Publisher's Synopsis
Rome in Emperor Nero's times is steeped in crime and debauchery. Marcus Vinicius, a young and beautiful warrior, comes to his uncle Gaius Petronius, who is a writer, aesthete, connoisseur of luxury and pleasure, and the approximate of Nero. The young man says that, upon returning to Rome from the war against the Parthians, he injured his hand and has been taken to the house of the white-haired commander Aulus Plautius for care.There Vinicius was captivated by a young Ligia, the daughter of the king of the Ligians, who lived in far northern forests. At home, the Ligians called her Galina. She came to Rome as a young hostage and grew up in the house of the noble Aulus and his faithful, virtuous wife Pomponia. Treating Ligia as their own daughter, they raised her pure and chaste. She was nothing like the debauched women of Rome. Pomponia is said to be a Christian, but Petronius does not believe it, as Christians are said to be terrible villains, and Pomponia's face seems to radiate light, which cannot be villainous in any way.
