Servilia's Curses
After she is rejected by Caesar and publicly humiliated by Atia, Servilia begins a path of revenge. Her first act is to invoke curses onto both Caesar and Atia by a call upon her family gods, the di indigetes.
Servilia's curse upon Caesar:
"Gods of the Junii, with this offering I ask you to summon Tyche, Megaera, and Nemesis so that they may witness this curse. By the spirits of my ancestors I curse Gaius Julius Caesar. Let his penis wither. Let his bones crack. Let him see his legions drown in their own blood. Gods of the Inferno, I offer to you his limbs, his mouth, his breath, his speech, his hands, his liver, his heart, his stomach. Gods of the Inferno, let me see him suffer deeply, and I will rejoice and sacrifice to you."
Servilia's curse upon Atia:
"By the spirits of my ancestors I curse Atia of the Julii. Let dogs rape her. Let her children die and her houses burn. Let her live a long life of bitter misery and shame. Gods of the Inferno, I offer you her limbs, her head, her mouth, her breath, her speech, her heart, her liver, her stomach. Gods of the Inferno, let me see her suffer deeply, and I will rejoice and sacrifice to you."
Both of these curses are invoked as she carves them into scrolls of lead. The scrolls are then rolled up and given to her duenna (slave), who then takes the scrolls to hide them within the cracks of the homes of Servilia's intended victims.
Her final curse comes just before her suicide in front of Atia's front door:
"Gods below, I am Servilia, of the most ancient and sacred Junii, of whose bones the seven hills of Rome are built. I summon you to listen. Curse this woman! Send her bitterness and despair for all of her life. Let her taste nothing but ashes and iron. Gods of the Underworld, all that I have left I give to you in sacrifice if you will make it so."
Read more about this topic: Servilia Of The Junii
Famous quotes containing the word curses:
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