A Book for Caesar!

The word is getting out! Children of Apollo is popping up in unexpected hands. Commodus may have been a little mad, but he knew a good read!

Children of Apollo is now available in all e-book formats from Smashwords. Check it out today and find out what happened in the years after Commodus.

Please note: the papyrus version will not be available for some time.

The World of Children of Apollo - Part III - The Severans

The Severans were a very interesting family and not without their tales of violence and greed and uniqueness of character. The period is not marked by something so brutal as the psychotic reign of Caligula but there are certainly many more dimensions. It is a time of militarism, of a weakened Senate, a time of spymasters in various camps. It is a time marked by the rise of lower classes, the presence of powerful women and, over it all, a blanket of religious superstition at the highest levels. Many believe that it is this period in Rome’s history that marks the true beginning of the end of the Roman Empire.

The emperor at the time that Children of Apollo takes place is Septimius Severus (A.D. 193-211). He was the son of an Equestrian from Leptis Magna in North Africa. When Commodus was killed in A.D. 192, Severus was governor of Pannonia. When the Praetorians decided to auction the imperial seat a short time later, Severus’ legions declared him Emperor. He subsequently defeated his two opponents who had also declared themselves Emperor: Clodius Albinus and Pescennius Niger. A purge of his opponents’ followers in the Senate and Rome made Severus sole ruler of the largest empire in the world.

Septimius Severus

Septimius Severus was a martial emperor, the army was his power and he knew how to use it, how to keep the legions loyal and happy. He increased troops’ pay and in a radical move, allowed soldiers to get married. Severus was good to his troops, his Pannonian Legions and victorious Parthian campaigners. He promoted equestrians to ranks previously reserved for aristocrats and lower ranks to equestrian status. There was a lot of mobility within the rank system at the time due to Severus ‘democratization’ of the army. Remember, this was an emperor who favoured his troops, especially those who distinguished themselves. The Emperor is open and friendly with Lucius Metellus Anguis in Children of Apollo but, there are prices to be paid. No favour is free.

Julia Domna

One of the most interesting characters of the period is Severus’ Empress, Julia Domna. She appears as one of the strongest women in Rome’s history, an equal partner in power with her husband who heeded her advice but also respected her. Julia Domna was the first of the so-called ‘Syrian women’, she and her sisters hailing from Antioch where their father had been the respected high priest of Baal at Emesa (Homs in modern Syria).

Julia Domna was also highly intelligent, known as a philosopher, and had a group of leading scholars and rhetoricians about her. They came from around the Empire to be a part of her circle, to win commissions from her. No doubt, her strength also bought her a great many enemies, including the Praetorian Prefect and kinsman to Severus, Gaius Fulvius Plautianus. The conflict between the Empress and the Prefect of the Guard is something that will cause Lucius Metellus Anguis a good deal of trouble in Children of Apollo and the next novel. To boot, Plautianus’ daughter, Plautilla, was married to the Empress’ son, Caracalla. One can imagine what family gatherings must have been like!

Gaius Fulvius Plautianaus

Apart from the power, their keen ability to wield it, and their nurturing of the army’s loyalty, a very interesting and important aspect of Septimius Severus and Julia Domna is the great faith they both placed in astrology and horoscopes. They consulted with their astrologer and the stars on all decisions. Astrology affected everything, including Severus’ choice of her as his wife – he was greatly impressed by her horoscope.

By all accounts Caracalla and Geta, Severus’ heirs, were both at odds much of the time. The two brothers seem to have tolerated each other’s presence and competed fiercely, even in the hippodrome where at one point they raced each other so fiercely on their chariots that they ended up with several broken bones, almost leaving their father without his precious heirs. Caracalla seems to have been the favourite of the Empress though in much later years, Julia Domna does come to Geta’s defence, however much in vain.

Julia Mamaea

The Syrian women continued to hold power under the daughters of Julia Domna’s older sister, Julia Maesa who, herself, managed to save the dynasty for a time after the death of Caracalla. Julia Maesa was the mother of Julia Soaemias and Julia Mamaea, both mothers in their turn, of the last Severan emperors, Elagabalus and Alexander Severus. These powerful women held the family together. However, in the end, under Alexander Severus, the loyalty of the army was lost and, what once gave the Severans their ultimate power, became their downfall.

There is a lot more to each of the people I have mentioned so briefly here and it is a part of Roman history that is not often explored. However, the Severans made their mark on the Empire and brought about massive changes, from artwork to marriage for legionaries, to a crippling of the Senate and the extension of Roman citizenship to people all over the Roman Empire. They were strong, religious, varied and flawed and all make for fantastic fiction!

Caracalla

In the next instalment of The World of Children of Apollo, we’ll be heading to Ostia and Rome itself, in Lucius’ footsteps as he leaves North Africa to return home after many years. If you are up for a Roman holiday, be sure to check it out!

Book Trailer now posted: to view the new book trailer for Children of Apollo on You Tube, go to the link at the top right of this blog.

Children of Apollo - E-Book now available

At long last, the battle for formatting has been won and Children of Apollo, Book I in the Eagles and Dragons series, is now available as an e-book.

If you are interested, and count yourself among the technologically-inclined, you can get this from Amazon in the United Kingdom, Germany, Spain, France, Italy and of course, the U.S. Canadian customers can purchase from Amazon.com.

For those of you with iPads, Kobos, Sony Readers, Nooks etc., never fear. Children of Apollo will be available for those devices in a few weeks.

In the meantime, be sure to visit the new Eagles and Dragons Facebook page. Also, Part III of The World of Children of Apollo will be posted very soon, so, watch this space. This time, we'll be meeting the Severans.

Cheers and happy reading!

Children of Apollo - now available in paperback

Greetings fellow fiction readers, writers and fans of ancient history in general. This has been a long time coming but I'm pretty pleased to be able to announce that my first novel, Children of Apollo, is now available in trade paperback from Amazon.com (http://www.amazon.com/Children-Apollo-Book-Eagles-Dragons/dp/0987762400/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1332036960&sr=8-1).

Children of Apollo is the first book in my Eagles and Dragons series, set in the Roman Empire during the reign of Emperor Septimius Severus (reigned A.D. 193-211). Over the next few months I'll be writing some posts about the world of Children of Apollo from the towns of Roman North Africa and the Sahara to Etruria and Rome itself. I'll share some of my experiences researching and writing the book and take you on what will hopefully be some very interesting pictorial tours of a few of the sights that inspired the story.

If your curiosity is piqued, here is a brief synopsis:

Children of Apollo is the tale of Lucius Metellus Anguis, a young warrior who is inspired by the deeds of his glorious ancestors and burdened by the knowledge that he must raise his family name from the ashes of the past. Having achieved a measure of success in the Emperor’s legions in North Africa, Lucius is recalled to Rome where he finds himself surrounded by enemies, cast into the deadly arena of Roman politics. Amid growing fears of treachery, Lucius meets a young Athenian woman who fills his darkening world with new-found hope. Their love grows, as does their belief that the gods have planned their meeting but, when an ancient oracle of Apollo utters a terrifying prophecy regarding his future, Lucius’ world is once more thrown into chaos. Ultimately, he must choose sides in a war that threatens to destroy his family, his faith and all that he has worked for.

So, that is the story in a nutshell. If you do pick up a copy, I sincerely hope you enjoy it! I look forward to any questions or comments people might have and any reviews you care to post. I will make further announcements as Children of Apollo becomes available in other countries, on other websites and through other outlets. And for those of you with e-readers, fear not, as the e-book will be out in the coming weeks.

Cheers and happy reading!