Anthony Barnhart In the Name of Rome (pdf)

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IN THE NAME OF ROME 77
the bloodshot eyes. He tried to see if the sides of his head were pulsating, but
couldn t make it out. He hung over a hole in the floor for seemingly hours, but
only bile dripped from his mouth. Wrapping himself in a robe, he felt the cool of
spring as he walked onto a balcony dressed in ferns and blooming flowers of
burgundy, cherry, ginger and gold. The warm sun felt good and he leaned
against a pillar, looking over the city spread before him, a maze of streets and
avenues, four-story buildings, shops and homes. The coliseum rose quiet in the
distance, void except for slaves cleaning up from yesterday s games. The city of
the future Pantheon was abandoned. The streets crawled with people, though,
going to and from work. He felt blessed in an odd way to be standing in the
balcony, in the breeze, above the city. A slight elation overcame him, but as
soon as he remembered her, he crept back inside, shutting the wild city of Rome
from the back of his mind.
He bathed, and after he was dressed, he put on his sandals. The door opened
and a slave said, Did you enjoy your sleep last night?
Yes. He couldn t remember.
The slave smiled. The Senators are jealous of you, sir?
Jealous?
Last night, sir.
Oh, Manias said. The guest of honor. The girls clawing all over him. Yes.
It is not that big a deal.
I am not one to judge, the slave said. The sun is almost above the city.
Have you forgotten?
Forgotten?
The chariot races, sir. You told me to remind you.
He cursed himself. Thank you! He bolted out the door and down the
corridor, vanishing down a spiral staircase.
�%�%
The Circus Maximus was crammed with over 250,000 spectators filling the oval
stands surrounding the cylindrical track. Manias found the box seat above the
citizens and leaned upon the railing, watching the chariot wheels spitting dust,
the war-horses propelling themselves forward with bursts through the nostrils.
Many of the stables churned with horses, and the starting boxes were empty.
Spina, decorative sculptures on the sides of the track, were being tilted up and
down to let spectators know how many laps had been completed. Twelve
chariots overwhelmed themselves in a mad seven-lap dash about the track. The
chariots were painted four different colors, in four different three-chariot teams:
Red, White, Blue and Green. The riders stood in the bed of the chariots,
screaming at the horses, yelling harassments at one another. The chariots
wobbled and tilted about the wide turns. The horses stampeded around the track.
IN THE NAME OF ROME 78
A voice behind him: The chariots are light vehicles. They have to be. It s for
the sport.
Manias turned. The sport?
This chariot races are not much different than the coliseum. People do not
come here to watch horses running around the track.
The stands are full.
Below them, a woman stood and shrieked, I entreat you, O Demon, whoever
you are, and demand of you from this hour, from this very moment, you crucify
the horses of the Green and White teams! And that you kill the drivers Clarus
and Felix and crush them. Do not leave any breath in them!
The man said, The coliseum is adored because of the violence.
There is no violence here.
See that chariot there? He pointed. Do you see how it wobbles on the left
wheel? This is what the fans are here for. Manias followed his finger.
The twelve chariots were rounding a bend. The wheel on a Blue chariot
wobbled back and forth, and as it rode around the wide turn, the sprockets broke
and the wheel twisted and shredded itself from the bed. The horses shrieked; the
bed tilted, the edge smashing into the dirt, sending a crowd of dust into the
driver; the driver, blinded, eyes stinging, released the reigns, and toppled from
the crooked bed. He flipped over the back of the chariot and landed on the track,
screaming as horses and chariot wheels trampled him to death. The chariots
continued the race, the one chariot coming to a stop as the horses tried to shake
themselves free. A cloud of dust settled, revealing the crumpled and bloodied
body of the unfortunate driver.
The man said, Sometimes they can even get caught in the reigns and be
dragged to their deaths.
Manias stared coolly at the trampled driver, disturbed. [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]

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