Son of Rome: Steven Saylor Interview
The bestselling author sat down with fellow novelist Richard Foreman to chat his latest novel, Rome, and Marcus Aurelius.
Steven Saylor is a bestselling novelist and author of the Roma series of novels. The latest is Dominus, which recounts the fortunes of the Pinarius family from the reign of Marcus Aurelius, the model of the philosopher-king, up to Constantine, who alters history forever by making Christianity the state religion of Rome.
Steven Saylor, can you first tell us about the idea behind the narrative of Dominus and its place in the series? And how did you come up with the device of the fascinum of the Pinarii?
First, the fascinum, since that’s where it all starts. Some of the very earliest myths of Rome involve what T.P. Wiseman calls “the phantom phallus” — a disembodied phallus floating in a hearthfire. This is the god Fascinus. Little replicas of this god — lucky charms — proliferate, until just about everyone owns a fascinum, as it’s called. The Vestal virgins have one, which they solemnly place out of sight underneath the chariot of any general celebrating a triumphal procession. Why? Because the fascinum (which often sports wings) wards off the Evil Eye of the envious in the crowd. Likewise, Roman mothers put a fascinum in the crib, to protect their baby from jealous (presumably infertile) women. The Pinarius family in Dominus happens to own the very earliest known fascinum, a talisman which seems to have kept their family going for more than a thousand years.
So, how did ancient Rome go from worshipping a floating phallus (and countless other gods and goddesses) to worshipping just one, the invisible god of the Christians? The Pinarius family witnesses that long process, from Roma and Empire to the final book of the trilogy, Dominus.
The name of the book comes from the title by which Roman slaves addressed their master, which then became a title for the Roman emperor, which then became the title used by Christians for their god: Dominus.
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