far as her eye could see there were booths and more booths. It had been a long time since she had been to the marketplace in Alexandria. While that one had of course been considerably larger, this market offered plenty of everything as well. Whatever one required could be found here.
Then they reached the area of the market which tended to attract women especially: the jewellery and clothing booths. Here in Sepphoris there were special offers as well as a high level of quality. She was surprised that the goldsmiths here also used integrated precious stones in their work. She loved gems and enjoyed looking at them although she had no desire to wear any herself. She would have only been given strange looks by here neighbours in Nazareth if she did anyway. They were keeping as low a profile as possible already regarding their true wealth. If the people of Nazareth knew how wealthy they truly were, their life would be made miserable by them. They had been given many precious gifts in Egypt for later on when Jesus would require means to finance his mission. Among them were precious stones. Wearing them here would only invoke the envy of the other women. Of course in Alexandria there would have been no such danger …
But what was most painful for Miriam to see was how many slaves there were in this town of Sepphoris. There were literally all over the place. Some were probably dressed as well as their lords, others looked unkempt and unloved. It had required great restraint on her part to tolerate the lifestyle of the citizenry of Alexandria without getting into arguments with them about it. Although Alexandria was located in Egypt, the city had a strong Greek orientation. Fortunately Bakenor was a wise man who shunned the superficial life offered there. He detested slavery as well as the excessive lifestyle in that largest of all cities. There were nearly 800,000 slaves, 50,000 prostitutes and only 150,000 free citizens among the one million inhabitants of that city. Thousands of travellers and merchants arrived there daily. Hence one could assume that the true number of inhabitants was even somewhat higher.
Miriam and Joseph bought fruit and some bakery goods dipped in honey. Then they sat down on a wall to rest a little while from their long journey.
“Father, what is the name of the play that will be performed at the theater when we visit?”, Jesus asked.
“I have no idea. You know me, I have a hard time remembering things like that.”
“Pardon me, may I interrupt your conversation for a moment?” A man with a long white beard stepped up to them. His garments had a few holes, yet aside from that he looked very neat and clean.
“Sure. Who are you?”
“My name is Daniel and I have lived in this city for a long time already. While I am a Jew, I have taken a liking to Greek philosophy. And since I just overheard your conversation by chance, I thought I would tell you about the play that is going to be performed today.”
“Oh yes dear sir, please tell us“, Rachel said impatiently, while still chewing on one of the honey pastries.
“It is going to be one of the works by the Roman poet Plautus. Tis said to be a comedy which goes by the title “The Glorious Captain“. Part of the play is set in Ephesus, a large city located in Asia Minor.”
“Ephesus? How interesting. This boy here will be moving to Ephesus in just a few months.” Miriam pointed toward Joshua.
“A beautiful city. I visited my brother there a few years ago He will surely like it there. A beautiful area, a large harbor and a huge temple, which is one of the wonders of the world, can be found there.” Daniel gazed into the sky dreamily. “But to return to the topic of the play: too bad that the lords of the city could not agree to show a play by one of the great Greek playwrights. For Sophocles, Aeschylus or Euripides, whose name I have only heard of recently, would surely offer more worthy material for an introduction to the potential quality of theater here in Sepphoris. And besides, the Greek language is far more melodic than Latin. But alas, Herod Antipas had his way and insisted on putting on a Roman play. Well, I have to get going now. Who knows, we may meet again if it is in our destiny. God bless you.”
“God bless you too, Daniel“. Miriam appreciated the kind and cultivated manner of the old man.
∞
In the afternoon, the family had to stop by the dressing rooms of the actors on their way to the theater, which was located directly next to the market. After all the doors were the handiwork of Joseph and his sons Jossi and Judah. He was hoping for the praise of his wife, and she immediately obliged him in that. The family was let in by the watchman, who led them straightway to the dressing rooms, although a few actors were already inside.
“You three truly did an outstanding job there“, Miriam said full of pride. “Although I do not know much about such things, I have to say that the decorations on the doors are truly wonderful.”
Jossi beamed, for that had been his part.
“The dressing rooms sure are huge. Are there that many actors?” Joshua was rather amazed.
“Well, it depends entirely on the play“, one of the actors present replied. “For example, today around fourteen actors and ten extras will be used. With that many people a certain amount of space is necessary of course.”
Joshua’s admiration grew. Unfortunately they all had to leave the dressing rooms now, however as the theater had already opened, they were now led into the main area and shown to their seats by the watchman. “There in the middle is the area reserved for Herod Antipas and his retinue“, the watchman suddenly began to tell them. “Farther up the wealthy ladies and gentlemen sit, who are sure not to miss any of the plays due to their boring life. Today this area back here is reserved for the builders of the theater and their families. These are what would be called seats of honor. Farther along there you see the large stairway. The common people sit above the platform over there. “How many people fit into this theater? Joshua was quite taken by the whole atmosphere of the place.
“The theater is designed to hold 2,000 people. It may be expanded to a capacity of4,000 in a few years. But for now the construction work required would take too long. The remaining 2,000 seats will be added gradually eventually. But the space necessary had already been included in the basic design“, the watchman said with pride, as if it had been his very own idea. “Well, I have to get back to work now. Enjoy the show!”
Joseph went ahead and picked a spot for the group of seven. He sat down first, followed by Jossi and Judah. Rachel, Jesus and Joshua joined them, with Miriam seated at the opposite end from Joseph.
“You will surely enjoy it, Joshua“, the mother of Jesus said. It is supposed to be a comedy, apparently. You might not be able to understand much of the dialogue, but simply by watching the actors and the people around you you will be able to follow along well enough. It promises to be a funny show.”
“Do you know Latin?”, Joshua asked.
“A little. We learned Greek as well as some Latin in the roughly five years we stayed in Alexandria. Out of us three, Jesus has the best grasp of the languages. You will pick them up quickly once you are in Ephesus.” She smiled at him. “Isn't it interesting that this play happens to take place in Ephesus?”
“Yes, but right now I don't even want t begin thinking about leaving here yet. Right now I could care less about Ephesus!”
The three friends were enjoying the fact that they were sitting in the theater together. Joshua was watching the many people as they began to trickle in. Eventually the trickle turned into a might stream. Rachel was fascinated by the stage, where some actors were already going hither and thither. And Jesus was on the lookout for Herod Antipas.
