Marcus
Julius Antonius, the wealthy young man had always lived up to his father’s high
expectations…until now. His mother and
father had shown him the perfect life: as
his father played a large role in the Roman government in 44 BCE, he and his
family were in the highest social status.
Therefore, his father expected Marcus Julius to not only follow in his
footsteps, but also to exceed their hopes.
Marcus Julius lived a fine life atop the Capitoline Hill with his wife,
Antonia, his teenage son, Lucius, and their loyal and hard-working slave, Flavius.
After
many long nights at work, Marcus Julius doesn’t notice, at first, the length of
time Antonia spends outside of the house.
She had her list of reasons for leaving – spending time with the local
women, reading books, shopping, and taking up her hobbies such as sewing and
growing a small garden. However, Marcus
Julius eventually picks up on a tension that sets in the air every time Flavius
crosses Antonia’s path. He couldn’t
quite decipher what he was feeling, until he eventually finds out one night
exactly what has been going on for the past few months in the side house…
Meanwhile,
the handsome and earnest Lucius feels as though his life lacks meaning. He tries to approach his father about the
subject but Marcus Julius wouldn’t hear anything of the matter. Feeling as though he is living superficially,
Lucius sets to find himself a new life of a lower class and struggles with the
many results and judgments of this quest.
Just as Marcus Julius feels his life is crashing in around him and feels
lost without faith, Antonia drops even bigger news: there is a child on the way…let’s
just say grandfather won’t approve…
-Sapir Ohayon
