Construction of the Temple of Mercury

[The Stig]

Sextus and the surveyor stood on Caelian hill. Night was falling and the sky had turned a deep, almost violet shade of red. The last vestiges of yellow were slowly creeping below the horizon. The noise of the city was hushed, still present, but nowhere near the din made by the marketplace at midday. The surveyor took another swig of his wineskin. Sextus wrinkled his noise. By the Gods, that wine smelled awful. Oh, wait, maybe that was the surveyor.

"What I'm saying is, we can't just put it on a hill. It's too uneven. Got to be somewhere flat."

Sextus wasn't paying attention. He didn't like the surveyor. He swore, smelt foul, and he drank bad wine. Worse still, he had a roundabout way of speaking. It took several minutes for him to finish a sentence.

"One of these valleys would work out, probably. Nice and flat. All we need is some..."

Sextus said nothing. If he couldn't build it on a hill, then he'd have to put it somewhere that made sense. Somewhere with lots of through traffic, to maximize public use. Maybe next to a market or store to emphasize Mercury's role as the god of commerce. He's a mediator too, could I work that in? Wait, would that work? That would be perfect! Sextus pointed to the flatlands between the Aventine and the Palatine.

"There."

[The Stig]

Sextus blinked in the dim candlelight. He inhaled, a long, tired, breath. The scent of the musty paper mingled with the heavy fragrance of his recently emptied glass of wine. Sextus looked at the long piece of parchment stretched across the table. He blinked again, then squinted. It was no use. It was far too dark to see. He called to a nearby slave.

"You there! I need more light, bring a torch or something."

As the slave ambled out of the room, Sextus laid his head upon the table. He was quite fatigued. This was proving to be more difficult than he had imagined. He wanted to be out of this hard wooden chair and in his soft, warm bed. There he would sleep until noon and maybe groom the elephants after he woke. The slave reentered, flooding the room with the orange glow of fire and chasing the shadows away from their slow dance around the table. Sextus nodded at the slave.

"Put it in the alcove, there in the wall. Then you may sleep."

The slave muttered his thanks and crept away while Sextus once again gazed at the plans laid out before him.



It would be smallish, but the area that he had purchased gave it room for expansion. Seated between the Palatine and Aventine hills, it was sure to receive much traffic in the way of both people and commerce. The entrance would be a large opening behind a flight of stone steps held up, as the entire temple was, with marble pillars. Above the temple there would be a Caduceus relief, and just below that, the words "TEMPLE OF MERCURY." Inside there would be a long open space surrounded by pillars. In between the pillars would be statues of the god himself, as pictured in various myths. At the very back of the room there would be an altar, overlooked by a larger than life marble statue that rose almost to the ceiling, in its' hand a caduceus, and at its feet piles of gold. Doors to various storerooms and closets would be placed behind the statue, for use by the priests and other officials.

[Uber Patriot]

Maximinius Aulio Varus arrived at the construction site and strode toward Sextus and the surveyor, greeting the Praetor with a quick nod

"Ave Praetor Sextus. My name is Varus, I've recently been appointed Aedile by the senate which means public buildings; temples and the like, fall under my authority. Obviously you have done much work on this temple so far and I would not wish to distract you from that, so I have decided to come and observe your work and leave building this to you if you wish, or assist you if required."

[The Stig]

The construction site bustled with activity. Slaves pulled huge blocks of marble and stone across the road to the already completed set of steps. Scribes scurried back and forth, sweating from the heat of the afternoon, carrying documents and plans to various overseers. Armed guards stood watch over the whole site, coolly staring at the workers.

Sextus stood with a group of managers and scribes, pointing at various locations around the camp and gesturing at the plans held by a nearby scribe. He turned to face Varus as the man walked up.

"Ave, Aedile. I do not believe that your assistance shall be required, but you are more than welcome to come and observe if you like. I promise that the temple will be spectacular when it is finished. I've imported only the finest marble, and used only the mightiest of slaves, both acquired at great expense, given the recent storms. All of Rome shall be in awe of this building. Mercury shall be more than pleased with the devotion with which I have designed his temple."