The Life of Cato - My First Sacrificial Cleansing and The Temple of Jupiter (primary)

An order by Vespasian was sent out to all political leaders, city planners, and patricians, stating that the reconstruction of an important temple was to go under maintenance soon. This was the temple of Jupiter and it was an important place for the higher class to practice alternative religion away from the town and out of sight of religious ridicule. Although around 300 families got the letter, Vespasian chose two people to take on the big job. Those two people were my father and his friend, Lucius Vestinius. Now, although my father had done many big jobs for political families and made great buildings for public use, Vespasian ordered the reconstruction of this temple to be a lowkey operation that only be done after the sun went down. Not only was this out of the ordinary for my father, but it was also much extra work for me as I would be bringing carts full of beeswax candles and pottery lamps. What my father did understand though was that the rebuilding of this temple was risky and put lots of pressure on his company, so Vespasian paid both my dad and his friend a bonus. The rebuilding of this temple left us vulnerable in the night with looters and crazy people so this bonus was well deserved. Lucius was unlike my father, he came from the plebian class and now had worked his way up through being a horseback rider and meeting political leaders along the way. He had a knack for building and decided to ask my father if he needed help one day. Since then he has been my fathers top employee and has contributed more than some of the higher class people in my dad's work. Before I arrived at the temple, my father told me to bring fresh water from the house and to buy a lamb for sacrifice. When I arrived at the site my father told me to take my shoes off before entering the site and remain silent until the cleansing process was over. I was scared to kill the lamb, but my father grabbed the giant jug of water and started pouring it around the site. With no choice, I grabbed my blade and did the job as quickly as possible. We then bled the lamb for a minute or two while I looked away holding it upright. It was my first sacrificial cleansing and hopefully my last.

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The Life of Cato: Cato The Elder Speech on Woman and Equality (primary)

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The Travel Log of Cato Bruttius

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