In the past, Appius would get
excited to attend the games at the Circus Maximus. He loved being taken out by
his master to an eventful day and essentially getting the day of from his
responsibilities. He loved seeing that almost all of Rome, at least 150,000
people, would fill up the circus. He couldn’t wait to watch the high speed of
the chariots as they raced by. However today, Appius felt more frightened than
excited. Some time had passed since the assassination of Caesar however Appius
was still not sure what to make of it. The assassination added to the stress of
changing his life from being a slave to a freedman. He felt the anxiety that
many of the Roman citizens had and it made him feel uneasy.
As
a slave, Appius would always have to stand during the games in a designated
section for slaves. However as a freedman he now had the option of finding a
seat as long as he had a ticket, which he had. However, Appius chose to stand
with the slaves. He did not want to add to his anxiety by changing the routine
that he was so accustomed to. As he made his way to the standing room section
of the circus, he noticed a woman slave having trouble acquiring some of the
food that was given out during the games. She was constantly being pushed to
the back of the line seeming as if she would never get a chance to make it to
the food. Appius decided to help her by pushing his way to the front. He
grabbed a piece of bread for her and walked with her the rest of the way to the
standing room with out saying a word.
Inside
the standing room, some of the joy that came with the games came back to
Appius. As he looked around and saw some of the familiar sights he grew some
excitement. He could hear the different chants that the supporters of each team
had as well as the heckling back and forth of which team was best. As he looked
out into the crowd he could see the magistrates sitting in their section as
well as the Roman citizens sitting in their seats. As the games came to a
conclusion, Appius realized that this woman had been standing next to him the
entire time. As he looked at her, she suddenly looked up at him, then she
turned around and started walking away. Before she got to far away, she turned
to Appius and said, “thank you”, and continued on.
