Blog for Oct 14 A polygon of shade

Miriam is in Ephesus about to have lunch:

Recalling a cookshop around the corner near the Terrace Houses, I headed there first. At its marble-topped counter opening onto the sidewalk, I placed a take-out order: some cheese, pita, and figs wrapped in a linen sleeve and an amphora of honey-sweetened water. While threading around peddlers and beggars to return to the inn, one hand dipping into the linen sleeve to sample the figs, I saw the Memmius Monument farther down Curetes Street. And so, I took advantage of its cool shadow and stone bench to finish my lunch there.

The Memmius Monument was constructed during the reign of Augustus by Gaius Memmius, grandson of Sulla, Roman general and statesman of the late Roman Republic. During Memmius’s appointment as governor of Asia Minor, he had this monument erected to honor himself and three generations of his family. To this day, one can see the figures of his father and grandfather on the blocks. The monument bears the following inscription: To Gaius Memmius, son of Gaius Memmius, grandson of Sulla Felix (paid for this monument) from his own funds.

Sulla was a great commander and ruthless politician who used violence to advance his career and conservative agenda. Although he attempted to create a stable constitutional order, the Republic never recovered from his coup d'état, civil war, and purges. Accordingly, Sulla likely set the precedent for Julius Caesar's dictatorship and the eventual end of the Roman Republic.

You can go to Ephesus to sit in the cool shadows of the Memmius Monument, or you can read “The Betrothal.” Just click here.