So, What's New?

I guess there really hasn't been any substantive change through the centuries: "Before he left Rome,Caesar, by proclaiming edicts and bending the will of the Senate, had set in place a program to shore up the faltering Roman economy. The problems were many and daunting. With the commencement of the war, money had grown increasingly scarce, even while prices soared. The treasury of Rome had been emptied to pay for Caesar's military campaigns. No taxes were flowing in...." A MIST OF PROPHECIES Steven Saylor, St. Martins Press, 2002, P. 55). Except, of course, that George W. Bush is certainly no Caesar, no matter how much he thinks he is. War(s) - no change. No taxes - no change. "Bending the will (hah!) of the Senate - No Change! It's all very discouraging isn't it.
Just another instance of Maunder's Corollary; "He who does remember his past is still doomed to repeat it".
Other than that, It's a pretty good mystery set in Rome, slightly-B.C.E.