At the time this quotation seemed to have been mere nonsense, but when not long after he perished the fact that this was the last speech he uttered to me was thought to infuse into it a certain truly oracular significance with regard to what was to befall him. Similar importance was attached to the utterance of Jupiter called Belus, [Footnote: The same as Baal.] a god revered in Apamea [Footnote: This is the Apamea on the Orontes, built by Seleucus Nicator.] of Syria. He, years before, when Severus was still a private citizen, had spoken to him these verses: "Touching eyes and head, like Zeus, whose delight is in thunder, Like unto Ares in waist, and in chest resembling Poseidon." [Footnote: From Homer's Iliad, II, verses 478-9.] And later, after his accession as emperor, the god had made this response to an enquiry: "Thy house shall perish utterly in blood." [Footnote: Adapted from Euripides, Phoenician Maidens, verse 20.] [Sidenote:--9--] [Accordingly the body of Antoninus was then burned, and his bones, brought secretly by night into Rome, were deposited in the mausoleum of the Antonines. All the senators and private individuals, men and women, without exception entertained so violent a hatred of him that all their words and actions relating to him were such as would befit the downfall of a most implacable foe. He was not officially disgraced, because the soldiers did not get from Macrinus the state of peace which they had hoped to secure by a change. Deprived of the profits which they were wont to receive from Antoninus, they began to long for him again. Indeed, their wishes subsequently prevailed to the extent of having him enrolled among the heroes: of course this was voted by the senate.] [Sidenote: A.D. 217, _a.u._ 970] In general, abundant ill was consistently spoken of him by everybody. They would no longer term him Antoninus, but [some called him Bassianus, [Footnote: He was originally Septimius Bassianus, named after his maternal grandfather.] his old name, others] Caracalla, as I have mentioned, [Footnote: In chapter 3.] [others] also Tarautas, from the appellation of a gladiator who was [in appearance] very small and very ugly and [in spirit very audacious and] very bloodthirsty.