Of Merchants & Heros (50 page)

‘Yes. I feel different . . . empty, as if something within me has died.’

‘You killed what needed to be killed. The god knew that.

Everything has to be paid for, Marcus; and it is the price we pay that makes us men.’

I nodded at his words, and let out my breath. And together, in silence, we looked out at the setting sun.

HISTORICAL NOTE

MARCUS AND MENEXENOS ARE
invented characters. Titus is the historical figure Titus Quinctius Flamininus (229–174 BC), and the story covers the period between 207 BC and 196 BC when Titus rose to prominence and led Rome’s fight against Philip.

Philip is the historical figure Philip the Fifth, king of Macedon (238–179 BC), and at this time he dominated Greece as described in the story, and threatened, or was perceived to threaten, Rome. He should not be confused with the more famous Philip the Second of Macedon (382–336 BC), who was the father of Alexander the Great.

At the time the novel is set, Rome’s territory was largely confined to Italy; it was not the great empire it later became. There was no emperor: its political arrangements were still those of a republic, ruled by the Senate and people, and headed by two elected consuls who held office jointly for one year. The rise of Philip coincided with the final victory of Rome against its old enemy Carthage. Carthage, led by Hannibal, had nearly destroyed Rome. There were many at Rome who feared that Philip was another Hannibal: they were not prepared to wait until a Macedonian army was at the gates of Rome, as Hannibal had once been. It remains an open question whether Philip did in fact pose the threat Rome feared. Certainly he was vaunting, dangerous and unpredictable; and he had been caught out helping Carthage against Rome.

At this period in Rome’s history, two important changes were under way: first, there was a great flowering of interest in Greek culture, with Greek teachers, artists and ideas flowing into Rome and Italy; second, the merchant class was on the rise, taking advantage of Rome’s growing political dominance and the accompanying opportunities for trade and profit. In the story, the tensions between the old and the new are reflected and explored in Marcus’s relationship with his stepfather, and Titus’s with his father.

Titus was a philhellene, a lover of Greek culture, and his time spent in the Italian–Greek city of Tarentum (modern Taranto) is in the historical record. There is no reason to suppose that his wish to free Greece from tyranny was not genuine, except among those who look for baseness in any noble motive.

Lucius, Titus’s brother, is a historical figure, and mention is made in the sources that he was removed from the Senate for dissolute behaviour. The sources also mention Lucius’s boyfriend, though no name is given. He appears to have been equally dissolute.

Dikaiarchos is a historical figure, though to suit the purposes of the story, I have merged part of his character with another historical figure, Demetrios of Pharos.

It should perhaps be noted that bisexuality was ubiquitous in the ancient world, and well attested in the sources. Such behaviour was not, in itself, an object of censure, and this remained true until the end of the classical period when the Church, wielding its growing political power, began to impose its own uniform blueprint on human relations.