#roman man

[artthatgivesmefeelings]

Arnold Böcklin (Swiss, 1827–1901) Head of a Roman, 1863 Kunstmuseum Basel

[galgannet]

A gift for my wife. Our love, like our souls, is eternal!

[saltyseve]

Burning like Rome

Part 1

Lucius looked down his nose at the slave from his lofty seat, showing his blanant disgust for the frail girl.

She was scrawny, ugly and gaunt from starvation. Her eyes were too big for her head and her hair had been shaved, most likely due to lice that could be easily contracted from the ships that sailed to Ephesus. She looked like a sick boy.

The smock she wore clung to her like a second skin, it was heavily stained and he could easily see every bone on her shoulders and arms. She looked like a skeleton.

In comparison to the beautiful women of Rome she was a mere insect, just another slave that had somehow survived the horrors of her people being massacred and the fate of the games.

His eyes slowly lifted to meet his brothers mocking stare.

"You would give me this child as a birthday gift Alexander?" He kept his tone level and relaxed as he slowly reclined in his seat, fanning indifference.

His mother Leana looked at Alexander with tearful disapproval. "Why would you dishonor your older brother on his birthday with such a gift my son? This girl is a human! She shouldn't be treated with such cruelty and blatant disrespect!"

Lucius ground his teath in fury.

Alexander had not just infuriated him but he had also hurt their mothers overly tender heart.

Alexander smirked mockingly. "If you do not like my gift than you can cast her aside and send her back to the games from which I saved her," He gave a bleak wave of his hand as their mother stifled a gasp. "I knew that you would find it in your heart to save this poor girl from death, was I wrong brother?"

Lucius felt his blood boil in fury. Alexander was baiting him and using their mother to do it.

He was giving him an unworthy gift, one that didn't befit the status of an aristocrat of his standing. He always had the most beautiful slaves from the furthest reaches of the empire. He dined with the wealthiest families in Ephesus and attended the most exotic parties. He was in every right, the prince of Ephesus, and he loved it.

His brother giving him a near dead slave from a rebellious nation was underhanded and low for even Alexander. If anyone caught wind of this among the high circles he would surely be the talk of the town for awhile. In every right he could refuse the gift but if he declined it he would lose face infront of his mother and he was loath to hurt her.

Alexander was always ready to deface him any way he possibly could. How it it possibly come to this? They had been very close once, but it felt as if it were only a distant memory, soon to be rendered a vague dream if it continued like this.

He stood slowly and examined the girl once more, curbing the desire to grimace at the foul smell of urine and feces that clung to her. She flenched away from him, terrified and confused. He could tell she didn't know Greek very well from the way she reacted when they spoke. The long journey across the sea had been hard on her small body. How she had survived was unfathomable.

Alexander stood near to him as Lucius inspected her more for show than because he cared. "Isn't she a catch brother? Her name is Ava, you've always had the most beautiful slaves so I thought I would add to your collection." He spoke very quietly so that their mother who was still relcined on a couch near by couldn't hear the scorn in his voice.

"Ava." He said her name darkly. She glanced up hearing her name. Her eyes, which were an ugly watery blue color were absolutely massive for her small shaven head, dark purple bags hung under her eyes and she was awfully pale.

"She's from Germania if I remember right." Alexander said with a sly smile as he reached down and carassed her gaunt cheek with a jeweled hand. She flenched away her eyes growing twice as large.

Lucius leaned in, snatching away his brothers hand and gripping his arm with his own in what looked like a friendly brothers handshake but was anything but warm and full of good will. "She may be horribly ugly but she is mine Alexander so I suggest you keep your hands off of her, after all she was a gift." He lowered his voice so it was almost a whisper. "I will only keep her because of mother, she may be useful as a household slave or something else." Lucius tightened his grip making Alexander winced. "If you ever try to embarrass me infront of our mother again Alexander you will start mysteriously losing your favored slaves, I suggest you do not cross me, brother." He stepped away his eyes focused on Alexander before he smiled warmly towards their mother, arms splayed wide, palms facing the heavens.

"Mother I must be off to a party Flavius has prepared in my honor! Would you be so kind as to help Ava settle in to the villa while I am gone? I fear I will be late and will not be able to help her get settled into her new environment." I hid my agitation. I didn't want to be around that retched slave girl another moment.

Alexanders foul game had soured his mood and he sorely wanted to leave and try to enjoy the rest of his evening without the girl being on his mind.

He needed wine and the company of a beautiful woman.

Leana arose a brilliant smile lighting her face. "Of course my son!" She clapped her hands and two more servants came in and helped the girl to her feet. "May the gods' favor shine brightly on you tonight my beloved Lucius." Leana said while giving her son a motherly kiss on the cheek and a warm smile.

The servant girl looked back towards Lucius but he ignored her solemn gaze as he quickly made his leave.

It would make no difference to him of he ever saw her again, for Lucius was a man of riches and he had no time for ugly slaves.

[the-sacrificiallamb]

There’s one thing I love about being a system, and it’s that I can make the Roman man front for the Roman lectures and the only fuss I’ll get is when he doesn’t like how the lecturer describes things. His notes are much more accurate than mine and it means that I don’t have to front at 9am, I can wait an hour or two without any upset.

Thank you, Roman man, you know who you are

[sun-intheseoul]

I drew a ancient Roman man with eyebags

And now I have eyebags too, I wanna go to sleep now

[orbitalplate-blog]

[eyesonhomme]

Bust of a Man, from Imperial Rome, 3rd century AD (via the Met)