The Daughters of Palatine Hill by Smith Phyllis T

Author:Smith, Phyllis T. [Smith, Phyllis T.]
Language: eng
Format: mobi
ISBN: 9781503952485
Published: 2016-02-16T07:00:00+00:00

Five years in Mauretania passed quickly. There was a time of great sorrow—our little Alexander died before he could walk. There was also great joy when our second son was born. He was given a royal Egyptian name, Ptolemy.

Livia and I corresponded during this time. For the most part, her letters to me were the kind I might have expected to receive from a favorite aunt. She was adept in the use of medicinal plants and happy to share her knowledge. When I told her the hot summer sun sometimes seared my skin, she sent me a recipe for a lotion that would help shield it. She also advised me to rub a certain ointment on my son’s gums to ease his pain when he was teething. But mixed with this womanly counsel, I would find hints about statecraft: “Assume that none of your servants ever tell you the whole truth.” “Everyone tends to think first of his own interests. In all your dealings, keep this fact in mind, and use it as a lever.” “Nothing in government is perfect. All we can do is choose between imperfections.”

She addressed me as an equal—or at least as if she were only my superior in experience and age—and she counseled me, as one female ruler might another. This was fitting. She was her husband’s partner in government, and so was I.

Juba had the soul of a philosopher king. A great deal of his time was taken up by natural philosophy, his study of plants and animals. He published learned books that received wide praise. He also sent out surveying expeditions, for geography was another of his interests. His men mapped some small corners of the world for the very first time, even discovered islands no one had previously known existed.

Meanwhile at home, we encouraged the work of scholars of all kinds, and of artists as well. We also built roads and other public works; we strove to provide employment for free men in all our projects and limit the use of slaves. Augustus had made the city of Rome beautiful. We did the same with our capital city of Caesarea.

In governing Mauretania, Juba liked to set the broad direction. But he was so busy with writing his books that much of the mundane work of administering the country fell to me. I did not mind this. Porcius, our first “minder,” eventually went home. But another, hardly more agreeable Roman came in his place. Controversy over how our tax moneys should be spent—what portion should go into Roman coffers, what part we could retain—constantly embroiled us. So in addition to my personal correspondence with Livia, we sent a stream of cajoling letters to Augustus. We tried our best to obtain favorable treatment for our country.

We had done only necessary renovations to our palace, except for the library. A huge room, far bigger than the atrium of a Roman house, it now had a colorful mosaic floor, and the walls and shelves for books were made of the finest cedar wood.

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