Chapter 4

Bernardus

My master was in an exultant mood following the Senate’s decision to decree him a god. After the official celebrations he had retreated to his private quarters with a few personal friends and a selection of comely slaves. The emperor had sampled a few of the boys before selecting me to receive his essence, and now we were drowsing in the afterglow of the celebration.

One of the emperor’s friends, Gaius Titius Blandus, stirred himself from his bed to point to me.

“You must be feeling lucky, it’s not everyone who gets to receive a god’s essence.”

Potitus Furius Novation jumped in with a bit of well-timed flattery. “Indeed, we should all count ourselves fortunate that we have the opportunity to sacrifice before Caesar Lucius in person, rather than merely his image.”

Lucius smiled. “I wonder how lucky some of our colleagues in the senate will consider it.”

“I am sure they would sacrifice gladly,” Blandus responded. “To refuse would seem almost treasonous.”

“Indeed, perhaps a public sacrifice would be a good way to catch out traitors.”

We all drifted off to sleep and awoke to the morning sun streaming through the window. I roused myself and ordered the baths readied for the emperor and his companions. While they were bathing I readied the emperor’s clothes. He returned from the bath and I helped him put on his toga.

“No need for shoes today,” he informed me as I took hold of his sandals. “A deity prefers bare feet.”

Indeed, I had noticed that the statues of Roman gods, including the emperors before Lucius, were almost all barefoot, a sharp contrast from my childhood in Hibernia where shoes were reserved for the chiefs.

“Yes, master.” Instead of tying on his sandals, I bent down and kissed the tops of his feet.

Lucius tousled my hair. “Go fetch a scribe.”

I brought the scribe into the throne room, where the emperor had begun his morning audience. He acknowledged our entrance with a nod and began to dictate:

“I, Imperator Titus Flavius Lucius Divi Caesar Augustus do hereby order that all Roman citizens and subjects of the empire now residing in Rome shall, upon penalty of death, sacrifice to my divinity within my divine presence before my next birthday on the 27th of January. I also order that an image of my divinity be erected in every city of the empire, and all the subjects make like sacrifice as soon as practicable, with the exception of the Jews, who shall pay an increased tax. To enforce this edict, each subject shall be given a writ to certify that they have complied with the law upon being observed in the sacrifice by myself or my designee.”