The actual construction of the dome was still a long way off. On this day, Marcus was inspecting recent work on the thick, load-bearing walls when he heard a familiar cry and looked up to see his son’s blonde curls glinting in the sunlight.
At the age of eight, Lucius was now old enough to visit his father’s worksites, as long as he was always supervised. Marcus was surprised to see that Lucius was accompanied not by one of the slaves who usually chaperoned him but by Amyntas, who had rapidly risen in the ranks of the household and was usually occupied with more-important duties.
Marcus greeted the boy by lifting him in the air – not as easy a task as it once had been – then saw the reason why Amyntas had come. In the slave’s hand was a scroll, and even at a distance Marcus could spot the imperial seal pressed into the wax.
Hadrian was again off travelling. He frequently corresponded with Marcus, but those letters were usually bundled with other imperial documents and delivered by couriers to the palace, where Marcus sent a slave to fetch them. A letter that had come not to the palace but directly to Marcus’s house was unusual.
While Amyntas took Lucius to look at the walls, Marcus broke the seal and unrolled the scroll. Previous letters had come from Sicily, Carthage, the interior African city of Lambaesis, Athens, Ephesus, and Antioch. The heading of this letter showed that it had been posted from the desert trading city of Palmyra. Recalling its close proximity to Damascus, Marcus felt a twinge of hope. Apollodorus in his latest letter had expressed his intention to do his best to gain an audience with Hadrian, should the emperor’s travels bring him anywhere near Damascus.
The letter was written not in Hadrian’s usual first person, full of learned asides and literary allusions, but in a very stiff and formal third person. From the first words, Marcus knew the letter contained bad news:
Caesar wishes to inform Marcus Pinarius personally of an unfortunate event, so that he will hear of it first from Caesar and not from some other source. Caesar will state the fact plainly: the father-in-law of Marcus Pinarius, Apollodorus of Damascus, has been executed for plotting against the life of the emperor. Because of irrefutable evidence supplied to Caesar, Caesar had no other recourse. This action was carried out swiftly and with respect to the person’s status as a citizen.
Marcus knew what that meant: Apollodorus had been beheaded and not killed in some more disgraceful way, like crucifixion.
Marcus Pinarius need fear no recrimination against himself. Although Caesar is aware of the natural bond of affection between Marcus Pinarius and his father-in-law, Caesar is of the belief that Marcus Pinarius played no part whatsoever in the plot, is certain of Marcus Pinarius’s loyalty to the emperor, and desires Marcus Pinarius to continue his valuable work on the Temple of Venus and Roma and on the Pantheon. It is the wish of Caesar that this unfortunate event shall have no effect on the amity between himself and Marcus Pinarius. We shall not speak of it again.
Stunned, Marcus put down the letter. Could it be true that Apollodorus had conspired against the emperor? Had the bitterness of so many years of exile driven him to involve himself in some desperate plot? Hadrian’s journeys exposed him not just to those who sought favours from the emperor but to those in each region who craved revenge, and in the vicinity of Damascus, where so many had been subjected to so much suffering under Roman rule, there must be many such persons. Had Apollodorus conspired with other malcontents and been discovered by Hadrian’s agents? Or had he been the victim of rumors and lies? Hadrian spoke of “irrefutable evidence,” but that phrase was invariably used when a declared enemy of the state was put to death.
Marcus would probably never know the truth. The emperor was above being questioned. Apollodorus was beyond giving answers.
Marcus saw something from the corner of his eye. It took him a moment to realize that it was a man in a toga. Only when the man spoke did he recognize Gaius Suetonius.
“Pinarius! I haven’t see you in a Titan’s age. Only yesterday, I was revising a passage about Marcus Agrippa, and I thought to myself: I must drop by to see what you’re up to here at Agrippa’s ruined temple. Those walls look awfully thick – must be quite a heavy roof you’re planning to put on top! You know, I never heard a word from you when I sent you my work in progress, all those years ago. Oh, that’s alright, not everyone’s a literary critic, and thank the gods for that. But now – good news! I’ve finally finished the work, and I have an army of scribes busy making copies. Shall I send you one? It’s not a bad read, if I say so myself. I promise you won’t be bored. Indeed, you may think I’ve written a book of marvels, like our friend Phlegon, it’s so full of outrageous anecdotes. Amazing, what some of those emperors got up to! Even I was surprised at the details I discovered, and I spent years combing through the imperial archives. There’s one story about Caligula – truly, it defies belief…”
Marcus didn’t hear. He was wondering how he was going to tell Apollodora the news.
He was suddenly distracted by a glint of sunlight on his son’s blonde curls. Lucius had wandered into an area where loose bricks had been piled in high stacks.
“Amyntas!” Marcus shouted. “Amyntas, look after Lucius! He doesn’t belong over there. It’s too dangerous.”
Suetonius smiled. “Boys! Always getting into trouble, eh? A pity our emperor hasn’t got one; that might keep him out of trouble. Oh, but I forget; Caesar does have a boy to look after. Takes him everywhere – so my correspondents along his travel route tell me. I hear he’s headed for Jerusalem next – or what they used to call Jerusalem. Hadrian plans to rebuild the city Vespasian destroyed and give it a rather pretty new name: Aelia Capitolina, named for his ancestors, the Aelii. I suspect he’ll put a statue of himself next to Jupiter and see if he can’t convince those stubborn Jews to burn a bit of incense on the altar. Then he’s to press on to Alexandria for his first look at Egypt. He and Antinous will play Caesar and Cleopatra, languidly cruising up the Nile past hippopotami and crocodiles. Do you suppose the Egyptians will put some sort of animal head on Hadrian’s statue and declare him a god?”
The man chattered on and on. Marcus did not hear a word.
AD 132
Hadrian was back in Roma.
After years of travel, the emperor’s return to the capital was to be marked with celebrations and banquets. But his very first excursion, bright and early on the morning after his first night back in the imperial palace, was an unannounced visit to the site of the Temple of Venus and Roma, to see what progress had been made in his absence. When the emperor was informed that Marcus Pinarius was not present, being occupied that morning at his workshop, Hadrian and his retinue headed directly to the Aventine Hill.
Marcus and his assistants were busy piecing together some sections of the gigantic bronze statue of Venus that was to be installed in the temple. When Amyntas came running in to announce that the emperor was in the vestibule, Marcus told everyone to cease working and stay exactly where they were. He put down his tools and dusted off his tunic. Amyntas, checking Marcus’s appearance, flicked some bits of metal from his beard.
Impeccably dressed as always, the emperor made a cursory examination of the statue, then suggested that the workmen might be allowed a rest, so that he and Marcus could speak in private.