Lupus

“	He had not told them everything. He had not told them how his mother dropped her water jug when she saw him and how she had wailed when she gazed into his tongueless mouth. He did not tell them all the things she had whispered in his ear and how she had covered his face with kisses, weeping all the time. He did not tell them that she was learning to read and write and that she had taken his wax tablet and written the words I LOVE YOU in trembling Greek.	”
–Caroline Lawrence, The Fugitive of Corinth

Lukos (Latin: Lupus or Lykos) (Greek: Λύκος) is a tongueless ex-beggar boy and the youngest of the four detectives. Born on the island of Symi in Greece, Lupus was a professional sponge diver before being kidnapped and brought to Ostia in 77 AD. In Ostia, he was taken in by Jonathan ben Mordecai's family, before going to live in Ephesus in 81 AD.

Lupus is the owner of the ship Delphina, captained by Marcus Flavius Geminus. As of AD 94, Lupus is also the head of a famous pantomime troupe.

Biography[]

Early Life[]

Symi-Map — Location of Symi on map of Greece.

Lupus was born Lukos on the island of Symi on 15 February 71 AD, to Melissa, a native of Symi, and Alexandros, a sponge diver. His paternal uncle, Philippos, had been sold into slavery some years before Lupus' birth, and Lupus never met his uncle, although he heard his parents speak of Philippos from time to time.

In 77 AD, on Lupus' sixth birthday, his parents gave him a pigskin ball as a birthday present. Unbeknownst to Lupus' family, his uncle Philippos--now going by the name Venalicius--had recently returned to Symi, seeking revenge. Venalicius was filled with rage to discover that Melissa and Alexandros were now married. That evening, when Lupus and his father went down to play at the beach, Venalicius entered Lupus' house and encountered Lupus' mother Melissa. Melissa managed to calm Venalicius down, and the two talked through the night, whilst Alexandros and Lupus went out night-fishing. Lupus later recalls that they caught an octopus, which Lupus liked to use to scare his mother.

The next morning, Alexandros and Lupus returned to the house. Finding his brother together with his wife, and hearing Melissa's scream, Alexandros mistakenly believed that Venalicius had hurt Melissa, and a fight broke out, in which Alexandros managed to cut off Venalicius' ear. Lupus also tried to fight Venalicius, but he was quickly thrown onto the floor. Venalicius then killed Alexandros before Lupus and Melissa's eyes. Lupus launched himself at his uncle, screaming that he would tell everyone that his uncle had murdered Alexandros. To keep him silent, Venalicius cut out Lupus' tongue and threatened Melissa not to follow them, or else Lupus would also be killed. Venalicius then took Lupus aboard his ship, Vespa, and made for Italia, presumably to Rome.

Whilst on the ship, Lupus had a fever and almost died from blood loss, but fought to stay alive, in the hopes that he would one day get a chance to murder Venalicius. A sailor aboard Vespa cauterized the stump of Lupus' tongue with a hot spoon. Lupus eventually escaped at the port of Ostia, where he lived as a mute beggar-boy for two years.

In Ostia[]

Lupus learned Latin in Ostia, and survived by begging for alms. He was also able to earn some money by occasionally working at the bathhouses. At night, he would sleep in the cemetery on the outskirts of town.

One night in AD 79, whilst in the cemetery, Lupus was attacked by a pack of feral dogs who lived nearby. He tried to escape by swinging from tree to tree, but when he ultimately fell down, he had to be rescued by Flavia Gemina, Nubia, and Jonathan ben Mordecai. They took Lupus to Jonathan's house to recover, where Lupus met Jonathan's father, Doctor Mordecai ben Ezra. Mordecai deduced that Lupus' tongue had been cut out. Lupus was angry and embarrassed at this (very public) revelation, but ultimately decided to stay at Jonathan's house for a little while, where he was washed, clothed, and fed. He started to become very good friends with Jonathan.

Physical Appearance[]

Child[]

Lupus is small and lithe, and in The Thieves of Ostia is mistaken to be a monkey. He has dark hair and sea-green eyes. At the age of six, Lupus’ tongue was cut out by his uncle Venalicius, leaving behind a cauterized stub. Living on the streets prior to the events of The Thieves of Ostia, Lupus was thin, extremely filthy, and generally unkempt, but cleaned up and resumed a healthy weight after being taken in by Jonathan’s family. Early in the series, Lupus’ expression is typically described as hard and weary, due to the trauma of his early life, and only softens when overcome by strong emotions such as hope or joy, though these moments are rare. This lessens later in the series as Lupus learns to trust people again.

Lupus typically wears a green tunic, and always carries at least one wax tablet with which to communicate.

Adult[]

At the age of 24 in Escape from Rome, Lupus is described as a young man with dark, shaggy hair, sea-green eyes, and strong black brows. He is skinny, but his arms are muscular. Lupus still favours a sea-green tunic, and carries a wax tablet in a pouch on his belt.

Relationships[]

Clio[]

Lupus meets Clio in The Secrets of Vesuvius when they are tracking down Ferox and they take a liking towards each other. They become such firm friends that when Clio steals a horse and rides away, Lupus goes with her to protect her. Clio is often shipped with Lupus together.

Flavia[]

Flavia is kind to Lupus, but he is a little less kind to her when she's bossy. They are still friends however.

Jonathan[]

Lupus moves in with Jonathan and they become friends, doing things together like brothers. Lupus is distraught when Jonathan is missing, and is the only one to take real interest in finding him again. When Nubia has to decide between freeing her brother, Taharqo, and freeing Jonathan, Lupus tells her to free Jonathan.

Nubia[]

Nubia is calm and collected, which sometimes Lupus doesn't like, but mostly they are friends.

Jonathan's parents[]

They are kind to him by taking him in; however Lupus feels like they don't really want him, especially Jonathan's mother. Although Lupus' relationship with Jonathan's parents is initially only a corollary of his staying at their house, Jonathan's father Mordecai eventually comes to think of himself as Lupus' guardian, a thought echoed by everyone else. Later, some even mistake Lupus to be Mordecai's son; in official warrants for Lupus' arrest, he is named as "Lupus, son of Mordecai".

Melissa, Lupus' Mother[]

Lupus loves her mother and he risks losing the children in The Colossus of Rhodes just to see her.

Skills and Abilities[]

Lupus is a professional sponge diver, and is able to swim down to significant depths without any prior practice. He is a strong swimmer, and teaches Flavia, Nubia, and Jonathan to swim as well. He is also very good at the drums, and is fluent in both Greek and Latin.

As a former beggar boy, Lupus is shown to be street smart, and is completely self-reliant by the age of eight. Because he is unable to speak, Lupus is very good at pantomime and acting, and Aristo notes that he learned how to read and write extremely quickly. He is also a competent artist. He is shown to be so good at the Roman practice of chironomia that Aristo suggests that if Lupus had been able to speak, he probably would have made a very good rhetor.

Etmology[]

Lupus means "Wolf" in Latin.

Trivia[]

Lupus' real name is Lukos
Lupus' favourite food is oysters. His favourite drink, as an adult, is wine, because of its strong taste
Mordecai describes Lupus as having too much choler, which makes him quick to anger, but also brave, a trait Lupus expresses pride in
In the TV series, Lupus is depicted as still having his tongue. Whilst he is still mute in the TV series, even Mordecai cannot discern the cause, and it is never disclosed, though Venalicius is shown not to have been the cause

Appearances[]

Lupus appears in, among others, the following novels:

↑ Lawrence, Caroline. 2001. The Thieves of Ostia. London, England. Hachette Children's Group.

[1] Lawrence, Caroline. 2001. The Thieves of Ostia. London, England. Hachette Children's Group.

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