<center>Pueros, my boy(s):

Another superb addition to archived intelligence.

— CB

I fully agree with CB.

Pueros, thanks for another great episode.

ringlo

Nero is Pueros' best yet. And he is always a superb writer! Part of my reaction may be purely because of personal interest, though I think that it’s much more general than that. I have read extensively in the time period and enjoy history, literature, and fictional histories of ancient Rome. In Nero, Pueros is bringing together solid historical interpretation of the period with what promises to be an exciting fictional plot. So far the only place where I might quibble with the author about his history is the age of castration of the hero. From my reading (and please correct me if I'm wrong) the preferred ages were either younger or older than Bicilus' 14 years of age.

Lloyd DeMause, in his Evolution of Childhood wrote of the same period of Roman history that "intercourse with castrated children was often spoken of as being especially arousing, castrated boys were favorite "voluptates" in imperial Rome, and infants were castrated "in the cradle" to be used in brothels by men who like buggering young castrated boys. When Domitian passed a law prohibiting castration of infants for brothels, Martial praised him: 'Boys loved thee before... but now infants, too, love thee, Caesar.'" The law prohibited the castration of boys before their seventh birthdays. Paulus Aegineta noted that the law was more honored in the breach than in the performance before he went on to describe the forms of the surgery in detail.

The alternative preference was to castrate young men with fully developed (and preferably large) penises that they might continue to have erections to pleasure their mistresses. Again, Martial described it well: "You ask, Pannychus, while your Celia has so many eunuchs? Celia wants to have sex without appearing to." Juvenal also alluded to the practice in his Satires: "There are women who like the ineffective eunuchs because their kisses are always soft and they don't have beards and because abortives are not necessary

Of course, boys and men would have been castrated at any age to please their masters or to provide a profit for the slave dealer, but Bicilus seems to me to be other than the norm. This is, I'm sure, for plot purposes that will become evident as we read further. But, Pueros is a fine historian, and I would think that some mention of the norms would be appropriate as we move forward. It might also provide for some interesting sub-plots to add to the complexity of his story.

I hope that we are seeing only the beginning of a long saga tracing the life of a fascinating participant in Roman history. Since Bicilus is writing his memoirs of 60 years, this story could continue to engage us for two or three years in the writing. I certainly hope so!

Many thanks to those who have posted kind comments about 'Nero'.

Jesus is, of course, correct about the usual ages for the performance of castration in ancient Rome. However, as he surmises, the gelding of my narrator at the less common age of 14 is described for a purpose. You see, Bicilus actually lived, albeit very obscurely as far as historical record was concerned, & was, according to that record, emasculated at about 14.

Hoc est verum et nibili nisi verum! Experto credite!!

I shall give no more away now but, suffice to say, more will be revealed as this lengthy saga proceeds, including much about Roman castration practices & the lives of eunuchs of the time.

PUEROS

I have to agree with all the previous posts. Pueros, you have turned me into an historian, albeit MUCH more amateur than yourself and hardly qualified... But I find myself relishing the historical parts of your stories as much as the fantasy parts.

Actually I have been tempted to write my own efforts about the Roman Empire days, but I shall resist. My efforts would be so miniscule compared to Pueros... as my efforts in the Magical world would be to the writings of Paolo. Someone once told me "write what you know," and I shall heed that advice. In the meantime, keep it coming, Pueros!

Thank you Pueros