Cena Apicius is a working title for a historical fiction novel about the life of Marcus Gavius Apicius, a wealthy Roman noble who lived in the early first century. Very little is known about him save for snippets of information left behind in works by Seneca, Tacitus, Pliny the Elder and others. He was famous for the lavish feasts he threw for his fellow Romans, and even for Emperor Tiberius. I became interested in the story when reading food memoirs and books about food history. As a big foodie myself, I found myself drawn to the strange story of Apicius, who could be considered the world’s first known gourmand. The oldest known cookbook was named after him.

In this section, Thrasius, Apicius’ cook (and the slave with the highest station in the house) talks with Apicata, his daughter. This scene takes place three months after this connected snippet of Thrasius talking to a merchant, Prokopton, in Baiae.

Copyrighted, first draft form, definitely has errors, will definitely change, might be cut, etc… Here is my Friday Snippet:

Thrasius looked up. Aeolus stood before him with four other serving boys, ranging in ages from eight to twelve. They were dressed in silver tunicas with tiny feathered wings carefully strapped to their backs. Their hair shone with silver flecks, a trick that Passia had come up with–how she managed the effect, he hadn’t had the chance to ask. Each of the boys’ lips were reddened with the finest colors from Egypt, purchased that morning from the peddler that normally brought cosmetics to Aelia.

“Oh yes, Dominus will be very pleased,” he said to them. They looked charming–so charming that he was sure that each of them would be loaned out before the evening was finished. He tried not to think about that aspect of their duties. In his time as a slave he had been used many times and few of those times had been pleasant. The tables had turned, however, and their performances, both in the dining room and in the bedroom, would bode well for him as the head of Apicius’ kitchen. He kissed each of them on the head and bade them to go make their evening offerings to Vesta before the party started.

Not long after, just as he was helping Athene carefully plate the last of the hard-boiled mice with clove eyes, chive tails and almond slivered ears, Rúan came to inform him that the first guests had arrived. “I served them honey water, but Dominus said we should be ready to start bringing out the food,” he said.

“The plates are ready to go, as are the boys,” he said, motioning to the just-returned Aeolus to bring his troupe over to start gathering serving trays.

Passia entered then, pushing past Rúan and dragging Apicata with her. The little girl was dressed in a sky blue tunica with yellow and white daisies woven carefully through her blonde hair. In her arms she held her new puppy, a thin grey creature, one of the smaller hound breeds that held its tail between its legs as though it had just been whipped. Passia pushed Apicata forward until she stood in front of Thrasius.

“Maybe you can talk some sense into her,” Passia said, exasperated. Thrasius sighed. The little mistress had recently begun to assert more of her independence and Passia had oft been frustrated as of late. Apicata would be a perfect angel when Aelia was anywhere near but as soon as she was sent back into Passia’s care, the girl turned into a little hydra–you never knew which head you were going to get when dealing with Apicata.

“What is wrong now?” He kneeled down so he could be on the same level.

“I want to show Perseus to Father’s friends!” Thrasius recognized the tone of her voice. Apicata was defiant, determined to get her way.

“Apicata, I’m not sure a party would be the best place for Perseus. He might be frightened with so many people milling about.”

“He wasn’t afraid when we went to the market the other day!”

Thrasius stifled a deep sigh. He had forgotten that they had taken the puppy when they had gone shopping for the week. He tried another tact. “Have you asked your mother or father?”

She pushed her sandal along the tile, moving a fallen piece of carrot around with her toe. “No, but I can’t. They are already with their friends. That’s why I want to go show them!”

“How about we do this. Let’s go to the peristylium. Passia will escort you to your parents and I’ll stand by the door with Perseus. You can ask your father what he thinks and if he is ok with it, then have him wave at me to bring the dog. If he’s not okay with it, YOU wave at me and I’ll take Perseus back to his pen. I think that’s fair. This is your father’s party, after all, and it should be his decision on which guests attend, including Perseus.”

Apicata didn’t look happy with the suggestion but Thrasius knew he had won this round. He saw her make the sign of the fig behind her back and tried hard not to smile. Many young children used it as a lucky sign. She was too young to know that the gesture meant fortune but also had sexual implications. He put his hand on her shoulder, happy that they were able to come to a compromise. Together they walked to the peristylium, Thrasius holding the squirming puppy in his arms.

When they reached the wide open doors, Thrasius saw that many guests had arrived, far more so than he expected at such an early hour. He waited at the door while Passia brought Apicata to the couch where her parents reclined. His view was blocked by Passia so he watched carefully to see who would give him the agreed upon wave of the hand. Several moments passed as the conversation turned toward Apicata. Thrasius strained to hear but the nearby fountain burbled too much for him to make out any words.

Suddenly the sea of people parted, Passia moved to the side and he saw Apicata with her arms outstretched, waiting for him to release Perseus. Apicius waved for him to comply and as he set down the hound and released it, Thrasius realized that Apicata stood in front of a young man. His hands were on her shoulders, and his face was twisted into a conniving smile.

Thrasius caught his breath.

The man holding Apicata was the same noble he wanted to kill that morning in Baiae five months ago.

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