By Paul Carrier
Steven Saylor isn’t kidding when he bills Roma as a novel about “ancient” Rome. If you're conception of antiquity begins and ends with the assassination of Julius Caesar, Saylor's sweeping effort will expand your horizons.
Roma reaches so far back in time that Romulus and Remus, the legendary founders of the city, don’t even make an appearance until the reader is more than 50 pages in. The tiny settlement along the Tiber River does not start calling itself Roma until the same point in the novel. And Julius Caesar doesn’t walk on stage until page 460 in this 549-page epic.
I mention none of this by way of complaint, because Saylor’s thoroughness is welcome when combined with his accessible writing style and careful plotting. In fact, his decision to take us back to the beginning is rewarding because we catch a glimpse of the formative years of Roman mythology and legend.
Roma recreates 1,000 years of the city’s history, as seen through the eyes of the Potitius and Pinarius famillies. The reader first visits Rome when it is nothing more than a stop along a trade route and watches it grow into a small settlement that gradually expands into the ancient Rome with which we are all familiar.
Remus dies in a dispute with Romulus, who rules Rome with increasing autocracy and boosts the city’s population by kidnapping Sabine women. Following the death and deification of Romulus, Rome is ruled by a succession of kings until the formation of the republic in 509 B.C. or so.
Eventually, the dictator Sulla emerges triumphant during a civil war; Caesar defeats Pompey, only to be assassinated in 44 B.C.; and Octavius destroys the forces of Mark Antony and Cleopatra, inaugurating the age of empire and emperors.
Roma requires some concentration because the 1,000-year time frame of the novel involves an ever-changing cast of characters. The plethora of Latin names can become a bit confusing, especially in the case of obscure or fictitious people with whom 21st-century readers are not familiar.
Part of the novel’s appeal stems from the fact that Saylor explores intriguing themes, such as the transformation of the mundane into the mythological, the corrupting influence of power and the fickleness of the mob. The mutual suspicion between patricians and plebeians is a recurring source of tension. And because Roma spans a millennium, it offers repeated reminders that glory is fleeting.
Saylor is best known as the author of the deservedly popular Roma Sub Rosa mystery series set in ancient Rome. That fine collection of novels and short stories features a detective named Gordianus the Finder, who plies his trade in the time of Cicero, Pompey and Julius Caesar.
Saylor's passion for Roman history illuminates Roma, which educates and entertains with telling details about daily life (such as the complexity of wearing a toga properly), as well as descriptions of the city’s complex politics, evolving religious beliefs, critical military victories and chilling setbacks.
It makes for an engrossing read, and a thought-provoking one as well. The Roman republic survived for about 500 years before democratic rule collapsed under the authoritarian might of the emperors. That’s almost twice as long as the United States of America has been around - so far.
