Song of the Nile Read online

  Table of Contents

  Title Page

  Copyright Page

  Dedication

  Acknowledgements

  One - SELENE

  Two

  Three

  Four

  Five

  Six

  Seven

  Eight

  Nine

  Ten

  Eleven

  Twelve - MAURETANIA WINTER 25 B.C.

  Thirteen

  Fourteen - MAURETANIA SUMMER 24 B.C.

  Fifteen

  Sixteen

  Seventeen - ITALIAN PENINSULA SPRING 23 B.C.

  Eighteen

  Nineteen - ROME SUMMER 23 B.C.

  Twenty - ROME WINTER 23 B.C.

  Twenty-one

  Twenty-two

  Twenty-three - MAURETANIA SPRING 22 B.C.

  Twenty-four

  Twenty-five

  Twenty-six

  Twenty-seven

  Twenty-eight - GREECE SPRING 21 B.C.

  Twenty-nine

  Thirty

  Thirty-one

  Thirty-two - ISLE OF SAMOS, GREECE SPRING 2 0 B. C .

  Thirty-three

  Thirty-four - ISLE OF SAMOS, GREECE SPRING 19 B. C .

  Thirty-five

  Thirty-six

  Thirty-seven - ATHENS, GREECE SUMMER 19 B. C .

  Thirty-eight

  AUTHOR’S NOTE

  READERS GUIDE

  PRAISE FOR

  LILY OF THE NILE

  “Magical.”

  —M. Isidora Forrest, author of Isis Magic

  “In this account of the fate of Cleopatra’s daughter in the household of Augustus Caesar, Dray reveals the same events we’ve seen in Rome and I, Claudius from a very different perspective, that of a teenage girl. Cleopatra Selene has unusual gifts and problems, but her struggle to understand herself and her destiny is universal. The glimpses of the cult of Isis leave one wanting to know more, and the story keeps you turning the pages until the end.”

  —Diana L. Paxson,

  author of Marion Zimmer Bradley’s Sword of Avalon

  “Lily of the Nile is graceful history infused with subtle magic and

  veiled ancient mysteries, at a time of immense flux and transition.

  Cleopatra Selene—regal, stoic, and indomitable daughter of the

  legendary Pharaoh-Queen Cleopatra—carries on the spirit of her

  mother, the goddess Isis, and the soul of Egypt itself into the lair

  of the conquering imperial enemy. Selene, whose skin speaks the

  words of queen and goddess in blood, channels the dynastic pride

  that is her birthright, and seals the fate of the Roman Empire.

  Meticulously researched, thoroughly believable, this is a different

  kind of book, and a true achievement.”

  —Vera Nazarian,

  two-time Nebula Award–nominated

  author of Lords of Rainbow and Mansfield Park and Mummies

  “With clear prose, careful research, vivid detail, and a dash of magic, Stephanie Dray brings true life to one of Egypt’s most intriguing princesses.”

  —Susan Fraser King,

  bestselling and award-winning

  author of Queen Hereafter and Lady Macbeth

  Berkley titles by Stephanie Dray

  LILY OF THE NILE

  SONG OF THE NILE

  THE BERKLEY PUBLISHING GROUP

  Published by the Penguin Group

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  Penguin Books Ltd., Registered Offices: 80 Strand, London WC2R 0RL, England

  This book is an original publication of The Berkley Publishing Group.

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales is entirely coincidental. The publisher does not have any control over and does not assume any responsibility for author or third-party websites or their content.

  Copyright © 2011 by Stephanie Dray.

  All rights reserved.

  No part of this book may be reproduced, scanned, or distributed in any printed or electronic form without permission. Please do not participate in or encourage piracy of copyrighted materials in violation of the author’s rights. Purchase only authorized editions.

  BERKLEY® is a registered trademark of Penguin Group (USA) Inc.

  The “B” design is a trademark of Penguin Group (USA) Inc.

  PRINTING HISTORY

  Berkley trade paperback edition / October 2011

  Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

  Dray, Stephanie.

  Song of the Nile / Stephanie Dray.—Berkley trade pbk. ed. p. cm.

  ISBN : 978-1-101-54506-5

  1. Cleopatra, Queen, consort of Juba II, King of Mauretania, b. 40 B.C.—Fiction. 2. Cleopatra, Queen of Egypt, d. 30 B.C.—Family—Fiction. 3. Rome—History—Augustus, 30 B.C.–A.D. 14.—Fiction. 4. Augustus, Emperor of Rome, 63 B.C.–A.D. 14—Fiction. I. Title.

  PS3604.R39S65 2011

  813’.6—dc22

  2011020553

  http://us.penguingroup.com

  To my mother and my grandmothers,

  because like Cleopatra Selene,

  I come from a long line of powerful and inspiring women.

  Dear Reader,

  It’s often erroneously said that Cleopatra VII of Egypt was the last of the Ptolemaic queens. In truth, that title belongs to her daughter, Cleopatra Selene. Though Augustus would make Selene the most powerful client queen in his empire, she’s typically overlooked by historians in favor of her notorious mother. It was suicide that helped to make Cleopatra so famous, but her daughter has always captivated me because Selene’s story is one of survival.

  Cleopatra Selene carved out a new destiny for herself in an uncertain land, but she seems always to have been looking behind her. She was a woman who forgot nothing.

  I wrote this book so that we don’t forget her.

  As an author of historical fiction, one of my greatest joys is filling in the spaces the historical record leaves empty. While Selene is believed to have married King Juba II of Mauretania in 25 B.C., she doesn’t appear on the coins of her realm for another five years. Her exact whereabouts during this time are unknown, but as a nominal member of the imperial family, she had a unique perspective from which to witness five of the most crucial years in Roman history and religious history.

  Though Isis worship would eventually come to dominate the ancient world, the cult frequently came under attack even before it fell out of favor with Augustus. While the Romans generally tolerated foreign gods and goddesses, Augustus banned the worship of Isis within the sacred boundaries of Rome. Cassius Dio tells us that Agrippa also cra
cked down on the Alexandrine cult in 21 B.C. In spite of this, or perhaps because of it, Selene actively promoted her goddess. That she appears never to have been censured by Rome for this—or for any of the more politically provocative actions she took as queen—tells us that she enjoyed an extraordinary relationship with Augustus.

  This novel imagines and dramatizes that relationship.

  As in Lily of the Nile, I’ve adopted some conventions that bear explanation. To start with, I’ve embraced the most familiar spellings and naming conventions for historical figures and ideas. For example, I’ve used Mark Antony for Marcus Antonius and Cleopatra instead of Kleopatra. I’ve also used English words for Latin concepts whenever possible. One instance is my adoption of the word lady when the word domina may have been more accurate. Moreover, I’ve addressed Augustus as the emperor throughout the novel even though our modern understanding of the word differs greatly from the traditional Roman concept of an imperator. I stand by this choice because of Octavian’s nontraditional use of imperator—a title he held lawfully in 43 B.C. and should have relinquished that same year but continued to use in front of his name until he acquired the new honorific of Augustus.

  Whenever the historical record was in doubt, I’ve unabashedly adopted the slant most favorable to Egypt, Selene, her family, or the faith in which she was raised; the bias against Rome and Augustus reflects her views as I’ve imagined them, not my own. Also, Selene’s relatively uncritical acceptance of the idea that native peoples must be “civilized” is not an endorsement, but simply the historical attitude of the time period.

  Finally, though the weddings, divorces, battles, treaties, and imperial politics are all firmly rooted in historical fact, I’ve tried to respect this work as a novel more than as a biography. To that end, my choices and changes are explained in the author’s note at the end of this book.

  ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

  There are many people I wish to thank. My wise-woman agent, Jennifer Schober, for her guidance and innate understanding of my work. My warrior-woman editor, Cindy Hwang, who taught me how to make this story more powerful. My amazing husband, for his infinite patience and encouragement. My wonderful friends and family—especially my in-laws—all of whom have been so supportive. My sister, for her friendship and tireless promotion. The Rovets for their hospitality. The generous bloggers and reviewers who have helped spread the word. Kay Dion for being the most unfailingly helpful librarian in the nation. Mallory Braus, Julia Drake, Shelly Dunlop, Tanja Pederson, and Anna Treece for assisting me with publicity so that I could focus on writing. Paul McEndree for help with sea snail mucus and purple dye. Jessica Cooley for last-minute edits. Victoria Janssen, Rachel Blackman, Craig Lammes, and Reggie Greenberg for their vivid recollections of Athens. Sheila Accongio, Christi Barth, Sharon Buchbinder, Mallory Cates, Sabrina Darby, Moriah Jovan, Michelle Sandmeier, Christine Rovet, Constance Chamberlain, Jen Lazarus, Kai Lawson, Joseph Kelly, and Stephanie Rice for critiquing early drafts of the manuscript. Becky Wilson and Jamie Michelle for reading the manuscript after I made changes—and the remarkable Gabrielle Carolina, who gave up sleep to help me with the book and with study guide questions.

  I also couldn’t have written this without Leah Barber holding down the fort and without my Divas cracking the whip over my head every day. Nor do I think I could have kept track of the enormous piles of research for this book without the help of Scrivener, upon which I’m hopelessly dependent.

  I must again thank Duane W. Roller, Professor (Emeritus) of Greek and Latin at Ohio State University, who offered his expertise on Cleopatra Selene and Juba II. I’m also grateful to anthropologist and Amazigh activist Helene Hagen, whose work on Berber culture is fascinating. Both scholars patiently answered my questions, but any mistakes in this manuscript should be ascribed to me alone.

  Mindful that footnotes distract and that my sources are too numerous to cite here, I would, nonetheless, like to credit several, including W. W. Tarn’s scholarly paper titled “Alexander Helios and the Golden Age” as well as Duane W. Roller’s The World of Juba II and Kleopatra Selene, Margaret George’s Memoirs of Cleopatra, Wilbur Smith’s River God, Pharaoh by Karen Essex, and the splashy Hollywood film Cleopatra , starring Elizabeth Taylor.

  I’m again indebted to authors who have also tried to bring Selene’s world to life, including Andrea Ashton, whose social awareness about the conflict of Berbers and Romans helped inspire several scenes in this book. Additionally, I want to thank Alice Curtis Desmond and Michelle Moran, whose influence can also be felt in this novel. However, it’s Beatrice Chanler’s 1934 novel, Cleopatra’s Daughter, the Queen of Mauretania that inspired me most. My work is heavily influenced by her ideas, imagery, and lofty prose. In particular, Ms. Chanler’s book captured my imagination because of its unusual theory that Cleopatra Selene and her twin brother were religious symbols—a theory that I’ve extended into the fantastic.

  In adopting and modernizing this theory by reimagining Isis worship, I relied not just upon ancient sources and current scholarship but also upon the worship of Isis as it’s currently practiced. M. Isidora Forrest’s Isis Magic was invaluable on that count, as was Ms. Forrest herself, who kindly offered advice on rituals that Selene may have been familiar with. The calling prayer of Isis appears in this novel with her permission.

  While it is a perilous endeavor to speculate about the sexuality of historical figures, I was emboldened by Virgil in the Renaissance by David Scott Wilson-Okamura and Saara Lilja’s Homosexuality in Republican and Augustan Rome. I’ve portrayed Selene’s sexual morality through the lens of mythic Isiac fertility rites as explored in Merlin Stone’s fascinating book When God Was a Woman, itself inspired by the work of Robert Graves. While no detailed record of Isiac mystery rites survives, I drew upon the legend that Isis herself had served as a prostitute in Tyre. I was also mindful of Herodotus’s claim that female adherents of goddess cults gave themselves to a stranger at least once in their lives—an idea echoed by Strabo. And, of course, I must express appreciation for The Metamorphoses of Lucius Apuleius, an Isiac work and the only Latin novel to survive in its entirety. I blended all this information with extant accounts of the Eleusinian Mysteries.

  Insofar as this novel is about Augustus, I relied upon ancient historians Cassius Dio, Suetonius, and Tacitus, freely adopting the latter’s uncharitable views of Livia. When it came to reconstructing Berber culture as it may have existed in Selene’s reign, I consulted Susan Raven’s Rome in Africa, Paul MacKendrick’s The North African Stones Speak, and The Berbers by Michael Brett and Elizabeth Fentress.

  For additional sources, please see my website at stephaniedray.com.

  CHARACTERS

  The Court of Augustus Caesar

  AUGUSTUS CAESAR, or Octavian, Gaius Julius Caesar Octavianus, the imperator and victor of Actium

  JULIA, his daughter by his former wife Scribonia, and his only child

  LIVIA DRUSILLA, his wife, scion of a powerful noble family, the Claudii

  Tiberius, her oldest son by her former husband

  Drusus, her youngest son by her former husband

  OCTAVIA, his long-suffering sister

  Marcellus, her son by her first husband

  Marcella, her daughter by her first husband

  Antonia Major, her eldest daughter by her second husband, Mark Antony

  Antonia Minor, called Minora, her youngest daughter by her second husband, Mark Antony

  Iullus Antonius, her ward, son of Mark Antony by his deceased wife, Fulvia

  Ptolemy Philadelphus, her ward, youngest son of Mark Antony and Cleopatra VII of Egypt

  Alexander Helios, her missing ward, son of Mark Antony and Cleopatra VII of Egypt, twin brother of Selene

  AGRIPPA, his most powerful and trusted general

  MAECENAS, his political adviser and overseer of imperial artistic programs Terentilla, the beautiful wife of Maecenas and mistress of Augustus

  VIRGIL, his revered poet and propagandist

>   ANTONIUS MUSA, his renowned physician, a freedman

  The Court of Cleopatra Selene & Juba II

  CLEOPATRA SELENE, Queen of Mauretania, only daughter of Cleopatra VII of Egypt and Mark Antony

  JUBA, her husband, the Berber-blooded King of Mauretania and Numidia

  Lucius Cornelius Balbus, his adviser, a Roman veteran

  Circe, his mistress, a Greek hetaera

  CHRYSSA, her Greek slave girl, a hairdresser and keeper of the wardrobe

  TALA, her Berber attendant, sister of Maysar, a tribal leader

  EUPHRONIUS/EUPHORBUS, her court physician, mage, and priest of Isis from Alexandria

  CRINAGORAS OF MYTILENE, her court poet

  MEMON, her captain of the Macedonian guard from Alexandria

  LADY LASTHENIA, her adviser, a Pythagorean scholar from Alexandria

  MAYSAR, her adviser, a Berber tribal leader

  CAPTAIN KABYLE, her Berber-born ship’s captain