Part 1 (1/2)
POMPEII.
T. L. Higley.
To Mike and Pam Dittman.
and Pat and Nadine Pileggi.
. . . who first taught me that girls could be warriors, too.
You have always encouraged me to find my adventure and pursue it with pa.s.sion.
For this I am grateful.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS.
Pompeii has long held fascination for me-a lost city, frozen in time and then thawed, exactly as it was on the day the mountain spewed its fire and swallowed it whole.
Unearthing any story is, at times, a bit like digging in hardened ash, uncertain what one will find. I am grateful for the help and encouragement of all who worked alongside me to bring this project to light.
Thank you to the B&H team, who are tireless in their efforts to produce quality fiction: Karen Ball, editor/genius; Julie Gwinn, marketing magician, and all the rest who are such wonderful support and who create canvases for the creativity of their authors.
Thank you to my agent, Steve Laube. You've been a cheerleader for my writing since we began, and your support and guidance are so appreciated.
A special thanks to Mitch Triestman (otherwise known as Uncle Mitch!) for your valuable help in understanding the Jewish mind-set of the first century, and the present. Your excellent book, To the Jew First, gave great insight into Ariella's character.
A huge thank you to my daughter Rachel for being my travel partner on this book's research trip. We will have stories to tell of Venice, Rome, and Naples forever, won't we?! It was such fun spending that time with you, I would do it all again in a heartbeat!
As always, the rest of my precious family has sacrificed and supported, encouraged and endured through the writing of yet another book. Ron, Rachel, Sarah, Jake, and Noah-I could do none of this without all of you, and all you do for me. I love you very much.
”. . . a peak of h.e.l.l, rising out of paradise.”
-Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, on Vesuvius.
WORD LIST.
aedile-city official, mainly responsible for public buildings and festivals.
aureus-gold coin valued at 25 silver denarii.
calidarium-hot room of the bath complex, with a hot plunge bath Capitolium-temple of the G.o.ds, with great arches on either side.
duovir-one of two joint city magistrates, mainly responsible for administration of justice eumachia-building in Pompeii named for priestess of Venus, used by the fullers editores-politician sponsoring public games, to curry public favor.
frigidarium-cold room of the bath complex, with a cold plunge bath gradi-unit of distance equal to approximately 2.5 feet Hashem-literally, ”the name,” the Jewish word used for G.o.d.
impluvium-sunken part of an atrium to catch the rainwater coming through the open roof insulae-tenement-type apartment buildings in ancient Roman cities Junius-the month of June.
lanista-trainer of gladiators lupanaria-brothel, named for the ”lupe” = the she-wolf, whose call the women mimicked macellum-main market of the city.
murmillo-gladiator with high crested and broad rimmed helmet that resembled a fish ordo/ordo decurionum-city council palaestra-the city's main field for athletic training and fitness palus-poles buried in the ground used for gladiator training pater familias-literally ”father of the family,” head of the household praenomen-first name, given by parents, to a Roman child pugio-short sword quadriporticus-four-sided courtyard surrounded by columned walkways quaestor-city official, mainly responsible for financial matters retiarius/retiarii-gladiator who used a casting net and trident as weapons.
rudis-wooden training sword, also used as a token given to a freed gladiator scaenae frons-two-story facade behind the stage secutor-gladiator who fought heavily armed, including a helmet sestertius/sestertii-bra.s.s coin stola-woman's garment, comparable to the man's toga.
suggestum-platform where orators could make their appeals.
tabernae-single room shop in market, with wide doorway and barrel vaulted ceiling tablinum-room on one side of the atrium, used as an office.
tepidarium-warm room of the bath complex thermopolium-ancient Rome's ”fast food restaurant”-masonry counters with sunken jars holding food triclinium-main dining area of a home.
Vulca.n.a.lia-festival dedicated to Vulcan, G.o.d of fire.
From her lofty place above the sparkling crescent Bay of Napoli, Vesuvius looked down upon the surrounding towns and felt the pressure build beneath her gra.s.sy slopes.
It was true, the hot springs which bubbled up from deep within brought pleasure-seekers from the north to bathe in secluded groves, and she boasted lemon trees and long waving gra.s.ses where wildlife grazed her foothills. True, her purple, cloud-kissed peak shone always in the sunlight.
But under it all, where the eyes of no patrician nor plebeian saw, underneath she churned with an angry force waiting to be unleashed.
She was their mother, yes. But she could destroy them all.
And she had been quiet these many years, had she not? Too many years for counting, even. She had been controlled, subdued, silent as generation after generation lived and farmed and reveled in her long shadows.
But not for long. No, not for long.
Though the people who lived beneath her believed that they controlled their own destiny, she knew otherwise.
This was her story, after all.
PROLOGUE.
Jerusalem August 9, AD 70.
Ariella shoved through the clogged street, defying the mob of frantic citizens. Men, women, and children crowded the alleys, senseless in their panic to flee the city. They carried all they could, packed into pouches slung across their chests and clutched in sweaty hands. Soldiers ran with them, as though they had all joined a macabre stadium footrace, with partic.i.p.ants who clubbed and slashed at each other to get ahead. Beside her, one of the district's tax collectors tripped and fumbled a latched wooden box. It cracked against the cobbled street and spilled its meager h.o.a.rd of gold. The tax collector was dead before he hit the ground, and the Roman soldier pulled his sword from the man's gut only to scramble for the coins.
Ariella turned her head from the gore but felt little pity for the tax man, cheated of life by the Romans for whom he had betrayed his people. Still, concern flickered in her chest at the sudden violence in the street.
Something has happened.
The city had been under siege for months. Three days ago her mother announced that the sacrifices in the Temple had ceased. But today, today was something new. Perhaps three days of sins not atoned for had brought the wrath of the Holy One down on them all.
Unlike those who ran the streets with her, Ariella's destination was neither Temple nor countryside. She returned to her home-if the dim tenement could be called such-from another useless excursion to secure food.