A Voice in the Wind

With 21 kills to his credit—including a defeat of the reigning champion, Celerus—Atretes is now in high demand, socially and as a fighter. Bato lists the advantages he has earned: reputation, status, higher income (he could buy his own house if he chooses), and the opportunity to fight only four or five matches a year. When Bato informs him that part of his income will go to the emperor as a “goodwill offering,” Atretes bristles at the idea, but Bato makes it clear that “[t]he emperor owns you whether you like it or not’” (247). When Atretes is offered a fee for simply spending the night at an inn—the publicity is more than worth the fee—Bato escorts him to the site, but Atretes is soon besieged by screaming fans, tearing at him and trying to get close to the famed gladiator. His bodyguards are overwhelmed, and he must flee to escape the crowd. Bato takes him to the home of Chiymado, a friend who agrees to let them spend the night. The next morning, Atretes visits Pugnax, the innkeeper and a former gladiator who earned his freedom. He tells Atretes that retirement is hard for a fighter, and that he will miss the adrenaline rush of battle. Bato counsels him that returning to Germania may be a fool’s hope—his homeland is destroyed, and his people scattered or enslaved. “Sometimes a slave of Rome lives better than a prince of a defeated country” (253), Pugnax claims.

With Marcus away on business and Decimus preoccupied, Julia defies her father’s restrictions and spends more time with Calabah. Part of the appeal is Calabah’s “discarded lover,” Caius, “the most handsome man Julia had ever seen” (253). Calabah is secretly “grooming” Julia—even encouraging Caius to pursue her romantically—ostensibly to gain access to her family’s wealth and power. He takes Julia to the gardens and seduces her, her youth and desire for excitement making her putty in his hands.

Caius and Julia marry with the approval of Decimus and Phoebe, although Hadassah has a “dark foreboding” about both the marriage and Julia’s new husband. With Marcus gone on business, she has no one in whom to confide, and the wedding is scheduled before his return. Hadassah is saddened by the wedding. It seems more a contractual arrangement than a celebration of love. The wedding is a raucous affair, and after the bride and groom retire to their bedroom, Hadassah is informed that she has been released from Julia’s service. She will remain in service to Decimus and Phoebe. As the weeks pass, she enjoys her time with the Valerians.

Marcus finally returns and finds out about Julia’s marriage. He is suspicious of Caius about whom little is known, especially since he now has control over all her finances, including Claudius’s estate. Marcus visits Julia, and she assures him she is happy. Alone with Caius, Marcus probes him, and his suspicions are not allayed. He worries about Julia who looks bedraggled and exhausted “from whatever party [Caius] Urbanus had taken her to the night before” (267). When Marcus returns home, Hadassah stands accused by Bithia of stealing. As it happens, the coin Hadassah was seen giving to a woman on the street was hers, given to her by Decimus. They are astonished that she would give away what little money she will ever have, and to a Roman at that. She is dismissed and acquitted of the accusation. Marcus and Decimus discuss Hadassah’s fate, and Decimus, aware of his son’s attraction to her, warns him that she is under his care and is not to be “used.” But Marcus will not make any promises.

Julia confesses to Calabah that Caius has become physically abusive, especially when asked about financial matters. Calabah offers her wine infused with calming herbs and urges her to “tell me everything Caius has done to you” (273). Six months into their marriage, Caius has already begun seeking sex workers on whom to vent his dark, sexual impulses. Calabah advises Julia not to confront Caius directly but to seek information through covert sources.

At home, Caius is repentant for his abusive behavior. He swears his love, and Julia eventually takes him back: “He still owned her as long as he could arouse her passions” (276). They have a date with Antigonus that evening, but Caius, afraid that their host will notice the bruises on Julia’s face and tell Marcus, suggests she stay home and rest. She agrees to wait a few days but then says she wants to bring Hadassah back with her. Caius resists; he does not like the importance the Jews place on “purity.” Julia, however, pushes back, and Caius finally relents. As soon as he leaves for the evening, she decides to go home straightaway and bring Hadassah back.

At home, Julia chats with her parents, telling them all about her married life and social engagements. She is too self-absorbed to notice their “exchanged looks or increasing dismay” (279). When Hadassah enters to serve Decimus and Phoebe, Julia orders her to pack her things because she will be returning with Julia. Decimus, delighted with Hadassah’s presence in the house, refuses. They argue, and Marcus enters, noticing his sister’s face, but when he asks her about it, she brushes off his concerns. Eventually, Phoebe agrees to let Hadassah return with Julia. Hadassah, like Marcus, is suspicious of Caius, and she also feels torn about being away from Marcus—she loves him, despite the impossibility of a relationship.

When Hadassah returns to the peristyle (courtyard) with her belongings, she finds Julia having a tantrum over some spilled wine. Her presence immediately calms her mistress, and Hadassah notices the bruises on Julia’s face. More than ever, she feels obligated to serve Julia and watch out for her. After she leaves, Phoebe theorizes that Julia’s heightened emotions are due to pregnancy.

Julia is pregnant, and she hates the thought of bearing a child. She dreads the morning sickness, the weight gain, and the likelihood that Caius will no longer desire her. Calabah suggests an abortion. Julia is shocked, but Calabah assures her that it is not murder because the fetus is not yet “life.” She pushes Julia to assert control over her life and her body, instead of making decisions based on what her parents want. After considering the pain and risk of childbirth, Julia relents, and Calabah arranges to have the procedure done the next morning.

Julia walks out to the garden and bids Hadassah sing to her. Hadassah senses Julia is distressed about her pregnancy and tells her a child is a blessing from God. Hadassah’s love and compassion make Julia question her decision. Her doubt becomes anger, and she dismisses Hadassah in a fit of temper. Later that day, Caius comes home after losing more money at the races. He is drunk and cruel, telling Julia he only married her for her money.

The next morning, Calabah arrives with the “physician,” who gives Julia a mixture of wine and bitter herbs and orders her to disrobe. She then tells Calabah that her fee is increased because she is performing the procedure on short notice. Julia, however, has no access to her money, so Calabah pays her—temporarily, she says—with Julia’s pearls. Soon, the cramps begin, worse than Julia expected, and she calls for Hadassah, who is horrified to learn what is happening. She goes out to fetch a basin of warm water, and when she returns, the pregnancy is terminated, the fetus lying in a bundle on the floor. Calabah orders Hadassah to dispose of it, and she buries it in the garden.

When Marcus comes to visit, he finds Julia depressed and bedridden. She tells him she lost the baby. He guesses the truth but agrees not to tell their parents. She asks Marcus to send Hadassah to her, and he finds her in the garden, her face buried between her knees. She is utterly grief-stricken and begins to quote Scripture as if in a trance. Marcus tries to shake her out of it, but in response, she chastises all of Roman society: “Do you care so much for shallow pleasures that you would kill your own children to have them?” (299). She argues that God will judge Julia—and all Rome—in the end, and that Marcus’s almighty empire will crumble before the power of God. Marcus tries to stifle her words, fearing they could get her killed. He counters that Rome is everything, its power holding the known world together in a Pax Romana (a roughly 200-year period of relative peace and economic prosperity throughout the Empire). He asks where her loving god was during the siege of Judea. Both refuse to be persuaded, and Marcus, frustrated at her stubbornness, orders her once again to attend to Julia. As he leaves, Hadassah beseeches God to “have mercy on them all” (302).