64 Explōrātiō Quarta Decima (XIV) Adventure Fourteen
Cornelius Gallus, fragments
Long I-Verbs (4th Conjugation Verbs) US-A-UM Adjectives, continued Word Order
Ptolemais, Aegyptus Mēnsis September
L. Naeviō Surdīnō C. Cassiō Longīnō cōnsulibus
A
Ptolemais, Egypt September, 30 BCE
lthough palm trees were protecting our heads from the sun, it was still blazing hot at the edge of the body of water which I at first mistook for a lake; it was only when Latinitas mentioned its name that I realized it was the Nile river. Behind us stood a pillared
temple two storeys tall, covered with art and hieroglyphs that even I could recognize as Egyptian. At a nearby boat launch fishermen were bringing in their catch as traders carefully packed their vessels with sacks of grain and bundles of flax. Three women passed us carrying jars of water on their heads and chatting in a language I didn’t recognize. The palm trees rustled in the breeze, and a small team of ibises, flamingo-like birds, hunted for food in the mud flats. It was a tranquil scene, almost like a vacation. So you can imagine my surprise when a man on roof of the temple began shouting, repeating over and over again a phrase I couldn’t understand in a voice full of alarm, warning the people of the town.
Latinitas directed my attention upwind, to the north. Although they were just black dots on the horizon, a large fleet of vessels was coming our way. The man on the roof was alerting the villagers to their approach. Everyone in sight began working with great urgency to finish their tasks before the black boats arrived.
“We have about twenty-five minutes before the Romans put to shore. You will be fine, don’t worry; so will these people. Today, fortunately, there will be no violence, only threats. But tomorrow, at Thebes, a city south of here, the story will be different.”
I took another look at the boats and turned back at her, unsure. But I saw that spark of divine fire in her eyes and remembered that, wherever I went, I traveled in a little bubble of protection.
They speak Latin in Egypt? I asked.
“No, the Egyptians don’t. The fishermen and the traders and the women carrying water are speaking Coptic, the current version of the old Egyptian language. Some also speak Greek. The Greek ruling class in this town, Ptolemais, mainly speak their own language, like the priest who was giving the alarm. Greek settlers made themselves the rulers of this land 300 years ago after Alexander the Great drove out the Persian rulers. The only Latin you will hear today will come from the mouths of those Roman soldiers.”
“Here, let’s move out of the way so we won’t be noticed.” She led me to a clump of thorn bushes growing in the shade at the base of a stone wall near the temple. As we sat down we stirred up a small lizard, who ran up the wall and looked right at me with wise, old eyes.
“Would you like to take a chameleon home today?” she asked. “They are fond of cockroaches. Might be good for your apartment.”
I told her no thanks, and opened up my book.