Murder in Pompeii #23: Aspiratio ad Deos
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Murder in Pompeii #23: Aspiratio ad Deos

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To see the previous installments, click on the following links: #1, #2 , #3, #4, #5, #6, #7, #8, #9, #10, #11, #12, #13, #14, #15, #16, #17, #18, #19, #20, #21, #22

In those dark days when the fate of Marcus's son hung in the balance, his father's figure rose up for what he was, a legionary against the implacable system of Rome. Aware that every second his son spent in the dank and gloomy Carcer Mamertina was another step towards the destruction of his spirit, Marcus used every trick and resource at his disposal to free him from that deadly prison.

I saw him send messages as fast as slaves's feet could carry them, run from office to office and gather his most loyal and important clients; among them, Aulus Umbricius Scaurus, his partner in the garum business. Everything was little enough to win the favours of those influential senators, magistrates and protectors of his family, with whom he shared past benefits and promises of future favours.

Marcus, in his resolution, spared neither sesterces nor pledges of honour. He knew well that his son, regardless of the appearance of guilt or innocence, could not long endure the burden of that prison. To those nobles of Rome, the spiritual strength and dignity of a man of their gens seemed secondary to the gravity of what some still called crime. But Marcus saw in all this more than a question of guilt or innocence; it was the survival of his Celtic lineage, the preservation of his honour, that was at stake.

So he not only deployed the arsenal of his wealth, but appealed to the network of his clients, reminded them of their duty of fidelity, promising them not only earthly but also eternal rewards. There was talk of how he promised to erect a temple to Vespasian's divinity in Pompeii itself, as a symbol of devotion and gratitude. I imagined, as I heard it, that majestic structure, with marble columns and gilded statues, erected in honour of the emperor. And I knew that for Vespasian, whose ambition rivalled in height the Capitoline Mount itself, such a promise would be no trivial matter.

It was a relentless battle, where Marcus relentlessly resorted to every resource, buying wills, bribing and exerting his influence. And the future emperor Titus, who in those days was benevolent towards Marcus's cause, represented the best hope.

Perhaps, in the end, it was not justice that would be victorious, but an intricate web of favours and loyalties, of expediencies and promises of future temples.

To be continued

Header Image:

Temple of Vespasian (Pompeii). Author: Roman Italica (Eduardo Barragán)

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