10-17-2005, 11:51 PM
The trouble is that Dio clearly describes Parthenius having removed the blade from the weapon, rather than just switching it with a bladeless one! I don't know what word Dio uses - it's usually translated as sword - but Suetonius writes pugionem, clearly meaning a smallish dagger, probably of the military type. Either way, there are same problems with 'removal' of the blade as have been mentioned - before screw threads, any blade would have to be rivetted to the hilt.
The gist of the source accounts does suggest that the whole thing was done quite hastily - the timing's a little garbled, but it seems this blade-removing business was accomplished while Domitian was in the court room, prior to taking his afternoon nap - since Suetonius mentions that the emperor had awakened in terror the night before, and would surely have noticed at that point if somebody had been messing with his dagger, that leaves a single morning for Parthenius to act.
I reckon, therefore, that Tarbicus' idea is probably the best answer - a smithy would have been necessary, but there would have a fair few of them in central Rome, an easy jog from the Palatine. Parthenius could have filched the dagger from under the pillow and sent it by his swiftest slave to the nearest blacksmith to break the blade, then have it returned in under an hour. Another point - surely the dagger would have been in a scabbard? A little risky to sleep with a naked blade under your pillow, even if you're as paranoid as Domitian. In which case the deception would have been more easily concealed - the stub of the broken blade would have aligned the hilt with the scabbard, and should Domitian chance to glance beneath his pillow all would seem okay...
The gist of the source accounts does suggest that the whole thing was done quite hastily - the timing's a little garbled, but it seems this blade-removing business was accomplished while Domitian was in the court room, prior to taking his afternoon nap - since Suetonius mentions that the emperor had awakened in terror the night before, and would surely have noticed at that point if somebody had been messing with his dagger, that leaves a single morning for Parthenius to act.
I reckon, therefore, that Tarbicus' idea is probably the best answer - a smithy would have been necessary, but there would have a fair few of them in central Rome, an easy jog from the Palatine. Parthenius could have filched the dagger from under the pillow and sent it by his swiftest slave to the nearest blacksmith to break the blade, then have it returned in under an hour. Another point - surely the dagger would have been in a scabbard? A little risky to sleep with a naked blade under your pillow, even if you're as paranoid as Domitian. In which case the deception would have been more easily concealed - the stub of the broken blade would have aligned the hilt with the scabbard, and should Domitian chance to glance beneath his pillow all would seem okay...
Nathan Ross
