After a brief soak in the cool plunge, Hadrian sent slaves to fetch everyone’s clothing. He put on a purple toga trimmed with gold, and those in his retinue wore togas, rather than the simple tunics that Marcus and Apollodorus found suitable for a visit to the baths. It was curious, Marcus thought, that the emperor didn’t mind being seen naked by half of Roma, but, when dressed, he wished for himself and those in his train to be seen only in formal attire.
After everyone was dressed, Hadrian led them to a suite of private rooms reserved for the emperor’s exclusive use. Marcus had seen these rooms when they were being built but had never been admitted into them since they were finished. The columns and walls were of the rarest marbles. The floors were decorated with extraordinarily detailed mosaics. The furniture was all of Greek design. The pillows and draperies were of silk. The paintings and statuary had been selected by Hadrian himself. There was no denying that the emperor had exquisite taste.
Hadrian called for delicacies and wine to be served. The conversation turned to the trip that Hadrian would soon be taking to visit the troops and talk with provincial magistrates along the Rhine and in Gaul and Britannia. Apollodorus ate little, Marcus noted, and drank his wine straight, without water. When Hadrian invited his guests to follow him into an adjoining room, Apollodorus called for a slave to refill his cup and carried it with him.
The room was dominated by a large table upon which architectural plans had been unrolled, the corners held down by marble weights in the shape of eagles’ heads. There was also an architectural model of a temple, made not of painted wood but with actual marble columns and steps, a gilded tile roof, and bronze doors. Every aspect of the model, even to the painted friezes in the pediments and the finely carved capitals of the columns, was rendered with uncanny detail.
Hadrian stepped back and studied his guests, gratified to see the looks of astonishment on their faces. “As you will have realized, these are the plans for the Temple of Venus and Roma. The architect Decrianus made this model for me – amazing, is it not? – but the plans were entirely my own. Because progress has been so swift, and because there’s no telling how long I may be away, I’ve decided to show these plans to you at last.”
Apollodorus slowly circled the table, studying the plans and the model. He raised an eyebrow. “But where is the front of the temple, and where is the back? I think Decrianus must have misread your plans. Or perhaps Caesar can point out to me what I’m missing.”
Hadrian smiled. “You see, Apollodorus, but you do not perceive. Decrianus was also taken aback when he saw what I had done, but soon enough he came to appreciate the novelty of it. Let me explain. This temple is situated at the very centre of the city – which means it is at the centre of the empire, and thus at the centre of the world. I ask you, can a centre have a front and a back? No. From the centre of something, one faces outwards, no matter what the direction.”
“Perhaps this should have been a round temple, then,” said Apollodorus.
Hadrian frowned. “That was my first conception, but the engineers were unable to guarantee that a dome of the span I envisioned could remain aloft. So this was my solution: a double temple, with a dividing wall running through the middle, which can be entered from either side. The side facing the Flavian Amphitheatre is dedicated to Venus Felix, Bringer of Good Fortune. The side facing the ancient Forum is dedicated to Roma the Eternal. There will be no front or back, but rather two entrances of equal importance. Within their respective shrines, the statues of Venus and of Roma will sit back-to-back, with a wall between them, one gazing east, the other gazing west. Here, I’ll show you. This is quite ingenious.”
Hadrian took hold of the gilded roof of the model, which lifted completely off, exposing the interior, which was as finely finished and detailed as the exterior, with tiny porphyry columns, marble apses, and beautifully rendered statues of the goddesses.
Apollodorus gazed at the model without speaking.
Hadrian cleared his throat. “Of course, you will have grasped the rather clever wordplay at work here. Venus represents love – amor – and ‘amor’ spelled backwards is Roma. Thus, placing the two divinities of Venus and Roma back-to-back in a single temple creates a further symmetry with the back-to-back symmetry of their names. Within Roma’s chamber there will be an altar where officials of the state will make sacrifices for the good fortune of the city. Within Venus’s sanctuary, there will be an altar where newlywed couples can make sacrifices to the goddess. I’ve designed the altars myself, of course…” His voice trailed off. He was waiting for Apollodorus to say something.
At last Apollodorus waved at the model and said, “I don’t suppose the whole temple lifts up, to show what’s underneath?”
“No,” said Hadrian. “What would be the point of that?”
“To allow us to see the basement.”
“There’s a basement, but it’s of no particular interest-”
“I presume there’s also a tunnel, leading from that basement to the subterranean chambers beneath the Flavian Amphitheatre?”
Hadrian shook his head. “I have no plans for such a tunnel-”
“That’s too bad. The need for one is so obvious, I should think even Decrianus would have seen it. Probably he did, but was afraid to say anything.”
“What are you talking about, Apollodorus?”
“The basement of this temple is going to be huge. That much space, in the heart of the city, shouldn’t go to waste. It would have been the ideal place to store the various mechanisms for the amphitheatre when they’re not in use – the lifts and pumps and cranes and so forth. With an underground tunnel, those machines could have been moved from the basement of the temple to the amphitheatre and back, out of sight. What a shame. What a wasted opportunity! If only I had been consulted-”
“Only you would look at a temple and see a closet!” said Hadrian. “This building isn’t about creating storage space. It’s about beauty, and worship, and-”
“Ah, yes, the temple itself.” Apollodorus sighed. “I suppose we can be thankful that the engineers couldn’t solve your dome problem, or else we’d have gotten a gigantic gourd plopped down in the very centre of the empire. Instead, we have… this. Well, it has a normal ceiling and a normal roof; I can approve of that. Yes, the double- temple idea is clever – rather too clever, I think. The temple as palindrome! Personally, I think there’s something unnatural about a building which has two fronts and no back – I can’t say I find it pleasing. The whole conception is flawed, from the ground up – literally. The structure should have been built on higher ground to make it stand out more conspicuously at the head the Sacred Way. If Trajan could excavate a hill to make space for his Forum, surely his successor could have built a hill on which to place his temple. That would have given you an even larger basement, and more storage space, by the way. Of course, you might yet be able to make the ceiling higher; it may not be too late to fix that problem, at least.”
“Higher ceilings?” said Hadrian. His face was ashen.
“Obviously. Any beginning student of architecture could see that these statues are too large for the interiors.”
“Too large?”
“What if the goddesses should wish to get up and leave? They’ll hit their heads on the ceiling.”
“But why would the goddesses-”
Apollodorus kept a straight face for a moment, then burst out laughing. No one joined him.
Despite the warmth that radiated from the heated floors and walls, it seemed to Marcus that the room was suddenly chilly. Hadrian’s face was as red as if he had just stepped from the hottest pool in the building. Apollodorus seemed oblivious of the scene he had just caused. He gestured to one of the slaves and asked for more wine.
Without a word, Hadrian left the room. Suetonius and Favonius and the rest followed after him, but Apollodorus stayed where he was. He sipped his wine and gazed at the model, shaking head.
“Father-in-law, what have you done?” said Marcus.
Apollodorus shrugged. “He asked me what I thought, and I told him. Better now than later. He may yet be able to salvage something from this folly.”
“Father-in-law, do you imagine you’re so important – do you think the emperor is so unfeeling-”
Apollodorus waved his hand dismissively. “If you have nothing intelligent to say, Pygmalion, go home and change my grandson’s diapers.”
Marcus hurried after the others. He hoped to find the emperor laughing and joking with his friends in the
