If you've ever visited anyplace in Europe, you know that people there often eat dinner later than most Americans. And they take their sweet time in doing so. Whenever I visit Rome, my traveling party usually opens the restaurant and we're usually finished before other clients start arriving. My gut feeling was that the ancient Romans made dinner their social hour, just  the way modern Europeans do today.

And it all happened inside triclinia.

A triclinium was a dining space. In wealthy homes, triclinia were some of the most magnificent domestic areas. It was here that intricate mosaics were placed on the floor. Sometimes they actually designated the areas where couches and pieces of furniture were to be placed. Many artists would create mosaics for the floor that were pictures of food or even food scraps, as though they'd fallen off the table! Wall paintings were also central as decoration. Perhaps the most splendid Roman wall-paintings ever discovered are from the Villa of the Mysteries in Pompeii. Featured in traditional "Pompeian red" hues, the series of paintings depict what might be an initiate undergoing the Dionysian mysteries. 

A typical triclinium held a trio of couches. With three guests per couch, it was considered good taste to offer between three and nine invitations. The invitations themselves could be verbal--extended at the baths, the Curia, or even at public latrines! For formal dining or when inviting an honored guest, written invitations were used. The late 1st century writer Plutarch explains, “A guest comes to share not only meat, wine, and dessert, but conversation, fun, and the amiability that leads to friendship.” In Roman times, many a dinner party was used to seal marriage contracts, weddings, end funerary rites, or celebrate a son's coming of age. In Son of Rome, Marcus's toga ceremony culminates with a large banquet. In this scene, the family rents extra dining couches to accommodate more guests. Wealthy homes might have both an indoor and outdoor triclinium--one used in winter and the other during the warm summer months.

I've always thought that reclining while eating would be fun! Especially at Thanksgiving, when everyone is so full afterward, it's easier to lie around than sit in a chair! During the height of the Republican Period, Roman women always dined in chairs. It wasn't until around the time of the 1st century BC that men and women began reclining together during meals. 

So--is anybody HUNGRY? 

This is inside a real Roman triclinium. Recently cleaned and restored, the vibrant colors in the panels of these wall-paintings were created in the 1st century BC!!! Layers of ash and pumice from Mt. Vesuvius preserved them. They decorate the triclinium in Pompeii's Villa of the Mysteries. Scholars still argue as to what is depicted here. Some say it's an initiation into the Dionysian Mysteries. Others claim it's a bride preparing for her wedding. Note the tiles on the floor in an argyle pattern. Scholars believe they may have indicated the layout where couches were to be placed.

Much of the action and storyline of Antonius: Son of Rome takes place in the domus (home) of Marc Antony and his family. In the next few blogs, I'm going to talk about and share pictures of the personal living space within a Roman home. And I might add, wealthy Romans had BEAUTIFUL homes! Okay, so where did the plebians live? Keep reading my blogs and in a few weeks, we'll talk about just that. 

​But for now, let's tackle a typical domus of the rich and famous!

Members of the noble classes, such as Antony's family, lived in splendid houses, often atop the Palatine Hill. A typical domus would have several traditional living spaces, which have been documented by archaeologists studying the floor-plans of both Rome and Pompeii, as well as other locations. There were definitely trends in layouts and overall design. 

Because upper-class Roman families were so much in the public eye, their personal space was often bordered by tall, windowless walls, allowing for privacy--their own little haven of peace. That being said, certain rooms were still designated to promote the family's influence, wealth, and power.

This week, let's talk about the atrium. First of all, I have an atrium in my house! It's the entryway--the first room a guest sees when visiting. Roman atria were designed to be striking, since they wanted their guests and clients to be more than impressed when first coming into their homes. Often a lararium (shrine) to household deities would be built into one of the four walls. In some Roman houses, another room, the tablinum (office space) would provide the paterfamilias with a place to have meetings or work privately. Once you set foot into the atrium, you'd have a feeling of open space, for a large, square or rectangular opening in the roof allowed rainwater to collect in a basin or pool beneath it. The opening above was called the compluvium and the pool was the impluvium. A Roman atrium was beautifully decorated, sometimes with statuary, family busts, or wall-paintings and mosaics. There would be benches and chairs, inviting guests and clients to be comfortable while awaiting the family members to welcome them.

I'm including several photos I've taken in my research, of actual atria, so readers can get a general idea of what they looked like inside. These are actual samples from ancient homes and are not recreations, so get ready to use your imagination a bit!

It's been such an exciting three months since my book launched. My first big interview, seeing my book actually IN a store and in libraries, getting my first reviews, seeing my book sell internationally, scheduling speaking engagements, learning how to market myself. Wow! I still have a very long road ahead, but it's been a rewarding adventure, every step of the way.

A lot of people have asked me "why ancient Rome"? What fascinates you about it? How did you get interested in it?

Rewind about a zillion years ago to a day in 10th Grade English when Mrs. Williams had us turn in our books to Shakespeare's Julius Caesar. That's when it all began. I knew from that very day that I wanted to write a novel about 1st century BC Rome. I think the reason it took me so long was that I didn't have enough knowledge to do the subject justice. And I'm a perfectionist. So I waited until I finished my Masters, studying ancient Rome in a lot of different areas: art, music, its general history, and the public figures of the age. By then I was in my 40's and felt as though I had a lot more life experience that could help me navigate through characterizations and prose. 

Rome fascinates me because of well--EVERYTHING! People were just like us. They had hopes, dreams, desires, a hunger to be cherished. Sadly, some people weren't even free. They were slaves. Others, like Marcus in my book, were born into a noble household in a society that dictated the general direction life was to take. Then there were the social mores of the day, which were sooooo different from ours. In a time, prior to Judeo-Christian values when there was no sanctity of life, the world was a very cruel place in which to live. Gladiatorial combat, slavery, horrific executions, and civil unrest was the norm. And on the flip side of the coin, Romans were highly sophisticated in art, architecture, engineering, and even medicine. If one sees the medical instruments discovered from ancient Pompeii, it's mind-blowing to see the similarity to those of this day and age.

And speaking of Pompeii... If you ever visit, as you walk through those gates, it's a real mind trip. Literally you step into the past--two-thousand years--and enter Rome for a day. This summer I have the opportunity to return to Italy and I can't wait. Already, my heart is in the Forum Romanum, walking down the Via Sacra where so many of my characters strolled. Up on the Palatine Hill, I'll get to walk into an ancient house where I KNOW the real Marc Antony probably had dinner numerous times. For me, as an author, it's a dream.

Thank you to all of my readers who have been as captivated by Antonius: Son of Rome as I've been for fourteen years. I am feverishly working on the second book in the trilogy, which is Antonius: Second in Command. I'm hopeful it'll launch sometime this fall. In the meantime, I'll be blogging about more things regarding Rome, its culture, and how people lived in the ancient world. It's a wild ride through the 1st century BC, so fasten your seat belt and get ready, everybody! 

                                                                                 In the Forum Romanum

This week, I've chosen to share about my favorite building in Rome. It was there when my book's action took place and I even wrote a scene within it. That building is the Tabularium.

I like to think of the Tabularium as a "mystery building". Traditionally,  scholars believed it was built to house public records, as well as provide office space for magistrates. However, studies in the past several decades has caused some historians to disagree on its use. But what is amazing is; it's still standing on the western end of the Forum Romanum, and one can even go inside. Its exterior appearance screams "Roman". Graceful arches give powerful evidence of its excellent design. To me, it's amazing! This place is older than Christianity! The ruthless dictator, Lucius Cornelius Sulla ordered it built in the 70's B.C., but it was completed by Quintus Lutatius Catulus, a former Consul.

Another incredible fact about the Tabularium is regardless of its original purpose, it's been in use since it was first built. Even today, it houses collections from the Capitoline Museum. If you visit there, it's in the downstairs portion of the museum. Just past an extraordinary  funerary stelae exhibit, turn right, and you'll begin ascending stairs which will take you into the Tabularium. From its lofty terrace is one of the finest views of the Forum Romanum--have your camera READY!

While the purpose of the Tabularium is still in question, it must have held great importance, both politically and spiritually, to the Roman people, as its location was at the foot of the Capitoline Hill, beneath the Temples of Jupiter and Juno. In Antonius: Son of Rome, I've chosen to present it in the context of a public records building. In fact, an important scene in my story takes place there, between Marcus and Fadia. 

When visiting the Forum Romanum, I always stand amazed at the bold tenacity, engineering, and sophistication of ancient builders. Romans KNEW how to construct stunning buildings and make them last--even through millennia.  

A majestic arched corridor within Rome's historic Tabularium, located on the western end of the Forum Romanum.

Imagine if you will, being above ground and then forced down a hole (probably by ladder) into utter darkness and left there indefinitely. No light, only occasional food/drink, but being completely shut out from society and imprisoned inside an abyss.

This, dear readers, was the Tullianum--sometimes called the Mamertine Prison. 

Now located inside the Church of San Giuseppe dei Falegnami, this carcer (prison) was built by the ever-practical Romans right outside the Rostra and the Curia's original location in an area known as the Comitium. It pretty much enabled them to find someone guilty and then dispose of them immediately into "the hole". One of the oldest remaining parts of the Forum Romanum, the Tullianum dates from the 7th cent. B.C. and can still be visited today. People held inside were either held for trial or for execution. In other words, it was NO happy place!

Among the high-profile prisoners kept/executed here were Lentulus Sura, Vercingetorix, and possibly, Jesus's most famous Disciple, Simon Peter.

Lentulus Sura was Marc Antony's stepfather. He didn't stay inside the Tullianum long at all. Because of his social status and citizenship, ancient sources say that he was held in house-arrest after being captured during the infamous Catiline Conspiracy of 63 B.C. Antonius: Son of Rome tells the poignant story of this particular execution. A typical method used inside the Tullianum was strangulation. That is how Lentulus died.

In my next book, Antonius: Second in Command, the high king of the Gauls, Vercingetorix was a long-term prisoner inside the Tullianum for about six years. What a horrible life he had during that time... never, EVER seeing daylight. I've always pitied poor Vercingetorix. After Caesar's victory at Munda, in Spain, he was hauled out of the prison back into broad daylight. This would have been the first time he'd experienced blinding sunshine in SIX YEARS!!! For the occasion of Julius Caesar's Gallic Triumph, he was lashed to a post and paraded through Rome. I'm sure he was emaciated, sickly, and pale by that time. In fact, it's remarkable he even survived for so long. Immediately following the Triumph, he was lowered back into incarceration inside the Tullianum and strangled. It was a sad fate for a non-Roman who gave Caesar his greatest challenge in his military career.

Lastly, Jesus's Disciple, Simon Peter may have been imprisoned inside the Tullianum, although the only real "evidence" is that the Tullianum was the only known one-room prison in Rome. There is a natural spring inside the Tullianum in which Peter used during his incarceration to baptize believers. I think it admirable that he found a way to spit in the Romans' eyes, despite his condemnation!

It's true that the Romans could be extraordinarily cruel, but I find them fascinating because so many of their architectural and artistic works have survived to the present day. How many apartment buildings and prisons will survive from our society 2000 years from now? 

​Let THAT sink in!

                 Inside the Tullianum. Note the upside-down cross-- the method by which Simon Peter was executed.

I work in a public school and every morning, when I go to the office, I see the trophy case out in the front hallway. Inside are all sorts of things: trophies, stuffed dragons (our mascot is a dragon), ribbons, and photographs. Our trophy case is a showcase of school pride and achievement,  looked upon with satisfaction and accomplishment. So it was in the ancient world, as well. However, trophy cases weren't quite the same back then.

Rome's ancient Rostra was an ancient trophy case. There was a Rostra in the Forum Romanum as early as the 6th century B.C. However, the name rostra was derived from the word rostrum, meaning the deadly ram from a warship. During the 4th century B.C., the Romans celebrated a naval victory and the "Rostra" became a place to display the captured rams from enemy ships.  

Sometimes this ancient trophy case was used in a grisly fashion, too. During the two proscription periods in the Late Republic, lists of condemned men were posted upon it and made public for everyone to see. Often, these hunted enemies of the state would have their heads or even their hands mounted or nailed to the Rostra. Readers will learn about one of these incidents in my next book, Antonius: Second in Command, which will hopefully be launched this fall. But throughout Roman history, the Rostra was most famous as the place where public speakers addressed the populace. My main character, Marcus Antonius, mounted and spoke to the plebians many times during his career as a statesman. His most memorable speech upon the Rostra was at Julius Caesar's funeral, and that electric moment in Roman history was even memorialized by William Shakespeare.

During Julius Caesar's dictatorship, he rearranged some monuments in the Forum Romanum, in preparation for building projects. The Rostra that remains today at the western end of the Forum Romanum underwent multiple restorations throughout the Roman Imperial period. Though tourists aren't allowed to ascend the Rostra like my book characters once did, it's still possible to get fairly close to it. Today, what appears to be a humble stone wall saw some of the most dramatic episodes in western history.

                                                                                Brook Allen in front of the Rostra.

This summer, I'm headed back to Rome to see more sights and gain inspiration for the next two books in the Antonius Trilogy. This month, I thought I would share some of the wondrous sights in the center of ancient Rome: the Forum Romanum.

First of all, what IS a Forum? Fora were centers of commerce (markets), religion, social spots, where law offices and courts held trials, and the hub of the political scene. They were places to find something to eat or even use the bathroom! Most all Roman cities boasted a Forum. One of the best ones to visit is in Pompeii, where many buildings dating from Vesuvius's eruption are still partially standing. 

The main forum in Rome was the original: the Forum Romanum. As time passed, other fora were built by various Caesars, spreading Roman commerce and trade all over the city. Today, if one visits, it's really difficult to tell what buildings were or how they were used. So many ruins lay jumbled about, that it's highly advisable to use an audio tour or guide, as not every ruin you pass was standing at the same time. 

Since Antonius: Son of Rome takes place in the 1st century BC, this month I'll be focusing on ruins that once stood during that time. Buildings like the Curia, the Rostra, the Tabularium, the Temple of Vesta, and the Temple of Saturn are a few that I'll focus on.

If you visit Rome, be sure to go inside the Capitoline Museum for a visit. Go downstairs, and you'll pass a fascinating exhibit of funerary steles. Just past that, turn right and keep walking. When you reach the terrace lookout, you'll have a stunning view of the entire Forum Romanum. And you'll be standing in a building that has been in Rome since the 70's BC: the Tabularium!

So--hey! Let's all go to the FORUM ROMANUM!

                      Sunrise over the Temple of Venus Genetrix, built by Julius Caesar shortly before his assassination.

Rome was a patriarchal society, and the Latin term paterfamilias was a power-packed title when Marc Antony was alive.

Romans were the original Italians, and without sounding grossly stereotypical, "family" included extended family; cousins, aunts, uncles, nieces, nephews--even ones that were second cousins or once/twice removed cousins, even clients, and freedmen. Because Antony was a distant cousin of Caesar's (possibly a first cousin, once removed), he indeed enjoyed some privilege of attention, education, and training at Caesar's directive. Especially, since his father had died.

The paterfamilias was the "master of the house". He was the eldest male in a Roman household--sometimes in several households of extended family. Obviously, it all depended on the circumstances. A paterfamilias held the power of "patria potestas" (paternal power). In Roman law, this literally meant that he held the power of life and death over every single member of his household, including slaves! A paterfamilia could also SELL his child if he wished. Now fortunately for the members of the household, these stringent and dire consequences eased up during Imperial times, and the paterfamilias couldn't execute his daughter for refusing to marry the man of his choice! However, in Marc Antony's day, though it would have been looked down upon, Roman law probably would have allowed for that.

Scary, huh?

So, in ancient Rome, you would have wanted to be Dad's favorite, for sure! The original Twelve Tables of Roman Law ensured that infants born into a family with disabilities were put to death. We know that some families didn't adhere to this practice, for the Emperor Claudius is an example of a special needs person surviving the death wish of his paterfamilias. It's more likely that his father accepted him in infancy. Lucky for him!

Heirs could not assume the rights of a paterfamilias until his death. However, even if a boy was extremely young, he could assume the role if his father died before full adulthood. As was the case of Marc Antony, when Lentulus (his stepfather) died, he assumed full responsibility of paterfamilias in the domus Antonii when he was only nineteen.

It was a BIG responsibility being good 'ol Dad in Roman times.

                                                      Brook Allen's beloved "paterfamilias" with her Mother in 2008.

         The Roman Colosseum at night. Claudius couldn't use this venue, as it wouldn't be built for several decades yet.

​ This week, Christians will be commemorating the last week of Christ's earthly life, known as Holy Week. Because of this, I have decided to blog about a method of execution that was very common in the Roman world: crucifixion. 

To this day, crucifixion is not something people want to discuss. It was a dreadful way to die, and most certainly a cruel method of executing prisoners. People hanging on crossed timbers literally suffocated by their own weight. That, coupled with the agony of having one's hands and feet pierced by long, iron nails, would have been excruciating. And sometimes, to hasten death, legionary soldiers carrying out the execution would break a victim's legs. 

Of course, the most documented and discussed crucifixion in history was that of Jesus of Nazareth, in what was probably 33 AD. People condemned to death by crucifixion were typically non-Roman citizens who had committed a crime, prisoners of war against Rome, disobedient slaves, or persons involved in uprisings against Rome. And that was exactly how the Jewish San Hedrin approached their case against Jesus, before Pontius Pilate.

It wasn't unusual for condemned prisoners to have their name and crime posted on their cross as they suffered. Pontius Pilate did this. He ordered a wooden board placed upon Jesus's cross. Because Jerusalem was a multi-cultural city in the first century, he had his men write Jesus's name/offense in three languages: Aramaic (the lingua franca of ancient Judea), Greek, and of course, Latin. The Latin would have appeared like this, written out: Iesus Nazarenus Rex Iudaeorum. "INRI" would have been the abbreviated version, as Romans were prone to shorten phrases in inscriptions. The translation of the above would have been: "Jesus of Nazareth, King of the Jews". 

In my book, Antonius: Son of Rome, there is a disturbing crucifixion scene that has been historically documented. After Marcus Licinius Crassus defeated Spartacus in his slave revolt, six thousand surviving slaves were crucified along the Appian Way. It must have been a macabre scene--one that could have given an adult nightmares for years, much less a child. 

Sadly, crucifixion continued throughout the Roman period and continues as a harrowing method of execution today in some parts of the world. 

    Rembrandt's depiction of Christ crucified. Note the placard above his head in the three specified languages: Aramaic,                                                                                                     Greek, and Latin.