Grandpa Pliny does end up doing business of Percy's behalf. The palace sends a messenger with a job offer and Grandpa Pliny goes through the contract with Percy. He also gives Percy a quick overview of Roman finances, and how much he should be able to expect from a normal job. The palace is paying a lot more than a normal job. Nevertheless, Grandpa Pliny returns the offer with a counter offer after Percy explains that he can draw pictures of cool ships and ship related things, but he can't build boats. The counter offer includes giving Percy permission and funds to hire two people: a woodworker and a ship's captain or ex-captain of some kind. Percy would also need an office of some kind to build his models.

The palace makes a counter offer: they will hire three men including a retired captain a ship builder and a woodworker to help Percy and to learn from him. Titus offers Percy a room in an apartment complex the crown owns to do his work. However, Percy would also have to spend mornings learning Latin with a Latin teacher Titus hired. Percy groans. He just got out of ever having to go to school again and now he has to take Latin class? Ugh!

Grandpa Pliny laughs at Percy's misery and promises to help him with any homework. So, with Grandpa Pliny's approval, Percy agrees to the job contract. He now officially has his first job!

Percy starts his job as Rome's new ship designer the next week. He also starts Latin lessons with an older man named Pompeius Magnus, which is an accurate name because this guy is Mega Pompous and exclusively wears togas. Percy's dyslexia comes back in full force when Mr. Pompous starts teaching Percy all the Roman letters. The "V" was pronounced like a U and the "I" was pronounced like J, but only sometimes? School. At least it was only mornings.

In the afternoon he gets to do his actual job. The office Titus has given him for his boat work was in an apartment complex next to the river, and it had lots of paper and quills. It would take a few weeks to hire the ship builder, woodworker and retired captain, but in the meantime Percy was expected to start making plans. Percy discovers that Riptide actually works like a quill too with endless ink, so that's pretty cool.

Percy spends a few weeks just drawing a bunch of cool boats and ships with as much detail as he can. He designs big ships with long keels and side fins for crossing the English Channel, and he designs river boats with wide, shallow hulls to be able to sail through rivers. He designs grain ships with several masts and war ships with space for soldiers. Initially he had drawn a boat with a bunch of cannons, but Percy doesn't know how cannons really work and he probably should not give Romans gun powder, so he burns that picture. Then he makes drawings of different rudders, sail shapes and keels. At some point, he thinks about adding retractable spikes to the side of the ship so you can ram into another boat and cut it apart. The spikes might not be anything Percy had ever seen in any boat documentary but they sure do look cool.

Whenever Percy gets bored of drawing ships and ship parts, he goes outside the apartment complex and sits along the banks of the Tiber River with some bread or grapes. Having a job isn't so bad.

.
A week before new year's, Marcella and Grandpa Plinius had spent the better part of a week travelling to the Plinius farmhouse that was a few days travel north of Rome. There Marcella had picked up a bunch of honey jars she had prepared early that year. Apparently, Marcella had a bee-keeping hobby and she kept many hives up at their family farm. During the week they were gone, Percy and Gaius had eten out every day and Percy had been late to Latin class twice.

On the morning of January 1st, Marcella had dragged Gaius away from his books and Percy out of bed early to deliver new year's gifts to their neighbors. Since the Plinius household was nestled between two apartment complexes they had a lot of neighbors. Gaius and Percy had to help her carry the crates of honey jars as she handed each of their direct neighbors a jar of honey.

Percy held his crate and tried to yawn discretely while Marcella spent several minutes talking to each of the neighbors. Percy could generally understand the greetings, but then the conversations devolved into other topics and Percy's Latin was no longer good enough to understand. All of the neighbors gave return gifts like candles or sweet-smelling clumps of dried flowers.

A bit further up the road there was another Domus and Marcella brought Gaius and Percy along there too. Apparently, the mother of the household and Marcella were friends so they ended up exchanging gifts and eating some snacks in their dining room. Percy had short conversations with the children of the household who wanted to show Percy the cool wooden horse they had recently gotten. Percy let them know that it was a pretty cool wooden horse.

In the afternoon, Percy and the Pliny's (a good name for a band, by the way) all went to the festival of Janus. The main forum of Rome was full of merchants selling food and wares. Everyone was wearing their best clothes and small firepits had been set up around the forum ready to be lit upon nightfall. People lined up to walk through a large archway. Lovers would walk through the archway together, and kids with run through holding the hands of their frazzled parents.

"You have to say a wish before running through the arch," Gaius said, "but you can't tell anyone what it is or Janus will not listen to it."

Annabeth. Grover. Mom. How showers. Toilet paper. Everything Percy wanted was thousands of years away. He stands in front of the archway. There are no gods or spirits here, as far as Percy can see. It's just an archway. Still, Percy closes his eyes. "I wish nothing bad happens to the Plinius family this year," Percy whispers and walks through the gate.

Afterwards, Percy and the Pliny's went up to the temple of Janus, which was a simple one room stone building with large iron doors. The first month of the Roman year was the month of Janus, the god of transitions. "You cannot open the doors," Marcella said, "otherwise people might think you are declaring war."

Obviously. Yeah. Why wouldn't opening doors be considered a declaration of war.

Romans are ridiculous.

Since Percy did not want to declare war, he did not open the doors. Instead, he stood in front of the temple where many candles and oil lamps had been lit on the doorway to the temple. Grandpa Pliny set an oil lamp down and lit the spout. The oil lanterns in Rome were like the magic Aladin lamps, except made of ceramic instead of gold and filled with olive oil instead of magic genies.

"To new beginnings," Marcella said, folding her hands and praying in front of the doors of the temple, "This last year has seen many deaths and much sorrow, but also so many blessings. I lost my brother, I lost many friends and I walked through the ashes of the world. Yet we have gained a blessing in the form of Perseus, the newest member of our household. With his help and despite all the dangers, both myself and my son survived the end of the world. Oh lord of transitions, oh lord of doorways, please watch over our household as we enter this new year."

.
"Perseus, would you mind joining me for lunch?" Domitian asked as he entered the room. Pompeius Magnus halted his Latin lecture and bowed as Domitian entered. Magnus' only student looked like he was about to fall asleep.

Perseus looked happy to jump up out of his chair. "Yes! Absolutely! Sorry Pompous, I unfortunately have to leave your very interesting lecture about Latin suffixes and go with the Ceasar. How about we continue this interesting lecture tomorrow?" Perseus said in Greek.

"I will allow you the afternoon off if you request it politely in Latin," Magnus told his student in Latin.

"Non prohibere me!" Perseus grinned. You cannot stop me! Then the boy got up from his seat and leapt into the hallway with Domitian. Domitian led the young man to the dining room where the slaves had laid out some food. Domitian poured himself some watered-down wine and offered freshly pressed grape juice to the son of Neptune.

"What did you want to talk to me about?" Perseus asked.

"What makes you think I wanted to talk? I merely thought you might be hungry for lunch," Domitian answered.

Perseus shot him that boyish grin of his, "Please don't insult me. I know that inquisitive look in your eyes. I have seen that look in Athena's - uh - priestesses. You want to know something."

Domitian filed that information away for later. "I'll admit I am endlessly curious about you. I have tried to piece together the events of your childhood to better understand how it is we have the most powerful demigod alive in the Roman Empire but there had not been a single whisper of you before Mount Vesuvius," Domitian said.

"I lived in Greece with my mother."

"What city in Greece?"

"… Um… Greeeecia."

"That is not a place."

"Poseidonopolis."

"That is also not a place."

"… oh! Athens!"

"Congratulations on remembering the name of a single Greek city. I hope you'll forgive me for not believing you," Domitian said.

Perseus' shoulders slouched and he ate his food in silence for several moments. Domitian let the silence sit. He'd found that silence could be a powerful tool when questioning someone. Having fully-armed soldiers stand behind people was also generally effective but Domitian doubted it would work on Perseus.

"I may have lied about a few things," Perseus admitted at last, "But I'm not going to tell you the truth. I have decided to stay silent on my past for a reason."

Domitian nodded. He expected as much, "May I ask a few questions then. If you do not wish to answer, you may just say so and I will let the matter drop."

Perseus lounged casually but Domitian saw his fingers tap-tap-tap the side of the couch, "Ok, but if I say pass you stop asking, and afterwards you have to answer my questions honestly as well."

"I will not share state secrets or anything that might endanger my family. Given those terms, we have a deal. Where were you actually born?" Domitian asked.

"Pass."

"Do you intend to bring Rome or the royal family any harm?"

"No! I'll admit you guys annoy me sometimes, but I don't want to hurt anyone! Is that what you think?"

"No. You do not seem like a malicious spirit to me, but gods can be hard to predict and their wrath can be destructive," Domitian said calmly.

"I'm not a god Domitian," Percy said as he pulled out his godly bronze feather and twisted it between his fingers.

"You are not human either Perseus, and when it comes to the fate of Rome, I prefer to be cautious. One final question then," and this was the question Athena had bid him to ask the child of Poseidon when the goddess had visited Domitian in his sleep, "Is your mother a priestess of Athena?" Athena was usually aware of all demigod children, but she had not known about Perseus. This might mean someone had been keeping him a secret, and she suspected it was Neptune. There were a few reasons Neptune might want to keep his demigod children hidden, and Athena had some suspicions.

Perseus seemed shocked for a second before laughing at the absurdity of the question. "No! Ha! Could you imagine? A second Medusa? No, No. My mother is Christian, actually."

Of all the answers Domitian had prepared himself for, that was not one of them. The lover of Poseidon was part of that new cult? The ones that worship the Jew Jeshua and refused to worship any other god? How could such a woman be considered worthy of Poseidon's attentions?

Perseus laughed, "Yeah. You can imagine her surprise when my father told her he was Poseidon."

Now it was Domitian's turn to sit in silence as he tried to process what this meant and what to say next.

"My turn," Perseus said, "What are Titus' plans for me?"

"Your knowledge of shipbuilding –"

"The truth, Domitian. You agreed."

Domitian took a sip of wine, then said, "My brother wants to get a better understanding of your character. However, there is a good possibility that he intends to offer you Julia's hand in marriage and name you his heir."

Perseus choked on his bread and spent over a minute coughing before washing the food down with some water. Perseus then babbled something in a language Domitian had never heard before, waving his arm to demonstrate something that Domitian did not understand. The language was on odd mix of sounds that Domitian could not place, at time is sounded similar to Latin, other words sounded more Germanic. Not Persian at any rate, which was a comfort.

"His HEIR?" Perseus sputtered, "No! That is- that is- I don't even speak Latin! I don't know anything about Roman law or politics! I would look terrible in purple!"

"You would have advisors, of course. I myself have quite a bit of experience with the treacherous ways of the senate, if you ever find yourself in need of advising. Besides, if the fates are kind my brother will be Emperor for many more years. Succession would not occur for decades."

"I am too young to get married! I mean, Julia seems nice but I don't love her- I-I'm only fifteen! What?"

"Why in the world would you need to love her? Your marriage would be a political union to unite the two bloodline and publicly establish you as heir to the Augustus. As long as you produce an heir, it does not matter if you love her. You can have mistresses for love."

"No way. If I cheated on my future wife my mother would never forgive me. I also don't think I would forgive myself."

Domitian ate some of his food and let Perseus mutter in his foreign tongue for a while. This wasn't the first time Domitian had met a young man who assumed the love he would share with his wife would be eternal and pure. Domitian also doubted the young man would maintain such notions after marriage.

"Why do you hate the senate so much?" Perseus finally asked.

Domitian debated on how to answer such a question, "How much do you know about the year of the four emperors?"

"Well. I assume it had four emperors," Perseus said.

Domitian sipped his wine, "The year after Emperor Nero took his own life four men laid claim to the purple. My brother and father were in Judea putting down a revolt. I was too young for war and had been in my Uncle Sabinus' care for many years. My uncle, cousins and I lived in Rome and were able to witness each of these men who claimed to be Augustus. Since my father was a powerful general, my uncle and I were kept under guard as a way to ensure my father would not rebel against the Augustus."

"The first Augustus was a good general, but did not understand the niceties of politics. When he did not pay his praetorian guard an adequate bribe, they murdered him and he was replaced by a second man. The second man was an excellent politician but knew nothing of war. When he had to defend his title and saw the bloodshed of battle, he chose to burn all his letters so none in the senate could be implicated for supporting him, then committed suicide. The third man was a puppet for ambitious generals and largely incompetent at both war and politics. My father was the fourth and final emperor."

"With each Augustus the senate would welcome the man and swear loyalty. Such beautiful praise fell from their lips with each new man to ascend to the purple. How quickly their loyalties changed. Their words of loyalty are all empty, Perseus, you must always remember that."

"My uncle was a senator too. He was in charge of the city guard and worked hard to maintain order and prevent riots with each death. My uncle was friends with the senate. He attended every senate meeting and invited many senators to his house to discuss poetry and politics. He considered them friends."

"When my father was declared Augustus by his troops and his troops started to win battles Augustus Vitellius attempted to surrender. He planned to step down and hand the city over to my uncle until my father could enter the city. However, Vitellius' generals and soldiers discovered his plan and stopped Vitellius from doing something they considered disgraceful. His soldiers came to our house. We fled to the well-fortified Capitoline hill and closed the gates. We stayed there overnight, protected by my uncle's guards. Within a day Vitellius' soldiers set fire to the temple of Zeus where we resided."

"I was awakened by the smoke and the sounds of battle in the dark of the night. We had to flee in the chaos. My uncle instructed all of us to hide in the houses of trusted friends who might shelter us. We would all go to different places, to increase the chances that at least one of us might live. I dressed myself as a priest of Isis and walked among the other priests as I fled the flame. Once I was down from Capitoline hill, I was able to make my escape and hide at the house of an old friend who welcomed me in and kept me sheltered."

"Soon enough my father's troops won the war and my father was declared Emperor."

"Emerging from hiding, my father's troops declared me Ceasar and took me to the Senate house where all the senators pledged their allegiance and told me such kind things about how they had prayed for my health and how overjoyed they were that a good man like my father had won. Many of these men had said the exact same thing to Vitellius, and to Otho and to Galba and to Nero. Such pretty lies."

"My uncle and aunt did not survive. They had been found and murdered on the night the Capitoline hill had been set ablaze. My uncle's corpse had been cast onto the Gemonian stairs to rot. The stairs are usually reserved for the corpses of criminals and traitors."

"I found out several years later that my uncle and aunt had gone to the house of one of their close friends, a fellow senator with whom my uncle was well acquainted. They had been friends. They had diner at each other's houses and spoke of politics, poetry and philosophy. They had sat together as equals in the senate house for years. None of that mattered though when Vitellius' soldiers offered coin. This man was one of the first to pledge his allegiance to my family when my father's troops entered the city."

Domitian took another sip of wine.

"I do not much trust the senate, Perseus, because they are liars who would sell their friends for coin and sing endless praise while they stab you in the back. I would advise you not to trust them either."

Percy was silent for a while, processing. He rubbed his palm that still contained the scar of a pit scorpion's venom. Percy knew what it was like to be betrayed by a friend, "I'll remember."

.
Perseus is away most days at the palace learning Latin and building models for Roman ships. Gaius Plinius Secundus the younger has no such official responsibilities, but that doesn't mean he has been idle. Giaus has inherited his uncle's name and he intends to live up to this reputation and make his uncle proud. His uncle was known as one of the smartest men in the empire and had written many works that were well regarded within the senate including his history of the German people and his writings on natural history.

While only an equestrian himself, Plinius Secundus had been one of Emperor Vespasian's good friends and spent most of his life studying and recording the nature of things. Gaius would honor his uncle's memory by organizing the last five books of his Uncle's Naturalis Historica, making at least three copies of each book and delivering them to the Library of Rome and hopefully the Library of Alexandria. Once finished, his uncle's Naturalis Historica would make up of 37 books total and cover everything from astronomy, zoology, botany, human physiology and minerals.

The last five books were about mining and the study of metals and minerals. Plinius the elder had visited several mines, spoken to smiths that worked with gold, solver, bronze and iron about their craft. He had visited stone quarries and spoken to artists that created bronze and marble statues and written down all information he could about these materials and the trades that created or used them. Gaius carefully organized the many notebooks worth of interviews and observations into five books and had carefully copied the information into clean scrolls.

Once, Gaius had spilled his ink well on the scroll for one copy of the third book of minerals. Distraught, Gaius had burned the ruined text and isolated himself in his room for two days. His mother had left food for him outside the door and tried to speak to him several times, but Gaius had not answered. One the second day Perseus had broken in through his window. Assuming Perseus would try to comfort him with words Gaius had been immensely surprised when the demigod had picked Gaius up as if he weighed nothing, walked out of the house and down the Via Julia to the shore of the Tiber River and tossed Gaius into the water.

Spluttering in indignant rage, Gaius had splashed Perseus back. Soon enough, the two men were acting like children. Many onlookers on the shore of the Tiber had shaken their heads. One year ago, if someone would have told him of this kind of behavior, Gaius might have been so ashamed he would never have shown his face in Rome again. Somehow, being in the presence of Perseus had a way of soothing Gaius' nerves and making him act with joy instead of with caution.

The two of them had returned two hours later, both covered head to toe in mud and sand grinning like barbarians. Perseus had used his godly powers to summon water from the small fountain they had in the courtyard to clean their clothes of filth. It baffled Gaius once more how normal it was for Perseus to use powers only reserved for gods for such mundane human tasks.

After dinner Perseus had allowed Gaius to examine his holy quill. Perseus had offered to turn the object into a sword as he had done in the palace, but Gaius was far more interested in the quill. It looked like bronze, but did not melt at the temperature bronze melted and did not bend when Gaius attempted to bend it.

Perseus had followed Gaius back to his study and Gaius had started writing the second copy of the third book of minerals anew. He wrote the first word with Perseus' holy quill. Gaius had been so overwhelmed by the high quality of the ink that flowed from it that he had returned the quill with reverence and spent half an hour explaining to Perseus of different types and qualities of ink so he may better understand the blessing his father had bestowed him with.

.
"Do you want to fight?" Perseus asks in heavily accented Latin.

Tiberius Alexander looks up from where he was sharpening his sword. The boy seemed excited and holds up his bronze sword.

"Have I offended you in some way Perseus, that you would challenge me to a duel? If I have caused offense, I do apologize, that was never my intent," Tiberius Alexander responds, speaking slowly so the boy can understand.

Percy seemed to process the Latin for a few seconds, then says, "No, no. I am no offended. Friendship-fighting! Not murder fighting."

Tiberius Alexander raised his eyebrows. The boy had apparently wandered onto the fields of Mars and into the Praetorian camp to challenge the Praetorian Prefect to a friendly spar. Tiberius Alexander wasn't sure how the boy got into camp. The camp was surrounded on all sides by a wooden wall several paces high and it was patrolled and guarded at all times. Had he snuck in without anyone noticing or had one of the guards allowed him entry? While all of the Praetorian guard who had witnessed Perseus' godly nature had sworn an oath of secrecy, that did not mean they had forgotten. Tiberius Alexander would not be surprised if one of the men who knew of Perseus' godly nature had allowed him entry into the most fortified camp in Rome.

This was a difficult situation. Tiberius Alexander was fairly certain the boy meant well with the challenge, but if he defeated this Semi-Deus in a duel his pagan soldiers that knew of Perseus' nature would claim that he was a Jewish heretic for threatening the child of a god. Already the people of Rome were suspicious of Tiberius Alexander for his Jewish roots. Holding a sword-point to a pagan god-child would be a dangerous choice. Alternatively, if Tiberius Alexander lost the fight against this fifteen-year-old boy the majority of his guard that did not know of the boy's nature would questions Tiberius Alexander's skill.

"Come," Tiberius Alexander said, "We shall go to the training fields and I will supervise your training. My men will be your opponents today."

Perseus followed him with a grin, seemingly unaware of the many eyes that followed the two to the practice fields. Tiberius Alexander called upon several of his men, from new recruits to some of his most experienced fighters to join them.

"Magnus! Step forth and challenge your opponent to a duel," Tiberius Alexander ordered one of his younger recruits, a man in his late twenties who had been part of the city guard for ten years before being promoted to the Praetorian Guard.

Perseus had no armor and only carried his bronze sword. Bronze is metal that is famously weaker than the steel swords Romans wielded. Perseus' opponent on the other hand was wearing full roman armor and was armed with a sword, spear and full shield. Had Tiberius Alexander not seen the boy wield the sword with deadly accuracy in the Augustus' Palace he would have laughed at how unprepared this boy was.

As it was, Tiberius Alexander was not surprised when Perseus ran around his opponent, disarmed him, and pushed him forward to fall face first onto his shield in less than a minute. "Ego victor!" Perseus declared with a laugh. That was not the correct grammar for calling oneself the victor but it was close enough. Tiberius Alexander sent the next man forward.

The afternoon continued on. Perseus fought against several of the Praetorian Guard's best fighters, and won as easily as he had in the Palace. After defeating his second opponent Perseus started giving sword fighting advice in broken Latin, "Legs! Legs like this. Look. You legs wrong." "You sword more up. Look." Perseus clearly had experience teaching sword fighting, although he did not seem to take the soldier's shield into account. One soldier had tried to shoot him with an arrow. Tiberius Alexander had been enraged and yelled at the soldier. He had explicitly said this was a practice duel, a real arrow shot at the boy could have killed him. However, Perseus had cut the arrow in two with his weapon as if it was a common occurrence and had waved away Tiberius Alexander's concern.

Next, groups of three, five and finally ten men with full gear were sent forth. While Perseus won individual duels with ease, he did not seem to know how to fight men in formations, especially when Tiberius Alexander commanded them with some skill. The fight with ten men had taken over an hour, most of which consisted of the Praetorian guard marching forth in a defensive square while Perseus stayed out of range of the spears and tried to find cracks in their defense. Finally, Perseus had picked up a large stone and thrown it into the soldiers. The stone bounced off their shield, but it caused one of the soldiers to stumble and Perseus had used the opportunity to pull the spear out of the soldier's grasp. Once armed with a spear, Perseus was able to break through their shield wall within a few minutes. It was also the only time one of his soldiers had been hurt. The spear wound had been a shallow cut, but Perseus had been concerned and had apologized several times. He called an end to the fights so he could help the soldier to the infirmary tent.

Perseus had never been hit.

He was sweating though and by the end of the afternoon he seemed a bit fatigued.

Several of his men had walked forth to ask who this soldier was. Tiberius Alexander had answered honestly when he said, "Perseus is Rome's official ship designer and a personal friend of the Augustus." This had confused the men. Surely this fleet-footed boy with unparallelled skill in the blade was a soldier, not a sailor?

The sun set and dinner was brought forth. Perseus sat and ate with the guard. His Latin was limited but his excitement and obvious joy did not need translating.

After dinner, Tiberius Alexander walked Perseus to his home in the city. Their conversation was stilted because Perseus could only speak a bit of Latin and Tiberius Alexander could only speak a bit of Greek. Nevertheless, Perseus had been impressed with Roman shields and group formations. He asked questions about how to organize a small army.

"The Praetorian Guard have four and a half thousand soldiers," Tiberius Alexander said when they approached the Plinius household on the Via Jullia. The road was quiet this time of night so he was not too worried about being overheard. "If you had to fight all of them, who do you think would win?"

Perseus answered in Greek, "Where are we fighting?"

"Does it matter?" Tiberius Alexander asked. Perseus nodded. "Here, then. In Rome. If we fought now, who would win?"

"Me."

"You think you can fight four and a half thousand men by yourself and win?"

"No. I can fight ten. I would lose sword fight to fifty of your soldiers. However, your soldiers are on… a flat field next to big river. The Field of Mars is very flat and next to the Tiber River. Tiberius Alexander, I am not dangerous because of my sword. Not to Romans. I am dangerous because of my nature. Your men would drown long before their spears ever reached me," Perseus says.

Perseus is a bad liar so Tiberius Alexander knows he is telling the truth.

Perseus waves with a smile as he enters the Plinius household. Tiberius Alexander stands still in front of the house for many moments before returning to camp. He stayed awake for hours that night listening to the sound of the nearby rushing waters.

.

.

.

Author's Note:

Timeline: The new year was celebrated this chapter, so we have now entered 80 AD. Romans celebrated new year on January first, as we do now. Well, Julius Ceasar changed the Callander 46 BCE so that the new year started in January, before that it started in March with the start of the military campaigning season.

Fun facts: January is named after Janus the Roman god of beginnings/endings and doorways. February is named after the roman festival Februa. March is named after Mars/Ares. May is named after the goddess of flowers and plant growth Maia. June is names after Juno/Hera, and was apparently a popular time to get married. July is named after Julius Ceasar and August is named after the first Augustus, Emperor Augustus/Octavian/Julius Ceasar 2.0. They tried to name some of the other months after the other Emperors, but it never really stuck.

No one really knows what April is named after. Maybe the opening of flower buds, or Aphrodite. Who knows, not me.

The middle of the month, the ides, was supposed to be when the corresponding godly influence was strongest. So the ides of June was the best day of the year to get married. The Ides of January might be a good time to start something new. And the Ides of March is a good time to stab your buddy Julius in the back 23 times. You know, for the vibes.

The doors to the temple of Janus being closed to symbolize that Rome was at peace is a real thing. Emperor Augustus made a big deal of ending the ongoing civil wars by ceremoniously closing the doors. They were opened when Rome declared war. The closed doors of the temple of Janus was featured on coins and stuff when emperors were bragging about bringing peace to the empire.