Before diving into this week's blog, it's GIVEAWAY TIME! On Wednesday, June 10th, I'll be giving away autographed copies of BOTH of my books to one lucky reader. To be entered, one only has to subscribe to my website. If you are already subscribed, you are good to go! And if you've already purchased my books or read them, consider giving them as a gift to someone, if you win. A;so, if you know of friends who enjoy reading and might be interested, please let them know!

This week on my blog, we're visiting Alexandria by land, going ashore a bit to see some sites that are both archaeological and geological. First stop is the Serapeum--or what's left of it! It's actually a grandiose site that was originally located in the Brucheum--the wealthy Greek quarters in the city, located not far rom the Sea. It was an enormous temple complex.

As a deity, Serapis is tricky to nail down. He was not an "invention" of Ptolemy Soter (Ptolemy I), but instead, was probably used by Ptolemy Soter to link Greco-Egyptian religion in a way that was more acceptable to Greeks. Serapis was a blend of Egypt's mythological Osiris and the Apis bull, yet this cult gave him a human form. Pagan Greeks were not accepting of animal-headed deities, so common in Egypt. A reminder here that even though Alexandria was IN Egypt, it was founded by Greeks (the Ptolemies), governed by them, and its culture was built by them. That being said, there is much evidence, in both Alexandrian art and in the architectural elements that have survived, that there was a blending of Egyptian and Greek styles, beliefs, and culture. 

Pictured at the left is Serapis; a very Greek-looking representation, discovered in the Serapeum temple complex in Alexandria. Because of some fascinating temple deposits found during excavations, it was discovered that the actual temple wasn't built until the reign of Ptolemy III, Euergetes (the Benefactor) in the 3rd century BC. It being the largest temple in Alexandria in antiquity, AND the fact that it was located in a highly cultural area of the city, it's a pretty sure assumption that it would have been visited by Cleopatra VII.

​As to exactly what Serapis represented? He was known for a conglameration of things. In an effort to make him "appealing" to the Egyptians, he signified Osiris's eternal/afterlife symbolism, along with the Apis bull. This was combined with the abundance and fertility of both Dionysius and Demeter in Greek mythology. I like to think of him as the Ptolemaic combo-god! But his cult really took off, and when visiting Alexandria, the site of the Serapeum is the largest Classical site  preserved in the city. At least so far!

All over Alexandria, one sees sphinxes. Most of the faces on these statuary depict various Ptolemaic rulers. It's thought that they were used as decorative elements to line roadways or entrances. One example crowns the central part of the Serapeum, along with a large column (see below on right). Called "Pompey's Pillar", the pillar's name incorrectly points to Pompeius Magnus--Caesar's rival in my book, Antonius: Second in Command. Actually, the column dates from the reign of Diocetian, having nothing to do with Pompeius Magnus who was, in fact, murdered on the shores near Alexandria. ​

Before I begin this week's post, I wanted to invite you to explore the rest of my website. My incredible web-designer, Michelle recently updated it and it looks FANTASTIC! Be sure to check out each page!

For the next two weeks, we'll be visiting Alexandria, Egypt. My next book, Antonius: Legend will feature the tempestuous love story between Antonius & Cleopatra. Many of my readers have really been looking forward to this installment, and I'm pleased to report that next week, the cover designing will begin! Portions of my next book will take place in Alexandria, now Egypt's second biggest city. Today, as one enters the city from the south, a very Greek-looking toll-booth greets you. (photo at left)

Alexandria was originally founded by Alexander the Great--hence its name. One of his favored generals, Ptolemy, managed to bring Alexander's body all the way from India to Egypt when he died. There he built a massive tomb for Alexander, called the Soma. As huge as it was, its ruins have yet to be discovered. Alexandria flourished as a center of learning, and developed what was to be the world's first library. Ptolemy also made use of the harbor space along the Nile delta and built the worlds most magnificent lighthouse: the Pharos. And all of this happened over three-hundred years before any of my stories took place. 

From an archaeological standpoint, Alexandria has always been problematic. In the past two-thousand years, a series of earthquakes and finally a tsunami ripped through the city, destroying almost all of the ancient buildings and monuments. This seismic activity was so catastrophic, that it even altered the coastline, and much of what was present back in Antonius & Cleopatra's day is now underwater. Today, many sites that are assumed to be ruins, such as the Soma, are buried beneath high-rises, making it impossible to excavate. Parts of the harbor are military zones, ruling out excavations in places such as Antirhodos Island, where Cleopatra's residence stood. So if you think it was difficult to sort out what Rome looked like in the time of the late Republic, trying to visualize 1st century BC Alexandria was ten-times worse for me! Fortunately, underwater archaeology has become an important tool for historians, AND--I had a fabulous guide--Salwa, who had a passion for the Ptolemies and Cleopatra VII.

Salwa and I were inseparable for five fantastic days. As a native of Alexandria, she took me everywhere. In the photo on the right, we were visiting the ancient odeum--a small theater that was originally used for poetry readings and musical concerts. This site was featured briefly in a scene at the end of Antonius: Son of Rome.

For this week, I'd like to introduce you to the wet side of Alexandria. This city's harbor was a bustling port ever since it was first developed by Ptolemy Soter in the late 4th century BC. The Pharos lighthouse was built at the entrance to the harbor and became one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. Whatever was used as a reflective device--mirrors, glass--it was effective. Some sources indicate that the Pharos was a beacon seen from several miles out of port. 

Sadly, the lighthouse was one of the many monuments destroyed by earthquakes. Portions still stood until the beginning of the 14th century, when another quake toppled it enough that Qaitbey, Sultan of Egypt, used the ruins to build a fort in its place, which stands to this day. 

Fort Qaitbey (left) is a splendid structure, and surrounding it, underwater archaeologists, led by a French team, discovered more enormous granite blocks once belonging to the Pharos. These excavations, led by Jean Ives-Empereur and Franck Goddio even yielded colossal statuary that probably stood at the mouth of the harbor, welcoming ships. Unbelieveably, many of the mammoth statuary have been recovered, and now decorate portions of what has been found of the ancient city center, near the Serapeum.

I took the photo below (at right) inside of Fort Qaitbey. These are some of the original foundations of the Pharos Lighthouse, and I was delighted to see that at least they are still partially visible for visitors.

Perhaps my biggest thrill was getting out ON the water. Whenever my characters sail from Alexandria, they departed or returned to this very harbor. Naturally, I wanted to get a feel for it. Granted, the coastline has changed and none of the original buildings are visible, but still... authors are saved by their imaginations!

Salwa helped me hire a boatman to take us for a tour of the harbor. As we approached Fort Qaitbey, the water started getting pretty choppy and by the time we were right at the mouth of the harbor (to the right of the above photo), there were whitecaps and we were rocking and rolling all over the place. Poor Salwa! I glanced behind me to see how she was faring. Practically green, she took that moment to share that she didn't know how to swim! Fortunately, we didn't stay out long. But it was a great experience, seeing first-hand the capacious harbor that once housed Marcus's big warships.

I'll close this week's blog with two final photos. The one on the bottom left shows just how grandiose the harbor is. And that's Fort Qaitbey, way out in the distance there on the left part of the horizon. And speaking of horizons... Some of my favorite sunset shots in Egypt were on Alexandria's Mediterranean coast. Next week, we'll move inland a bit from the beach and visit some of the ancient ruins that did survive, as well as see the new library that the Egyptians have built to replace Cleopatra's beloved original.

Read on, everybody!

The most common thing readers typically ask is for me to tell them about my research. Where did you go? What all did you see? Which sites were the most meaningful for you, personally?

In the next few weeks, I've decided to get a little more personal about specific places in which I've spent time, researching the Antonius Trilogy. I'll share my specific thoughts, as well as some fun-facts I learned in my travels. This week, I simply couldn't resist discussing the Roman Forum. It is truly at the heart of my first book, Antonius: Son of Rome and plays integral parts in both Second in Command and my upcoming Antonius: Legend.

If one visits Rome for the first time, and doesn't know much of its history, it's easy to mistakenly assume that everything you see was "there" throughout the entire ancient period. That is, of course, not the case. In fact, a historical fiction author like myself has to really use a lot of imagination in depicting and describing what the late Republican layout in the Forum would have looked like, because most of what you see today wasn't even built yet. The other problem is that many of the things I wish I could see no longer exist. It's a good thing that imagination is a powerful tool!

I shot the above photo from the western end of the Forum. I was actually standing inside the Tabularium--believed by most scholars to have been Republican Rome's massive archive building, and now a portion of the Capitoline Museum. In the center of this photo, toward the very bottom, you'll see a low, red-brick structure that looks hollowed-out. That is the rebuilt Rostra, the way it would have been facing in the Imperial period. Therefore, it's not the actual structure from which Marcus Antonius gave Caesar's funeral oration. Again... the problem of "seeing" the Forum as it was in the day is impossible! The original layout of the entire Comitium area--Rostra, Senate House (Curia), etc. was angled more off to the left of the picture, north of the Septimius Severus Arch (pictured). Now, look straight down the middle of the photo. There's another low, dark building with a slight point to its roof. It doesn't look like much now, but it's the remains of the Temple of Julius Caesar--built by Octavian after Caesar's assassination. It will be discussed some in my next book. To this day, people leave flowers inside the remains of this Temple in Caesar's memory. It is said to have been built on the exact spot where the plebs dragged his corpse and cremated it.

Now let your eye wander up to the right. There's a lofty hill up there, and that's the Palatine Hill where most of the Senatorial families had homes, including the Antonii. Nobody knows exactly where Marcus's domus was located up there, but for me, it's always amazing to just wander among the trees and gardens, as it's just a magical setting. Again, I find myself using my imagination to ponder what it may have looked like in the Republican Period.

One of my most vivid memories on the Palatine is receiving special permission by the Italian government to visit the House of the Griffins (photo at right). Much of what you visit in Rome is subterranean. House of the Griffins is literally buried under other ancient architecture on the Palatine and though nobody knows (yet!) whose house it was, a stunning rendering of two facing griffins is plastered in relief on one wall, which gave the site its name.

I was officially escorted by Italian security officers down a lofty set of steel stairs that were dauntingly steep. There were lights that they turned on as we progressed, and let me tell you--it was dark down there! This particular site fascinated me, as it's an old Republican home over which some of the Flavian Palaces were built. Because of the wall-paintings it's been dated to at least the 2nd century BC--older than my Trilogy's story! 

Notice the interesting frescoes. They are classified as "First Style" wall-paintings. First Style designs don't have people or animals depicted. Instead look at the lovely geometrical designs toward the bottom, but even more fascinating is the agate or marbling that was painted onto the space, imitating a natural stone surface.

It was fascinating getting to explore the House of the Griffins, though not much of it is accessible. I imagined someone like Marcus Junius Brutus living there, with its strict, old-fashioned decor that probably would have been in his family for generations.

Aside from the Palatine Hill, my favorite spot in Rome is probably the Tabularium. I actually wrote a scene there in Son of Rome because the place had made such an impression on me. (The scene where Fadia is freed!) Anyway, built in the 70's BC, this place has been used continually throughout its history--even as an apartment complex at one point! One of the reasons I think it speaks to me, is that IF it really was a public records building, then all of my main characters--Marcus, Caesar, Cicero--ALL of them probably walked inside it at one time or another. I've mentioned the poignant display of Roman funerary steles before, located inside the Tabularium. It's definitely worth the time whenever you visit Rome, and only accessible through the Capitoline Museum.

The Tabularium's architecture never ceases to awe me whenever I go inside. Lofty archways, austere Republican stone-work, and the view from the top is the Forum picture I shared at the beginning of this blog! It has to be one of the best views of the Forum Romanum in all of Rome! i'm closing with a photo I took of my cousin this past summer (at right). We were inside the Tabularium and the sheer magnitude of the arches and grand space compared to Mike (who's a pretty tall guy!) is so impressive.

For now I close, but I invite everyone back next week, when through my lens, I'll share part of a place that will figure prominently in my upcoming book, Antonius: Legend. Next week... Alexandria, Egypt! See you there!

These past few weeks in quarantine have made so many people more appreciative of what they have. Of course, one of those items has been TOILET PAPER! On Facebook, Twitter---goodness, I've never seen so many amusing jokes and memes about this much-overlooked convenience!

So, it got me thinking. 

How did the Romans "use the facilities" in their world? It might be rather eye-opening for us to find out. And, it will likely make us all relieved that we live in the 21st century!

First of all, latrines have been discovered that date back all the way to Mesopotamia. By the time the Roman civilization appeared, they'd been used for millenia. By Marc Antony's day, in the 1st century BC, public latrines that sat ten or more people at once were common. The poor plebs--citizens--obviously didn't have much privacy. Rome was a very crowded, filthy city, and despite the availability of public bath-houses and the Cloaca Maxima--the big sewer--hygiene was not good. Among the common people's living conditions, sanitation was not a high priority, which is somewhat surprising, since the Romans were such geniuses when it came to engineering. Fortunately, Mt. Vesuvius preserved the perfect microcosm of ancient Roman life, so that we're able to see and experience what it was like back in the day.

​It was normal for gutters in the streets to be running with raw sewage--both human and animal. Builders would intentionally design roadways with large stepping-stones over which pedestrians could pass without soiling their sandals. Carts must have had high axels to accommodate the stones, as some I've jumped across were well over a foot high. In addition, there were sidewalks on the sides of some streets, but they were narrow. 

In this photo, I'm navigating a city street in Pompeii, the way Romans once did, using the stepping-stones. Gutters on both sides would have been running with  waste. The smell would have been unbelieveable. Note the sidewalks on either side. These are rather wide ones, since this is one of Pompeii's larger thoroughfares, but oft-times they were much narrower. 

​These public latrines are located at the ancient site of Ostia Antica, just outside of Rome. I have seen many public latrines, but this one is probably the largest I've ever run across. 

Mt. Vesuvius also preserved an impressive villa in Oplontis, which was once an imperial villa, used by Nero's wife, Poppaea. While visiting the site, I located a single, private latrine. It was unclear as to whether it had been plumbed. Most likely it was just a pit-toilet, which would have been occasionally serviced by slaves. Any "night-soil" would have been removed and used for agriculture. This being said, the wealthy also used chamber-pots.

Urine was actually a hot commodity in the Roman world. Vespasian actually began taxing for it in the late 1st century AD. Uric acid was used for a lot of different things, including--UGH!!!--mouthwash for teeth-whitening! (I couldn't make this stuff up!) But perhaps its most important use was in laundering. Fullers would actually have large amphorae outside their establishments and on street corners, so that men could relieve themselves and do a civic duty all at the same time. Wow. And that, folks, was how Caesar got his toga cleaned. For real.

Lastly, we've all been lamenting the plentiful aisles of toilet paper, but at least we HAVE toilet paper. In a public latrine in ancient Rome, you'd have a dubious-looking pail with a sponge on a stick. Behold the xylospongium! Now, it merely takes imagination as to HOW this contraption was used and how often public slaves (city-owned and obviously overjoyed at their lot in life) would come around to change the water in the pails. Okay, okay.... I'll stop here. But you get the idea!

It was thanks to the Roman military that hygiene began to be associated with health and well-being. One of the very first things that legions built were latrines. Permanent military forts were always built near a clean source of water, too. 

Most of the information I've shared comes from the Oxford Classical Dictionary and a few online sources. For more reading on ancient sanitation, there is a fantastic online article in Nature: https://www.nature.com/news/the-secret-history-of-ancient-toilets-1.19960.  Be sure to check it out!

I wish everyone good health during the continuing pandemic crisis... and plenteous rolls of toilet paper, too!