
Set against the opulent backdrop of late‑first‑century Rome, the tale follows Caius Septimius Cinna, a patrician whose life is a parade of feasts, gladiatorial spectacles, and scholarly debates. Though well‑versed in Greek literature and philosophy, he treats ideas as sport, preferring pleasure and power to deeper conviction. His world begins to shift when his wife, Antea, plagued by unsettling visions, is urged to seek the air of Jerusalem.
Arriving in the holy city, the couple encounters the tense atmosphere surrounding the Nazarene, whose teachings stir both hope and fear among the authorities. They witness the fateful trial before Pontius Pilate and the harrowing crucifixion, moments that force Antea to confront the truth she has sensed in her dreams. As the drama of the crucifixion unfolds, the story invites listeners to glimpse how a life of excess can be challenged by a singular, transformative revelation.
Language
en
Duration
~1 hours (62K characters)
Publisher of text edition
Project Gutenberg
Credits
Produced by David E. Brown, Bryan Ness and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This file was produced from images generously made available by The Internet Archive/American Libraries.)
Release date
2013-02-03
Rights
Public domain in the USA.

1846–1916
Best known for sweeping historical novels and the international bestseller Quo Vadis, this Polish writer brought the past to life on a grand, dramatic scale. He was awarded the 1905 Nobel Prize in Literature, and his books helped shape Polish cultural identity far beyond his own time.
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