Ashley Lewis
6236491
Assignment 6
Daily Life in Ancient Rome
Caepio stood at the edge of the balcony, clutching the sides
as he looked down upon his gladiators below. ‘What a motley crew’ he thought to
himself. Of late victories in the arena had been few and far between and it was
only Batiatus, his champion from Gaul that kept his hopes alive of dragging the
family name out of debt. Suddenly Caepio felt a cold hand rest upon his
shoulder. He turned and was instantly mesmerized by his wife’s piercing blue
eyes. Even after 13 years of marriage, she still left him breathless.
“I must venture to
the forum to buy a new necklace.” Clodia uttered with a glint in her eye that
she knew Caepio could not refuse.
“Did you not buy a
new one a few months ago…yes that emerald incrusted one? What is wrong with
that? You know money is not our greatest asset at the moment.” replied Caepio.
“Darling, emerald’s
ran out of fashion last Saturnalia. We are going to the play of Plautus
tonight. This is no ordinary play; there will be noteworthy and important
people there. We are attending with Solonius and his wife and we need to
impress. He already holds a grudge against you. That certainly won’t help on
your way to having a seat at the senate so we must all we can do to win him
back, and if that is to show that we have sufficient wealth behind us worthy of
a real political campaign then so be it.”
“Fine, take this 20
denari; it should suffice” Caepio handed over the money unwillingly. “Varro
will escort you, many stories are going around about pickpockets lurking around
the Forum Romanum.
Clodia left the
house and headed down the Palatine hill to the Forum Romanum. Upon arrival at
to the forum there was already much hustle and bustle around the Basilica and
she had to weave in and out of the crowds that were mounting as the sun rose in
the glistening sky. She carried on towards her intended shop and bought a
noteworthy necklace, encrusted with saphires, this necklace she though to
herself would be worthy of a senate’s wife. As she headed home she could hear
loud speeches bellowing from Comitium, and thought about the influential power
her husband would one day have.
Later on that day
the family congregated around the large ornate table sat in the center of the
kitchen as they did for dinner every night.
There was an awkward air in the room. The topic of Caepio’s eldest son
and the dowry he would be receiving from his first wife was a much-contested
issue. Caepio as the paterfamilias was demanding more than the girl’s family
were prepared to give which created an awful lot of friction between the two
families. Caepio’s son Tullius resented his father for having such a high
demand and believed it was driving a wedge between himself and his new wife.
They gave an offering to Vesta and began to eat in silence, whilst glares shot
around the table.
