Alexandria

By Lindsey Davis 8/11/2011 Latin II Honors Sarah Kaitlyn Timmins

A Marcus Didius Falco Novel

Alexandria by Lindsey Davis is a mystery novel set in Egypt during the year AD 77. The main character, Marcus Didius Falco, is a Roman informer on vacation with his wife, Helena Justina, brotherin-law and soon-to-be scholar Aulus, children Julia, Favonia, and adopted daughter Albia. Together, the family travels to the beautiful city of Alexandria to stay with Falcos uncle, a man by the name of Fulvius. Fulvius, who has a questionable past involving gangs in Asia Minor, lives with a man named Cassius. Together, they welcome Marcus Didius and family into their home. Shortly after their arrival, Cassius throws a dinner party to welcome his new guests and introduce them to the esteemed Librarian of the Great Library, Theon. The next morning, Falco and his family receive word that Theon was found dead inside his locked office. Later that morning, Guards arrive at Fulviuss house to conduct questioning. A centurion named Tenax leads the investigation, but Falco is called upon later that day and asked to take it over. Falco begins by retracing Theons path to the library from the night before. Aulus leads Marcus into the famous library, where they meet a member of the staff known as Pastous. Pastous showed Falco and Aulus to the librarians office. After examining the scene of the crime, Falco and Aulus went to see the Director of the Museion, Philetus, who informed them that Theons body had been taken to the local undertakers office. When Marcus Didius and Aulus arrived at the undertakers embalming salon, they asked permission to see the body of Theon. The undertaker, unaware that Falco and Aulus had met the librarian prior to his death, attempted to fool them by showing them the wrong body. Aulus and Falco recognized this trickery at once and proceeded to attack the undertaker and his assistants. The undertaker confessed that the body had not been delivered yet because the Museion was conducting a See for Yourself, which under Roman law was illegal.

Falco and Aulus set off once again for the Museion to witness the dissection Theons body. The zookeeper, Philadelphion, found leaves in his throat, later determined to be the poisonous oleander. Auluss friend Heras, who had accompanied them to the dissection, was invited over for dinner. The next day, Falco and his wife attended one of the morning meetings of the Academic Board. There they met an astronomer Zenon, the Head of Philosophy Apollophanes, a scholar of law known as Nincanor, and the Curator of the Serapeion Library Timosthenes. After the meeting, Falco visits the zoo with his family and proceeds to question all candidates for Theons job. Unfortunately for Marcus Didius, his father had decided to visit Alexandria, against Falcos explicit forbidding of such an action. Falcos father, a man who goes by Geminus, appears at Fulviuss house when Falco returns home. To add to his despair, he must also go, along with his father, to a party that night. But Marcus Didius need not despair, for at this party Falco and Helena Justina encountered an old friend of theirs named Thalia. Thalia had crossed the Mediterranean with Geminus, and was in town to buy excess animals from the library so that she could resell them at the new Roman Forum. The next day, Falco revisited the Great Library before meeting Helena Justina at the Serapeion. Together, they questioned Timosthenes before taking a break to the Egyptian countryside. Upon returning home, they found that Nincanor had visited them when he heard Falco had been looking for him. Falco expected to question Nincanor about his involvement in the case, but instead Nincanor was looking to bribe Marcus Didius into recommending him for the position of librarian. After rebuking Nincanors offer, Marcus Didius walked to the Museion. While there, he heard screams. He discovered a half-eaten goat with rope tied around it. Shortly after, he found the half-eaten body of Auluss friend Heras. After Marcus Didius realized that the Museions crocodile was loose, he heard a woman cry for help. This woman turned out to be Roxanna, Philadelphions mistress and love intrest of several men.

Falco heard the crocodile approaching. When there was no hope left, his friend Thalia burst onto the scene. Together with the help of several citizens they managed to force the crocodile back into his pin. The next day, Falco and Helena Justina visited Roxana to question her about the previous night. Eventually, she pinned the event on Nincanor, as he was the most likely person to hold a grudge against Philadelphion big enough to resort to attempted murder. The next day, after visiting the Prefects office and chatting once more with Tenax, Falco visited the Museion. Chaos ensued as another body had been found dead, that of Nibytas. Nibytas occupied a corner of the library every day for decades, and his body had sat in that corner decaying for three days before anyone realized he was dead. Falco later learned the Nibytas had been accused previously of stealing scrolls. The next day, after talking to Tenaxs assistants Mammius and Cotius, Falco returned to the Museion to talk to Zenon about its tight budget. Zenon insisted that they were financially sound, so Marcus Didius sought out his old friend Thalia before heading off to question Philadelphion about his alibi. Philadelphion claimed to have been with Thalia, which Falco later confirmed. After talking to Pastous over lunch, Falco was told about a man named Diogenes who bought nd sold scrolls. Diogenes was always asking to buy scrolls from the library, and Falco recognized him as a man with whom his uncle and father conducted business. Falco intended to confront his family members about Diogenes, but they came home to drunk for questions. The next day, a messenger sent word for Fulvius and Geminus to come to the Museion to do business with Diogenes. As they were still hungover, Falco instead met Diogenes at the Museion. Diogenes and his assistants were packing scrolls onto carts. When finished they drove, with Marcus Didius in their cart, to a box maker, who packaged them up. Diogenes, knowing about Falcos job, jumped Falco and attempted to kill him, but Falco got away.

After escaping, Falco went after Diogenes and chased him, only to discover two other figures were chasing him as well. The suspense built as Falco and a gang of hooded figures chased Diogenes up to the top of the light tower. Once at the top, Diogenes was startled by a hooded figure and fell into the fire. He climbed to his feet and chased the figure off the top of the lighthouse. While Diogenes burned unconscious, Falco identified the body as one of Philadelphions assistants, who are later revealed to be related to Nibytas. The following day, Falco returned once again to the Museion. He questioned Philadelphion about his assistant then proceeded to talk to Heron. Falco believed that the Director of the Museion, a man named Philetus, had been involved with Diogenes, and therefore wanted to find out if the Director had kept the money for himself or given it back to the Museion. Just as Zenon was telling Falco that Philetus had kept the money for himself, They noticed smoke rising about the library. They came running and found the closet where Diogenes had been working the night before to be burning . They, along with several scholars worked to no avail to put the fire out. Soon, Falcos wife Helena arrived on the scene with more scholars and a machine that could pump water into the closet. Soon the fire was reduced to nothing, and Philetus arrived on the scene. Falco accused him of working with Diogenes, which he denied. Falco, however, proved his guilt and advised Philetus to resign. Meanwhile, Helena had met an extremely important inventor known as Heron and invited him to dinner. He accepted and requested a professional word with Marcus Didius. That night at dinner, Heron told Falco that after examining all the facts, he believed Theons death to be a suicide and the locked door merely a coincidence. Falco agreed and the next day, Aulus decided to re-question Roxana about her sighting at the zoo. She confessed that she saw a figure by the crocodile pin and identified the figure to be Nincanor.

With everything decided, Falco took his entire family to see the pyramids and returned back just in time for Theons funeral. Although uneasy about the case, Marcus Didius decided to return home. Before they could do that, Helena Justin and Marcus Didius first had to return a scroll she had borrowed to the Daughter Library. After returning the scroll Marcus Didius confronted Timosthenes alone. Falco told Timosthenes that Roxana had reconsidered and admitted that Nincanor was not the man she saw in the zoo. Falco asked who Timosthenes thought she would name and Timosthenes merely shrugged and left. But as Falco was leaving, Timosthenes jumped him and tried to grab the knife from his boot. All of the sudden Marcus Didius heard three strikes and Timosthenes was on the floor dead. Falco had been saved by his stalker, a man named Katutis, who wanted to follow Marcus Didius home and find work in Rome. Ancient Rome was very different from modern society. For one, womens rights were severely poor. Women were not allowed the traditional education that men received. In the book, Helena Justina is the daughter of a senator and has a higher education then most women because she listened in on her brothers studies. Additionally, women were expected to act a certain way. They were not to talk and in certain circumstances were supposed to remain at home. Another point that the story plays up is the role of nationality in ancient cultures. Even country thought itself the best, and many times throughout the story Marcus Didius judges people for their nationality or customs, in particularly the Greeks and their beards.