Roma Sub Rosa
Encyclopedia
Roma Sub Rosa is the title of the series of mystery novels by Steven Saylor
set in, and populated by, noteworthy denizens of ancient Rome
. The series is noted for its historical authenticity. The phrase "Roma Sub Rosa" means, in Latin, "Rome under the rose". If a matter was sub rosa
, "under the rose", it meant that such matter was confidential.
The detective is known as Gordianus the Finder
, and he mixes with non-fictional citizens of the Republic including Sulla, Cicero
, Marcus Crassus, Catilina, Catullus
, Pompey
, Julius Caesar
, and Mark Antony
.
Steven Saylor
Steven Saylor is an American author of historical novels. He is a graduate of the University of Texas at Austin, where he studied history and Classics....
set in, and populated by, noteworthy denizens of ancient Rome
Ancient Rome
Ancient Rome was a thriving civilization that grew on the Italian Peninsula as early as the 8th century BC. Located along the Mediterranean Sea and centered on the city of Rome, it expanded to one of the largest empires in the ancient world....
. The series is noted for its historical authenticity. The phrase "Roma Sub Rosa" means, in Latin, "Rome under the rose". If a matter was sub rosa
Sub rosa
The Latin phrase sub rosa means "under the rose" and is used in English to denote secrecy or confidentiality, similar to the Chatham House Rule....
, "under the rose", it meant that such matter was confidential.
The detective is known as Gordianus the Finder
Gordianus the Finder
Gordianus the Finder is the fictional protagonist of Steven Saylor's Roma Sub Rosa series of mystery novels set in Republican Rome. He lives by his wits, investigating crimes and other cases for Roman advocates such as Marcus Tullius Cicero...
, and he mixes with non-fictional citizens of the Republic including Sulla, Cicero
Cicero
Marcus Tullius Cicero , was a Roman philosopher, statesman, lawyer, political theorist, and Roman constitutionalist. He came from a wealthy municipal family of the equestrian order, and is widely considered one of Rome's greatest orators and prose stylists.He introduced the Romans to the chief...
, Marcus Crassus, Catilina, Catullus
Catullus
Gaius Valerius Catullus was a Latin poet of the Republican period. His surviving works are still read widely, and continue to influence poetry and other forms of art.-Biography:...
, Pompey
Pompey
Gnaeus Pompeius Magnus, also known as Pompey or Pompey the Great , was a military and political leader of the late Roman Republic...
, Julius Caesar
Julius Caesar
Gaius Julius Caesar was a Roman general and statesman and a distinguished writer of Latin prose. He played a critical role in the gradual transformation of the Roman Republic into the Roman Empire....
, and Mark Antony
Mark Antony
Marcus Antonius , known in English as Mark Antony, was a Roman politician and general. As a military commander and administrator, he was an important supporter and loyal friend of his mother's cousin Julius Caesar...
.
Characters
For an ancient Roman, Gordianus has an unconventional family:- Bethesda, his beautiful Egyptian slaveSlavery in ancient RomeThe institution of slavery in ancient Rome played an important role in society and the Roman economy. Besides manual labor on farms and in mines, slaves performed many domestic services and a variety of other tasks, such as accounting...
purchased from a slave market in AlexandriaAlexandriaAlexandria is the second-largest city of Egypt, with a population of 4.1 million, extending about along the coast of the Mediterranean Sea in the north central part of the country; it is also the largest city lying directly on the Mediterranean coast. It is Egypt's largest seaport, serving...
. Bethesda and Gordianus have a mutually affectionate relationship and are later married. - Eco, his oldest adopted son, was a former mute who followed in his father's footsteps as an investigator.
- Meto, his second adopted son, was a slave of Crassus who became a soldier serving under Julius Caesar.
- Rupa, his third adopted son, brother to Cassandra, a mute.
- Diana, his intellectual and headstrong daughter (by Bethesda).
- Davus, his son-in-law (Diana's husband) who was Gordianus' former slave and bodyguard.
- Aulus, his grandson (by Diana).
- Little Bethesda, his granddaughter (by Diana).
Titles
While the books were written in a different order, they are set in the order shown here:- Roman Blood (1991)—80 BC: Gordianus accepts a commission from Cicero to investigate a murder while Rome is under the thumb of a brutal dictator. The client is Sextus RosciusSextus RosciusSextus Roscius , tried in Rome for patricide in 80 BC, was defended successfully by the young Cicero in his first major litigation...
, who was accused of parricideParricideParricide is defined as:*the act of murdering one's father , mother or other close relative, but usually not children ....
. The novel is derived from CiceroCiceroMarcus Tullius Cicero , was a Roman philosopher, statesman, lawyer, political theorist, and Roman constitutionalist. He came from a wealthy municipal family of the equestrian order, and is widely considered one of Rome's greatest orators and prose stylists.He introduced the Romans to the chief...
's Murder Trials and features Marcus Tullius TiroMarcus Tullius TiroMarcus Tullius Tiro was first a slave, then a freedman of Cicero.The date of Tiro's birth is uncertain. From Jerome it can be dated to 103 BC, which would make him only a little younger than Cicero...
among others. - The House of the Vestals (1997)—First collection of short stories. Includes Gordianus' journey to AlexandriaAlexandriaAlexandria is the second-largest city of Egypt, with a population of 4.1 million, extending about along the coast of the Mediterranean Sea in the north central part of the country; it is also the largest city lying directly on the Mediterranean coast. It is Egypt's largest seaport, serving...
' his purchase of beautiful, intelligent Bethesda as a slave/concubine and their acquisition of her sacred cat BastBastBast may refer to:* Bast a slang term used as reference to the word Bastard* Bast, or Bastet, a goddess in Ancient Egyptian mythology* Bast fibre, a type of plant fiber* Bast, Afghanistan...
. In one story, a Roman (barbarian) kills a sacred cat—a capital offense—and is pursued by a mob determined to expedite his execution. - A GladiatorGladiatorA gladiator was an armed combatant who entertained audiences in the Roman Republic and Roman Empire in violent confrontations with other gladiators, wild animals, and condemned criminals. Some gladiators were volunteers who risked their legal and social standing and their lives by appearing in the...
Dies Only Once (2005)—Second collection of short stories: diverse, widespread - Arms of NemesisNemesis (mythology)In Greek mythology, Nemesis , also called Rhamnousia/Rhamnusia at her sanctuary at Rhamnous, north of Marathon, was the spirit of divine retribution against those who succumb to hubris . The Greeks personified vengeful fate as a remorseless goddess: the goddess of revenge...
(1992)—72 BC: Gordianus races against time to prevent the execution of ninety-nine slaves, to avenge the unsolved murder of their master, while SpartacusSpartacusSpartacus was a famous leader of the slaves in the Third Servile War, a major slave uprising against the Roman Republic. Little is known about Spartacus beyond the events of the war, and surviving historical accounts are sometimes contradictory and may not always be reliable...
ravages the Italian countryside. Gordianus has to contend with Marcus Licinius CrassusMarcus Licinius CrassusMarcus Licinius Crassus was a Roman general and politician who commanded the right wing of Sulla's army at the Battle of the Colline Gate, suppressed the slave revolt led by Spartacus, provided political and financial support to Julius Caesar and entered into the political alliance known as the...
, the richest man in Rome, who is determined to prove that he is not "soft on slaves" in order to get the command of the army to be dispatched against Spartacus's rebels. - Catilina's Riddle (1993)—63 BC: Gordianus attempts to find out why headless bodies keep appearing on his newly-inherited farm and contend with hostile neighbors—all cousins of his benefactor—while he is entangled in republican conspiracy and counter-conspiracy. in Rome, Meto celebrates his toga party, on his sixteenth birthday.
- The Venus ThrowVenus ThrowThe Venus Throw was the highest roll in the Ancient Roman gambling game of tali, or knucklebones. The game was played with four sheep's or goat's knucklebones, 4-sided rectangular dice numbered I, III, IV and VI . The Venus Throw happened when each talus landed on a different side, i.e. with a...
(1995)—56 BC: Gordianus is swept up in the decadence of Rome as he tries to discover who murdered an Egyptian diplomat. - A Murder on the Appian WayAppian WayThe Appian Way was one of the earliest and strategically most important Roman roads of the ancient republic. It connected Rome to Brindisi, Apulia, in southeast Italy...
(1996)—52 BC: Gordianus investigates the death of Publius Clodius PulcherPublius Clodius PulcherPublius Clodius Pulcher was a Roman politician known for his popularist tactics...
as Rome sinks into chaos. - Rubicon (1999)—49 BC: Gordianus investigates how a body turned up in his garden as Rome lurches into civil war.
- Last Seen in Massilia (2000)—49 BC: As Massilia is besieged by Caesar's army, Gordianus must find his way in and find out the truth about his son, Meto. Is he dead, a traitor, or a spy?
- A Mist of Prophecies (2002)—48 BC: Gordianus searches for the killer of a seeress.
- The Judgment of Caesar (2004)—48 BC: Gordianus travels to Egypt in an attempt to find a cure for his wife's illness, but gets wrapped up in a power struggle between Caesar and competing Egyptian factions.
- The Triumph of Caesar (2008)—46 BC: Gordianus is begged by CalpurniaCalpurnia PisonisCalpurnia Pisonis , daughter of Lucius Calpurnius Piso Caesoninus, sister of Lucius Calpurnius Piso, "the Pontifex", was a Roman woman and the third and last wife of Julius Caesar. Calpurnia was the great-granddaughter of a lieutenant of Lucius Cassius Longinus, whose name was Lucius Piso...
, Caesar's wife, to uncover a supposed conspiracy on her husband's life. Gordianus only accepts because she had initially hired a close friend of Gordianus and he had been murdered.