Servius awoke just before dawn, as
he did every morning. Although a
slave, his masters were kind and treated him well; a luxury he dared not
endanger by sleeping in. Besides,
Servius didn’t mind feeling the kiss of the brisk morning air that rested lightly
atop the Palatine Hill on his olive skin as he walked out of his masters’
impressive stone abode. As Servius
started his walk towards the Forum Boarium, the sun made its glorious
appearance from behind the horizon, sparkling off of the vital, life-giving
Tiber River in the distance.
Equipped
with a list of groceries needed by his masters, Servius started the journey
that he had made so many times before.
Although the Forum Boarium was his final destination, Servius always
enjoyed passing by the Forum Romanum in an effort to capture glimpses and hear
snippets of Rome’s elite. On
occasion, even the dynamic Cicero could be heard speaking, a treat that Servius
treasured, even if his duties only allowed him to remain on the outskirts of
the bustling forum. Servius came
down from his house onto the Velia, which was the easiest method for descending
the often-steep Palatine. Once
completing the trek down the slope, he made his way toward the Tiber to the
cattle market that was the Forum Boarium.
As
it was almost every morning, the Forum Boarium was abuzz with shoppers,
anxiously wishing to acquire their lives’ necessities. Servius purchased the food needed by
his master family, navigating through the forum with ease. He loved the smells of food, the gentle
sounds of the ever-flowing Tiber.
Most of all Servius appreciated the architecture. The Temple of Fortuna Virilis, located
in the Forum, was Servius’s favorite site to stop and have a moment of prayer. He found so much beauty and
spirituality when he viewed its ionic columns and raised podium. Having collected his food and stopped
for a moment of prayer, Servius hurried back through Rome. He didn’t like to keep his masters
waiting for their breakfast.
-Ryan Jacobson
