RomanQuest Read Online Free PDF

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    â€œWell,” says Titus, in the sort of practised tone that suggests he’s done this a thousand times before, “This is the Forum Romanum, as we call it in the city, the most important forum in the country, which is what you’d expect and how it should be, of course. Traditionally it’s been used for public meetings, lawcourts, gladiatorial combats, that sort of thing, although that’s been gradually changing since the time of the divine Augustus.”
    He starts to walk slowly forward, gesturing you to follow. You can imagine if he ever reincarnates, he’ll end up at the front of a coach-load of Americans holding a microphone. “From this viewpoint,” he tells you, “it is possible to see several of our most important buildings. Here -” He points. “- you have the Temple of Castor and Pollux, the Temple of the Deified Caesar, that’s the divine Julius, of course, the first one we deified. Over there is the Mamertine Prison, some very bad people in there, then away to your right you have the Curia or Senate House, some very bad people in there as well, hah-hah-hah. Now down at the bottom is the religious area. You know what a clannish lot the gods are. From here you can see the Temple of Saturn, the Temple of Vesta and the Temple of Romulus. Follow me and try to keep up, please.”
    He strides off through the crowd, leaving you to follow as best you can. He stops again, so suddenly you actually bump into him. You follow his gaze. The stretch of ground stretching about 125 by 70 feet is set to grass except for three plants - a grape vine, a fig tree, and a little olive grove - which divides it in two.
    â€œThese two open spaces are the political Comitium and the social Forum,” Titus tells you. “That’s the Comitium at the wide end. It’s where the Popular Assembly meets. Lot of nonsense talked in both, if you ask me, but I suppose brave speeches are a lot safer than actually marching against the Huns.”
    â€œYes, you’re probably right, but what I really want to know is how I can -”
    â€œLook between the two clearings,” Titus says, ignoring you. “That’s the orators’ platform. We call it the Rostra, on account of the fact that it’s decorated with the iron rams we took as trophies from the warships of Antium.”
    You frown at him. “Why would you call -?” you begin.
    â€œRams are rostra in Latin,” the Mercury Phone whispers in your ear.
    â€œRemember I pointed out the Curia where the Senate meet?” Titus asks. “That’s it there at the end of the Comitium. The original got burned down, but Julius Caesar built this one - they tell me it’s a lot bigger, which would be just like Julius. Matter of fact, he renovated or rebuilt quite a few of the things round here.”
    â€œYes,” you nod, “but what I really want to -”
    He grabs your hand and leads you away before you can really take in what he’s saying.
    â€œSee this canal?”
    You stare into the canal, a fine example of Roman engineering. “Yes.”
    â€œUsed to be a little stream, that did,” says Titus thoughtfully. “Ran diagonally across the valley. About six hundred and a few years ago they made it into a canal. Used for sewerage mainly. They call it the Cloaca Maxima. I expect you’ve heard of it.”
    Without stopping for your answer, he drags you to the far end of the valley. “Now down here you have the precinct the high priest next to the Vestals - they’re the girls who keep the sacred flame. They also keep most of the important records in Rome: wills, deeds to land, that sort of thing. Between the high priest and the Vestals you’ve got all the temples, as you can see. Jupiter’s the main one, of course. That’s his there, marked LXXVI. Janus and Saturn - that’s their temples over there - were our earliest gods, well, some of