The Tour

Music from rowers, sailors and a harp accompanies Lucius across a still, starlit sea, but the sounds offer only a brief relief from grief. Ilia has disappeared, leaving a sandal on the shore, and Lucius turns to his old tutor Thrasyllus for comfort. Their conversation reveals both his anguish and the uneasy affection between a wealthy master and a freed servant who still feels bound to him.

The narrative follows travellers through Egypt, where temples, sacred animals and monumental buildings draw admiration and complaints. Priests feed a crocodile with visitors' offerings, the guide Caleb pursues business connections, and Uncle Catullus tires of paying to see another holy creature. Along the Nile, descriptions of mountains, stone galleries and flowering acacias place Lucius's private sorrow within the surrounding landscape. Readers interested in ancient religious customs and the practical business of travel will find a story that moves between solemn ceremony, personal distress and comic exchanges.