The Scarlet Banner Page 11
CHAPTER X
The "lower city" of Carthage extended northward to the harbor, westwardto the suburb of Aklas, the Numidian, and eastward to the Tripolitansuburb. Directly beyond its southern gate, covering a space more thantwo leagues long and a league wide, lay the oft-mentioned "Grove ofVenus" or "Grove of the Holy Virgin." From the most ancient pagan timesthis grove was the scene of the sumptuous, sensual revels which wereproverbial throughout the Roman Empire. "African" was the word used toexpress the acme of such orgies.
The whole coast of the bay in this neighborhood, kept moist by the dampsea-air, had originally been covered with dense woods. The largerportion had long since yielded to the growth of the city; but, by theEmperor's order, a considerable part was retained and transformed intoa magnificent park, adorned with all the skill and the lavishexpenditure which characterized the time of the Caesars.
The main portion of this grove consisted of date palms. These wereintroduced by the Phoenicians. The palm, say the Arabs, gladly sets herfeet as queen of the desert into damp sand, but lifts her head into theglow of the sun. It thrived magnificently here, and in centuries ofgrowth the slender columns of the trunks attained a height of fiftyfeet; no sunbeam could penetrate vertically through the roof ofdrooping leaves of those thick crowns, which rustled and noddeddreamily in the wind, wooing, inviting to sleep, to unresistingindolence, to drowsy thoughts.
But they stood sufficiently far apart to allow the light and air toenter from the sides and to permit smaller trees (dwarf palms), bushes,and flowers to grow luxuriantly beneath the shelter of the loftycrowns. Besides the palms, other noble trees had been first planted andfostered by human hands, then had increased through the peerlessfertility of nature: the plane-tree, with its lustrous light bark; thepine, the cypress, and the laurel; the olive, which loves the saltbreath of the sea; the pomegranate, so naturalized here that its fruitwas called "the Carthaginian apple"; while figs, citrus-trees,apricots, peaches, almonds, chestnuts, pistachios, terebinths,oleanders, and myrtles,--sometimes as large trees, sometimes asshrubs,--formed, as it were, the undergrowth of the glorious palmforest.
And the skill in gardening of the Roman imperial days, which hasscarcely been equalled since, aided by irrigation from the immenseaqueducts, had created here, on the edge of the desert, marvels ofbeauty. "Desert" was a misnomer; the real desert lay much farther inthe interior. First there was a thick luxuriant green turf, which, evenin the hottest days of the year, had hardly a single sunburnt patch.The wind had borne the flower-seeds from the numerous beds, and noweverywhere amid the grass blossoms shone in the vivid, glowing hueswith which the African sun loves to paint.
The parterres of flowers which were scattered through the entire grovesuffered, it is true, from a certain monotony. The variety that nowadorns our gardens was absent: the rose, the narcissus, the violet, andthe anemone stood almost alone; but these appeared in countlessvarieties, in colors artificially produced, and were often made toblossom before or after their regular season.
In this world of trees, bushes, and flowers the lavishness of theemperors (who had formerly often resided here), the munificence of thegovernors, and still more the endowments of wealthy citizens ofCarthage had erected an immense number of buildings of every variety.For centuries patriotism, a certain sense of honor, and often vanity,boastfulness, and a desire to perpetuate a name, had induced wealthycitizens to keep themselves in remembrance by erecting structures forthe public benefit, laying out pleasure-grounds, and putting upmonuments. This local patriotism of the former citizens, both in itspraiseworthy and its petty motives, had by no means died out. Solemntombs separated by very narrow spaces lined both sides of the broadStreet of Legions, which ran straight through the grove from north tosouth. Besides these there were buildings of every description, andalso baths, ponds, little lakes with waterworks, marble quays, anddainty harbors for the light pleasure-boats, circus buildings,amphitheatres, stages, stadia for athletic sports, hippodromes, opencolonnades, temples with all their numerous and extensive outbuildingsscattered everywhere through the grounds of the whole park.
The grove had originally been dedicated to Aphrodite (Venus), thereforestatues of this goddess and of Eros (Cupid) appeared most frequently inthe wide grounds, though Christian zeal had shattered the heads,breasts, and noses of many such figures and broken the bow of many aCupid. Since the reign of Constantine, most of the pagan temples hadbeen converted into Christian oratories and churches, but by no meansall; and those that had been withdrawn from the service of the paganreligion and not used for the Christian one had now for two centuries,with their special gardens, arbors, and grottoes, been the scenes ofmuch vice, gambling, drunkenness, and matters even worse. The gods hadbeen driven out; the demons had entered.
Among more than a hundred buildings in the grove, two near the SouthernGate of the city were specially conspicuous: the Old Circus and theAmphitheatre of Theodosius.
The Old Circus had been erected in the period of the greatestprosperity of Carthage, the whole spacious structure, with its eightythousand seats, was planned to accommodate its great population. Nowmost of the rows stood empty; many of the Roman families, since theVandal conquest, had moved away, been driven forth, exiled. The richbronze ornaments of numerous single seats, rows, and boxes had beenbroken off. This was done not by the Vandals, who did not concernthemselves about such trifles, but by the Roman inhabitants of the cityand by the neighboring peasants; they even wrenched off and carriedaway the marble blocks from the buildings in the grove. The granitelower story, a double row of arches, supported the rows of marbleseats, which rose from within like an amphitheatre. Outside, the Circuswas surrounded by numerous entrances and outside staircases, besidesniches occupied as shops, especially workshops, cookshops, taverns, andfruit booths. Here, by night and day, many evil-minded people werealways lounging; from the larger ones, hidden by curtains from the eyesof the passing throng, cymbals and drums clashed, in token that,within, Syrian and Egyptian girls were performing their voluptuousdances for a few copper coins. South of the Circus was a large lake,fed with sea-water from the "Stagnum," whose whole contents could beturned into the amphitheatre directly adjoining it.