SPQR series
Encyclopedia
The SPQR series is a collection of detective stories by John Maddox Roberts
set in the time of the Roman Republic
. SPQR (the original title of the first book, until the sequels came out) is a Latin initialism for Senatus Populusque Romanus ("The Senate and People of Rome"), the official name of the Republic.
The stories are told in first-person form by Senator Decius Caecilius Metellus
the Younger (born c 91-95 BC), nephew of Metellus Pius and member of the powerful Caecilius Metellus family of the Roman Senate
. The stories are told in flashback-form by the old Decius, writing during the reign of Augustus Caesar. The stories range from 70 BC
(The King's Gambit) to 20 BC
("The King of Sacrifices").
Decius' companions include his slaves Cato
, Cassandra
, and Hermes
; his friends, the Greek gladiator
al physician Asklepiodes and the gangster/politician Titus Annius Milo
; and his staunch enemies, the siblings Clodia
and Clodius
. Along the way, he is often helped by his father, as well as by Cicero
and a young Julius Caesar
. In later books, Decius is betrothed and then married to the (fictional) niece of Caesar, Julia Caesaris. The dates are all listed at the end of each book in the ab urbe condita
calendar system.
These dates are approximate because there is contradictory information within the texts. For instance, in the The Sacrilege which can be dated externally at 62 BC, Decius claims to be turning 29, indicating he was born in 91 BC. Yet in The Tribune's Curse, he finds that he was born in the same year as Marcus Porcius Cato
(95 BC). In "King of Sacrifices" externally dated at 20 BC, he claims he was in his 73rd year, indicating he was born in either 93 or 92 BC. The AUC dates given in The Sacrilege, Temple of the Muses and "Statuette of Rhodes" are clearly erroneous. The Sacrilege has a clear external date and there is a strong indication that "Statuette" takes place in the same year as Saturnalia. Temple probably falls somewhere in between the other two. The author has noted that events in The Year of Confusion have been modified for dramatic effect.
John Maddox Roberts
John Maddox Roberts is an author who has written many science fiction and fantasy novels, including his successful historical fiction, such as the SPQR series and Hannibal's Children....
set in the time of the Roman Republic
Roman Republic
The Roman Republic was the period of the ancient Roman civilization where the government operated as a republic. It began with the overthrow of the Roman monarchy, traditionally dated around 508 BC, and its replacement by a government headed by two consuls, elected annually by the citizens and...
. SPQR (the original title of the first book, until the sequels came out) is a Latin initialism for Senatus Populusque Romanus ("The Senate and People of Rome"), the official name of the Republic.
The stories are told in first-person form by Senator Decius Caecilius Metellus
Decius Metellus
Decius Caecilius Metellus the Younger is a fictional character created by author John Maddox Roberts, the protagonist of Roberts's SPQR series...
the Younger (born c 91-95 BC), nephew of Metellus Pius and member of the powerful Caecilius Metellus family of the Roman Senate
Roman Senate
The Senate of the Roman Republic was a political institution in the ancient Roman Republic, however, it was not an elected body, but one whose members were appointed by the consuls, and later by the censors. After a magistrate served his term in office, it usually was followed with automatic...
. The stories are told in flashback-form by the old Decius, writing during the reign of Augustus Caesar. The stories range from 70 BC
70 BC
Year 70 BC was a year of the pre-Julian Roman calendar. At the time it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Magnus and Dives...
(The King's Gambit) to 20 BC
20 BC
Year 20 BC was either a common year starting on Wednesday or Thursday or a leap year starting on Tuesday, Wednesday or Thursday of the Julian calendar and a common year starting on Tuesday of the Proleptic Julian calendar...
("The King of Sacrifices").
Decius' companions include his slaves Cato
Cato the Younger
Marcus Porcius Cato Uticensis , commonly known as Cato the Younger to distinguish him from his great-grandfather , was a politician and statesman in the late Roman Republic, and a follower of the Stoic philosophy...
, Cassandra
Cassandra
In Greek mythology, Cassandra was the daughter of King Priam and Queen Hecuba of Troy. Her beauty caused Apollo to grant her the gift of prophecy...
, and Hermes
Hermes
Hermes is the great messenger of the gods in Greek mythology and a guide to the Underworld. Hermes was born on Mount Kyllini in Arcadia. An Olympian god, he is also the patron of boundaries and of the travelers who cross them, of shepherds and cowherds, of the cunning of thieves, of orators and...
; his friends, the Greek gladiator
Gladiator
A gladiator was an armed combatant who entertained audiences in the Roman Republic and Roman Empire in violent confrontations with other gladiators, wild animals, and condemned criminals. Some gladiators were volunteers who risked their legal and social standing and their lives by appearing in the...
al physician Asklepiodes and the gangster/politician Titus Annius Milo
Titus Annius Milo
Titus Annius Milo Papianus was a Roman political agitator, the son of Gaius Papius Celsus, but adopted by his maternal grandfather, Titus Annius Luscus...
; and his staunch enemies, the siblings Clodia
Clodia
Clodia, Clodia, Clodia, (born Claudia Pulchra Prima or Maior or also Quadrantaria c. 95 BC or c. 94 BC and often referred to in scholarship as Clodia Metelli ("Clodia the wife of Metellus"), was the third daughter of the patrician Appius Claudius Pulcher and Caecilia Metella Balearica.She is not to...
and Clodius
Publius Clodius Pulcher
Publius Clodius Pulcher was a Roman politician known for his popularist tactics...
. Along the way, he is often helped by his father, as well as by Cicero
Cicero
Marcus Tullius Cicero , was a Roman philosopher, statesman, lawyer, political theorist, and Roman constitutionalist. He came from a wealthy municipal family of the equestrian order, and is widely considered one of Rome's greatest orators and prose stylists.He introduced the Romans to the chief...
and a young Julius Caesar
Julius Caesar
Gaius Julius Caesar was a Roman general and statesman and a distinguished writer of Latin prose. He played a critical role in the gradual transformation of the Roman Republic into the Roman Empire....
. In later books, Decius is betrothed and then married to the (fictional) niece of Caesar, Julia Caesaris. The dates are all listed at the end of each book in the ab urbe condita
Ab urbe condita
Ab urbe condita is Latin for "from the founding of the City ", traditionally set in 753 BC. AUC is a year-numbering system used by some ancient Roman historians to identify particular Roman years...
calendar system.
Entries
The series includes (in chronological order):- I: The King's Gambit (70 BC70 BCYear 70 BC was a year of the pre-Julian Roman calendar. At the time it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Magnus and Dives...
) — Decius uncovers a plot to subvert LucullusLucullusLucius Licinius Lucullus , was an optimate politician of the late Roman Republic, closely connected with Sulla Felix...
' army in the war against MithridatesMithridates VI of PontusMithridates VI or Mithradates VI Mithradates , from Old Persian Mithradatha, "gift of Mithra"; 134 BC – 63 BC, also known as Mithradates the Great and Eupator Dionysius, was king of Pontus and Armenia Minor in northern Anatolia from about 120 BC to 63 BC...
. ISBN 0-312-27705-9 - II: The Catiline Conspiracy (6363 BCYear 63 BC was a year of the pre-Julian Roman calendar. At the time it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Cicero and Hibrida...
–62 BC62 BCYear 62 BC was a year of the pre-Julian Roman calendar. At the time it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Silanus and Murena...
) — Decius uncovers CatilineCatilineLucius Sergius Catilina , known in English as Catiline, was a Roman politician of the 1st century BC who is best known for the Catiline conspiracy, an attempt to overthrow the Roman Republic, and in particular the power of the aristocratic Senate.-Family background:Catiline was born in 108 BC to...
's plot to overthrow the RepublicRoman RepublicThe Roman Republic was the period of the ancient Roman civilization where the government operated as a republic. It began with the overthrow of the Roman monarchy, traditionally dated around 508 BC, and its replacement by a government headed by two consuls, elected annually by the citizens and...
. ISBN 0-312-27706-7 - III: The Sacrilege (6262 BCYear 62 BC was a year of the pre-Julian Roman calendar. At the time it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Silanus and Murena...
-61 BC61 BCYear 61 BC was a year of the pre-Julian Roman calendar. At the time it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Calpurnianus and Messalla...
) — Decius investigates ClodiusClodiusClodius is an alternate form of the Roman nomen Claudius, a patrician gens that was traditionally regarded as Sabine in origin. The alternation of o and au is characteristic of the Sabine dialect...
' desecration of the Bona DeaBona DeaBona Dea was a divinity in ancient Roman religion. She was associated with chastity and fertility in women, healing, and the protection of the Roman state and people...
rites. ISBN 0-312-24697-8 - IV: The Temple of the Muses (60 BC60 BCYear 60 BC was a year of the pre-Julian Roman calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Metellus and Afranius...
) — Decius investigates the murder of a philosopher at the Library of AlexandriaLibrary of AlexandriaThe Royal Library of Alexandria, or Ancient Library of Alexandria, in Alexandria, Egypt, was the largest and most significant great library of the ancient world. It flourished under the patronage of the Ptolemaic dynasty and functioned as a major center of scholarship from its construction in the...
. ISBN 0-312-24698-6 - "The Statuette of Rhodes" (60 BC60 BCYear 60 BC was a year of the pre-Julian Roman calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Metellus and Afranius...
) (short story in Classical Whodunnits 1996 edited by Mike Ashley) — Decius finds a corpse on the base of the Colossus of RhodesColossus of RhodesThe Colossus of Rhodes was a statue of the Greek Titan Helios, erected in the city of Rhodes on the Greek island of Rhodes by Chares of Lindos between 292 and 280 BC. It is considered one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. It was constructed to celebrate Rhodes' victory over the ruler of...
. ISBN 0-7867-0418-7 - V: SaturnaliaSaturnaliaSaturnalia is an Ancient Roman festival/ celebration held in honour of Saturn , the youngest of the Titans, father of the major gods of the Greeks and Romans, and son of Uranus and Gaia...
(59 BC59 BCYear 59 BC was a year of the pre-Julian Roman calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Caesar and Bibulus...
) — Decius investigates the murder of his kinsman Metellus Celer. ISBN 0-312-32018-3 - VI: Nobody Loves a Centurion (58 BC58 BCYear 58 BC was a year of the pre-Julian Roman calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Piso and Gabinius...
) — Decius investigates the murder of a centurionCenturionA centurion was a professional officer of the Roman army .Centurion may also refer to:-Military:* Centurion tank, British battle tank* HMS Centurion, name of several ships and a shore base of the British Royal Navy...
of the 10th LegionLegio X GeminaLegio decima Gemina , was one of the four legions used by Julius Caesar in 58 BC, for his invasion of Gaul. There are still records of the X Gemina in Vienna in the beginning of the 5th century. The legion symbol was a bull...
at the start of the Gallic WarsGallic WarsThe Gallic Wars were a series of military campaigns waged by the Roman proconsul Julius Caesar against several Gallic tribes. They lasted from 58 BC to 51 BC. The Gallic Wars culminated in the decisive Battle of Alesia in 52 BC, in which a complete Roman victory resulted in the expansion of the...
. ISBN 0-312-32019-1 - VII: The Tribune's Curse (55 BC55 BCYear 55 BC was a year of the pre-Julian Roman calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Crassus and Pompey...
) — Decius investigates the murder of a tribuneTribuneTribune was a title shared by elected officials in the Roman Republic. Tribunes had the power to convene the Plebeian Council and to act as its president, which also gave them the right to propose legislation before it. They were sacrosanct, in the sense that any assault on their person was...
who curses Crassus on his way to ParthiaParthiaParthia is a region of north-eastern Iran, best known for having been the political and cultural base of the Arsacid dynasty, rulers of the Parthian Empire....
. ISBN 0-312-30488-9 - "Mightier Than the Sword" (53 BC53 BCYear 53 BC was a year of the pre-Julian Roman calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Messalla and Calvinus...
) — Decius investigates a murder of a victim found in the basement of a townhouse in Rome. (short story in The Mammoth Book of Historical Whodunnits 1993 edited by Mike Ashley) — ISBN 1-84119-373-9 - VIII: The River God's Vengeance (53 BC53 BCYear 53 BC was a year of the pre-Julian Roman calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Messalla and Calvinus...
) — Decius investigates a collapsed insula, uncovering systematic fraud in the construction trade. ISBN 0-312-32319-0 - "The Etruscan House" (52 BC52 BCYear 52 BC was a year of the pre-Julian Roman calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Pompeius and Scipio...
)— Decius investigates a senator's murder. (short story in Crime Through Time II 1998 collected by Miriam Grace Monfredo & Sharan Newman) ISBN 0-425-16410-1 - "An Academic Question" (51 BC51 BCYear 51 BC was a year of the pre-Julian Roman calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Marcellus and Sulpicius...
) - Decius investigates a murder during his visit to Athens mentioned as part of his leisurely trip to Cyprus at the beginning of "The Princess and the Pirates" (short story in Past Poisons 1998 edited by Maxim Jakubowski). ISBN 0-7472-7501-7 - IX: The Princess and the Pirates (51 BC51 BCYear 51 BC was a year of the pre-Julian Roman calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Marcellus and Sulpicius...
) — Decius investigates the murder of his host, the Roman governor of CyprusCyprusCyprus , officially the Republic of Cyprus , is a Eurasian island country, member of the European Union, in the Eastern Mediterranean, east of Greece, south of Turkey, west of Syria and north of Egypt. It is the third largest island in the Mediterranean Sea.The earliest known human activity on the...
, while on the island to deal with an upsurge in piracyPiracyPiracy is an act of robbery or criminal violence at sea. The term can include acts committed on land, in the air, or in other major bodies of water or on a shore. It does not normally include crimes committed against persons traveling on the same vessel as the perpetrator...
. The princess is a young Cleopatra VII of Egypt. ISBN 0-312-33723-X - X: A Point of LawA Point of LawA Point of Law is a 2006 novel by John Maddox Roberts. It is the tenth volume of Roberts's SPQR series, featuring Senator Decius Metellus.-Plot summary:...
(5151 BCYear 51 BC was a year of the pre-Julian Roman calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Marcellus and Sulpicius...
-50 BC50 BCYear 50 BC was a year of the pre-Julian Roman calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Paullus and Marcellus...
) — While running for election to the office of praetorPraetorPraetor was a title granted by the government of Ancient Rome to men acting in one of two official capacities: the commander of an army, usually in the field, or the named commander before mustering the army; and an elected magistratus assigned varied duties...
, Decius must deal with accusations that he murdered a man who had threatened to denounce him for actions he took while on Cyprus the previous year. - XI: Under Vesuvius (50 BC50 BCYear 50 BC was a year of the pre-Julian Roman calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Paullus and Marcellus...
) — was released in English Dec. 2007, published in 2001 in German translation as Mord am Vesuv. As praetor peregrinus, Decius investigates a murder near Mount Vesuvius. ISBN 9780312370886 - XII: Oracle of the Dead (50 BC50 BCYear 50 BC was a year of the pre-Julian Roman calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Paullus and Marcellus...
) — published in English December 2008, published in October 2005 in German translation as Das Orakel des Todes. As praetor peregrinus, Decius investigates the murders of a group of priests of Apollo during the period just before Caesar crosses the RubiconRubiconThe Rubicon is a shallow river in northeastern Italy, about 80 kilometres long, running from the Apennine Mountains to the Adriatic Sea through the southern Emilia-Romagna region, between the towns of Rimini and Cesena. The Latin word rubico comes from the adjective "rubeus", meaning "red"...
. ISBN 0-312-38093-3 - XIII: The Year of Confusion (4646 BCYear 46 BC was the last year of the pre-Julian Roman calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Caesar and Lepidus . The denomination 46 BC for this year has been used since the early medieval period, when the Anno Domini calendar era became the prevalent method in Europe...
/45 BC45 BCYear 45 BC was either a common year starting on Thursday, Friday or Saturday or a leap year starting on Friday or Saturday and the first year of the Julian calendar and a leap year starting on Friday of the Proleptic Julian calendar...
)— published in English, February, 2010; published in German, January 2009. Decius examines the murders of some astronomers who had developed Caesar's calendar. ISBN 978-0-312-59507-4 - "Venus in Pearls" (46 BC46 BCYear 46 BC was the last year of the pre-Julian Roman calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Caesar and Lepidus . The denomination 46 BC for this year has been used since the early medieval period, when the Anno Domini calendar era became the prevalent method in Europe...
) (short story Alfred Hitchcock’s Mystery Magazine July/August 2001 p36) — Caesar hires Decius to locate his stolen breastplate before his Pompeian triumphRoman triumphThe Roman triumph was a civil ceremony and religious rite of ancient Rome, held to publicly celebrate and sanctify the military achievement of an army commander who had won great military successes, or originally and traditionally, one who had successfully completed a foreign war. In Republican... - "The Will" (44 BC44 BCYear 44 BC was either a common year starting on Sunday or Monday or a leap year starting on Friday or Saturday of the Julian calendar and a common year starting on Sunday of the Proleptic Julian calendar...
) (short story The Mammoth Book of Roman Whodunnits 2003 edited by Mike Ashley) — Decius investigates Caesar's will following his assassination. ISBN 0-7867-1241-4 - "The King of Sacrifices" (20 BC20 BCYear 20 BC was either a common year starting on Wednesday or Thursday or a leap year starting on Tuesday, Wednesday or Thursday of the Julian calendar and a common year starting on Tuesday of the Proleptic Julian calendar...
) (short story in The Mammoth Book of Historical Detectives 1995 edited by Mike Ashley) — LiviaLiviaLivia Drusilla, , after her formal adoption into the Julian family in AD 14 also known as Julia Augusta, was a Roman empress as the third wife of the Emperor Augustus and his adviser...
hires Decius to investigate the murder of Julia's lover. ISBN 0-7867-0214-1
- "The Mountain Wolves" (short story in Classical Stories: Heroic Tales from Ancient Greece and Rome 1996 edited by Mike Ashley). ISBN 1-85487-812-3 [ a historical story, but not belonging to the SPQR series]
These dates are approximate because there is contradictory information within the texts. For instance, in the The Sacrilege which can be dated externally at 62 BC, Decius claims to be turning 29, indicating he was born in 91 BC. Yet in The Tribune's Curse, he finds that he was born in the same year as Marcus Porcius Cato
Cato the Younger
Marcus Porcius Cato Uticensis , commonly known as Cato the Younger to distinguish him from his great-grandfather , was a politician and statesman in the late Roman Republic, and a follower of the Stoic philosophy...
(95 BC). In "King of Sacrifices" externally dated at 20 BC, he claims he was in his 73rd year, indicating he was born in either 93 or 92 BC. The AUC dates given in The Sacrilege, Temple of the Muses and "Statuette of Rhodes" are clearly erroneous. The Sacrilege has a clear external date and there is a strong indication that "Statuette" takes place in the same year as Saturnalia. Temple probably falls somewhere in between the other two. The author has noted that events in The Year of Confusion have been modified for dramatic effect.
See also
- Carthage Victorius series:
- Hannibal's ChildrenHannibal's ChildrenHannibal's Children is the 2002 alternate history novel by John Maddox Roberts.-Plot introduction:The Carthaginians won the Second Punic War against the Romans. The defeated Romans were forced to go into exile north of the Danube River...
- The Seven HillsThe Seven HillsThe Seven Hills is the 2005 alternate history novel by John Maddox Roberts, a sequel to his 2002 novel Hannibal's Children..-Plot introduction:War breaks out again between the Carthaginians and the Romans...
- Hannibal's Children