It
was February 20th 44 BCE, and Cicero walked out of his hut to
unusually warm weather. The month of February was very sacred to
Romans because of its dedication to celebration of the dead. This
February in particular was very meaningful to him though. It marked
one year since he had lost his daughter, who had been the most
important part of his life. On this day, he had plans to visit the
cemetery and commemorate her. His son, Marcus, was coming into town
and they would meet with his brother, Quintus, in order to support
each other as a family.
As
he walked down the Palatine Hill, he noticed other families who were
gathering to participate in similar mourning rituals. He thought
about how nice it was going to be to feel support from his own
family, although he was dreading having to be reminded of the loss he
had suffered. Near the Forum Bolarium he saw a flurry of activity as
merchants were doing the preliminary work to get ready for Market
Day. It made him realize how consumed he had been in his grief
recently, since he had forgotten that tomorrow was Market Day.
The
high energy from Lupercalia seemed to be fading slowly because he
still sensed an air of high sexual tension among the people around
the Forum that day. This year he had played a small part in the
rituals, and for the most part had been avoiding the public eye
because the tension was high between him and Mark Antony.
A
woman standing near the Basilica Aemilia caught his attention out of
the corner of his eye, and he immediately forgot about the
controversial political situation he had been musing upon. She was
absolutely beautiful, with darker skin and hair, wearing a quality of
tunic and sandals that made it clear she was a slave. This was the
first moment in the last year that the terrible ache of grief in his
stomach had been lifted from him.
