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![The Seven Wonders: A Novel of the Ancient World (Novels of Ancient Rome Book 1) by [Steven Saylor]](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/512cGB48ZPL._SY346_.jpg)
The Seven Wonders: A Novel of the Ancient World (Novels of Ancient Rome Book 1) Kindle Edition
Steven Saylor (Author) Find all the books, read about the author, and more. See search results for this author |
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The year is 92 B.C. Gordianus has just turned eighteen and is about to embark on the adventure of a lifetime: a far-flung journey to see the Seven Wonders of the World. Gordianus is not yet called "the Finder"—but at each of the Seven Wonders, the wide-eyed young Roman encounters a mystery to challenge the powers of deduction.
Accompanying Gordianus on his travels is his tutor, Antipater of Sidon, the world's most celebrated poet. But there is more to the apparently harmless old poet than meets the eye. Before they leave home, Antipater fakes his own death and travels under an assumed identity. Looming in the background are the first rumblings of a political upheaval that will shake the entire Roman world.
Teacher and pupil journey to the fabled cities of Greece and Asia Minor, and then to Babylon and Egypt. They attend the Olympic Games, take part in exotic festivals, and marvel at the most spectacular constructions ever devised by mankind. Along the way they encounter murder, witchcraft and ghostly hauntings. Traveling the world for the first time, Gordianus discovers that amorous exploration goes hand-in-hand with crime-solving. The mysteries of love are the true wonders of the world, and at the end of the journey, an Eighth Wonder awaits him in Alexandria. Her name is Bethesda.
- LanguageEnglish
- PublisherMinotaur Books
- Publication dateJune 5, 2012
- File size1220 KB
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Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.
Prelude in Rome:
THE DEAD MAN WHO WASN’T
“Now that you’re dead, Antipater, what do you plan to do with yourself?”
My father laughed at his own joke. He knew perfectly well what Antipater was planning to do, but he couldn’t resist a paradoxical turn of phrase. Puzzles were my father’s passion—and solving them his profession. He called himself Finder, because men hired him to find the truth.
Not surprisingly, old Antipater answered with a poem made up on the spot; for yes, the Antipater of whom I speak was the Antipater of Sidon—one of the most celebrated poets in the world, famed not only for the elegance of his verses but for the almost magical way he could produce them impromptu, as if drawn from the aether. His poem was in Greek, of course:
“I died on my birthday, so I must leave Rome.
Now your son has his birthday—is it time to leave home?”
Antipater’s question, like my father’s, was merely rhetorical. For days the old poet and I had been making preparations to leave Rome together on this day. He gave me a smile. “It does seem unfair, my boy, that your birthday should be overshadowed by my funeral.”
I resisted the urge to correct him. Despite his lingering habit of addressing me as a boy, I was in fact a man, and had been so for exactly a year, since I put on my manly toga when I turned seventeen. “What better way to celebrate my birthday, Teacher, than to set out on a journey such as most people can only dream of?”
“Well put!” Antipater squeezed my shoulder. “It’s not every young man who can look forward to seeing with his own eyes the greatest monuments ever built by mankind, and in the company of mankind’s greatest poet.” Antipater had never been modest. Now that he was dead, I suppose he had no reason to be.
“And it’s not every man who has the privilege of gazing upon his own funeral stele,” my father said, indicating with a wave of his hand the object of which he spoke.
The three of us stood in the garden of my father’s house on the Esquiline Hill. The sky was cloudless and the air was warm for the month of Martius. In front of us—delivered only moments before from the sculptor’s workshop—stood a riddle in marble. It was a funeral stele for a man who was not dead. The rectangular tablet was elegantly carved and brightly painted, and only about a foot tall. Later it would be placed atop the sepulcher intended for the dead man’s ashes, but for now it was propped atop the crate in which it had been delivered.
Antipater nodded thoughtfully. “And not every man has the opportunity to design his own monument, as I have. You don’t think it’s too irreverent, do you, Finder? I mean, we don’t want anyone to look at this stele and realize it’s a hoax. If anyone should surmise that I’ve faked my own death—”
“Stop worrying, old friend. Everything is going as we planned. Five days ago I entered your death in the register at the Temple of Libitina. Thanks to the rich matrons who send a slave to check the lists several times a day, word of your demise spread across Rome in a matter of hours. People assumed that your old friend and patron Quintus Lutatius Catulus must be in possession of your remains and in charge of the funeral arrangements. There was disbelief when it was discovered that a citizen as humble as myself had been named executor in your will, and that your remains were to be displayed in the vestibule of my house. But so it was. I summoned the undertakers to wash and perfume the body, purchased flowers, cypress sprigs, incense, and a very elegant bier—your will provided for all necessary expenses—and then I put your corpse on display in the vestibule. And what a turnout you’ve received! All the poets and half the politicians in Rome have come to pay their respects.”
Antipater flashed a wry smile. “My demise has allowed you to make the acquaintance of the best people in Rome, Finder—just the sort who are always getting dragged into court for murdering each other. I daresay this could prove a windfall for you—meeting so many potential new clients!”
My father nodded. “Everyone has come to have a look, it seems—except Catulus. Do you imagine your patron is sulking, because the will didn’t name him as executor?”
“More likely he’s been holding off, waiting until today to pay his respects—the day of the funeral—so that his visit will be as conspicuous as possible. Catulus may have the soul of a poet, but he has the instincts of a politician—”
Antipater fell silent at the sound of a knock at the front door.
“Another caller. I shall disappear at once.” Antipater hurried to the concealed door that gave access to a narrow chamber next to the vestibule, where a tiny crack in the wall served as a peephole and allowed him to observe all that transpired.
A moment later, my father’s doorkeeper—the only slave he owned at that time—appeared in the garden.
“You have a visitor, Master,” Damon wheezed. The constant flood of callers was running the poor old fellow ragged. He cleared his throat and I saw him concentrate, determined to get the name right. “Lintus Quitatius Catulus, former consul of the Republic, has come to pay his respects to the deceased.”
“Quintus Lutatius Catulus, I think you mean,” said my father indulgently. “Come, son, let us greet the consul.”
The man in the vestibule was perhaps sixty years old. Like my father and me, he was dressed in a black toga, but his was embroidered with a purple band that marked his status as a senator. Ten years ago Catulus had served as consul and commander of the legions; it was his army that annihilated the Cimbri at the battle of the Raudine Plain. But Catulus was also a man of culture and learning, and was said to have a sensitive nature. He stood stiffly upright before the funeral bier with his hands crossed before him.
My father introduced himself, and me as well, but Catulus hardly seemed to notice. “Your distinguished presence graces my home, Consul, though I regret the sadness of the occasion. Did you come alone?”
Catulus raised an eyebrow. “Of course not. I left my retinue outside, so that I could spend a moment alone with my old friend—face-to-face, so to speak. But alas, his face is covered.” Catulus gestured to the mask, made of wax, which concealed the face of the corpse. “Is it true that his features were damaged by the fall?”
“I’m afraid so,” said my father. “The undertakers did what they could to make him presentable, but the damage was such that I decided it was preferable to conceal the injuries. Normally, a death mask is made from the direct impression of the face in repose. But in this case, I hired a sculptor to create the likeness. The mask will be used in the funeral procession, as usual, but until then I’ve placed it over his face. I think the sculptor did a very good job, don’t you? It really does look like Antipater, lying there with his eyes shut, as if he slept. Still, if you wish to gaze upon his face.…”
Catulus nodded grimly. “I’m a military man, Finder. I’ve seen the most terrible things that can be done to human flesh. Show me.”
My father stepped to the bier and lifted the death mask.
The staid consul’s abrupt, girlish shriek, stifled by a fist to his mouth, was so incongruous that I almost laughed out loud. Behind the wall, I heard a noise like loose plaster falling, and imagined Antipater shaking with mirth.
Catulus glanced at the wall. My father shrugged and looked embarrassed, as if to apologize for the presence of rats.
“But how could a mere fall have resulted in such terrible disfigurement?” Catulus kept his fist pressed to his mouth. He looked a bit green.
“It was a long fall,” explained my father, “from the top floor of an apartment in the Subura, five stories up. He landed on his head. As I say, the undertakers did what they could—”
“Yes, I understand. Replace the mask, please.”
“Of course, Consul.”
Not for the first time, I wondered about the true identity of the corpse upon the bier. My father had declined to tell me, following his long-standing practice of keeping to himself any aspect of his work that he deemed unnecessary for me to know. When I turned seventeen, I had thought my father might see fit to share all his secrets with me, but if anything, he had become more guarded than ever during the last year. I knew that something very dangerous must be afoot in Rome, for Antipater to fake his own death, and for my father to assist him in such a wild scheme, but regarding the details, I had been kept in the dark.
The elderly body on the bier was apparently an excellent match for Antipater; not one of the many visitors had expressed the least doubt. Of course, the only parts of the corpse that were visible were the long white hair and beard and the wrinkled, age-spotted hands crossed over the chest, the rest being covered by one of Antipater’s favorite garments and by the mask. The man truly had died from a fall in the Subura, just as my father described, cracking his skull and shattering his face. Had he been a slave, discreetly acquired from his owner? Or some lowlife criminal whom no one cared to claim? Or simply some ancient citizen of the Subura without family or friends to mourn him? Whoever he was, he had died at the right time and in such a manner that he could be passed off as Antipater. In a way, my father had done the poor fellow a favor; the dead man had been mourned by the best people in Rome and was about to receive funeral rites far above his station.
&... --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
About the Author
STEVEN SAYLOR is the author of acclaimed historical mystery novels featuring Gordianus the Finder, including The Triumph of Caesar, as well as the internationally bestselling historical novels Empire and Roma. He has appeared on the History Channel as an expert on Roman politics and life. He divides his time between Berkeley, California and Austin, Texas.
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.Product details
- ASIN : B006JJVLHW
- Publisher : Minotaur Books; First edition (June 5, 2012)
- Publication date : June 5, 2012
- Language : English
- File size : 1220 KB
- Text-to-Speech : Enabled
- Screen Reader : Supported
- Enhanced typesetting : Enabled
- X-Ray : Not Enabled
- Word Wise : Enabled
- Print length : 322 pages
- Lending : Not Enabled
- Best Sellers Rank: #389,178 in Kindle Store (See Top 100 in Kindle Store)
- #362 in Historical Italian Fiction
- #493 in Ancient Historical Fiction
- #539 in Ancient History Fiction (Books)
- Customer Reviews:
About the author

Steven Saylor is the author of the ROMA SUB ROSA series of historical mysteries featuring Gordianus the Finder, set in the ancient Rome of Cicero, Caesar, and Cleopatra. The latest book is THRONE OF CAESAR, in which Gordianus confronts the Ides of March, 44 B.C., and the most famous murder case in history.
There have also been three prequels—THE SEVEN WONDERS, which follows the 18-year-old Gordianus on his journey to the Seven Wonders of the World; RAIDERS OF THE NILE, in which young Gordianus, living in Egypt, finds himself drawn into a plot to steal the golden sarcophagus of Alexander the Great; and WRATH OF THE FURIES, in which young Gordianus finds himself in Ephesus on the eve of King Mithridates' mass slaughter of every Roman man, woman, and child.
To read the books of the ROMA SUB ROSA series in chronological order, begin with the prequels, and then ROMAN BLOOD, THE HOUSE OF THE VESTALS (short stories), A GLADIATOR DIES ONLY ONCE (short stories), ARMS OF NEMESIS , CATILINA'S RIDDLE, THE VENUS THROW, A MURDER ON THE APPIAN WAY, RUBICON, LAST SEEN IN MASSILIA, A MIST OF PROPHECIES, THE JUDGMENT OF CAESAR, THE TRIUMPH OF CAESAR, and THE THRONE OF CAESAR.
Steven is also the author of the international bestseller ROMA: THE NOVEL OF ANCIENT ROME and its follow-up, EMPIRE: THE NOVEL OF IMPERIAL ROME. These two epic novels comprise a multi-generational saga that spans the first 1200 years of the city, from Iron Age trading post to the height of the empire under Hadrian. A third volume (making this series a trilogy) is on the way.
Outside the Roman books are two novels set in Steven's native Texas. A TWIST AT THE END is based on America's first recorded serial murders, which terrorized Austin, Texas in 1885. The chief protagonist is young Will Porter, who later became famous as O. Henry. HAVE YOU SEEN DAWN? is a contemporary thriller set in a small Texas town; Steven calls it "autobiography done with mirrors."
Three "chapbooks" published as e-books collect Steven's scattered essays and short stories: A BOOKISH BENT; FUTURE, PRESENT, PAST; and MY MOTHER'S GHOST: THREE AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL ESSAYS & A SHORT STORY.
Steven's books have been published in 22 languages, and book tours have taken him across the United States, England, and Europe. He has appeared as an expert on Roman life on The History Channel, and has spoken at numerous college campuses, The Getty Villa, and the International Conference on the Ancient Novel.
Steven was born in Texas in 1956 and graduated with high honors from the University of Texas at Austin, where he studied history and Classics. He divides his time between homes in Berkeley, California, and Austin, Texas. When not using his brain, he likes to keep in shape running, swimming, and lifting weights.
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"The Seven Wonders" can be seen as that most horrible of terms, a prequel. Several times throughout the series, Gordianus mentioned his trip as a young man to see the Seven Wonders. So Mr Saylor takes us back to Gordianus's eighteenth year, when he and his tutor, the elderly Antipater of Sidon, visit all seven. Antipater, for reasons immediately not clear, has faked his own death and is in disguise. The chapters were originally short stories published in various mystery magazines and other publications, and now put together in one book. Each story involves a mystery that Gordianus attempts to solve -- some are fairly easy ("The Statue of Zeus at Olympia," for instance), while others take a little more digging, and some luck ("The Widows of Halicarnassus"). We see Gordianus maturing, we are witness to his first sexual experience (for those put off by explicit sex, there is none "on stage," so to speak), and we see how Rome and Romans are viewed at that time in history (92 B.C.) by non-Romans. Yes, Gordianus is rather callow at some points, as he is only eighteen, but for those of us who have read the entire series we can see the promise of the man within the boy. And we know that he will be meeting someone who plays probably the most important role in his life at the end of the book.
There may be some who are put off by the episodic nature of the book, but I think that is a minor flaw, and frankly it is in my view the only way the book could be written. It is a journey, a physical as well as an emotional journey, and it naturally falls into sections that deal with each step of the journey. Will there be more in this series? Only time will tell, but as there were time laspes between the setting of early books int he series it is quite possible that we have not seen the last of the beloved Gordianus.
Top reviews from other countries

At the beginning of this book you'll find a well-drawn map of "The World of the Seven Wonders" at around 90 BC, and not to forget a small piece by Philostratus about "The Life of Apollonius of Tyana".
At the back you'll notice a Chronology of important events concerning this book, and an Author's Note where the historical details concerning the Seven Wonders are superbly documented and explained.
Great storytelling by the author, accompanied with believable and lifelike characters make this prequel a brilliantly worked out travel and crime-story, with Gordianus and his tutor and real historical, Antipater of Sidon, the main figures in this tale of truth, lies, trust, deception, wonder and ruin.
The book starts in the year 92 BC, when Gordianus, now the young and junior, but later on will become the Finder, and his assumed dead tutor, Antipater of Sidon, who now goes under the assumed name of Zoticus of Zeugma, will travel through the Ancient World and see the Seven Wonders, from the Temple of Artemis until the Great Pyramid of Giza.
While traveling and seeing these Seven Wonders, with in between a brief stop at the utterly destroyed Corinth, Gordianus will quickly learn the finer points in acting as the Finder of the truth, while Antipater has secrets of his own during these travels, that will come to the surface at the end of this great tale.
What is to follow as a whole is an exciting and educational book with short stories, filled with knowledge and crime, and all this together is brought to us by the author in a most dedicated and original fashion.
Highly recommended, for this is an excellent start, and so I'm looking very much forward to the next one in this series, but what this book is concerned I like to call it: "A Wonderful Educational Wonder"!

In the course of the stories we see the pair visit all the Wonders (a list that does not quite correspond with our modern list but which was valid at the time), marvel at them, describe them in full detail, and encounter mysteries which Gordianus first shows his natural talent by solving. He sees other historic sites as well and has a time that is educational in several different ways. The book is not perfect: the amount of detail about the Wonders, which is impressive, may weary some, and the demands of the format mean that sometimes things come together in a way that's a bit too pat. But overall it's a good read, and it's made more that just a set of linked short stories by the background / sub-plot of politics that reminds us that Rome was not yet the undisputed mistress of the region.


It is a well written work, almost a series of short stories, although linked by an over-arching theme, which only becomes apparent as you work your way through. It does not have the depth or intrigue that the books featuring the older Gordianus, but that is not really a problem; here he has the innocence and naïveté of youth, and proves himself a quick learner. Incidentally, you also learn a lot about the Seven Wonders!

A must for the fan of the series, a good introduction to it if you're not already.