Marcus Attilius Primus
Marcus Attilius Primus is the main character of "Pompeii" by Robert Harris.
He arrives in the Bay of Naples from Rome to take charge as aquarius (hydraulic engineer) of the Aqua Augusta, the aqueduct that supplies water to the towns in the region encompassing the Bay of Naples and Mount Vesuvius.
Attilius is unpopular among the workers, particularly Corax, who resents the young foreigner giving him orders. Attilius's concerns about the water are heightened when he is summoned by a young, wealthy woman named Corelia to investigate water that apparently killed her father's prized fish. Corelia's father is the former slave and land specula...read more