fascinating, and will explore more of this relationship in subsequent stories in the Mythologia series.

For me, however, at its heart this is a story about love, pure and simple. It is the ultimate expression of that which makes life worth living, worth risking all for.

It’s almost impossible to fully convey such love with mere words. I don’t have the skills that Orpheus himself had. But I do hope that in reading this story, some part of your heart and soul will be moved.

If you want to explore this myth more deeply, you can check out Book III in the Mythologia series, A Song for the Underworld: The Story of Orpheus and Eurydice.

Lastly, if you haven’t checked out any of the titles in the Mythologia series, you can get the first three in the Mythologia: First Omnibus Edition HERE or directly from Eagles and Dragons Publishing.

Thank you for reading.

Facebooktwitterpinterest
by

Mythologia: From Zero to Hero – The Story of an Epic Race

Then he [Pelops] said unto him: ‘Lo now, O Poseidon, if the kind gifts of the Cyprian goddess are anywise pleasant in thine eyes, restrain Oinomaus’ bronze spear, and send me unto Elis upon a chariot exceeding swift, and give the victory to my hands. Thirteen lovers already hath Oinomaus slain, and still delayeth to give his daughter in marriage. Now a great peril does not take hold of a coward: and forasmuch as men must die, wherefore should one sit vainly in the dark through a dull and nameless age, and without lot in noble deeds? Not so, but I will dare this strife… 

(Pindar, Olympian Ode 1)

Greetings lovers of ancient history and mythology!

This week on the blog, we’re going to be taking a brief look at one of the most important heroes of Greek myth, but one who is often overlooked in popular culture today.

We are going to be looking at the myth of Pelops and Hippodameia and the events that led to the naming of the Peloponnesian peninsula after this hero.

Pelops and Hippodameia racing

Though the myth of Pelops may not be well-known to the average person today, it was an important part of the mythological and religious canon in the world of ancient Greece and Rome. Several ancient writers wrote about it, including Homer, Pindar, Apollonius of Rhodes, Apollodoros, Diodorus Siculus, Pausanias and Pliny the Elder. Even Sophocles and Euripides wrote plays on the subject.

One of the foundation myths of the Olympic Games relates to Pelops and involves his famous chariot race against Oinomaus, the king of Elis.

On my first visit to ancient Olympia many years ago, I discovered Pelops’ story for the first time, having been amazed that it was so important that one of the statue groups on the pediment of the great temple of Zeus was dedicated to the myth.

Subsequently, I discovered that one of the hero shrines at ancient Olympia was dedicated to this eponymous hero.

East pediment of the temple of Zeus at Olympia showing Zeus between Oinomaus and Pelops, just before their race

But who was Pelops, and what did he do to deserve such adulation and remembrance?

These are the questions that I wanted to explore in Wheels of Fate, Book II in the Mythologia fantasy series.

SPOILER ALERT!

If you are planning on reading Wheels of Fate, you may wish to do so before going any further as this post discussed some of the key plot points in the myth that are explored in the book.

Here is a short synopsis of the myth…

The ancient kingdom of Elis, was ruled by Oinomaus who was the son of Ares and, apparently, quite brutal. He had a daughter by the name of Hippodameia, and every suitor who came for his daughter’s hand in marriage had to try and beat him in a chariot race across what became known as the Peloponnese, or, the ‘Isle of Pelops’.

Eighteen suitors had raced Oinomaus and been killed by him before Pelops laid down his challenge.

According to the legend, Pelops, a young prince from Lydia, was the son of Tantalus, the arrogant king who was punished by the Gods for his grievous sin and sent to Tartarus. After being greatly abused by his father (that’s an understatement!) Pelops was was taken in by Poseidon himself who taught him about horses. Eventually, Poseidon gave him a team of swift-footed horses so that he could race against Oinomaus.

In order to ensure that Oinomaus did not win, Hippodameia also convinced her father’s man, Myrtilus, to sabotage the chariot so that Oinomaus would crash.

After Pelops’ victory, it was said that he began the Olympic Games in thanks to Zeus for his win. Another theory is that the Olympics were begun by Pelops as funeral games for the deceased Oinomaus who died in the race, or for Myrtilus, whom Pelops killed.

Whatever the ‘truth’ about these Olympic beginnings, one thing is certain – Chariot racing and horses had a deep connection to the Olympic Games.

This is a great simplification of the story. The book, Wheels of Fate, goes into much greater detail in exploring the myth. However, this particular foundation myth points to the Games as an event to commemorate Pelops’ victory.

Pelops and Hippodameia

As far as we know, the very first event of the Olympic Games was the stade race sprint, and boxing became a part of the Olympic roster in the fourteenth Olympiad.

So when did chariot racing become a part of the Games?

It is generally agreed that chariot racing first made an appearance in the ancient Olympics during the twenty-fifth Olympiad in the year 680 B.C.

In tandem with the Olympic Games, said to be established by Pelops in this instance, Hippodameia was said to have established the Games of Hera, the Heraia, in thanks to the goddess for granting the victory as well. You can read more about the Heraia HERE.

The chariot race was the marquee event at the Olympic Games, and central to the story of Wheels of Fate, as well as our historical fantasy epic Heart of Fire: A Novel of the Ancient Olympics.

Olympia map showing hippodrome at bottom right.

There was much testament to this particular foundation myth around the Altis of Olympia as well, the sacred precinct at the heart of the sanctuary. As mentioned, one of the pediments from the temple of Zeus shows Oinomaus and Pelops with their chariots, on either side of Zeus, getting ready to race.

Also, in the hippodrome, the chariot racing track of Olympia, a statue of Hippodameia overlooked the track, and one of the turns called the Taraxippos, was said to be haunted by the angry ghost of Oinomaus who would spook horses as they passed. Also, one of the posts in the turns was said to be made from a beam from Oinomaus’ burnt house.

In the middle of the Altis, there was also the Pelopion, the burial mound of Pelops which became a shrine to the hero who would become the father of Atreus, and grandfather of Agamemnon and Menelaus, those well-known kings of Mycenae and Sparta who sailed to war at Troy.

Pelopion (digital model created by University of Melbourne)

There is no denying the importance of Pelops among the ranks of ancient Greek heroes, and so it was a joy to explore his life in Wheels of Fate, to explore the dark corners of his life beyond what the sources tell us.

He was a grandson of immortals, the son of a king, and the father and grandfather of some of the most powerful kings of the Greek heroic age.

And his name lives on in the land itself, the ‘Peloponnese’ or, the ‘Isle of Pelops’.

If you want to explore this myth more deeply, you can check out our epic retelling of this myth in Book II of the Mythologia series, Wheels of Fate: The Story of Pelops and Hippodameia.

If you are interested in learning more about the ancient Olympic Games, you can check out The World of Heart of Fire blog series in which we look at all of the foundation myths of the ancient Olympics (yes, there are more than one!), the original athletic events, the archeology of ancient Olympia and more. You can also join me on a video tour of the archaeological site! You can read that series of blog posts for free by CLICKING HERE.

Lastly, if you haven’t checked out any of the titles in the Mythologia series, you can get the first three in the Mythologia: First Omnibus Edition HERE or directly from Eagles and Dragons Publishing.

Thank you for reading.

Facebooktwitterpinterest
by

Mythologia: Exploring the World of Gods, Goddesses and Heroes

Greetings Readers and History-Lovers!

After a long Summer break, we’re finally back on the blog to bring you more entertaining information, topics of conversation and, of course, more books!

I hope that this post finds you all happy and safe, despite the ongoing crises plaguing our world.

During the past several months, I’ve been busy delving into worlds of gods, goddesses and heroes. What better way to get a respite from the modern world and its troubles than to explore Greek and Roman mythology?

And what an escape it has been! 

I’ve always enjoyed mythology, and as I’ve grown older and begun to write my own stories, I’ve realized that it would be wonderful to retell many of these fabulous myths in a way that would allow us to get to know these gods, goddesses, and heroes on a more personal level. 

The goal with the Mythologia series from Eagles and Dragons Publishing is to re-create a mythical world in which the reader can suspend all disbelief and experience these epic tales in a new and exciting way, right alongside the immortals and demigods whom we have read and heard about for ages. 

This series is also a lot of fun for me to write, because anything goes. I don’t need to be constrained by historical timelines or detail as much as with other series, though I always make an effort to set the stories in their known, geographical locations. You can’t keep a good historian down! I get ideas from the seeds and scattered mentions by ancient authors in various texts, and then let my imagination run wild.

The Council of the Gods by Raphael, c.1517, Villa Farnesina, Rome

Why mythology, and why now?

That’s a tricky question. I suppose that in the last year, during this modern plague, I’ve found comfort in mythology, a resonance in the stories that has helped me to get through in some way.

This series was always intended to be an escape, an exercise in the suspension of disbelief. This past year seemed like the perfect time for that.

However, it is also worth mentioning that even though myth is comprised mostly of stories of gods, goddesses, and heroes, those stories deal with very human feelings and trials which we all face in one form or another. They are stories of love and loss, of hope and of deep fear. They are stories of jealousy, of curiosity, of wanting to belong and of wanting to be better than ourselves.

The Gods know we’ve all faced our share of challenges in the last year and a half or so. That is part of the reason for which I have gone back to the Mythologia series. It has comforted and inspired me.

I also just love mythology as a religious and storytelling tradition that has spanned ancient Greek and Roman culture. It’s the very foundation of epic storytelling in the West.

The Mythologia series can be read in any order, but the first book, Chariot of the Son, deals with the Phaethon myth.

The Fall of Phaethon (Sebastiano Ricci 1659-1734)

He [Zeus] recalled the Fate [Moira] foretold a time when sea and land and heaven’s high palaces in sweeping flames should burn, and down should fall the beleaguered bastions of the universe.

(Ovid, Metamorphoses 1. 252)

Why the Phaethon myth?

I forget what I was researching at the time, but I came across a description of one version of the tale and remember being really saddened by it. I felt strongly that this was a story that I could tell, a story that would be extremely moving for readers of all ages. 

There are a few versions of the Phaethon myth, including Hesiod’s Theogeny of the 8th or 7th century B.C., and versions by Apollodorus and Pausanias in the second century A.D. In these, Phaethon is often the son of Eos and Kephalos.

The version that touched me the most is by the Roman poet Ovid (43 BC – AD 17/18) from Book II of his work, Metamorphoses. This work is a continuous narrative of myths in fifteen books which has shaped much of our view of mythology to this day.

You can download a free version of Ovid’s Metamorphoses on the Project Gutenberg website HERE.

With Chariot of the Son, I wanted get to know the people who, unbeknownst to Phaethon, make up the family – Clymene and Helios, his parents, an Oceanid and a Titan; his sisters, the Heliades; the Titan Prometheus, and others.

Also, knowing that the story has a tragic end, I wanted to get inside this young god’s heart and mind to try and experience the reasons why he wanted so much to drive the Sun’s chariot across the heavens. 

As I thought about his burning chariot and the scorching of the world that created the Sahara desert, it occurred to me that this story has some very human themes such as wanting to belong, the need for love and approval, and the urge to prove oneself.

It is also a myth that is not often explored, and so I set out to tell it as I saw it. I hope I have done this tragic tale justice.

We are, after all, reminded of Helios and Phaethon when we look up at the sun in the daytime sky, or see a picture of the burning expanse of the Sahara desert.

The Sahara Desert – Created by the burning of the world when Phaethon drove his father’s chariot

Perhaps what I love most about the myths is that they enable us to feel and see our world and history with wonder, and that is a precious thing.

I love this book and writing it was, quite literally, a dream-like experience.

Stepping into such an ancient world where these mythic characters experience things on a very human scale has been a wonderful experience that I hope you will enjoy.

Though the books in the Mythologia series are labelled in a specific order, they can all be read individually as stand-alone stories.

Chariot of the Son is, of course, the first book in the Mythologia series, and it is available for 0.99.

Just go to the book’s page on the website HERE. You can also go to the Buy Direct page on the Eagles and Dragons Publishing website to get your copy.

Stay tuned for the next post on Greek mythology in which we will take a brief look at the myth of Pelops and Hippodameia.

Thank you for reading.

Facebooktwitterpinterest
by

The World of The Blood Road – Part IX – Imperial Hubris: The Rise and Fall of Caracalla and Macrinus

Greetings Readers and History-Lovers!

Welcome you our ninth and final post in The World of The Blood Road! 

If you did not see Part VIII on Roman Antioch, you can read that by CLICKING HERE.

In Part IX we’re going to be taking a look at two of the main historical personages in The Blood Road, Emperor Caracalla and Macrinus, and the unfortunate incidents around their rise and fall.

I hope you enjoy…

Emperor Caracalla

Each Eagles and Dragons novel has revolved around a particular historical event and or people. In the case of The Blood Road, Caracalla’s short, troubled reign provides the historical backdrop for this story, along with the swift rise and fall of Marcus Opellius Macrinus, newly-made Prefect of the Praetorian Guard.

As we know, Caracalla’s solo reign started in bloody and horrific fashion with the murder of his brother Geta in their mother’s arms. If you can’t recall that event, check out Part I in this blog series.

So what was Caracalla’s reign like once he was sole emperor and his brother’s memory and followers were erased from the face of the Earth?

Veering from murder to sport, he showed the same thirst for blood in this field, too. It was nothing, of course, that an elephant, rhinoceros, tiger, and hippotigris were slain in the arena, but he took pleasure in seeing the blood of as many gladiators as possible…

(Cassius Dio, The Roman History, Book LXXVIII)

After the murder of Geta and twenty-thousand of his followers, according to the sources, life in Rome apparently became too unbearable for Caracalla who then, according to Herodian, made for the Danube frontier on the northern edge of the Empire.

In Germania, he waged a war against a confederation of the Alamanni, and it seems he felt at home among the troops.

War was what would pre-occupy Caracalla during his reign with much of the duties of correspondence being assigned to his mother, Julia Domna, and Ulpianus.

As we know, the one great legislative deed that Caracalla undertook was the creation of the Constitutio Antoniniana in late A.D. 212 which we discussed in Part III of this blog series. The rest of the time, however, violence seemed to be the order of the day.

The Roman Empire in A.D. 210, which Caracalla inherited after the death of Severus. Depicted is Roman territory (purple) and Roman dependencies (light purple). (Wikimedia Commons)

From A.D. 213-214, Caracalla campaigned in Germania, content to play the soldier among the men of the legions whom he had greatly enriched. After that campaign, however, he seems to have taken a strange turn and taken on the mantle of Alexander the Great himself. He even made his own pilgrimage to Troy, just as Alexander had.

Caracalla, after attending to matters in the garrison camps along the Danube River, went down into Thrace at the Macedonian border, and immediately he became Alexander the Great. To revive the memory of the Macedonian in every possible way, he ordered statues and paintings of his hero to be put on public display in all cities. He filled the Capitol, the rest of the temples, indeed, all Rome, with statues and paintings designed to suggest that he was a second Alexander.

At times we saw ridiculous portraits, statues with one body which had on each side of a single head the faces of Alexander and the emperor. Caracalla himself went about in Macedonian dress, affecting especially the broad sun hat and short boots. He enrolled picked youths in a unit which he labeled his Macedonian phalanx; its officers bore the names of Alexander’s generals…

…He visited all the ruins of that city [Troy], coming last to the tomb of Achilles; he adorned this tomb lavishly with garlands of flowers, and immediately he became Achilles. Casting about for a Patroclus, he found one ready to hand in Festus, his favourite freedman, keeper of the emperor’s daily record book. This Festus died at Troy; some say he was poisoned so that he could be buried as Patroclus, but others say he died of disease.

(Herodian, History of the Roman Empire, 4.8)

Gold medallion depicting Caracalla as Alexander the Great

Caracalla was obsessed with Alexander the Great, and he would later even make plans to introduce the phalanx into the legions. The troops loved him, but how long would that last?

And things worsened in A.D. 215 when Caracalla and his men moved on to Alexandria, the city founded by his hero, where he told the people that he wished to honour Alexander. He was well-received by the Alexandrians, who were not known for holding back their displeasure.

But Caracalla, it seems, had other plans than offering hecatombs of oxen and mountains of frankincense to Alexander. You see, apparently, Caracalla had been widely mocked in Alexandria for the murder of his brother, Geta. Caracalla remembered this, and after he had lulled the Alexandrians into a sense of ease and celebration, he apparently requested that all military aged men be assembled to form phalanxes in honour of Alexander the Great. This is what happened next:

He ordered the youths to form in rows so that he might approach each one and determine whether his age, size of body, and state of health qualified him for military service. Believing him to be sincere, all the youths, quite reasonably hopeful because of the honour he had previously paid the city, assembled with their parents and brothers, who had come to celebrate the youths’ expectations.

Caracalla now approached them as they were drawn up in groups and passed among them, touching each youth and saying a word of praise to this one and that one until his entire army had surrounded them. The youths did not notice or suspect anything. After he had visited them all, he judged that they were now trapped in the net of steel formed by his soldiers’ weapons, and left the field, accompanied by his personal bodyguard. At a given signal the soldiers fell upon the encircled youths, attacking them and any others present. They cut them down, these armed soldiers fighting against unarmed, surrounded boys, butchering them in every conceivable fashion. 

Some did the killing while others outside the ring dug huge trenches; they dragged those who had fallen to these trenches and threw them in, filling the ditch with bodies. Piling on earth, they quickly raised a huge burial mound. Many were thrown in half-alive, and others were forced in unwounded.

A number of soldiers perished there too; for all who were thrust into the trench alive, if they had the strength, clung to their killers and pulled them in with them. So great was the slaughter that the wide mouths of the Nile and the entire shore around the city were stained red by the streams of blood flowing through the plain. After these monstrous deeds, Caracalla left Alexandria and returned to Antioch.

(Herodian, History of the Roman Empire, 4.8)

Caracalla as Pharaoh, Temple of Kom Ombo (Wikimedia Commons)

Oftentimes, the sources greatly exaggerate the behaviours of emperors that are perceived to be mad or exceedingly cruel. Is this the case with Caracalla? While it is obvious that neither Cassius Dio or Herodian were fans of the emperor, they do agree on much of what supposedly happened. Considering the murder of his brother, and the undoubted pressure Caracalla felt in perhaps living up to the greatness of his father before him, this was a man who was spiralling out of control and lashing out at the world about him. No matter how many enemies one executed, there were always more waiting in the wings of history.

And Caracalla made more enemies, and sought more war after the massacre at Alexandria when he turned his sights on Parthia.

Once more, hurt feelings and humiliation would sound the drums of war as he sought to go head-to-head with the empire his father had defeated twenty years before. And it all started with a rejected marriage proposal…

After this Antoninus [Caracalla] made a campaign against the Parthians, on the pretext that Artabanus had refused to give him his daughter in marriage when he sued for her hand; for the Parthian king had realized clearly enough that the emperor, while pretending to want to marry her, was in reality eager to get the Parthian kingdom incidentally for himself. So Antoninus now ravaged a large section of the country around Media by making a sudden incursion, sacked many fortresses, won over Arbela, dug open the royal tombs of the Parthians, and scattered the bones about. This was the easier for him to accomplish inasmuch as the Parthians did not even join battle with him; and accordingly I have found nothing of especial interest to record concerning the incidents of that campaign

(Cassius Dio, The Roman History, Book LXXIX)

To this point in time, Caracalla’s decisions were anything from rash to ridiculous, and people, including the men of the legions, began to notice. He even began to neglect his Praetorians and legionaries when he appointed a group of freed Scythians and Germans as his new personal guard which he named ‘The Lions’.

He had pushed aside his best advisors, namely Julia Domna and Ulpianus, long ago. So who was with Caracalla throughout all of this?

Marcus Opellius Macrinus, that’s who. But who was this man whom Caracalla made Praetorian Prefect and who would play a crucial role in Caracalla’s downfall?

The Praetorian Guard

Marcus Opellius Macrinus was born in A.D. 164 in Caesarea, Mauretania Caesariensis. He was from a poor equestrian family, and these humble beginnings fired his ambitions.

Before reaching the heights of power that he achieved, Macrinus was a successful gladiator, a venator (hunter), and a postal courier. He then went to Rome where he became a legal advisor to the infamous Praetorian Prefect under Severus, Gaius Fulvius Plautianus. After the fall of Plautianus, in A.D. 205, under Severus, Macrinus became director of the via Flaminia in Italy, as well as an administrator of Severus’ properties.

He seems to have bided his time until, in A.D. 212, Caracalla made Macrinus Praetorian Prefect. Then, early in A.D. 217, he received ornamenta consularia, ‘consular status’, from the emperor.

Marcus Opellius Macrinus

As we know, history tends to repeat itself, and there was one thing Caracalla did indeed share with his more successful father: they both trusted the wrong men.

During his reign, Severus had trusted Gaius Fulvius Plautianus, his own kinsman, in the role of Praetorian Prefect. Plautianus had worked against Severus and plotted to overthrow him. We explore this in the book Killing the Hydra.

It seems that Macrinus had learned a thing or two in his time with Plautianus, and as a result, yet again, a Praetorian prefect began to plot against the emperor he served.

With the troops becoming increasingly disillusioned with Caracalla’s behaviour, including his favour shown toward the barbarian ‘Lions’, the time was ripe for a mutiny, and Macrinus seems to have known this.

Caracalla often ridiculed Macrinus publicly, calling him a brave, self-styled warrior, and carrying his sarcasm to the point of shameful abuse. 

When the emperor learned that Macrinus was overfond of food and scorned the coarse, rough fare which Caracalla and the soldiers enjoyed, he accused the general of cowardice and effeminacy, and continually threatened to murder him. Unable to endure these insults any longer, the angry Macrinus grew dangerous.

This is the way the affair turned out; it was, at long last, time for Caracalla’s life to come to an end. The emperor, always excessively curious, wished not only to know everything about the affairs of men but also to meddle in divine matters. Since he suspected everyone of plotting against him, he consulted all the oracles and summoned prophets, astrologers, and entrail-examiners from all over the world; no one who practiced the magic art of prophecy escaped him.

(Herodian, History of the Roman Empire, 4.12)

One of Caracalla’s men in Rome tried to warn the emperor of what the astrologers and others had deciphered about Macrinus, as did Julia Domna, but the letters did not reach Caracalla in time.

In the Spring of A.D. 217, it seems the Fates had their blade against the thread of Caracalla’s life. Macrinus had a plan.

Map of region where Caracalla was on campaign in the final weeks of his reign.

On his way from Edessa to engage the Parthians again, Caracalla decided that he wished to stop at Carrhae, where so many Romans had met their end, to make offerings at the temple of Luna. He would not leave Carrhae…

Macrinus…hastened his preparations, having a presentiment that otherwise he should perish, especially as Antoninus had suddenly, on the day before his birthday, removed those of Macrinus’ companions that were with him, alleging various reasons in different cases, but with the general pretext of showing them honour… Accordingly, he [Macrinus] secured the services of two tribunes assigned to the pretorian guard, Nemesianus and Apollinaris, brothers belonging to the Aurelian gens, and of Julius Martialis, who was enrolled among the evocati and had a private grudge against Antoninus [Caracalla] for not having given him the post of centurion when he asked for it, and so formed his plot against Antoninus. It was carried out thus.

On the eighth of April, when the emperor had set out from Edessa for Carrhae and had dismounted from his horse to ease himself, Martialis approached as though desiring to say something to him and struck him with a small dagger. Martialis immediately fled and would have escaped detection, had he thrown away his sword; but, as it was, the weapon led to his being recognized by one of the Scythians in attendance upon Antoninus, and he was struck down with a javelin. As for Antoninus, the tribunes, pretending to come to his rescue, slew him…

…Such was the end to which Antoninus came, after living twenty-nine years and four days (for he had been born on the fourth of April), and after ruling six years, two months, and two days. At this point also in my narrative many things come to mind to arouse my astonishment. For instance, when he was about to set out from Antioch on his last journey, his father appeared to him in a dream, wearing a sword and saying, “As you killed your brother, so will I slay you”…

(Cassius Dio, The Roman History, Book LXXIX)

It was an ignominious end for the son of Severus.

It is this event involving Macrinus, the Praetorian tribunes, Nemesianus and Apollinaris, one Julius Martialis and another with a grievance against Caracalla, that makes up the climax of The Blood Road.

The troops declared Macrinus emperor, and in the aftermath, it is thought that Julia Domna, who was in Antioch at the time, committed suicide rather than be taken by Macrinus. And who can blame this wonderful, intelligent empress? After the key role she had played in the Empire for so long, the death of her husband, and the brutal murder of her youngest son, she must have lost the will to live any longer. The humiliating death of Caracalla was likely, for her, as the dying of the Sun she worshipped.

Once Macrinus was emperor, he struck a deal with the Parthians and made his son, Diadumenian, ‘Prince of the Youth’. He also gave him the rank of ‘Caesar’.

As emperor, Macrinus ruled for just a short year, from April A.D. 217 to June 218. He waged unsuccessful wars and undertook some fiscal reforms that the military, the very men who put him on the throne, did not appreciate.

Gold ‘aureus’ of Julia Maesa

It seems that he also did not account fully for the ambition of Julia Domna’s sister, Julia Maesa, who had bided her time for years, ever a fixture of the imperial court, supportive of her sister and slain nephew.

Julia Maesa, took advantage of the unrest around Emperor Macrinus to instigate a rebellion and have her fourteen-year-old grandson, Elagabalus, declared emperor after the Battle of Antioch on June 8, A.D. 218.

Macrinus was captured and slain in Cappadocia, as he fled for Rome, and his son, whom he had sent to the Parthians for protection, was captured and executed.

The Senate of Rome then declared him and his son enemies of Rome and had their names struck from the records.

So ended the reign of the first, non-senatorial emperor in Rome’s history.

Image of a Roman eagle standard, or ‘aquila’ (Wikimedia Commons)

I hope that you’ve enjoyed this blog series about The World of the Blood Road as much as I’ve enjoyed researching and writing it. There is a lot more history in the book itself, but this will give you a taste of the world in which this adventure takes place.

If you have missed any posts in this blog series, you can read all of them in one place by CLICKING HERE.

While it is true that there are very few primary sources for this period, the ones that we do have – Cassius Dio and Herodian – have shown us once again that sometimes the truth is even more shocking than one could have imagined.

This is a fascinating period in Roman history, and one which I have been very happy to share with you.

Thank you for reading.

The Blood Road is available on-line now in e-book and paperback at major retailers. CLICK HERE to get your copy. You can also purchase directly from Eagles and Dragons Publishing HERE.

If you are new to the Eagles and Dragons historical fantasy series, you can check out the #1 best selling prequel, A Dragon among the Eagles for just 1.99 HERE.

 

Facebooktwitterpinterest
by

The World of The Blood Road – Part VIII – Antioch: Rome of the East

Welcome back, Readers and History-Lovers!

I hope you’ve been enjoying this blog series about The World of The Blood Road. It has been a joy to share my research with you over the last little while.

In Part VII, we journeyed to see the Pythia at Delphi and experienced the beauty of the sanctuary there. If you missed that post, you can read it by CLICKING HERE.

Today, in Part VIII, we’re going to be taking a brief look at one of the richest cities in the Roman Empire: Antioch.

So, step aboard our corbita and let’s set sail for this magnificent city of the eastern Empire!

Map showing the Eastern Roman Empire and Parthian Empire. Note Antioch in the top left where the Silk Road meets the Mediterranean.

In the novel, The Blood Road, there are several locations across the Roman Empire that we visit. Antioch, however, is not an entirely new location in this series.

In A Dragon among the Eagles (Book 0), the legions of Septimius Severus assembled outside Antioch for the invasion of Parthia, and our protagonist, Lucius Metellus Anguis, was among them.

Well, we’ve come full circle now, and find ourselves back in Antioch, only this time it is not to await the order to march from inside a legionary tent on the plain outside the city. This time, we’re going into the city streets to explore what was known as the ‘Rome of the East’.

Antioch in the Roman Empire (Wikimedia Commons)

Antioch was the gateway to Mesopotamia which is said to be the cradle of civilization. It is a land of alternating fertility and desert where the first cities were built, and empires made. It also was, and is, a land of war, a land of terrible beauty.

For millennia, successive civilizations have fought over this rich land, a land from which Alexander the Great had decided to rule his massive empire.

In A Dragon among the Eagles, Lucius Metellus Anguis’ legion arrives at the port of Antioch where Emperor Severus has assembled over thirty legions on the plains east of the city.

Antioch, which was then located in Syria, now lies in modern Turkey, near the city of Antyaka. It was founded in the fourth century B.C. by one of Alexander’s successor-generals, Seleucus I Nicator, the founder of the Seleucid Empire. Seleucus named this city after his son, Antiochus, a name that would be taken by later kings of that dynasty.

Ancient Roman road in Syria which connected Antioch and Chalcis to the North. (Wikimedia Commons)

Antioch was called the ‘Rome of the East’, and for good reason. It was rich, mostly due to its location along the Silk Road. Indeed, Antioch was a sort of gateway between the Mediterranean and the East, with many goods, especially spices, travelling through it. It is located on the Orontes river, and overlooked by Mt. Silpius.

This Ancient Greek city was greatly enhanced by the Romans who saw much value in it. Actually, most of the development in Antioch took place during the period of Roman occupation. Enhancements included aqueducts, numerous baths, stoas, palaces and gardens for visiting emperors, and perhaps most impressive of all, a hippodrome for chariot racing that was 490 meters long and based on the Circus Maximus in Rome.

Antioch, during the late second century A.D., rivalled both Rome and Alexandria. It was a place of luxury and civility that was in stark contrast to the world of war where, in The Blood Road, the legions are headed once more.

Reconstruction of Roman Antioch (art by Papertowns)

This time in Antioch, however, we are not so concerned with war. We’re not on the front lines so to speak, though at the time this novel takes place, Caracalla is mounting another Parthian campaign.

In The Blood Road, we get a more intimate look at Antioch and its city streets. However, we’re not delving into the palaces, the great circus, or the amphitheatre. This time around we will be among the people in the agora, and also in the quarter known as the Kerateion. 

Around the time this novel takes place (A.D. 211-217) the population of Antioch was below 400,000 people. That’s a big city, and like most cities, there were certain quarters that were better than others, areas where certain population groups were relegated.

Site of Antioch on the Orontes River c.1934

Antioch was of utmost importance to trade, as it was the Mediterranean gateway to the Silk Road that crossed the former Persian Empire to the East. The agora would have been a thriving place were many people gathered to buy and sell. The main agora of Antioch was located along the western wall, just above the Orontes river.

On the map, Antioch doesn’t actually appear that big, but, as stated above, it had everything that was needed in a ‘Rome of the East’.

Antioch did well under Roman rule. It was enriched, and it flourished.

But was it the same for all peoples living there? Likely not.

In the southeast corner of the city, pressed between the Daphne Gate and the main colonnaded thoroughfare of the city, the amphitheatre and the eastern wall along the slopes of Mount Silpius, there was a neighbourhood known as the ‘Kerateion’.

This was the Judea-Christian quarter of Antioch, and it is here that our time is mostly spent in The Blood Road.

Map of Ancient Antioch (Google Arts and Culture). Note the Judeo-Christian quarter of the Kerateion in red.

During the early days of Christianity, some of the earliest missionaries came to Antioch to preach to Jews and Gentiles alike, and over time, during the Roman Empire, the city became the centre of early Christianity.

While many emperors were brutal toward Christians, under Severus and Caracalla that portion of the population fared better than at other times. They were even made Roman citizens by Caracalla’s Constitutio Antoniniana.

It is believed that one of the earliest Christian missionaries here was none other than the apostle Peter. One can even see the ruins of St. Peter’s Cave Church (built in the Middle Ages) where he is said to have preached to some of the people of Antioch. To this day, it is said the Christian Patriarch of Antioch claims primacy in the church because of this association with Peter.

Another strong Christian association with Antioch is that the Gospel of Matthew is believed to have been written there.

Facade of the Church of St Peter, originally built ca. 1100 by Crusaders and rebuilt in the 19th century (Wikimedia Commons)

In the Eagles and Dragons series, we have not delved very deeply into Christianity and its beliefs. The main characters are mostly Pagan. However, from Book III, Warriors of Epona, we are introduced to early Christians in Britannia, mainly the character of Father Gilmore.

Now, with The Blood Road, we explore Christianity just a little more, and what better place to do that than at one of the centres of early Christianity where the Christian ideal of forgiveness of one’s enemies is in direct contrast to the theme of vengeance in our story.

Stay tuned for our final part in The World of The Blood Road when we will be looking briefly at the reign of Caracalla and the rise and fall of Macrinus.

Thank you for reading.

The Blood Road is available on-line now in e-book and paperback at major retailers. CLICK HERE to get your copy. You can also purchase directly from Eagles and Dragons Publishing HERE.

If you are new to the Eagles and Dragons historical fantasy series, you can check out the #1 best selling prequel, A Dragon among the Eagles for just 1.99 HERE.

 

Facebooktwitterpinterest
by

The World of The Blood Road – Part VII – Delphi: Visiting the Sanctuary of a God

Greetings History-Lovers!

Welcome back to The World of The Blood Road, the blog series in which we’re looking at the research into the history, people, and places behind-the-scenes of the newest Eagles and Dragons historical fantasy novel. 

If you missed the previous post on Roman Etruria, you can read that by CLICKING HERE.

In Part VII we’re going to be visiting one of the most sacred sanctuaries of the ancient world. We’re going to Delphi.

Are you ready to visit the oracle?

Let’s begin…

Speculative illustration of ancient Delphi by French architect Albert Tournaire.

Just as Delphi is perhaps one of the most well-known historical sites of Greece today, it was also one of the most famous and important places in the ancient world, sacred to both Greeks and Romans.

In this post, however, we’re not going to be discussing the history of Delphi. If you would like to read about that and my own experience walking through the sanctuary, you should definitely read this previous post by CLICKING HERE.

In this seventh part of The World of The Blood Road, we’re going to walk alongside ancient pilgrims, or theopropoi, on their way to consult the Pythia, the famous oracle of Apollo at Delphi.

…the high road to Delphi becomes both steeper and more difficult for the walker. Many and different are the stories told about Delphi, and even more so about the oracle of Apollo. For they say that in the earliest times the oracular seat belonged to Earth….

…I have heard too that shepherds feeding their flocks came upon the oracle, were inspired by the vapour, and prophesied as the mouthpiece of Apollo.

(Pausanias, Description of Greece, 10.5.5) 

The peaceful sanctuary of Athena Pronaia

People would come from all over the Greek and Roman world to consult the oracle at Delphi who spoke the words of Apollo himself, the god of art, music, healing and prophecy, common to both Greeks and Romans. More often than not, they would come from very far away to do this, but when they arrived at Delphi, they could not just step into line and wait to see the oracle in the temple. There was a process.

First of all, you had to get there, and whether you came over land from the direction of Thebes, or from the ancient port of Kirrha on the gulf of Corinth, you had to climb your way up to the god’s eyrie. 

Timing was important, for the oracle was not there all day, everyday. The priests of the temple could give simple answers to simple questions by individuals regularly, but for cities seeking wisdom, or individuals with weighty questions, the Pythia herself would give her oracles once every month on the seventh day, except for the three months of winter when Apollo was said to be in the land of the Hyperboreans. During Winter, Dionysos was said to watch over Delphi.

Whenever you arrived in Delphi, you would probably have stopped at the sanctuary of Athena Pronaia to thank the gods for bringing you there safely.

The Tholos in the sanctuary of Athena Pronaia (reconstruction by K. Iliakis)

This sanctuary was the sort of gateway or ‘entrance’ to the sanctuary of Apollo. It was located down the mountain from the main sanctuary, along the road from Thebes. Here, there were temples to Athena, Hygeia, Zeus and others. There were altars and a hero shrine too, all within the walled enclosure. If you were Roman, you might have recognized the statue of Hadrian looking over the sanctuary, for he loved Greece and visited Delphi twice during his reign.

This is a peaceful place, filled with whispering olive trees, birdsong, and light. In this sanctuary, the traveller could take a breath and prepare him or herself for the next stage.

Within the sanctuary of Athena Pronaia, there was the larger, ‘old’ temple of Athena (built c. 510 B.C.), and the smaller ‘new’ temple of Athena (built c. 380 B.C.) where pilgrims would have made their offerings.

Today, however, the main structure that draws the eye is the tholos, the round temple that stood between the two main temples of Athena. It is not known exactly what rituals took place inside this striking temple, one theory being that its shape echoed the round huts or structures of a more ancient time. The tiled roof was accented by lion heads about the perimeter an the metopes, some of which remain, depicted the Gigantomachy (battle of the Giants) and the Amazonomachy (battle of the Amazons).

Beside the sanctuary of Athena Pronaia, there also lay the long tiled roof of the Roman gymnasium, one of the more recent additions to Delphi, where Athletes participating in the Pythian Games, or travellers seeking to stay fit, might be training.

Most people, however, would have been eager to make their offerings to Apollo in the main sanctuary up the mountainside, and have their questions answered by the Pythia. However, it was not just a matter of walking in and doing so.

One had to be purified.

The Phaedriades, or ‘Shining Ones’ (Wikimedia Commons)

In the shadow of the twin peaks known as the Phaedriades, or the ’Shining Ones’, there lay the sacred spring of Castalia. The water that fed this spring came out from the Phaedriades and was used in the important purification rituals of Delphi. Even the Pythia purified herself with this water.

If one did not go through the purification, one could not enter the sanctuary which was about five hundred meters away. The line would have been long, especially if one arrived for the seventh day of the month.

Within a shaded court, there was a pool fed by lion-headed spouts. Stairs led down into the water where pilgrims washed their hands, face and hair with the sacred water. If one was guilty of homicide, however, the entire body needed to be washed in the Castilian spring.

The Castalian Fountain House where pilgrims purified themselves before entering the sanctuary. (Reconstruction by K. Iliakis)

Once a pilgrim had purified himself or herself, it was time to purchase offerings if you had not already brought some. Conveniently, there was an agora that the Romans had built, just before the entrance to the sanctuary of Apollo. Here there would have been small animals, votive sculptures, food and more available for purchase.

You might not have been able to see into the sanctuary yet, though you knew it was there, for as soon as one approached Delphi, there was a niggling feeling of awe and wonder that accompanied such proximity to this most holy place of Apollo’s, the place where he slew the great Python and where, ever since, heroes, kings and countries had come for his wisdom.

Once you stepped through the main gate into the sanctuary, the flow of people would have led you on.

Site map of Delphi showing the Sacred Way running up through the sanctuary of Apollo to the temple itself. Reconstruction by Dimitris Kyriakos and Dimitris Nassides based on research by the French Archaeological School)

As one walked along the Sacred Way of Delphi, one would have been struck by the amount of artworks, monuments and votive offerings along the way. It would have been like walking through a filled museum for the modern traveller, which is fitting as Apollo was the leader of the Muses.

The first thing one would have seen are various statues groups that included the Bronze Bull of the Corkyrans, thirty-seven statues of the Spartan admirals, and votive statues of the Arcadians. These lined the road on both sides, and were followed by statues created by the famed sculptor, Phidias, to commemorate the Athenian victory over the Persians at Marathon.

One could have taken shelter in the shade next at the small stoa that was there alongside the votive statues of the Argive kings which were across from the wooden horse of Troy, and the statue group of the famous Seven against Thebes.

Perhaps some travellers would have stopped to look at all of the works of art, to feel the connection to an ancient past. If one was Roman, perhaps one might have felt a bit more out of place, like an intruder, or invader, there to seek the wisdom of the god you shared with the Greeks walking beside you?

The Athenian Treasury along the Sacred Way. (Reconstructions by K. Iliakis)

The road then widened, and perhaps the crowd walking up the mountain to the main temple spread out. Next, where the road began to switch back on its way up, one came to the various treasuries where cities from across the Greek world kept riches, offerings and trophies. The treasuries of the Thebans, Beotians and Poteideans were there, squat stone structures with tiled rooftops, their doors either open to their respective citizens, or barred to outsiders.

Between the latter two treasuries was a reminder of where one was in that moment, for there was the enormous, carved omphalos stone, the ‘navel’ that told one Delphi was the centre of the world.

Then came the grand treasury of Athens with its beautiful facade and metopes depicting the deeds of Theseus and Herakles. There were banners, enemy armour and more adorning the outer steps, and riches filling the interior, there since it was dedicated to the victory at Marathon. Perhaps some were weather-worn, or perhaps Rome had already taken some, but it was nonetheless impressive, right down to the text inscribed upon the outer walls.

Continuing along the Sacred Way, one passed the bouleuterion, the Delphic council house, and the treasuries of the Syracusans and Megarians as well as other monuments and altars.

The Sybil’s Rock

If one was nervous about approaching the god with one’s question, one might have had to pause at what was seen next. In the shadow of the long temple of Apollo, which now stood above you on the next terrace, one now stood before two rocks: the rock of Leto, where Apollo slew the great Python, and the rock of the Sibyl, where the first oracle spoke Apollo’s words to the world.

What must it have been like for an ancient pilgrim to stand there, further unnerved by the gaze of the Naxian Sphinx on its ten meter column, looking down on you! Did the sound of the crowds fall away as you contemplated your purpose in being there? Could you hear the roar of the Python as Apollo loosed his arrows?

The experience was, no doubt, different for everyone.

The Naxian Sphinx in the museum at Delphi.

Past the treasury of the Corinthians and the Delphic prytaneion, the magistrates’ hall, one then mounted the Tarentine stairs beneath the great golden tripod with its thick serpent columns, a battle-offering for the Greek victory over the Persians at Plataea. To your right you would have seen another area with various large columns and votive statues of the kings Attalos and Eumenes, the stoa of Attalos which had two levels, and where people gathered to rest or talk in the shade.

This area was also dominated by the golden chariot of Helios, offered to Apollo by the Rhodians.

But your eyes would now have been drawn inexorably to your left where the colossal statue of Apollo with his lyre, and of the goddess Athena atop a soaring bronze palm stood before the temple of Apollo itself.

If it was the seventh day of the month, then perhaps it was difficult to move in the crowd of pilgrims awaiting their turn make their offerings upon the great altar of the Chians which faced the temple entrance.

The Altar of the Chians before the Temple of Apollo (Wikimedia Commons)

Would you have been frustrated to see those with promanteia – the right to see the oracle first – skip the line? These included the Delphians themselves, as well as people from Chios and some other places. If you were there, in Delphi, no doubt your questions were pressing, but there was plenty to see and do while you waited for your turn.

Looking out over the mountainside, down toward the South, the sun would have warmed your face as you gazed down on the valley of sacred, silver-leafed olive groves to the sea beyond. The sound of cicadas and birdsong might have been matched only by the hum of the gathered pilgrims.

If you still had to wait your turn to enter the temple, you could have walked up to the next terrace, above the temple, passed various columns and monuments, including the shrine to Neoptolemus, the son of Achilles. Then, to more shrines and monuments until you paused before the great bronze charioteer, and the bronze statue group of the lion hunt of Alexander the Great, dedicated by his general Crateros.

The Charioteer of Delphi

Up the hill there was another enclosure that included the rock of Kronos and the meeting hall of the Cnidians, but you had no need to go there, for you were drawn by the sound of music coming from the great theatre of Delphi which rose up the mountainside to your right. Perhaps musicians were practicing for the coming Pythian Games, or perhaps a lone poet was practising his recitation before an empty theatre, a solo offering to the ears of Apollo himself?

The Stadium farther up the mountain from the sanctuary was the site of the Pythian Games and seated up to 7000 spectators

Along the path from the top of the theatre, on into the pine-scented air of Parnassus, the stadium stretches away. Athletes are training there, running, throwing the discuss, testing their strength and skill against each other. Or perhaps they are sitting in the sun gazing up at the trees and rocky slopes above?

You think about going to watch, but then your name is called. It is your turn to see the oracle.

The Temple of Apollo

The temple of Apollo is the focus of the entire sanctuary. It is the home of the god. As one approaches it, perhaps one feels nervous anticipation? You are, after all, going to step into the presence of Apollo. You don’t want to get things wrong either, for then your journey might be wasted.

After you have cleansed yourself with Castalian water, you might walk up to the altar before the temple to make your offering of pelanon, the honeyed bread that all pilgrims give. You would give money too, the amount dependent upon your financial state. And then, you would offer a goat, the preferred blood offering. This act would have awoken a sense of morality in you, and you pray that when the cold water is poured over the animal, it shivers a suitable amount, for if it does not, then there will be no prophecy for you.

The Temple of Apollo at Delphi (reconstruction by K. Iliakis)

Once your offering have been made and accepted, you are told by the priests that you may make your way into the temple.

The time has come.

First you pass through a small forest of columns and the pronaos of the temple where the words of Delphi’s famous maxims arrest you. 

‘Know thyself’

‘Nothing in excess’

‘Surety brings ruin’

Do you doubt yourself as you step into the temple? Are you guilty of the hubris the Gods so despise in mortals? 

How many people turned away at this point, unable to step further?

You can read all about the Delphic Maxims by CLICKING HERE.

But you step into the temple, as sure of yourself as you can be, and your eyes are treated to some of the most beautiful works of art you have seen, frescoes, votive objects such as musical instruments, kraters, gilded tables, chariots, weapons, crowns and more, all offered to Apollo. There is even the iron throne that was where the great epinikion poet, Pindar, sat when he recited his words to Apollo at Delphi.

And that saying, in these fortunate circumstances, brings the belief that from now on this city will be renowned for garlands and horses, and its name will be spoken amid harmonious festivities. Phoebus, lord of Lycia and Delos, you who love the Castalian spring of Parnassus, may you willingly put these wishes in your thoughts, and make this a land of fine men. All the resources for the achievements of mortal excellence come from the gods; for being skillful, or having powerful arms, or an eloquent tongue. As for me, in my eagerness to praise that man, I hope that I may not be like one who hurls the bronze-cheeked javelin, which I brandish in my hand, outside the course, but that I may make a long cast, and surpass my rivals. Would that all of time may, in this way, keep his prosperity and the gift of wealth on a straight course, and bring forgetfulness of troubles. Indeed he might remember in what kind of battles of war he stood his ground with an enduring soul, when, by the gods’ devising, they found honour such as no other Greek can pluck, a proud garland of wealth. 

(Pindar, Pythian 1, For Hieron of Aetna)

Pindar

Beyond the piles of offerings about you, and the other maxims inscribed upon walls and plaques, there is a wood and ivory screen that separates the first room of the temple from the cella.

One of the priests ushers you through the screen, and on the other side you see the main altar where Apollo looks down upon you. At the god’s feet is the pythomantis, the eternal flame that is always tended by the Pythia and the Hestiades, the five chosen Delphic maids who continually feed the flames with fir wood from the mountainside.

The temple smells strongly of smoke, of oil and burning wood, but there is another smell you cannot discern, something slightly foul coming from a chamber beneath the cella.

Besides the Delphic maids, there are three priests of the oracle, and the five holy men descended from Deucalion, whose ark landed on Parnassus during the Great Flood.

One of the priests steps forward to ask what question you would pose to Apollo, and then he leads you, under the watchful gaze of the others, down the steps to the oracular adyton below the cella.

It is dark, lit only by the slightest of fires as you descend into the earth, a faint scent of sulphur stinging your nose. When you reach the adyton, you see the great omphalos stone, covered by the agrenon, the wool net with golden eagles upon it. There are also ancient statues of Apollo himself in wood and gold. You would observe them more closely, but then your heart is pounding and you sweat, and then you see her: the Pythia.

Apollo and the Pythia who uttered his prophecies to mortals

She sits upon a bronze tripod, above a crack in the earth, a branch of laurel in her hand, her eyes shaded by the cowl of her cloak. Upon the floor is a cistern with water from the spring of Cassiotis.

The priest speaks your question to the Pythia, there is a pause, and then she utters the words of Apollo…

…the untrod Parnassian cliffs, shining, receive the wheel of day for mortals. The smoke of dry myrtle flies to Phoebus’ roof. The woman of Delphi sits on the sacred tripod, and sings out to the Hellenes whatever Apollo cries to her. But you Delphian servants of Phoebus, go to the silver whirlpools of Castalia; come to the temple when you have bathed in its pure waters; it is good to keep your mouth holy in speech and give good words from your lips to those who wish to consult the oracle. But I will labor at the task that has been mine from childhood, with laurel boughs and sacred wreaths making pure the entrance to Phoebus’ temple, and the ground moist with drops of water; and with my bow I will chase the crowds of birds that harm the holy offerings. For as I was born without a mother and a father, I serve the temple of Phoebus…

(Euripides, Ion, Line 82)

Today, we know very little of the divination process at Delphi. Scholars continue to try and piece together a picture of the process of what happened and what was involved from a few mentions in ancient sources.

Often, answers were given in riddles, if they were not ‘yes’ or ‘no’ answers. Sometimes, the oracle would give a punishment or penance such as that given to Herakles after the murder of his family.

The archaeological site of Delphi as seen from above the theatre, with the temple of Apollo below.

Despite Delphi’s sacred role in the ancient world, including to the Romans, not all men of the Tiber were kind to the sanctuary of Apollo.

Sulla and Nero both stripped the sanctuary of bronze and marble statuary. However, Domitian repaired the temple of Apollo in A.D. 84, and Hadrian, a great Hellenophile, lavished gifts upon the sanctuary when he visited in A.D. 126 and 129.

Even Caracalla, who is emperor in The Blood Road, ordered the restoration of parts of the sanctuary, perhaps as atonement for the murder of his brother, Geta.

The sights described above on our virtual pilgrimage through the sanctuary are pieced together with information from the archaeological record and ancient sources such as Pausanias, Euripides and others. There are many gaps in our knowledge, especially around the actual rituals of divination.

One thing is certain, however, and that is the awe that both ancient and modern visitors to Delphi experience. Whether the sanctuary was at its peak during the Golden Age of the Classical period, or whether it lay in romantic ruin as it does today, one cannot help but feel overwhelmed by Delphi as one walks in the footsteps of millions who sought the wisdom of Apollo.

I’ve been to Delphi several times, and each time feels like the first. And after I’ve walked the sacred way, past the treasuries and empty spaces once filled by incredible works of art, I like to sit at the top of the theatre and look down over the sanctuary to the temple of Apollo and the valley of sacred olive trees far below, leading to the sea. The crowds about me disappear and all I can hear are birds, cicadas and the wind. I feel peace like nowhere else, and in that peace, if you listen closely enough, you might just hear music washing down that mountainside where Apollo made his mark on the world.

Stay tuned for Part VIII in The World of The Blood Road when we’ll be visiting Antioch, the ‘Rome of the East’.

Thank your for reading.

The Blood Road is available on-line now in e-book and paperback at major retailers. CLICK HERE to get your copy. You can also purchase directly from Eagles and Dragons Publishing HERE.

If you are new to the Eagles and Dragons historical fantasy series, you can check out the #1 best selling prequel, A Dragon among the Eagles for just 1.99 HERE.

 

Facebooktwitterpinterest
by

The World of The Blood Road – Part VI – Pastoral Idyll: A Brief Look at Roman Etruria

Salvete Romanophiles!

Welcome back to The World of The Blood Road!

If you missed Part V in the this blog series, in which we looked briefly at the history of Carthago Nova, you can read about it right HERE.

Today, in Part VI, we’re going to be taking a look a region that has a very ancient history, but that also means a lot to me personally. We’re going to be taking a brief look at Roman Etruria, the place most know today as Tuscany. I hope you enjoy…

Today, when one thinks of Tuscany, one inevitably has a picture of an idyllic pastoral setting dotted with vineyards overlooked by fortified medieval farmhouses, and medieval cities adorned with some of the greatest examples of western art that we can imagine. The Renaissance is often the age we conjure when we think of Tuscany. I know I do!

I love Tuscany. I’ve visited there for pleasure and research, and it is always on my list of places to return to. You can read one of my posts about visiting Tuscany by CLICKING HERE.

There is no doubt at all that Tuscany is extremely rich in history, but that history is not exclusively Medieval. On the contrary, the history of Tuscany goes much farther back than the Middle Ages and the era of the Medici.

Etruscan funerary monument with man and woman dining together

Of course, the name of Tuscany comes from the Etruscans, those people who inhabited that beautiful land and from which the kings of Rome originated. Etruscan culture and religion was extremely rich, and it is the Etruscans who were largely responsible for the import of Greek culture and religion to Italy, including wine making and olive growing.

But we’re not here to talk about the Etruscans today. If you would like to read about the Etruscans, I urge you to read my previous post on The Elusive Etruscans HERE.

Today we’re going to be taking a brief look at Etruria during the Roman period. What was Roman Etruria like? What role did it play in the broader Italian peninsula and the Empire itself?

Ancient Etruria (Wikimedia Commons)

During the period of Etruscan hegemony, the cities of Tuscany with which we are familiar today were not necessarily the primary settlements. The settlements of Veia (Veii), Velsna (Volsinii), Tarchina (Tarquinii), Perusana (Perusia), Aritium (Aretium), Clusium (Cortona) and a few others were more active.

The settlements that tourists are attracted to today, such as Florentia (Florence), Luca (Lucca), Pisae, and Saena Iulia (Siena) thrived more under the Romans, and then reached their peaks during the Middle Ages. To read about the origins of Roman Florence, CLICK HERE.

If you can ignore some of the ‘modern’ architecture and passing cars of today’s Tuscany, however, you can catch a glimpse of what ancient Etruria was like. It was, of course, a place rich in art and religion under the Etruscans, but after the fall of the kings especially, Rome began to put its mark on Etruria.

Vineyards in Tuscany

Roman roads such as the via Aurelia, the via Clodia, the via Cassia, and the via Flaminia were extended through the land, aqueducts and sewers were built, and there were more public and private construction projects.

Etruscan culture was not, however, erased by Rome. It was assimilated and adopted, especially when it came to religious arts such as augury and haruspicy. Haruspicy, the art of divining the will of the Gods through the examination of entrails after sacrifices (ex. the liver), and the reading of omens, prodigies and portents was a uniquely Etruscan skill that was adopted by Rome. Both the Senate and the army used haruspices who were trained in Etruria.

Etruscan bronze liver that may have served as an instructional model for a haruspex (Wikimedia Commons)

When it came to Roman Etruria though, agriculture was the order of the day, not only as a means of food production, but also as a civilized pastime for the Roman elite.

Roman Etruria was by and large a villa economy of latifundia, agricultural estates, of which the villas were the centre.

But the Romans considered farming not only as a means for income and food production, but also as a civilized retreat from the stresses of life too. Writers such as Cato the Elder, Varro and Columella write extensively about the agricultural life.

There was a certain moral superiority in farming, with a stress on learning and proper estate management.

One who devotes himself to agriculture should understand that he must call to his assistance these most fundamental resources: knowledge of the subject, means for defraying the expenses, and the will to do the work. For in the end, as Tremelius remarks, he will have the best-tilled lands who has the knowledge, the wherewithal, and the will to cultivate them. For the knowledge and willingness will not suffice anyone without the means which the tasks require; on the other hand, the will to do or the ability to make the outlay will be of no use without knowledge of the art, since the main thing in every enterprise is to know what has to be done — and especially so in agriculture, where willingness and means, without knowledge, frequently bring great loss to owners when work which has been done in ignorance brings to naught the expense incurred. Accordingly, an attentive head of a household, whose heart is set on pursuing a sure method of increasing his fortune from the tillage of his land, will take especial pains to consult on every point the most experienced farmers of his own time; he should study zealously the manuals of the ancients, gauging the opinions and teachings of each of them, to see whether the records handed down by his forefathers are suited in their entirety to the husbandry of his day or are out of keeping in some respects.

(Columella, De Re Rustica, 1.1)

Mosaic depicting Roman country life and activities.

When we think of Tuscany today, one of the first things that comes to mind is wine. Chianti is certainly my favourite nectar! The wine trade in Etruria was begun by the Etruscans through their contact with the Greeks in about the 6th century B.C., but during the Roman period, Etrurian wine was imported throughout the Empire.

This wine trade was eventually overtaken by production in Hispania and Gaul in the 1st century B.C. but wine production did continue as an important part of the villa economy in Etruria.

The other main crops in Roman Etruria were olives and olive oil production, which continues to this day in the region, alongside wine-making. 

The villa rustica was at the heart of this world, and even as you drive around today, you will see villas and farmhouses at the centre of grape and  olive crops amongst those unmistakable Tuscan hills.

Tuscan farm

Other activities on latifundia were the rearing of various poultry, bees, boar, fruit trees which required a knowledge of grafting, fresh water fish ponds, hare warrens, and even such things as that most Roman of delicacies, dormice.

Farming was socially acceptable to elite Romans, but it was also frowned upon to have a lavish villa that did not produce. It was considered poor form to neglect agriculture. Cato the Elder certainly had his opinions about what constituted a good estate:

When you are thinking of acquiring a farm, keep in mind these points: that you be not over-eager in buying nor spare your pains in examining, and that you consider it not sufficient to go over it once. However often you go, a good piece of land will please you more at each visit. Notice how the neighbours keep up their places; if the district is good, they should be well kept. Go in and keep your eyes open, so that you may be able to find your way out. It should have a good climate, not subject to storms; the soil should be good, and naturally strong. If possible, it should lie at the foot of a mountain and face south; the situation should be healthful, there should be a good supply of labourers, it should be well watered, and near it there should be a flourishing town, or the sea, or a navigable stream, or a good and much travelled road. It should lie among those farms which do not often change owners; where those who have sold farms are sorry to have done so. It should be well furnished with buildings. Do not be hasty in despising the methods of management adopted by others. It will be better to purchase from an owner who is a good farmer and a good builder. When you reach the steading, observe whether there are numerous oil presses and wine vats; if there are not, you may infer that the amount of the yield is in proportion. The farm should be one of no great equipment, but should be well situated. See that it be equipped as economically as possible, and that the land be not extravagant. Remember that a farm is like a man — however great the income, if there is extravagance but little is left. If you ask me what is the best kind of farm, I should say: a hundred iugera of land, comprising all sorts of soils, and in a good situation; a vineyard comes first if it produces bountifully wine of a good quality; second, a watered garden; third, an osier-bed; fourth, an oliveyard; fifth, a meadow; sixth, grain land; seventh, a wood lot; eighth, an arbustum; ninth, a mast grove.

(Cato the Elder, De Agricultura, Book I)

The Villa Poppaea is an ancient luxurious Roman seaside villa (villa maritima) near Naples. (Wikimedia Commons)

Villa rusticae with successful and efficient farming production were considered appropriate and the most profitable in Roman Etruria, but we must also remember that Etruria had a long coastline.

Apart from the villa rustica, the villa maritima also played a role in the Etrurian economy. The primary focus of these estates was fish breeding, though this was not as prestigious a past-time as farming to some Romans.

Though Roman Etruria did have larger settlements such as Florentia, Veii, Volterrae and Clusium, the overall picture we have of Roman Etruria is one of agriculture, much as it is to this day. As the empire expanded, Etrurian production of things such as wine and oil would have been overtaken by other provinces, but it would still would have been a place where elite Romans escaped the trials of life, but also enabled them to make an income from their lands, that is, if they ran them well.

If you are familiar with the Eagles and Dragons series, you will recognize the Metellus family villa in Etruria as a villa rustica, handed down from one generation to the next. It makes an appearance in The Blood Road.

Early sketch of the Metellus villa in the Eagles and Dragons series. An example of a ‘villa rustica’.

The fictional Metellus villa came about as an amalgam of various sites I’ve visited in Tuscany over the years, and each time I’ve returned to it in fiction, I feel a familiar sense of awe at the beauty of that ancient landscape. It is quite unlike anywhere else in the world.

In a way, despite the changes in architecture and technology, Tuscany today is not too dissimilar to the Etruria of yesterday. You just need to know where to look.

Stay tuned for Part VII in The World of The Blood Road when we will be journeying to Delphi for a visit with the oracle of the god Apollo.

Thank you for reading.

The Blood Road is available on-line now in e-book and paperback at major retailers. CLICK HERE to get your copy. You can also purchase directly from Eagles and Dragons Publishing HERE.

If you are new to the Eagles and Dragons historical fantasy series, you can check out the #1 best selling prequel, A Dragon among the Eagles for just 1.99 HERE.

 

Facebooktwitterpinterest
by

The World of The Blood Road – Part V – Carthago Nova: From Punic Outpost to Center of Roman Trade

Salvete history-lovers!

We’re at the half-way point in this blog series about The World of The Blood Road. I hope you’ve enjoyed it thus far. A lot of research goes into every Eagles and Dragons novel, and I’m thrilled to share it with you!

If you missed Part IV on the Praetorian Guard and the Castra Praetoria at Rome, you can read that post by CLICKING HERE.

Roman Spain, with Carthago Nova at the bottom right, on the Mediterranean coast

In Part V of this blog series we’re going to be taking a look at one of the locations visited by the main characters: the Iberian city of Carthago Nova, or, ‘New Carthage’.

One of the joys of writing historical fiction in the Roman Empire is that you have myriad options for setting open to you. The Roman world was vast and varied. It never gets boring. Like the people inhabiting it, the terrain and settlements are all different. The Roman Empire is perhaps the most diverse, multi-cultural civilization in ancient human history.

Carthago Nova, modern Cartagena in southern Spain, is no exception, and its history and development are fascinating. In this post, we’re going to take a very brief look at this ancient settlement.

Remains of Punic walls of Qart Hadasht

It [Carthago Nova] stands about half-way down the coast of Iberia in a gulf which faces south-west, running about twenty stades inland, and about ten stades broad at its entrance. The whole gulf is made a harbour by the fact that an island lies at its mouth and thus makes the entrance channels on each side of it exceedingly narrow. It breaks the force of the waves also, and the whole gulf has thus smooth water, except when south-west winds setting down the two channels raise a surf: with all other winds it is perfectly calm, from being so nearly landlocked. In the recess of the gulf a mountain juts out in the form of a chersonese, and it is on this mountain that the city stands, surrounded by the sea on the east and south, and on the west by a lagoon extending so far northward that the remaining space to the sea on the other side, to connect it with the continent, is not more than two stades. The city itself has a deep depression in its centre, presenting on its south side a level approach from the sea; while the rest of it is hemmed in by hills, two of them mountainous and rough, three others much lower, but rocky and difficult of ascent; the largest of which lies on the east of the town running out into the sea, on which stands a temple of Asclepius. Exactly opposite this lies the western mountain in a closely-corresponding position, on which a palace had been erected at great cost, which it is said was built by Hasdrubal when he was aiming at establishing royal power. The remaining three lesser elevations bound it on the north, of which the westernmost is called the hill of Hephaestus, the next to it that of Aletes,—who is believed to have attained divine honours from having been the discoverer of the silver mines,—and the third is called the hill of Cronus. The lagoon has been connected with the adjoining sea artificially for the sake of the maritime folk; and over the channel thus cut between it and the sea a bridge has been built, for beasts of burden and carts to bring in provisions from the country.

(Polybius, Histories, 10.10)

Coin showing image of Hasdrubal the Fair

Originally, Carthago Nova, which is its later Roman name, may have been a Phoenician trading centre named ‘Mastia’. However, the settlement really took off and began to flourish under Carthage as Qart Hadasht (meaning ‘New City’) which was founded by the Carthaginian general Hasdrubal the Fair, the son-in-law of Hamilcar Barca, in 228 B.C.

After Carthage took the Iberian peninsula, Qart Hadasht became the seat of Punic power there. It thrived as a trade centre, but also as a supply station and base of operations from which, during the Second Punic War, Hannibal would strike out for northern Italy.

Qart Hadasht thrived because of trade, the excellent port, and the nearby silver mines. But success was a double-edged gladius. All the success the city enjoyed angered other trading centres, especially Massilia, an allied Roman city.

And Massilia complained to Rome.

Bust of Scipio Africanus

By the time the second Punic war came about, Rome was taking a closer look at the problem of Qart Hadasht. Actually, it was one Roman in particular: Publius Cornelius Scipio.

He [Scipio] therefore rejected that idea altogether: but being informed that New Carthage was the most important source of supplies to the enemy and of damage to the Romans in the present war, he had taken the trouble to make minute inquiries about it during the winter from those who were well informed. He learnt that it was nearly the only town in Iberia which possessed a harbour suitable for a fleet and naval force; that it lay very conveniently for the Carthaginians to make the sea passage from Libya; that they in fact had the bulk of their money and war material in it, as well as their hostages from the whole of Iberia; that, most important of all, the number of fighting men garrisoning the citadel only amounted to a thousand,—because no one would ever suppose that, while the Carthaginians commanded nearly the whole of Iberia, any one would conceive the idea of assaulting this town; that the other inhabitants were exceedingly numerous, but all consisted of craftsmen, mechanics, and fisher-folk, as far as possible removed from any knowledge of warfare. All this he regarded as being fatal to the town, in case of the sudden appearance of an enemy. Nor did he moreover fail to acquaint himself with the topography of New Carthage, or the nature of its defences, or the lie of the lagoon: but by means of certain fishermen who had worked there he had ascertained that the lagoon was quite shallow and fordable at most points; and that, generally speaking, the water ebbed every day towards evening sufficiently to secure this. These considerations convinced him that, if he could accomplish his purpose, he would not only damage his opponents, but gain a considerable advantage for himself; and that, if on the other hand he failed in effecting it, he would yet be able to secure the safety of his men owing to his command of the sea, provided he had once made his camp secure,—and this was easy, because of the wide dispersion of the enemy’s forces. He had therefore, during his residence in winter quarters, devoted himself to preparing for this operation to the exclusion of every other: and in spite of the magnitude of the idea which he had conceived, and in spite of his youth…

(Polybius, Histories, 10.8)

As we know, Scipio (later known as ‘Africanus’ after his victory over Hannibal), was a smart general. He did his research before attacking Qart Hadasht while Hannibal was attacking Italy.

As a result, the Iberian city was taken by Scipio in 209 B.C. and became known as ‘Cathago Nova’, which literally means ‘New New City’.

Digital reconstruction of Roman Carthago Nova

Carthago Nova, or ‘Colonia Urbs Julia Nova Carthago’, played an important role in Rome’s economy over the years. It was one of Rome’s major centres of trade and one of the main suppliers of the silver which was so important to pay Rome’s legions.

From Carthago Nova, Iberian goods were shipped to Italy and all over the Empire, including silver, salt, fish for garum, grain, and esparto grass which was used for rope making and basket weaving.

Under Roman rule, it was a safe city, and was the third major city in Iberia after Tarraco and Corduba.

In 44 B.C. it was made a colonia by Julius Caesar in recompense for the city’s help in his civil war against Pompey and, as a result, all free-born men of Carthago Nova were made Roman citizens.

Augustus showed further favour to the city by giving it new streets, a theatre, a proper forum, various monuments, an ‘Augusteum’, temples and a college.

Remains of the Roman theatre of Carthago Nova (today’s Cartagena)

By the mid-third century, after the period in which The Blood Road takes place, Carthago Nova fell on hard times with the disruption of the silver mining operations, and the abandonment of the eastern part of the city.

Emperor Diocletian tried to help the city by making it the capital of his newly-created province of Hispania Cathaginensis in around A.D. 298, but the respite only lasted for a short time.

In A.D. 409, the Vandals took the city, and it subsequently fell into the hands of the Visigoths in A.D. 425. From then on, it seemed Carthago Nova was destined to be ruled through a revolving door with power passing to the Byzantines, the Moors, and then into Christian hands during the Spanish Reconquista of the late Middle Ages.

This is the fascinating thing about ancient cities; no matter which one you choose to look at, you will find a long, rich history, marked by ups and downs. The fortunes of these cities ebbed and flowed like the sea itself, but more often than not, when you research them, you will find that Rome was there.

I hope that you’ve enjoyed this brief post on the history of Carthago Nova.

Stay tuned for Part VI of The World of The Blood Road when we will take a look at one of my favourite places in the world: Etruria.

Thank you for reading.

The Blood Road is available on-line now in e-book and paperback at major retailers. CLICK HERE to get your copy. You can also purchase directly from Eagles and Dragons Publishing HERE.

If you are new to the Eagles and Dragons historical fantasy series, you can check out the #1 best selling prequel, A Dragon among the Eagles for just 1.99 HERE.

 

Facebooktwitterpinterest
by

The World of The Blood Road – Part IV – Position of Power: The Praetorian Guard and the Castra Praetoria of Rome

Salvete Romanophiles!

We’re back for another post in The World of The Blood Road blog series in which we look at the history, people and places that are involved in the latest Eagles and Dragons historical fantasy novel.

If you missed the previous post on the Constitutio Antoniniana, you can read that by CLICKING HERE.

In Part IV, we’re going to be taking a brief look at what may have been the most elite fighting force in the history of the Roman Empire: the Praetorian Guard.

Hope you enjoy!

Praetorian Guard officers

Throughout the Eagles and Dragons series, members of the Praetorian Guard and their prefects play a key role in what is happening in the empire, and are often involved in the court intrigues that accompany the imperial entourage. However, this is not just the case in fiction.

The Praetorian prefects and their troops were often at the heart of imperial affairs, wielding tremendous power and influence. They had the ability to make or break emperors.

When we hear the word ‘Praetorian’, it’s difficult not to think on some of the most infamous prefects in history such as Lucius Aelius Sejanus who conspired against Emperor Tiberius, or Quintus Naevius Sutorius Macro, who may have ordered the death of Tiberius and then put Caligula on the throne. Or how about Pescennius Niger, who made his play for the throne against Septimius Severus and lost after being prefect for a year under Commodus? There were also some prefects who went on to even greater heights such as Titus Flavius Vespasianus, the future Emperor Titus, who served as prefect under his father Vespasian.

In the Eagles and Dragons series which takes place during the reigns of Septimius Severus and Caracalla, we see how powerful and dangerous Gaius Fulvius Plautianus and Marcus Opellius Macrinus were, and how influential the jurists Papinianus and Ulpianus were.

There is a long list of Praetorian prefects throughout the history of the Roman Empire, some excellent and loyal, others power hungry and willing to do whatever it took to consolidate the great power and wealth to which they had access.

But who exactly were the Praetorian Guard and how were they organized? We’ll take a brief look at their history next.

Emperor Augusts

The name of the Praetorian Guard comes from the small group of men who, during the Republic, would accompany magistrates, or praetors, on campaign.

After the murder of Julius Caesar in March of 44 B.C., Marcus Antonius created a personal Praetorian guard detail for himself made up of six thousand legionaries.

But it was Emperor Augustus who really formalized the Praetorian Guard around 27 B.C. when he adapted this idea to create an Imperial Guard. The Praetorians were mainly charged with ensuring the ruler’s security, but there were other duties as well.

The Praetorians and their prefects were also responsible for sentry duty at the palace, and escorting the emperor and his family members. They acted as a sort of riot police in Rome, standing guard over events such as at the Circus Maximus, the Colosseum and the theatre. They operated the city prison and carried out executions in Rome, especially of high status prisoners. The Praetorians were also a sort of political and secret police.

One might think that the Praetorians had it easy compared with legionaries who were constantly fighting on the front lines of the Empire, and you would be right. But they could also fight, and sometimes they did when the emperor went on campaign. They excelled at this too.

The Praetorian Guard were the elite of Rome’s military might.

The Praetorian Guard (Illustration by Peter Dennis)

When the Praetorians were first formed, the men had to be Italian, from Latium, Etruria, and Umbria, and later also from Cisalpine Gaul and other territories. Men were recruited between 15 and 32 years of age.

In Rome especially, the Praetorians were seen as a military force that was used to enforce the will of the emperor upon others. They discouraged plotting and rebellion, that is, unless they were doing it themselves. And because they could create or destroy emperors and were, at times, the true power in Rome, the post of Praetorian Prefect naturally attracted power-hungry men such as some of those named above.

There are several instances where the Praetorians went too far, one being the auctioning of the imperial throne after the death of Commodus.

When Septimius Severus emerged the victor after the subsequent civil war, he made sure to replace the entire Praetorian Guard with men from his own legions, men whose loyalty could be relied upon. His one mistake was, as other emperors had also done, trusting the wrong person in the position of Praetorian Prefect.

Model of ancient Rome with the Circus Maximus in the foreground

In spite of the air of corruption, or perhaps because of it, many men aspired to be a part of the Praetorian ranks. Apart from the power, there are other reasons why the Guard attracted men. It was just a better gig!

First of all, Praetorians had a shorter term of service before they could retire. They served for 16 years, whereas legionaries had to serve for a minimum of 20. They received much better pay as well. For example, in about A.D. 14, a Praetorian guardsman would have received 720 denarii per annum, compared with a legionary’s 225 denarii. Upon retirement, Praetorians received a bonus of 20,000 sestercii, and legionaries received 12,000 sestercii.

One reason that has been suggested for the difference in pay is that Praetorians probably had fewer opportunities to loot since they were not on campaign as much as regular legionaries. Whether or not this is true, it seems like being a Praetorian was just a more desirable deal, and many legionaries were jealous of their lot.

The Castra Praetoria and ancient Rome (Wikimedia Commons)

Despite their differences, however, the Praetorian Guard had a similar makeup to the legions.

There were nine cohorts, each led by a tribune and six centurions. The tribunes reported to the Praetorian Prefect. There was also a princeps castrorum, or ‘camp prefect’, and a head centurion, or trecenarius, who was equal in status to the tribunes, and who commanded 300 speculatores, who served as cavalry scouts or Praetorian spies.

There has been some disagreement among scholars about the number of troops in the Praetorian cohorts. Some believe it was 500, and others 1000. But during the reign of Severus, the number of troops in a Praetorian cohort was 1000 men.

Originally, there were two Praetorian prefects at a time who supervised the Guard, but during the reign of Tiberius, the emperor appointed just one, Sejanus, and he became very powerful indeed. Severus made the same mistake with Plautianus.

It was around A.D. 20-23 that Emperor Tiberius and Sejanus really solidified the power of the Praetorians, and gave the Guard a power base from which it could operate: the Castra Praetoria.

Until the reign of Severus, who stationed his II Parthica legion at Albanum, the Praetorian Guard was the only military unit permitted by law to be stationed in Italy itself.

The Castra Praetoria at Rome was their fortress.

This 17 hectare (40 acre) fortress, with a training ground beside it, was built around A.D. 23 by Tiberius and Sejanus. It was originally located outside of the Servian walls of Rome on the Viminal hill, which included the Esquiline plateau. Much of the walls still stand today, and house a modern garrison of the Italian army.

The Castra Praetoria was smaller than a full legionary castrum, but it is believed that with the presence of barracks around the walls, and of two-storey barrack blocks within, the capacity may have been as much as 12,000 troops!

That is quite a force of men within Rome!

The walls were of concrete and brick and at first measured 3.5 meters high. They were heightened by the Praetorian prefect, Macrinus, during the reign of Caracalla (A.D. 211-217). In A.D. 271, Emperor Aurelian built new walls around the city of Rome and at that time incorporated the Castra Praetoria into them, again raising the height of the fortress walls, and also adding towers and battlements.

In A.D. 310, Maxentius raised the walls even more to prepare for the coming confrontation with Constantine.

The Castra Praetoria today (Wikimedia Commons)

Because the Praetorians had been at the heart of so many conspiracies and plays for power over the years, emperors such as Severus sought to punish them severely or replace the Guard altogether.

After Constantine the Great defeated Maxentius at the battle of the Milvian Bridge in A.D. 312, Constantine went one step further to finally put an end to the machinations of this powerful and often corrupt military force. He demolished the inner wall of the Castra Praetoria, and dissolved the Praetorian Guard for good. From that time on, the role of Praetorian prefect became a purely administrative role.

Arch of Constantine, Rome

The history of the Praetorian Guard is fascinating, as is the behaviour of the Praetorian prefects who held the post over the roughly 300 year history of the Guard.

In the Eagles and Dragons series, which takes place during the reigns of Severus and Caracalla, the power and influence of the Praetorians and their prefects is at the centre of the political intrigues behind-the-scenes.

This post has but scratched the surface, but I hope that you have learned a bit more about this force of Rome’s elite soldiers at the heart of the Empire.

Keep a lookout for Part V in The World of The Blood Road blog series when we will be taking a look at the Iberian city of Carthago Nova.

Thank you for reading.

The Blood Road is available on-line now in e-book and paperback at major retailers. CLICK HERE to get your copy. You can also purchase directly from Eagles and Dragons Publishing HERE.

If you are new to the Eagles and Dragons historical fantasy series, you can check out the #1 best selling prequel, A Dragon among the Eagles for just 1.99 HERE.

 

Facebooktwitterpinterest