Using Historical Fiction to Teach Hisorical Fact: Getorixs World

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© 2008 Judith Geary & Sandra K. Horton

All rights reserved except as expressly granted herein.
Materials may be reproduced for students in one educational unit, defined as one department or grade
in one school, as long as each of those students has been provided with or has obtained on their own, a
copy of the novel: GETORIX: The Eagle and the Bull, by Judith Geary

For more information:
www.judithgeary.com

ISBN: 9781932158281

Getorix’s World

Curriculum to accompany the novel:
GETORIX: The Eagle and The Bull
by Judith Geary
with additional materials
for study of
The Roman Republic

Created and compiled by
Sandra K. Horton & Judith Geary

AcknoWledGments
I have always thought differently from others. Growing up I learned to fit into the mold
of education, but I constantly looked for what made learning exciting for me—the “Aha”
moment: the opportunity to take knowledge and transcend it to a new understanding
or awareness. As a teacher, I looked toward my own mentors, Jim Curry, Sandy Kaplan,
Don Finkel, Howard Gardner and others, whose style of teaching and passion for learn-
ing inspired me to go beyond.
-- Sandra K. Horton

In the novel, GETORIX: The Eagle and The Bull, I have acknowledged the assistance of
many who inspired me and made the work possible. It’s a long list. Of those, I must again
mention: Orson Scott Card, who, as a professor of literature and writing, inspired my love
of the grand stories of history. The members of High Country Writers, who have provided
support and valuable critiques along the way. Bob and Barbara Ingalls, as founders of High
Country Publishers, who continue to provide support for writers whose work lies just be-
yond the conventional catagories.

In addition, I thank those who have continued to contribute to the work on this com-
panion body of curriculum: Irene Hahn and N.S. Gill, both of whom I met through the
internet, who each contribute to providing a network and a forum for sharing ideas about
the study of history. Schuyler Kaufman, scholar, editor and friend, who is always ready
to provide a sounding board for ideas and who understands the importance of the fine
points.

Thanks, of course, to Sandy Horton, who continues to provide inspiration and support
to me and to everyone in her world on their creative efforts.
-- Judith Geary

tAble of contents
Introduction and Overview of Materials . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . p. 07
Explanation of Study Questions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . p. 08
Note to the Teacher . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . p. 09
Letter to the Reader . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . p. 10
Historical Note and Pronunciation Guide . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . p. 11
section one: the novel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . p. 13
Part One – Chapters I - V (pp. 13-70). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . p. 15
Explanation of the Roman Calendar (from the novel’s author’s notes) . . . . . . . . . . . p. 16
Part One -- Synopsis, Plot Points & Historical Points . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . p. 17
Part One – Chapters I - V (pp. 13-70)
Factual Questions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . p. 20
Answers to Factual Questions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . p. 21
Discussion Questions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . p. 22
Part Two – Chapters VI - XI (pp. 73- 133) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . p. 23
Part Two -- Synopsis, Plot Points & Historical Points . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . p. 25
Part Two – Chapters VI - XI (pp. 73- 133)
Answers to Factual Question. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . p. 28
Discussion Questions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . p. 30
Part Three – Chapters XII - XIX (pp. 136-191) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . p. 31
Part Three -- Synopsis, Plot Points & Historical Points . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . p. 32
Part Three – Chapters XII - XIX (pp. 136-191)
Answers to Factual Questions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . p. 36
Discussion Questions s . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . p. 38
Part Four – Chapters XX - XXVI (pp. 194-249). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . p. 39
Part Four -- Synopsis, Plot Points & Historical Points . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . p. 40
Part Four – Chapters XX - XXVI (pp. 194-249)
Answers to Factual Questions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . p. 44
Discussion Questionss . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . p. 46
More Activites Across the Novel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . p. 47
Powerful Passages Activity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . p. 49
Character Monologues . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . p. 50
Become an Expert . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . p. 51
section tWo: the historicAl erA -- Activities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . p. 53
Dress Like a Roman
The tunic. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . p. 54
Draping a toga . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . p. 55
Women’s clothing. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . p. 57
Finishing touches (shoes, hairstyles & ornaments) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . p. 59

5


Eat Like a Roman
Staging a Banquet . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . p 60
Recipes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . p. 63
“Certified Substitutes” . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . p. 67
Study Like a Roman
Education, Literature and Literature . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . p. 71
section three: Additional Resources . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . p. 75
Timeline of the Roman Republic and Empire . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . p. 76
Map of the Roman World in 101 B.C.E. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . p. 78
The Constitution of the Roman Republic (essay) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . p. 79
The Roman Military in the Republic (essay). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . p. 81
Buiding Construction in Republican Rome (essay) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . p. 86
Roman Names (essay) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . p. 91
Springboard of Ideas for Interdisciplinary Study . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . p. 94
Author Biographies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . p. 96
Contents of the enclosed CD . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . p. 98
*Complete text of the curriculum as a .pdf file
*Study questions only as a .pdf file
*Study questions only an editable document in MS Word
*Author’s Notes from the original hardcover edition
*Questions for the Accelerated Reader Program as an editable document in
MS Word
*Information about the author as a speaker
*Image of the book jacket as a .jpg file

If you have obtained a copy of this curriculum without the CD, contact
author Judith Geary at judithgeary@msn.com to arrange for CD content to
be delivered without charge.

Visit author Judith Geary’s website for updates, new activies and
resources and materials to accompany the second book in the
series: Getorix: Games of the Underworld
www.judithgeary.com

6

Getorix’s World
Introduction and Overview of Materials
Welcome
“History shows you a window into our past; historical fiction takes you by the hand
and leads you there.” – Judith Geary
Getorix’s World is a collection of noteworthy materials that connects the novel, GETORIX:The
Eagle and the Bull, with an exploration of historical and societal structures of the time period.
By exploring the historical period through facts, documents, primary sources and interdisciplin-
ary activities, the students can observe how time and place affect individuals in the novel and, in
a broader context, the real world. The information and activities included will allow students to
make connections and gain insights that go beyond the novel, so that they can recognize the im-
pact of various forces on the choices an individual makes.
The contents of this curriculum will enable you and your students to join Getorix on his
journey and better understand the world of the Roman Republic. These materials provide the es-
sentials to investigate the political, cultural, and societal facets of this time period. Presented with
a focus on the multi-disciplinary, the information and activities offered here equip your students
to explore an historical period that established the fundamentals of western culture.

Overview of Materials
The goal of this program is to enable students to construct meaning from various sources and to
develop critical thinking skills. This curriculum allows for the linking of ideas through interdisci-
plinary study. Through this exploration, students will gain expertise in communicating their ideas
and independence in self-assessment.
The activities and exercises of this curriculum are reproducible, by photocopying or from the
files on the included CD. The materials fall into three main categories: the novel, activities relevant
to the historical era, and additional resources.

The Novel
These resources illuminate the meaning of the novel by combining knowledge of the text with the
reader’s own experiences and ideas. These activities introduce students to the historical and cultural
dimensions of the novel.

The Historical Era
These resources illuminate the culture and environment of this era. These activities introduce students
to scholars’ research and documentation, events and the life of the people of the Roman Republic.

Additional Resources
The author’s notes in the novel, essays in section three and the author’s website provide additional
resources. Links to articles, contact with the author and the novel’s characters and additional activities
will be posted on the website: www.judithgeary.com

7

Study Questions
-- Formulated by Sandra Horton
Types of Questions
Fact
What does the author say?
Factual questions require recall and have a correct answer that can be found in the reading.

Evaluative
How does the reader feel about what the author says? Does the reader agree with what the author
says?
Evaluative questions involve the reader’s evaluation of the work. The reader is asked to draw a
conclusion. How the reader understands the story and the reader’s own experiences, values, and
knowledge come into play with evaluative questions.

Interpretive
What does the author mean by what he or she says?
Interpretive questions ask the reader to analyze what the author’s intentions are. They have
more than one reasonable answer. Details and excerpts from the story can be used to defend the
reader’s answer to an interpretive question. Interpretive questions are designed for discussion.
They require in-depth analysis and documentation within the text to support the reader’s answer.

What Makes a Suitable Interpretive Question?
*The question should be worthy of public attention and worth discussing.
*The person asking the question should care about the question.
*The person asking the question should not already know the answer. The purpose of an inter-
pretive question is to discover and understand more clearly what the author meant by examining
different viewpoints and evidence. There is not just one answer to the question.
*The question should be one that closer reading of the text does not provide an answer. It should
go beyond the facts.
*The question should be clear.
*The question should be specific and focused.
*The question should send others to the text to find details to support their thoughts on the
question. The text should provide clues to the answer.

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A Note to the Teacher:
Adult Readers of historical fiction approach the experience with eager anticipation of being
led into a world different from the familiar “everyday” life around us.
Middle school students may be familiar with a variety of fantasy worlds -- super-heroes,
wizards and witches and celebrities -- yet lack an understanding of how life has changed through
history. The main characters of the novel, Getorix and Lucius, idolize the heroes of their own cul-
tural mythologies just as young people do today. Asking students to suspend their need for the
comfort of the familiar in the same way they do every time they watch a fantasy on television or a
movie, or read a fantasy story, may help them approach the novel with appropriate openness.

* The next two pages may be photocopied as a handout for students before they begin reading the
novel: GETORIX: The Eagle and The Bull.

9

Students’ introduction to GETORIX: The Eagle and The Bull, a Celtic adventure in ancient Rome
by Judith Geary

Dear Reader,
I invite you to join me on a journey to a land long ago and far away. In many ways it will be like
reading a fantasy novel; some things will be familiar, while others will seem strange. But ancient
Rome really existed, as did many of the people of the novel. In most cases, unfamiliar words and
strange customs will be explained as you read farther.
Before you begin reading the novel, you may want to look through the maps and notes at
the beginning and the end. You may want to read and study them carefully, or you may want to
just look through to see what’s included so you know where to look when you have questions that
are not answered in your reading.
Getorix, the novel’s hero, is the son of a Celtic chief. The Celts organized themselves as
tribes with different tribal names, and sometimes made war against each other, but the languages
they spoke were similar enough that they could make themselves understood to each other.
Celtic tribes who lived in Scandinavia migrated south when storms and floods made their
homeland inhabitable, looking for new places to live. They came up against the people already
living in Europe, and against Roman legions protecting their trading interests in the region. The
Romans were also afraid that the Celts would migrate over the Alps into the beautiful lands of the
Italian peninsula. Italy was not yet united into one country, but the tribes there were allies, and the
leaders of Rome felt they were protecting their home from invasion.
The Romans had been at war with tribes of the Celts for many years. The Celts had won
many battles and destroyed several legions. When the Romans, led by Gaius Marius and Quintus
Lutatius Catulus, finally won a decisive battle, it was cause for great celebration. The triumph pa-
rade, depicted in the opening scene of the novel, is this celebration.
The novel opens at the end of the Roman triumph parade. Getorix and his father Claodicos
have been marched through the streets of Rome as part of the captured booty displayed for the
Roman people. The parade also included wagons, much like parade floats today, decorated with
paintings of battle scenes (showing the Romans winning, of course), captured cattle and horses,
slaves (marched in rows chained together as if they were cattle) and the victorious legions.
Getorix and his father believe that the Roman triumph will end with a human sacrifice to
the Roman god Jupiter. Celts had a strong belief in a world after death. They believed that those
who died heroically in battle had a special place of honor in this Otherworld. Defeated warriors
might gain honor in the Otherworld by dying as a sacrifice – as a “messenger” to the gods.
Celtic customs also included a trial of courage and strength as a ritual that marked the pas-
sage of a boy into manhood. Getorix missed out on the ritual ordeal of manhood, so he is technically
still a boy. Getorix believes that facing death as a human sacrifice to the Roman god will serve as his
ritual ordeal of manhood and enable him to enter the Otherworld as a hero beside his father.
As you will see, he faces entirely different challenges.

Enjoy the adventure!

Judith Geary
This page may be copied and distributed to the students
10

Historical Notes for the Reader:
Roman civilization lasted over a thousand years, from 753 B.C. (according to our calendar) to the
fifth century A.D. (or C.E.) This novel is set at about the middle of that time in 101 B.C.E. (or
B.C.) You can find the date and some of the other events in Roman history on the timeline in the
back of your book or on a timeline your teacher provides.
At this time, the Roman government consisted mostly of elected leaders. They had a Sen-
ate and magistrates in charge of everything from coinage to the “grain dole”. At the head of the
government were two consuls, elected every year. They also served as generals in the legion, and
might continue as a general after their term of office as consul ended. In the novel, Gaius Marius
is consul for the year and Quintus Lutatius Catulus is a general who was consul the previous year.
People who identified themselves as Celts lived all through Europe from Asia Minor to the
tip of the Iberian Peninsula and from Scandinavia to the Alps. You may check the map in your
book or a modern map to see this land. Some of the tribes were considered “friends of Rome.”
Others, as you see, were not.
Some of the names in the book may be unfamiliar to you. Most of them are pronounced
differently today than they would have been two thousand years ago, so if giving them modern
“nicknames” helps, feel free to do that. However, the list below may help:

Notes: All “Cs” are pronounced like “K”. “A” is usually broad like in cat.
Aedui -- Ah dwee’
Olav – Oh’ lav
Atlas – At’ las
Pellia – Pee’ lee ah
Aurelia – Awe ree’ lee a
Quintus – Kwin’ tuss
Boiorix – Boy or’ rix
Selia – See’ lee ah
Brosch – Brosh (like the “o” in pond.)
Senius – Sin’ e us
Caesar – Use the modern pronunciation here
Servilia – Sir vee’ lee ah
– See’ zar
Starkaos – Star’ kay ose
Cardeus – Car day’ us
Teutobod – Two’ toe bod
Catulus – Kah too luss (cub)
Theano – Tea ah’ no
Chrysogonus – Chrys sah’ go nus
Thorvaldt – Thor’ vault
Cimbri -- Kim’ bree
Claodicos – Kla o’ de cose
Cornelius – Kor nee’ lee us
Eumaios – U may’ ose
Gaius – Guy’ uss
Getorix – Geh tor ix
Idios – (like idiot – at least that’s how Getorix would pronounce it.)
Julius – Joo’ lee us
Keltus – Kel’ tus
Leia – Lay’ a (like the princess in Star Wars)
Lucius – Loo’ shus (It would have been pronounced: “Loo key’ uss” at the time.)
Lutatius – Loo tah’ tee uss
Malumpus – Mah lum’ pus
Marius – Mah’ ree uss
This page may be copied and distributed to the students
11

section one
the novel
The “Synopses” give a narrative summary of the novel’s action.
“Plot Points” give a bulleted outline of the progression of the
novel’s plot. “Historical Points” give background material on
the Roman era relevant to references in the novel; they give the
teacher an opportunity to introduce additional material with
confidence. They are intended as “secret communication” be-
tween the author and the teacher, as they are not written on the
students’ reading level.
The “Study Questions,” “Powerful Passages” and other
activities in Section One provide an outline for direct study of
the novel; the teachers are invited to select from the materials
given and add others of their own design. “Character Mono-
logues” provide the students with an opportunity to share their
perceptions with other students as well as the teacher.
In addition, the activites in Section Two: The Historical
Era are tied in to the characters and events of the novel and up-
dated activites are available on the author’s website:
www.judithgeary.com

Part One

This map shows the Roman Forum of 101 B.C.E. and the Temple of Jupiter on top of the Capi-
toline Hill. The key indicates the routes of various parts of the Triumph Parade, entering the Forum
from the top, traveling down the Via Sacra to the Temple of Concord and Temple of Saturn at the
base of the hill and up the clivus, or stepped road, to the hilltop. It marks the route taken by the
remainder of the parade back out to the Campus Martius and the Tullianum where Getorix and
Claodicos were taken.
The gray strip at the upper right is a calendar representing the month of December. An ex-
planation of the codes on this particular calendar is in the author’s notes in the novel and on the
back of this page. The highlighted part of the calendar represents the days covered by this part of
the novel. So, everything in the first part takes place on the first day of December in the year 101
B.C.E. (in our Gregorian calendar.) Romans commonly referred to years by who held the rank of
consul that year, but might have considered this the year 652 auc (ab urbe condita, or 652 years
since the founding of Rome.

15

the cAlendAr At the end of the republic:
By the first century B.C.E., the time of the events in the novel, Getorix: The Eagle and The Bull, the Roman
calendar was hopelessly confused. The year, based on a combination of the phases of the moon and the solar
seasons, totaled 355 days, about 10 1/4 days shorter than the solar year. The occasional intercalation of an
extra month of Mercedonius, was intended to keep the calendar roughly in step with the seasons. However,
the offices of the priests, the Pontifices, were politically connected, and the length of the months and years
might be altered to extend or cut short the offices of particular magistrates.
The calendar for December, 101 B.C.E. which appears on the part pages in the novel is a projection
based on the earliest Roman calendars we have. (See the author’s website for a more complete explanation
and links to other materials.) Therefore, it may not be an absolutely accurate depiction of the calendar for
that year, but is as close a representation as I could create using the materials available to me at the time.
reAdinG the cAlendAr:
The calendar was arranged in vertical bars with each bar representing a month. The calendar on the part
pages of the novel is for the month of December. Each line represents a day. The first day of each year was
designated “A” and continued through “H” before beginning again. The Nundinae, the market day, rotated
through the first eight days. The final letters identify the day for the purposes of legal business, religious
observances or commerce.
C = “dies comitiales,” days when assemblies of citizens could vote on political or criminal matters.
F = “dies fasti,”days on which legal action was permitted.
N = “dies nefasti,” days on which no legal action or public voting was permitted.
NP = days set aside for some form of religious observance. They seem to be connected with holidays, but
the precise definition has been lost.
holidAys:
The calendar used as a pattern for this one also included abbreviations for holidays and religious observances.
k = Kalends, the first day of the month.
AGON = Agonalia Indigeti, a festival celebrated four times a year in which the main feature was the public
sacrifice of a ram. The origins are unclear.
IDVS = Idus or ides, the 13th of the month of December.
CONS = Festival of Consus, a god of the lower world, or of secret deliberations. It was celebrated with horse
races and gladiatorial games in the circus.
SATVN = Saturnalia the celebration of the Feast of the god Saturn. The celebration grew in magnitude
and length until it continued until December 24th. Even though our calendar does not indicate it, we may
assume the celebration continued.
OPA = Opalia was said to be the wife of Saturn, so this relatively minor holiday was celebrated on the third
day of the Saturnalia.
DIVAL = Divalia, the day of the true winter solstice (division of the year?)
LARE = Larentalia. This festival is variously attributed as a celebration of the wolf that suckled Romulus and
Remus, of their human nurse, named Acca Larentia, or of the household gods (Lares). The date is also a celebration
of Sol Invictus (unconquered), and a festival of the goddess of death, Dea Tacita (the silent goddess.)
the hours:
Romans of the Republic counted 24 hours in the day as we do. However, their count started at dawn rather
than midnight, and they assigned twelve hours to the day and twelve to the night. This meant that during
the summer months, the daylight hours were longer than the night, and in winter the hours of darkness
were longer. Only two days of the year saw 24 hours of equal length: the spring, or vernal equinox, around
March 21, and the autumnal equinox, around September 21. I have chosen to leave the hours of darkness
unnumbered. The Romans could count them using marked candles, water clocks and other mechanical
devices, but Getorix would not have commonly had use for these devices.
A chart, adapted from Daily Life in Ancient Rome, by Jerome Carcopino, pp.167-8, was used to
translate the mid-winter hours.

16

GEtorix: The Eagle and The Bull
by Judith Geary

Synopsis: Part One – Chapters I - V (pp. 13-70)
(December 1-2)

*** Note: These materials -- the synopses, plot points and historical points -- are intended for the
teacher’s use. They are not written on the students’ reading level and the Historical Points may
contain references to issues you would choose not to discuss in your classroom.

Getorix is the son of a Celtic leader defeated by the Romans at the battle of Vercellae in 101
B.C.E. He believes he and his father are to be sacrificed to the Roman god Jupiter during the cel-
ebration of the Roman’s triumph. At “almost fifteen-winters-old” he sees himself as on the verge of
manhood. Denied the rituals of initiation by circumstances of the conflict, he seizes on his father’s
characterization of the ordeal of sacrifice as his “man-making.”
Getorix has had a dream, painting a vivid picture of his expectation of what the sacrifice was
to be like. He has doubted his courage, has seen himself as a continuing failure, but his courage
in facing death as a sacrifice will be his redemption, his final opportunity to win his father’s regard
and be welcomed into the Celtic Otherworld as a hero beside his father.
The reality proves very different. Instead of being praised and honored before the Temple of
Jupiter at the top of the Capitoline hill, Getorix and Claodicos, his father, are jeered by the crowds.
Gaius Marius, the senior consul and hero of the people, seems to ignore them entirely. The excep-
tion is the young son of Lutatius Catulus, who is the obvious second, or junior, of the victorious
generals. The boy has watched the two captives throughout the parade from his vantage point in
the chariot beside his father, and continues to stare as the parade reorganizes at the base of the
Capitoline. To Getorix’s dismay, the boy waves in greeting.
As Getorix and Claodicos are dragged off to be executed according to the Roman custom, and
the Roman elite ascend the hill to the temple, the boy continues to stare over his shoulder and tug
on his father’s toga.
The reality of the ignominious execution dawns. Getorix faces his fear at this unexpected turn
and recognizes his father’s pride in his courage. At that moment, however, Keltus, a Celtic slave of
Lutatius Catulus, arrives with a message that his master has sent him to get the boy. The execution-
ers and Claodicos believe that Getorix is to be taken to the generals’ celebratory feast, perhaps to be
tortured for the Romans’ entertainment. Claodicos defines this prospect as an honor and charges
Getorix to die with courage before the Romans. He vows to wait in the Otherworld, after his own
easy death, and to welcome Getorix among the heros.
Instead, Keltus takes Getorix to the domus Lutatius, the Lutatius home. Getorix discovers he
has been spared at the urging of Lucius, the Roman boy from the triumph. He is expected to be a
servant to the boy – and to be grateful for the opportunity! Getorix would literally rather be “hon-
orably” dead than servant to a Roman “toad,” and says so.
This “rebellion” would ordinarily lead to harsh treatment, perhaps to sale to a chained labor gang.
However, the Roman generals have laid a wager over whether Getorix will be in Lucius’ service by the
new year – less than a month away. At stake is ownership of the life-sized bronze bull captured at the

17

battle, assorted gold captured at Aquae Sullis (an earlier battle), and Getorix himself. Sulla wants to
make the boy a gift to the Aedui – as a diplomatic token of friendship. (The Aedui are a Celtic tribe
conquered about 20 years earlier who have become a client state to the Romans.) For Getorix, this
would be a familiar road to death, as the Aedui would likely use him as a sacrifice, but it would not
fulfill his father’s charge to die bravely before the Romans. The wager means, in Keltus’ words, that
Getorix can do about anything and they’ll keep him in the household for the month.
That night, chained in a converted storage room beneath a courtyard in the domus Lutatius,
Getorix overhears a conversation between Keltus and Brosch, a Teutone girl who is also a slave in
the household. (The Teutone Tribe was among those conquered by Garius Marius the previous
year at the Battle of Aquae Sullis.) The servants were given a day off for the master’s triumph cel-
ebration, and Brosch had watched the parade with some of the others. In it, she spotted her two
brothers, whom she had believed dead in battle. She had followed them to the barracks on the
Campus Martius, so knew where they were being held. She was overjoyed to learn they were alive
and wanted to rescue them from their more difficult situation. More pressing, however, was gos-
sip that, now that the triumph was over and the enslaved Celts paraded before the populace, the
surplus were to be sent to Sicily to replace slaves killed in a recent uprising.
Getorix listens, curious, but feigns sleep when Brosch comes close to the window of the cell. As
real sleep overtakes him, he dreams of his past and what he has lost. Keltus has said they will begin
training the next morning, using a Celtic word that means to break a beast to harness. What will
this mean for Getorix?

Plot Points:
* The eagle is the symbol of the power of Rome. Marius had abolished the variety of standards the early
Roman legions fought under, so that now all legionaries fought “under the eagle.” The bull is symbolic
of the Celtic Cimbri in this story – specifically, it was the signet of King Claodicos, and manifested in
the bull’s head brooch that appears on Getorix’s shoulder in the triumph parade, and later in Marius’
possession, and by the life-sized bronze bull that is the major prize in the Romans’ wager.
* Getorix’s dreams are a recurring plot point. They illustrate images from his Celtic world view,
what he expects and hopes or fears will happen, and his drive to predict and prepare for his fate.
* Getorix hates the Aedui almost more than the Romans, because they’re Celts he sees as betraying
their own people by allying with the Romans. Also, the Averni, tribe of his druid teacher Starkaos
were particular enemies of the Aedui. Claodicos charged Getorix to die bravely before the Romans,
and being sent with the Aedui will not satisfy his geis, his charge.

Historical Points:
* Among the Celts, evidence of ritual deaths (including the “triple death” of strangulation, a blow
to the head, and cutting the throat) are found among the “bog bodies” discovered in the peat bogs
of northern Europe. This indicates that some Celts practiced human sacrifice.
* Accounts appear in the literature of the time (written by Roman writers), that defeated warriors
were sacrificed by women. The defeated warriors were offered the option of a relatively painless and
honorable death in exchange for a vow to speak well of the victors before the gods of the Other-
world. They were induced to step up on a ladder at the side of a huge cauldron, pulled across it by
one or more women and their throats cut.
* The Roman triumph celebration was a tradition in both the Republic and Empire. In order to

18

Curriculum: Getorix’s World

be awarded a triumph by the Senate, a victorious general had to have won an engagement over a
foreign enemy resulting in a minimum number of dead on the other side. The parade included
wagons painted with scenes from the battle and heaped with captured arms and treasure, legionar-
ies (who were ordinarily not allowed to carry their weapons inside the city walls, but may have in
this instance), as many of the defeated people as could be rounded up (They might have been sold
to agents, or slave dealers, right after the battle, so not all might be available.), and either the leader
of the defeated people or someone garbed to represent him. This symbolic leader was marched only
as far as the steps up the Capitoline hill. At that point the victorious general and his entourage
would continue up the hill to the Temple of Jupiter for animal sacrifices. The rest of the parade
would continue out to the Campus Martius. The defeated leader would be taken to the Tullianum,
a converted water cistern at the base of the Capitoline that was used as an execution cell. There, he
might be strangled, or he might simply be thrown down the hole that was the cell’s only entrance
in Roman times and left to starve.
* There are a couple of references to this execution as a “sacrifice to Mars” (the Roman god of war),
but no evidence there was a ritual attached — this may be considered irony, rather than a serious
view of it as a religious ritual.
* That Marius and Lutatius Catulus celebrated a joint triumph is part of the historical record. That
Marius initiated the idea because he had already distributed the spoils and slaves from his victory
over the “Germans” at Aqua Sullis the previous year, and therefore, didn’t have enough to put on
a good show, is supposition. We have no record of who was executed at the end of this triumph,
but the record says Boiorix died in the battle and custom dictated someone must fulfill this role.
Claodicos and Getorix are names that appear as a Celtic leaders of the time.
* The bronze bull captured at the battle of Vercellae appears in the historical record, as does the
fact that Catulus was in possession of it and built a portico to house it and the captured battle
standards. The Romans’ assumption was that it was a cult statue – that the Celts worshiped the bull
statue as a god. We don’t have documentation of this from Celtic source, so I’ve chosen to make
this another point of misunderstanding between them.
* History records a slave uprising in Sicily at about this time, put down by the junior consul for
the year, Manius Aquillius. It is also mentioned that the Roman victories at Aquae Sullis and Ver-
cellae netted them many more slaves than could be put to use in Rome. I have fudged the date of
Manius Aquillius’ victory a bit, and made an assumption that “extra” slaves from Rome were sent
as replacement labor.
* An “ergastulum,” or prison for confining unruly slaves, would likely have been part of a rural
villa, but not an urban domus. Rebellious slaves would have been disciplined and sold or “sent to
the farm,” not tolerated within the household. That’s why I have made Getorix’s place of confine-
ment a converted storeroom and recognized that it was an unusual event.

19



Factual Questions
Part One: Chapters I—V pages 11—70

1. Getorix has prepared to die on the day of the Roman triumph. How does he rationalize that
death as worthwhile?

2. “The difference between the hero and the coward is not how the death comes, but how he
meets it. And we will meet it with courage, the way heroes always have.” (65) With these words,
what is Claodicos telling Getorix he expects from him as they face the triumph together?

3. Getorix expects for him and his father to die in a(n)______________ in the ___________
_______. Instead, the Roman plan is for his father to die in a(n) __________________ in the
____________________.

4. Who or what is sacrificed at the Temple of Jupiter?

5. Where does Keltus take Getorix when they leave the Forum? Where does he take Getorix
later that same night?

6. Where was Claodicos’ body dumped after his execution?

7. Why was Getorix brought to the domus of Lutatius Catulus?

8. Who is the servant who seems to be in charge of Lucius? Who is Lucius?

9. What is the wager between Lutatius Catulus and Marius? What will Sulla gain if Marius wins?

10. What problem does Brosch bring to Keltus? What advice does he give her?

Formulated by Sandra Horton This page may be copied and distributed to the students

20


Answers to Factual Questions
1. Getorix has prepared to die on the day of the Roman triumph. How does he rationalize his death as
worthwhile?
Answer: He feels if he cannot die in battle, better this than an old man’s death before the hearth. He
will meet his death with courage and join his father in the Otherworld. (16)
2. “The difference between the hero and the coward is not how the death comes, but how he meets it.
And we will meet it with courage, the way heroes always have.” (65) With these words, what is Claodicos
telling Getorix he expects from him as they face the triumph together?
Answer: Claodicos sees Getorix and himself as heroes and that together they can face what comes
bravely. Getorix would be the one to accompany Claodicos on his journey to the Otherworld where
gods and heroes would surround them. (65)
3. Getorix expects for him and his father to die in a(n)______________ in the __________________.
Instead, the Roman plan is for his father to die in a(n) ________________ in the ______________.
Answer:a sacrifice in the Temple of Jupiter (17; 19; 43) an execution in the Tullanium (sewers) (19; 37)
4. Who or what is sacrificed at the Temple of Jupiter?
Answer: A pair of bullocks (young bulls,) a pair of rams, and a pair of pigs
5.Where does Keltus take Getorix when they leave the Forum? Where does he take Getorix later that
same night?
Answer: The Domus Lutatius (house of Lutatius) and later that night to the Roman’ ‘feast at the
Temple of Jupiter to see Lutatis Catulus (27; 41; 49)
6.Where was Claodicos’ body dumped after his execution?
Answer: Into the sewers of Rome (21)
7.Why was Getorix brought to the domus of Lutatius Catulus?
Answer: Lucius has asked his father, a Roman general who helped defeat the Celts, to spare Getorix
and bring him into his household to be Lucius’ servant (36—37)
8.Who is the servant who seems to be in charge of Lucius? Who is Lucius?
Answer: Pellia (30); Lucius, Lutatius Catulus’ son, is the boy from the triumph who raised his hand
to Getorix. (43)
9.What is the wager between Lutatius Catulus and Marius? What will Sulla gain if Marius wins?
Answer: If Getorix is in attendance to Lucius at the investiture of the new consuls in one month, Ca-
tulus wins Claodicos’ brooch and a few pounds of valuables taken at Aquae Sullis. If Getorix is not
in attendance, Marius wins the bronze bull statue that had been Claodicos’ talisman and Getorix
will be Sulla’s to give to the Aedui who will probably kill him. (55—56)
10.What problem does Brosch bring to Keltus? What advice does he give her?
Answer: Brosch has seen her brothers, slaves with the legionaries, and fears they will be sent to Sic-
ily. Keltus advises her to seek help from Mistress Selia. (59—60)

Formulated by Sandra Horton

21



Discussion Questions: Evaluative and Interpretive

1. “But it has not been given to me to show the Romans the heart of our people in facing
death. That honor is given to you. Take courage from who you are and what comes after. We
must only get through this ordeal to the other side.” (21) With these words, Getorix feels that his
father has placed upon him a sacred duty or geis. In your own words, what do you think Claodi-
cos is saying to Getorix?

2. When Getorix asked Keltus if he was taking him to be tortured, Keltus replied, “It pleased
the Roman weasels to think I took you to such a fate—and your father also, in his own, sad way.”
(23) What did Keltus mean when he said Claodicos was pleased in his own, sad way?

3. Getorix thinks denying himself will shame his Roman captors. How do you think the Ro-
mans or Keltus would react if Getorix died by denying himself food or water? How does Getorix
think they would react?

4. “Starkaos’ Greek had said it was civilized to battle with words.” (53) Getorix feels verbal ridi-
cule merited a fight to the death, yet Lutatius Catulus does not react to Marius’ gibes. What does
this reveal about Lutatius Catulus and his culture?

5. Does loyalty to a master mean a loss of identity for a slave? Why or why not?

6. After his father’s death, Getorix’s life is turned upside down. Instead of being killed in the
Tullanium, a Celt has arrived to take him to the domus of Lutatius Catulus. In explanation, the
Celt tells Getorix, “Soon enough fate overtakes you ... We don’t choose our fate, little one ...
You’ll accept your own with time ... You can’t go back ... The world you have known is gone. You
must understand. I am taking you to your new life.” (23-24) Why can’t Getorix heed this advice?

7. Why do you think Getorix considers “the ordeal of sacrifice would be his man-making”? (65)

8. Claodicos leapt with the infant Getorix in his arms from a high palisade into the lake that
surrounded their home “... to give the infant courage as an adult, to cleanse his heart of fear.”
(66) What are some rites of passage from your culture that signify courage or confirm manhood
in a young boy?

9. Do you have anything in your culture that is the equivalent of a geis?


22

Part Two

The illustration for Part Two represents Getorix locked in the converted storeroom that
serves as his cell. He is both comforted and tormented by memories of his former life and by vi-
sions of the heros of Celtic myth. He concentrates on these stories trying to draw the courage and
strength he needs to fulfill the geis he believes his father has laid upon him -- to face death bravely
before the Romans.

The highlighted days on the calendar strip in the upper right represent the three days during which
the action in this section takes place.

23


by Judith Geary

Synopsis: Part Two – Chapters VI - XI (pp. 73-133)
(December 2-4)


Keltus retrieves Getorix in the morning and lays the groundwork for what will become a rou-
tine: a trip to the small courtyard that contains the stairs to the underground cell and to the space
that serves as a latrine, a wash under the relatively fresh water that flows into the drain, and a few
precious moments outside. Getorix does not mindlessly rebel – his curiosity is too great for that
– but picks his battles. He cannot bring himself to dump his own waste down the drain, because
he knows his father’s body was dumped into the sewer after his execution, and he sees it as Cla-
odicos’ tomb. Keltus interprets this as a lack of understanding and demonstrates what is required
as if Getorix is a small child.
Pellia directs the setup of a table and basket-work chairs. She directs that Getorix be dressed
in a tunic that resembles the russet-trimmed one worn by Idios the messenger. Getorix refuses.
Keltus takes him down to the cell and demonstrates a scourge against the wall. Keltus points out
that Getorix may have sworn to his father to show courage before the Romans but that he is not
a Roman and “there’s no courage in taking a slave’s beating.” Getorix recognizes that Keltus has a
point and relents.
The “manners lesson” does not go well for Getorix. He makes an enemy of Idios by causing
Leia, his sister, to be punished. Lucius, who has been watching through an open gate into the
peristyle garden, sweeps in and interrupts, by intentionally eating without manners, and walks off
with a chicken leg wrapped in a napkin.
Keltus returns Getorix to the cell and goes off to other duties. Lucius appears at the window
with a comment about saving Getorix’s ass another time and tosses in the chicken leg, but Getorix
rejects Lucius’ overture. Getorix eats the chicken and shares the bones with a white-footed mouse
whom he calls Moos, the Roman word for mouse, because of his audacity.
Another napkin-wrapped package drops through the window. This time it is a flaming dog turd
– Idios’ revenge. Idios is caught and the slaves assembled to watch his punishment. Getorix proposes
that he and Idios settle their dispute by combat, but Idios turns away. Eumaios, the steward, says
such is not allowed – that infractions bring specific punishment. The slaves are required to watch
Idios being beaten, but Getorix watches the others’ responses instead. Afterward, he questions Keltus
about the meaning of the event. Keltus answers, but not to Getorix’s satisfaction. He announces that
Getorix is to be taken before the master in the morning. Getorix vows to fulfill his charge and prays
for guidance in how to cause the Romans to give him an honorable death.
Getorix and Keltus encounter Lucius in the atrium the next morning. In their exchange, Lu-
cius asserts that Getorix should make good on his plea from the triumph – puzzling since Getorix’s
only plea was to the gods for courage in facing death. Getorix stumbles into a shelf of cabinets and

24


knocks off two – revealing what appear to be lifelike heads, another puzzling development.
The encounter with the Romans doesn’t go as Getorix planned – once again. His demands are not
understood or taken seriously. In his despair over his repeated failure, Getorix attempts to kill himself
with Keltus’ dagger – and fails, once again.
Getorix and Keltus have what proves a pivotal conversation. Keltus relates his capture twenty
years before, his reasons for his loyalty to Catulus and his regard for Lucius. Keltus reveals his hope
that Getorix can help Lucius toward manhood. However, when Keltus takes Getorix to the courtyard
to empty his chamber pot, Lucius is waiting. A momentary distraction gives Getorix his long-awaited
opportunity to physically confront the “Roman toad.”
Brosch attempts to approach Selia about her brothers’ situation, but fails to draw her attention
from preparations for the Bona Dea, the festival of the “good goddess,” which involves festivities
primarily for the aristocratic women. She is sent to the slaves courtyard, and arrives in time to see
Keltus snatch Getorix off of Lucius and hustle him down to the cell for a beating.
Lucius approaches Brosch the next morning as she weaves in his mother’s sitting room. He is
seeking advice on how to win Getorix’s loyalty, and believes Brosch will have some knowledge since
she’s a Celt as well. She protests that she doesn’t: “He’s a boy and from another tribe.” Lucius can see
Brosch is upset, assumes at first that it’s about Getorix, but questions her and learns about her broth-
ers. He vows to help her, earning her gratitude. In the conversation, Lucius gains insight in how the
Celts view honor.
Lucius visits Getorix in the cell and they have their first “civil” conversation. Getorix learns that
Lucius interpreted some gesture of his as a plea for mercy and acted on it. Getorix blames himself for
his situation, his past failures, but vows to be faithful to his vow in the future.

Plot Points:
* Romans would not have used a fearsome scourge on a slave for simple stubbornness. (See the expla-
nation below in Historical Points.) Keltus is trying to intimidate Getorix to avoid punishing him.
* The reader gets Brosch’s point of view – that of a slave who has accommodated to her situation, is
even finding some satisfaction and sense of success, and is grateful that the gods have not sent her
to worse. She also feels responsibility to use her “good fortune” to aid her brothers and resentment
toward Getorix for what she sees as unreasonable rebellion – and for creating a barrier to accomplish-
ing her goals.
* In his treatment of Brosch, Lucius is revealed as a Roman with his own sense of honor and a con-
cern for others as people – even slaves.
* The reader gets a bit of Getorix’s personal history in his musings.

Historical Points:
* Maps of the sewer system do not show a spur off a major line on the Palatine Hill where the domus
Lutatius was located. However, the sewers originated as natural streams, and one originated some-
where on the Palatine. I’ve given the house a natural spring, and a system to drain extra water to the
sewer is plausible, given the technology of the time.
* Chairs of basketwork are shown in paintings of the time. The table service – napkins, individual
bowls, spoons; no plates, forks or knives – is consistent with what is known. The rules of “manners”
are imagined.

25


* The Romans debated the use of corporal punishment, particularly with slaves, but it was part
of their system and their culture. There were many different types of implements used, from a
rod which was considered the mildest. According to law, the rod might be used on the clothing
of an adult Roman citizen. Even assuming the Roman was wearing the clothing, considering
how many layers a toga involved, this was surely a symbolic act meant to humiliate. The ferula
was a strap with a handle. The scutia a many tailed whip of parchment. The scourge was a fear-
some weapon of braided leather that might have bits of bone or sharp points of metal braided
in. It could kill.
The Roman idea of “fitting the punishment to the crime” included using an implement de-
signed to cause a measured amount of damage.
* Slaves did not regularly wear a “uniform” or mark identifying them as slaves unless they were
prone to run away, in which case they were collared and tagged with their owner’s name and ad-
dress (location). One theory is that the Romans didn’t want slaves to instantly identify another
slave, so that it would not be clear how many in a crowded market, for example, were free labor
and how many slaves. They seem to have been concerned about a rebellion, if it was clear how
many slaves there were. However, they might wear “fancy” outfits to serve, and I have chosen
to make this a particular design, which is consistent with the Roman tendency to standardize
things for large groups.
* Romans might recline at banquets, but ate upright much of the time. Some Roman furniture
was lightweight or folding, so a room might be set up with furniture for a particular occasion or
event and changed later.
* The Gaesatae were Celtic warriors. As with most details about Celtic culture, scholars debate
details such as whether they were identified with a specific tribe or were mercenaries. Reports are
that they fought naked and their prowess was legendary. There is no report of their having played
a significant role in these battles, but the myth is too good to ignore.
* The basic outline of the Celts migration is consistent with the historical record.
* A slave revolt in Sicily at this time resulted in the rebellious slaves being massacred. That more
would be needed as replacement and that a surplus of labor existed in Rome as a result of the
final defeat of the Celts are both historical. Branding of slaves was not common among the Ro-
mans, but was practiced in Sicily as slaves were used as herdsmen and might be in the mountains
for many months.
* The Bona Dea, or festival of the Good Goddess, was celebrated twice a year, in May and De-
cember, hosted by the presiding consul’s wife. Since the senior consul (the one who polled the
most votes) presided in January and alternate months, his wife hosted in May and the junior
consul’s wife in December. So, Marius’ wife Julia would have hosted in May, and, since Marius
was consul a total of seven times (He was in his fifth at this time) she hosted one each term as
long as he was consul. Manius Aquillius was the junior consul for this term and, as I couldn’t
find a record of a wife’s name, I’ve made his sister the hostess for December. The exact rituals
performed were very secret (and have remained so), but the record says the Vestal Virgins played
a part as did the sacrifice of a pig.
* Slaves with valuable skills might achieve a measure of independence, be allowed to earn wages,
and even purchase their freedom. They might continue to work in the same jobs or even in the
same household as free people. For example, Marcus Tullius Cicero, in the next generation, is
reported to have freed all the slaves of his household except one (an elderly man who was appar-
ently mentally handicapped) and they continued in his employ.
26



Factual Questions
Part Two: Chapters VI—XI pages 71—133

1. What is Getorix’s response to Keltus when he says he will get a clean tunic?

2. Why can’t Getorix dump the waste jar into the opening that led to the sewer?

3. What does Leia do that brings punishment to her when she is with Getorix?

4. What does Idios do to Getorix for bringing shame on his sister?

5. Why did all the slaves have to watch Idios’ punishment?

6. Where does Lutatius Catulus say Getorix was discovered at the end of the battle?

7. What is Keltus’ comment when Getorix asks him, “Then why choose slavery?” What does
Keltus mean by this comment?

8. Why has Keltus remained faithful to Lutatius Catulus?

9. According to Keltus, what is the gift the gods have given to the Romans?

10. Why did Lucius’ parents spoil him?

11. Why does Getorix attack Lucius?

12. What will Lucius need to do to purchase Brosch’s brothers?

13. What was in the boxes in the cabinets in the lararium? Whom did they represent? How were
they used?

27



1. What is Getorix’s response to Keltus when he says he will get a clean tunic?
Answer: “ . . .I’ll go naked as a warrior before I will wear just a shirt like a baby or a Roman. If I’m
to dress, bring me trousers.” (75)

2. Why can’t Getorix dump the waste jar into the well that led to the sewer?
Answer: It is sacrilege to dump his own waste on his father’s resting place (76)

3. What does Leia do that brings punishment to her when she is with Getorix?
Answer: Leia laughed out loud when Getorix had difficulty holding the spoon and it tipped the fruit
onto the napkin. (78)

4. What does Idios do to Getorix for bringing shame on his sister?
Answer: Idios throws a flaming dog turd wrapped in a napkin into Getorix’s cell. (82)

5. Why did all the slaves have to watch Idios’ punishment?
Answer: “It’s supposed to be instructive.” (84-86) The punishments served as a deterrent to the other
servants.

6. Where does Lutatius Catulus say Getorix was discovered at the end of the battle?
Answer: A centurion pulled him from his hiding place under a baggage cart after the battle. (96)
7. What is Keltus’ comment when Getorix asks him, “Then why choose slavery?” What does Keltus
mean by this comment?
Answer: “You must howl with the wolves around you.” (107)
Student interpretation

8. Why has Keltus remained faithful to Lutatius Catulus?
Answer: “Lutatius Catulus spared my life on the battlefield and I owed him service . . . He honored my
word that I would serve him” Keltus had respect for Lutatius and the way he handled defeat. Keltus
also had a desire to better understand the Roman’s way and learn from them. (107-108)

9. According to Keltus, what is the gift the gods have given to the Romans?
Answer: “If the gods have given the Romans a gift denied to us, it’s to have many men working together
as one, so that each man gives up some of his freedom for the good of the group.” (108)

10. Why did Lucius’ parents spoil him?
Answer: “Lucius was ill for a long time as a child… It was pitiful to see a small child suffer so hard
just to live, so his parents spoiled him, as we all did, I suppose.” (110)

11. Why does Getorix attack Lucius?
Answer: When Getorix says “I’m determined to join my father.” Lucius makes the comment, “Well,
at least something of you joins him” as he refers to Getorix’s waste jar. (117) Getorix considered this
an insult and sacrilege to his father and himself.

28


12. What will Lucius need to do to purchase Brosch’s brothers?
Answer: Have Eumaios give him the money he needs and then use the identity plate with his father’s
seal, held by Keltus. (123—124)
13. What was in the boxes in the cabinets in the lararium? Whom did they represent? How were they
used?
Answer: Wax masks of ancestors.
“Any time a man achieves the rank of consul or even senator, or is honored for his part in a vic-
tory, he can have a wax mask made. It’s a great honor to have ancestors worthy of being immortal-
ized with a mask.” ... “When a man dies, actors are hired to wear the masks at his funeral, so it will
appear that his honored ancestors have come to welcome him among their ranks.” (128)


29




1. The steward Eumaios tells Idios he is being punished for willfully destroying the master’s
property, a napkin. (84-85) What does Idios’ public punishment reveal about the way Lutatius
Catulus’ household is run?

2. Is there more shameful pain in being beaten or in having others watch the beating? Explain
your answer.

3. Why can’t Getorix “be grateful to the ones who spared his life”?

4. Keltus and Brosch have acclimated themselves to their new Roman life. What about Getorix
makes it so difficult for him to accept his fate?

5. Keltus offers Getorix advice and seems to be his guide in accepting his new life. (105-111)
Why does Keltus take such an interest in this unruly captive? Why does he care whether or not
Getorix accepts his situation?

6. In your opinion which takes the most courage, “living with what the gods leave in your
bowl” (111) or dying to fulfill your geis? Why?

7. Why is Keltus loyal to his Roman masters? Why can’t Getorix accept his fate as Keltus has
accepted his?

8. When Lucius finds Brosch crying in his mother’s sitting room, “[H]e raised his hand to
touch her face and stopped. She was a slave. He could touch her as freely as he could his cat, but
he didn’t.” (122) Why didn’t he?

9. “The gods have placed it on your shoulder, even if they used Roman hands to do it.” (67)
Claodicos refers to his personal signet, the brooch of a bull’s head that Getorix has been given to
wear in the triumph. By the end of Part Two, what else have the gods used Roman hands to place
on Getorix’s shoulders?


30

Part Three

The illustration for Part Three represents the master’s tablinum or office. We
might notice chairs, tables and draperies much like we would see in a similar space to-
day. The lamp on a tall stand, bust on a pedestal and various decorative objects, includ-
ing what may be a drum or gong for summoning a servant, are recognizable as well. On
the floor beneath the chair appear two small tablets and in front of it a “book bucket,” a
round leather case with a top and straps for carrying collections of scrolls. Similar cases
might house collections of related texts in the master’s library.

The calendar strip is highlighted with the five days of this part of the story.

31


by Judith Geary
Synopsis: Part Three Chapters XII - XIX (pp. 136-191)
December 17- 22)

By Saturnalia, the days have fallen into a routine. Lucius has persisted in visiting Getorix in
the cell with gifts of nuts and sweets and tales, mostly from the Odyssey. Getorix has refused to
respond, though the temptation is great to debate details of familiar stories. The morning before
the celebration begins, Getorix lingers in the courtyard over his “chores” watching the slaves of the
household as they prepare, taken by how they remind him of the people he has known – how they
seem so “normal” -- not beasts at all, even though they are slaves. Keltus calls him back into the
confinement of the service courtyard.
Lucius is waiting at the top of the stairs. He speaks as if he expects Getorix to respond to his
salutation, tells Getorix of the customs of the festivities – the custom of the masters serving their
slaves and a slave as “Saturnalia King” ordering the master to entertain. He says Getorix could be
present if only he’d submit. Getorix turns away, sure Lucius is trying to trick him. When Keltus
finally brings his dinner that night, however, he is dressed in a Roman tunic, obviously drunk, and
bearing a tray of treats from a banquet.
Saturnalia celebrations included horse races and games, and the household was essentially
empty during much of the day.
Lucius appears at the cell door in the morning; he has used the key hanging by the door. He
offers Getorix a worn scroll, bearing the label “Homer”, and finally shoves it into his arms when
the captive doesn’t respond. When Getorix says, “Thank you,” he explodes, “Great Jupiter! I give
you your life, and you curse me. I try to spare you a beating and you spit on my clemency. I come
every afternoon to tell you stories and bring you sweets, and you never give me the courtesy of a
word. Now I give you an old book, and you thank me!”
The boys share a few words before Lucius is called away, and Getorix settles down to read. He
hears the cheers of the crowd from the games in the Circus Maximus and is reminded of the final
battle between his people and the Romans – and of what came after. He vows to resist the seduc-
tion of the Roman’s gifts.
When Lucius next appears, Getorix returns the scroll. They debate the fairness of the situation
Getorix finds himself in. They debate the details of the invasion of Brennus(os), three centuries
before. Lucius admits that the people of Rome were afraid they would be overrun once again by the
Celtic tribes. He says that his father might have spared Getorix’s father if Claodicos had plead for
mercy. Of course, Getorix knows he never would have, but still the possibility draws him. Lucius
offers to take Getorix out – if he promises to behave. He points out that the shackle is loose, and
that if Getorix had wanted to escape he would have by now. Getorix is disarmed by Lucius’ candor
and gives in to the temptation to lay down the burden of his honor – for just a little while. He is
very aware the burden Lucius’ trust lays on him.

32


The boys explore the empty house. They fix a substantial snack in the kitchen and eat it in the
plane tree (sycamore) that centers the servants’ courtyard. Lucius asks Getorix what he thinks of
one of the stories in the Odyssey – where Odysseus tricks the Cyclops. When he answers, Lucius
makes the point that this story was not in the scrolls he had lent and asks how Getorix is familiar
with it. Getorix reveals more than he intends about his history in the druids’ house – to Lucius’
delight. So ensnared, and as a “payback,” Getorix shares the Norse story of Fafnir. He is surprised
that Lucius understands the point of the story. The servants return and Lucius and Getorix run to
return Getorix to the cell without being discovered.
Another day, Lucius takes Getorix to see the Saturnalia decorations in the atrium. The decora-
tions include the bronze bull that was Claodicos’ symbol. They visit Catulus’ tablinum, his office,
and examine the trophies displayed there – including a cedar box of Celtic design that contains a
hair braid and torc that Getorix recognizes as relics of his father. Getorix feels reverence for the rel-
ics and wants to imagine that Catulus honors them – though he doubts it. At a joke from Lucius,
Getorix threatens to destroy the display. Lucius has an asthma attack, and Getorix discovers he can
help Lucius by “talking him through it.”
The Romans return: Catulus, Selia and Sulla. Lucius and Getorix leave through the win-
dow, but find themselves trapped in the peristyle garden. They overhear the Romans’ conversation
about the new year’s festivities and the installation of the new consuls. Selia sees the boys through
the window, but excuses herself without revealing their presence.
Lucius insists they go to his mother’s sitting room as things will go easier for them if they
do. The gentle Selia demonstrates how firm she can be with a lecture about the importance of
obedience to the pater familias – the father of the household. Lucius structures the exchange so
his mother sees Getorix as having agreed to serve him – even to faking an asthma attack to dem-
onstrate that Getorix will jump to his aid. By being honest about not wanting to be given to the
Aedui, Getorix unwittingly goes along.
Selia orders that Getorix be bathed and returned to the cell to await Catulus’ convenience.
They find that the cell has been cleaned and the spare blanket replaced with a mattress, soft shawl
and Lucius outgrown tunic and shoes; the scroll remains. Keltus comments that Getorix will be
sleeping in Lucius’ room next. Getorix insists that he must make a sacrifice. Over Keltus’ protests
that the moon is wrong, Getorix gathers symbolic items from the cell’s contents and arranges them
by the drain opening; it’s the closest he can come to his father’s tomb. He prays for guidance, but
feels no sense of an answer. Keltus is called away and Atlas returns Getorix to the cell.
Getorix is in crisis. He awakes from a dream, surrounded in the cell by evidence of his failure
to keep his vow. He strips off the tunic and shoes, piles everything in a corner of the cell. Then a
tongue of flame appears – a sure sign of the gods’ favor. Unfortunately, it’s Lucius bringing Getorix
an oil lamp like the one he keeps by his bed.
The next day, Lucius appears once again. Selia ordered Keltus to hide the key, but Lucius found
it under Keltus’ mattress. Getorix uses the opportunity to return to Catulus’ tablinum and seek
guidance from his father’s relics. He feels nothing, but blames himself. Lucius reveals that he needs
Getorix because only Getorix doesn’t treat him like a baby. The lack of a clear message – though
he has tried meditation, dreams, sacrifice and prayer – allows Getorix to think that maybe he and
Lucius can reach some sort of alliance. It wouldn’t be friendship, as friends must be equals, but an
accommodation of some sort.
Another day, and Getorix is once again wandering the house with Lucius. Lucius’ cat begins

33


to chase a mouse – a mouse that Getorix recognizes because of distinctive white markings. Getorix
attempts to block the cat – to give the mouse a chance at escape. Lucius believes Getorix is hurting
the cat and grabs a whip from among the blacksmith’s tools, and strikes Getorix. A contest with
tool handles as cudgels ensues. Getorix finds himself coaching Lucius and gaining respect for his
determination. However, a slip finds both of them on the ground, Lucius unconscious, just as the
household slaves return.
Ajax grabs Getorix and vows to take him down to the cell and punish him.”Surely even the
mistress would not blame me now ... if I punished him a little too severely.”
Getorix escapes over the wall and into the city.

Plot Points:
* Getorix begins to respond to Lucius as a person. He begins to see some validity in what Keltus
said about there being more than one way to interpret his father’s admonition to him.
* Getorix responds to Lucius’ asthma attack by wanting to help him rather than wanting to see him
die. He draws on his druid training to help Lucius stay calm and get through it.
* Lucius offers Getorix a taste of the medicine, which Getorix has seen has a good effect on Lucius.
It’s a minor plot point, but an opportunity to discuss similar situations in the students’ lives.
* Selia’s kindness, especially since she accidentally uses a pet name his mother had used, appeals
to Getorix. He can hear what she says about the Roman culture. For the first time, he has the op-
portunity to confront a Roman and demand death, and lets it pass.
* When Getorix tells Lucius the story of Fafnir, it’s the first time they’ve related as equals.
* Getorix makes a sacrifice, and the reader learns more of his cultural world view.
* Getorix’s dream (Chapter XVII) clarifies for Getorix the truth of his situation, if not what he’s
to do about it.
* Lucius and Getorix spar with tool handles and we see Getorix actually rooting for Lucius to do
well.
* Then, Lucius spoils it all with the speech about a slave submitting.
* When Getorix escapes over the wall, his story opens up to the larger world.

Historical Points:
*Saturnalia was the most popular of the Roman festivals. It began on December 17, and the
celebration gradually grew to 13+ days. Customs included the “turnabout” described, though,
of course, the wise slave was careful not to do anything that might lead to retribution when the
holiday was over.
* The most likely site of the Lutatius household (based on records from a generation later) is on the
Palatine, close enough that the noise from the Circus Maximus would have been plain.
* The conversation among the Romans about the consulship is consistent with the historical re-
cord, as is Selia’s lecture about the importance of the pater familias.

34



Factual Questions
Part III: Chapters XII—XIX pages 135—191

1. What happens at the celebration of Saturnalia in the Lutatius household?

2. What does Lucius give to Getorix that produces a “Thank you”?

3. What was Getorix’s task during the battle with the Romans?

4. What did Getorix learn when he became Starkaos’ apprentice?

5. What did Lutatius Catulus tell Lucius about Getorix’s capture?

6. What about Moos makes Getorix think he could be a messenger from the gods?

7. Why does mistletoe symbolize human life? What was the legend of the thrush carrying a
sprig of mistletoe over a battlefield?

8. Why are all Roman doormen chained?

9. How does Lucius react when Getorix considers destroying objects in the trophy room to bal-
ance the scales for Lucius’ words? What is Getorix’s response?

10. What is in the Celtic box that Lucius opens in his father’s trophy room?

11. What does Lucius tell his mother Selia to explain why Getorix is out of his cell?

12. After Getorix’s meeting with Lady Selia in Chapter XVI, she believed Getorix was ready to
serve Lucius. What does Getorix do to make her believe this?

13. What improvements does Getorix discover when he returned to his cell?

14. What does Getorix offer to his father in prayer at the sewer drain? What does Keltus add to
the offerings?

15. Why does Atlas restrain Getorix?

16. How does Getorix get away from Atlas?


35


1. What happens at the celebration of Saturnalia in the Lutatius household?
Answer: All of Lutatius’ personal servants will be served; Keltus will be Saturnalia king and he will
share the center couch with Quintipor, Catulus’ personal servant and Eumaios, the steward, even the
new grammaticus, though he will be freed at the new year. The other servants will bring in the food
and take their places on the side couches. They will serve themselves, but Catulus and Lucius will
serve the guests of honor. After dinner, Keltus gets to order his master to do something to entertain.
(140)
2. What does Lucius give to Getorix that produces a “Thank you”?
Answer: A scroll in a worn leather case with a tag stating “HOMER” (143—144)
3. What was Getorix’s task during the battle with the Romans?
Answer: His task is to trudge beside a cart bearing the bronze bull, Claodicos’ talisman, and stay
with the bronze bull behind the lines driving the cart in the warriors’ wake. (147)
4. What did Getorix learn when he became Starkaos’ apprentice?
Answer: Getorix learned to memorize heroic stories to preserve and safeguard Celtic wisdom (157)
He also learned to read from a Greek captive.
5. What did Lutatius tell Lucius about Getorix’s capture?
Answer: Lutatius told Lucius of Getorix’s courage. “He said you [Getorix] fought the legionaries
who took you, even though you had no weapons.” (160)
6. What about Moos made Getorix think he could be a messenger from the gods?
Answer: His white markings (161)
7. Why did mistletoe symbolize human life? What was the legend of the thrush carrying a sprig of
mistletoe over a battlefield?
Answer: “Mistletoe carried the heart and the life of the oak tree through the barren days of winter,
and so symbolized human life carried through desolate times.” ... “Its power was so great that if a
thrush carried a sprig of mistletoe over a battlefield at the height of the conflict the warriors would
throw down their arms and embrace as friends.” (163)
8. Why are all Roman doormen chained?
Answer: “It’s so they can’t run away without raising the alarm if there’s a threat to the household” (157)
9. How does Lucius react when Getorix considers destroying objects in the trophy room to balance the
scales for Lucius’ words? What is Getorix’s response?
Answer: Lucius has an attack and has difficulty with his breathing.
Getorix shouts, “No!” and rushes to Lucius’ aid. He does not want Lucius to die. He helps him over-
come the terror. (165—166)
10.What is in the Celtic box that Lucius opens in his father’s trophy room?
Answer: Battle trophies taken from Getorix’s father. “The long braid of gray-gold hair coiled in a nest
around Claodicos’ golden torc, the ruby eyes in the bulls’ heads on the ends winked in the light.” (167)

36

11. What does Lucius tell his mother Selia to explain why Getorix is out of his cell?
Answer: He tells her that Getorix promised to behave and that he will pour Lucius’ wine or carry
his cloak—that he would behave and not make trouble. (171-173)
12. After Getorix’s meeting with Lady Selia in Chapter XVI, she believed Getorix was ready to serve
Lucius. What does Getorix do to make her believe this?
Answer: Getorix led Selia to believe Lucius’ words that Getorix was ready to accept Lucius as his mas-
ter. “‘And did you mean what you said Getus,’ Selia asked . . . ‘I did not lie . . .’ Getorix said, and he
hadn’t exactly. There was more truth to be told surely, but he was having trouble getting it out.” When
Lucius collapsed, Getorix came to his aid and helped him recover from his attack. (173)

13. What improvements does Getorix discover when he returns to his cell?
Answer: “The cell had been burned out and washed down. A leather mattress and soft woolen shawl
had replaced the straw and coarse blanket in the cell. Real shoes, not a peasant’s wooden clogs or
folded boots given to slaves, a leather belt and a heavy tunic of soft, brown wool waited on the mat-
tress beside a covered basket and a pottery jug.” (177)
14. What does Getorix offer to his father in prayer at the sewer drain? What does Keltus add to the offerings?
Answer: The flower, one perfect blossom, blood red with a night-black throat from the captive
plants; the baldric; the bit of strangler’s cord concealed in the case; a piece of the scroll, a part to
represent the whole; and wheaten cake and nuts
Keltus added the belt he had been working on, a baldric with the figures of the god Cernunnos
holding the goat-headed snake and his powerful club (178—179)
15. Why does Atlas restrain Getorix?
Answer: When Getorix fell while sparring with Lucius, his staff hit Lucius leaving him “flat on the
paving stones, his legs splayed and his hands cupped at his side as one whose spirit was flown before
he left his feet.” (190) Atlas thinks Getorix has attacked Lucius and will do so again if he is not
restrained and stopped.
16. How does Getorix get away from Atlas and escape?
Answer: Getorix went limp as one insensible. At the right time as Atlas descended the stairs to
Getorix’s cell, Getorix kicked out, connected with the stone wall and sent the smith reeling down
the steps. Running through the courtyard, Getorix sprang to the lowest branch of the plane tree and
scrambled to the roof and over the colonnade and the wall. (191)

37



1. Why does Lutatius Catulus serve his own slaves and do their bidding during the feast of Sat-
urnalia? Why do you think this tradition existed in the time of the Roman Republic?

2. Getorix is caught between two worlds—the Celtic and the Roman. What does he value as he
survives his captivity? Why?

3. Getorix sense of failure as Claodicos’ son plays into the choices he makes as a Roman captive?
How and why?

4. “Every man is slave to something. . . . That’s what the Stoics say, anyway.” (150) What is
Getorix a slave to? Why? Is Lucius a slave to something? What? Is Lutatius Catulus a slave to
something? What?

5. Lucius’ Roman version of Brennus’ conquest of Rome differs greatly from the Celtic version.
Why?

6.“ . . . [T]he victors write the histories.” (152) Discuss examples in history where the facts may
have been misconstrued to construct a victor’s history.

7. Why had Getorix not thought of escaping? (153)

8. Getorix and Lucius are developing a relationship. Can one friend be another friend’s slave?
Why or why not?

9. In Chapter XIV, Lucius unwarily leaves a knife on the hearth as he and Getorix explore the
kitchen. (155) Why does Getorix replace the blade into the wooden block?

10. In Lucius’ eyes, Getorix is courageous. Getorix sees himself as a failure. How can two views
of the same person be so different?

11. Lucius recovers from his attack of asthma with Getorix’s assistance, and a dose of medicine
from his green vial. (166) He offers Getorix a taste and Getorix refuses. What would you do in a
similar situation? Why?

12. Why would the Romans continue to keep doormen chained in their position when there was
no danger of invasion?

13. Define “honor”. What does “acting honorably” mean to Getorix?

14. When Getorix receives no sign from the gods or his father, why does he blame himself?

15. Lucius cannot understand Getorix’s inability to accept his captivity. Why?


38

Part Four

The illustration for Part Four, a bull’s head drawing by Caroline Garrett, repre-
sents more than the bronze bull that played such a part in the plot of the story. The
bronze bull symbolizes the power of the Celtic people. Since the Romans believe the
statue is intended to represent a god, they have symbolically captured that god’s power
for themselves. A wager over ownership of the bronze bull kept a rebellious Getorix in
the Lutatius household for long enough for a relationship to form with Lucius.
To Getorix, the bronze bull is only a good luck charm captured from the
Greeks. The bull’s head is his father’s totem, or signet, however, and in Getorix’s
dreams, his father is often symbolized by a bull. In the final chapters, the significance
of all these symbols comes together.

The calendar strip is highlighted with the December days covered by the story. The
final chapters carry the reader over to the first day of the following year. The Roman
numeral XXIX at the bottom represents the number of days in the month.

39


by Judith Geary

Synopsis: Part Four Chapters XX - XXVI (pp. 194-249)
December 22 – January 1)


Getorix escapes over the back wall of the Lutatius domus and lands in the alley – and runs. He
finds a temporary hiding place to pass the day, then seeks out the Tullianum in search of his father’s
spirit. His thoughts give the reader insight into the cultural parallels with the Celtic culture, the
Romans’ and our own. Getorix is attacked by street children and confronted by a veteran legion-
ary; in his flight for escape, we see the underside of Rome at night. Finally, he returns to the Tul-
lanium, vowing to wait for his father’s spirit there. Instead, he is caught up in a legionary sweep of
“blond boys” and herded to a barn on the Campus Martius. In the crowd, he encounters Boiorix,
son of the “high king” of the Celtic Confederacy, defeated at Vercellae. The father was killed in
battle, and the son taken prisoner. Boiorix tells his story of his escape and hiding in the Roman
sewers. He is a bully and a braggart, but ends up being Getorix’s salvation.
Getorix convinces Boiorix that his best chance is to act as the “Celtic Prince” presented as a dip-
lomatic gift to the Aedui. He uses the diversion Boiorix creates to escape through a hole in the barn
wall and down to the river. There, he finds the sewer opening and avoids capture by hiding inside.
Getorix adjusts quickly to life on the Roman streets, sleeping under bridges, trapping rats and
gathering herbs for food. He catches sight of Brosch, who has been lent to Aurelia, and is now liv-
ing in the Julius insula in the Subura. He waits for Brosch to come to the public fountain for water.
In an encounter that quickly becomes a confrontation, Getorix learns that Lucius will recover, that
his parents believe Getorix dead, and that Lucius has indeed arranged for Brosch’s brothers to be
part of the crew working on Catulus’ monument.
The eve of the new year finally dawns. Getorix prepares himself to wait at the Tullianum for his
father’s spirit. He is watching in the Forum when Lucius and Keltus pass; he has imagined Lucius as
a companion in his exploits, but this is real. He follows them to the Campus Martius. While Keltus
is arranging for a practice space, Lucius spots Getorix and they talk. Lucius is harassed by bullies and
Getorix comes to his aid. Lucius tries to persuade Getorix to return to the household with him, to be
his companion – but still his slave. Keltus returns, and Getorix drops his cloak and runs.
His flight takes him into the Roman legionary camp. It is almost deserted at this time, and
Getorix takes the opportunity to investigate the Principia – the headquarters – with the fantasy of
staging a raid. Through a window, he sees into Marius’ office and goes in after a trophy. A sound
causes him to grab something at random and run. Only later does he realize he has snatched his
father’s signet cloak brooch. He is certain “the gods surely guided [his] hand.” He seeks out Brosch
at the building site of Catulus’ monument, as someone he can show his prize, and she finally prais-
es him for his courage. An accident with the crane hoisting blocks of stone ends the encounter.
Getorix finally returns to the Tullianum just as the sun sets. He gains entrance and prepares

40

to watch through the night. Instead, he sleeps and dreams that the bronze bull, personifying his
father, walks in procession up the Capitoline and then sweeps Getorix up on his horns and flies
away from Rome. He is awakened by a skeletal old man (Senias) who seems almost childlike – or
mad – in enthusiastic urging of Getorix to rise. Since crones can be gods’ messengers, Getorix is
afraid not to respond.
Getorix and Senias watch from a temple base in the Forum as the Romans gather. Getorix sees
Lucius, Selia and Keltus across the way. The Romans make speeches, and Getorix muses on their
meanings. Getorix believes Sulla has seen him, perhaps recognized him, and bolts up the hillside
to the Capitoline. He climbs a tree, but is called down by Senias, who beckons him to the sacrifice,
“You came all this way for the sacrifice, did you not?”
As Getorix watches, a sacrificial bull breaks away, gores his handler, and charges. Getorix be-
lieves this is the meaning of his dream in the Tullianum, and that the bull will take him through
death into the Otherworld. Lucius appears from the crowd, and puts himself in danger. Getorix
throws himself over Lucius; the bull leaps them both and falls over the cliff to its death.
In the confusion that follows, Getorix is praised for saving Lucius, and Lucius insists that the
courage he has shown fulfills his geis to his father. Selia appears and instructs Keltus to return Lu-
cius and Getorix to the Lutatius household to await discipline. Aa the crowd returns to the temple,
Getorix drops the signet brooch and Lucius sees it before he can hide it again. Lucius first insists
Getorix give it to him to hide, then asks what he will do with it. In the question, Getorix hears a
new respect from Lucius and realizes they may indeed be friends – whatever his role in the Roman
culture. Someone else has seen the brooch drop, however, and a band of Romans, led by Sulla, is
coming across the hilltop.
Getorix breaks away to run but is caught by Keltus who – instead of holding him – presses
his own dagger into Getorix’s hand and sends him on his way with a blessing. Getorix flashes the
brooch in the sunlight – in case there’s any doubt he has it – and dashes down the hillside to the
Forum. There, Senias, now robed as a druid, and Cu the dog wait amid a vision of the hills of
Getorix’s home. The vision disappears and Getorix vows to return home with his father’s signet to
once again jump into the lake from the palisade of his home village.

Plot Points:
* Getorix is loose on the Roman streets. He now has to be proactive instead of simply reacting to
what the gods send.
* Brosch defines the position of the slave who accepts her fate, makes the best of it, and is grateful
it isn’t any worse. She retains her ability to make judgments and evaluate situations for herself.
* Getorix vows to seek his father’s spirit at the Tullianum on the night of the eve of the new year.
* Getorix follows Lucius and Keltus to the Campus Martius and there defends Lucius from Bullies.
He struggles with what he feels as conflicting responsibilities.
* Almost by accident, Getorix retrieves his father’s signet brooch from Marius’ headquarters. This
is the first clear sign he’s had of communion with his father’s spirit.
* Getorix continues to seek the will of the gods and vows to fulfill it – though he now realizes that
the rational thing to do is to return his father’s brooch to his homeland, perform a ritual dedication
and get on with his life.
* Faced with the possibility of standing by and seeing Lucius killed by the charging bull, Getorix

41


risks his life to save the Roman boy. Lucius insists that Getorix has fulfilled his vow to “face death
with courage before the Romans,” and is free to live his life.
* Getorix has the signet brooch Marius considers his prize and soemone in the crowd has seen it, so
Getorix must flee once again. This time, however, he has a geis of his own choosing to fulfill.

Historical Points:
* The explanation of Samhain (Sah’ win) illustrates the parallel with our celebration of Halloween
– which is, of course, the same holiday.
* The description of the crossroads shrines and crossroads brotherhoods is consistent with history.
* Getorix’s vision of the heads on the rostra (237) refers to the proscriptions and beheadings of the
civil wars of the coming century. (Cicero was among the victims. It’s a bit of a conceit, but may
stimulate interest in the students.)
* Catulus’ speech is consistent with the “republican” attitude, but is not modeled on any specific
document.

42


Factual Questions
Part Four: Chapters XX—XXIV pages 193—249

1. After escaping from the Lutatius Domus, where does Getorix decide to hide? Why?

2. What trouble does Getorix run into as he looks for the Tullianum?

3. At the end of Chapter XX, the reader learns that the fates will send a different messenger.
Who or what is the different messenger, and what is the message he brings?

4. Whom does Getorix see among the captives? What had happened to this person after the
Celtic defeat by the Romans?

5. How does Getorix escape from the group of boys in the barn?

6. How does Getorix find out that Lucius is still alive?

7. How does Getorix help Lucius at the Campus Martius?

8. What does Getorix “steal” from the Principia on the Campus Martius? How does he choose
this item?

9. After his escape from the Principia, where does Getorix find Brosch?

10. When Getorix shows Brosch his find from the Principia, what decision do her questions
prompt?

11. What does Senias tell Getorix in the Tullianum?

12. Whom does Getorix believe Senias to be? Why does he listen to the old man?

13. Where does Getorix spot Boiorix in the Forum?

14. What warning does Catulus give to the Roman people in his speech at the Forum?

15 What does Getorix do when he realizes that the bull has veered and is heading straight for
Lucius?

16. After he rescues Lucius, how does Getorix decide to fulfill his geis?

17. As Getorix tries to escape what does Keltus do when Getorix runs into him ?


43

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