Greed, of the Roman Kind, is the next 100 words story following the timeline of Falx vs Gladius, Dáoi vs Romans and of Echoes of a Battle, the Getae before it. You will find a short explanatory paragraph at the end.
Greed, of the Roman Kind
From his balcony of marble whiter than Venus’ bosom the King found solace in the Seven Hills of his beloved urbs. Here, in the heart of his Empire all dreams, glory or greed, came alive. By Jupiter!
Yet tonight the same nightmare returned to shake this King awake.
He was an eagle with wings spanning across Mare Nostrum. His heart, fearless. His beak, fatal. He took down the Phoenix in one dive.
Then a temple, ahead, sheltering small birds. He, still ravenous, fell upon them. Again and again. Till the last brown bird killed her chicks leaving the King lonesome.
Copyright © Patricia Furstenberg. All Rights Reserved.
Greed, of the Roman Kind – a few comments
Seven hills – a geographical location found in the heart of Rome
Urbs (Latin) – city.
Jupiter was the Roman king of Gods, is even depicted on Trajan’s Column as supporting the Roman cause in their wars against the Dacians.
The eagle (Aquila in Latin) was a symbol for the Roman army, and a symbol for Rome as the ideal ruler in the global sphere.
Mare Nostrum (Latin) – the Mediterranean Sea, literally translated to ‘Our Sea.’
At the Battle of Carthage (146 BCE), the last to fall was the Temple of Eshmun, where the wife of a Carthagian commander sacrificed her sons right in front of the Romans, then killed herself. The Romans attacked out of revenge and greed, killed all Carthagians, then wiped the city off the face of the earth.
Plutarch wrote in Pompey, on the fall of the Roman Republic: “Greed and personal rivalry… had brought the empire to such a pass… here the whole manhood and might of single state was involved in self-destruction – a clear enough lesson of how blind and how mad a thing human nature is when under the sway of passion.”
For the greed (greed for power and land) of Roman Emperors prompted and accelerated the collapse of moral integrity and tradition, by propelling a corrupt political system that undermined trust. Glory and power belonged to the riches, skills and expertise were no longer appreciated and honored. On the other hand, poverty and virtue were considered a stigma, and soon even the masses became to welcome and fill themselves with greed, thus bringing the foundation of the Empire to collapse.
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Now that’s what I call a foreseeing nightmare! Your story is very subtle colorwise. I like that.
Thank you, Jo!
Well, what you say about the roman empire makes me think of our nowadays systems! Thank you very much and best regards:)
I am so glad you picked that up, Martina, because it crossed my mind when I was working on this story.
Kind thanks for your comment 🙂 Happy 1st of March 🙂
‘From his balcony of marble whiter than Venus’ bosom the King found solace in the Seven Hills of his beloved urbs.’ You certainly have a gift with words, Pat.
Oh, I liked that sentence too! So much to say in only 100 words, I have to condense my thoughts.
Thank you so much, Mark!