Civitatis Ar, Plus!

Avenues / Streets / Districts

Avenue of the Central Cylinder

"This way, Jason," she said. "I wish to purchase veil pins at the shop of Publius. Then I wish to proceed to the avenue of the Central Cylinder, to examine the silks in the shop of Philebus."
"Yes, Mistress," I said. I proceeded down the street in the direction indicated, leading the tharlarion by its reins. Small saddle tharlarion are generally managed by snout reins. The huge war tharlarion are commonly guided by voice signals and the blows of spears on the face and neck. Draft tharlarion are harnessed, and can be managed either by men, or usually boys, who walk beside them, or by reins and whips, controlled by drivers, men mounted in drawn wagons.
We passed a woman in the street, a woman of Ar, followed by a silk slave. He looked at me. I suppose he was wondering what I had cost.
A slave girl passed, a short-legged beauty, clad in a gray rag, chewing on a larma fruit. She spit against the wall as I passed.
"Do not mind her, Jason," said the Lady Florence.
"No, Mistress," I said. But I wished I could have gotten my hands on her.
"Such girls are unrefined," she said.
"Yes, Mistress," I said. But the girl had had good ankles.
"Stop here, Jason," she said.
"Yes, Mistress," I said.
"You will tether the tharlarion, Jason," said the Lady Florence.
"Yes, Mistress," I said.
"When you have finished with that," she said, "you will return here, and wait for me."
"Yes, Mistress," I said.
The sun was high now, and it was past noon. We were stopped now before the shop of Philebus, which specializes in Turian silk. This shop is located on the great avenue of the Central Cylinder, which is more than four hundred feet wide, an avenue used in triumphs, dominated by the Central Cylinder of Ar itself, which stood at one end of it. There are many trees planted at the sides of this avenue, and there are frequent fountains. It is a very beautiful, and impressive, avenue. I was pleased to look upon it. Shops on this avenue, of course, if only because of the rents, are extremely expensive.  FIGHTING SLAVE OF GOR-, (14) Pages 174-175

I turned from the Street of Hermadius into Silver Street and ran from there to the avenue of the Central Cylinder. Then I was running along the western edge of the concourse under the trees. I leaned against a wall, gasping.
"Do not loiter here, Girl," said a man.
"Forgive me, Master," I said, bowing my head and backing away, then turning and hurrying a few yards further down the avenue.
I came to a fountain, one of many on the avenue. It had two bowls, an upper bowl and a lower one, closer to the walking level, the water from the upper bowl spilling over into the lower. Free persons might drink from, or draw water from, the upper bowl. The lower bowl was for animals and slaves. Sweating and breathing heavily I put myself to all fours by the fountain and, bending down my head, lapped at the water.
Then, wiping my mouth with the back of my hand, I stood up.
I saw sleen, and those with them, turning onto the avenue of the Central Cylinder.
I cried out with misery, and again fled.  KAJIRA OF GOR-, (19) Page 314

"When, next, do you think he might be holding public audiences?" I asked.
"Two days from now," said the fellow.
"Is it a court day?" I asked.
"Better than that," he said. "It is one of the new holidays, the day of Generosity and Petitions."
"Excellent," I said.
"The audiences are held near the Central Cylinder, on the Avenue of the Central Cylinder," he said.
"Thank you," I said.
"Did you wish to speak to him about something?" asked the man.
"I thought it would be nice," I said, "at least to look upon him."
"He is a charming fellow," said the man.
"I am sure of it," I said.
"Many minor petitions are granted," he said, "and some of the major ones. To be sure, it depends wholly, at least in the major cases, upon the justice of the petition."
"I understand," I said.
"Those wishing to present petitions must take a place on the rope," he said.
"What is that?" I asked.
"Obviously the regent cannot give an audience to everyone," he said. "Those who are granted audiences wear the Gnieus Lelius Generosity Ribbon which encircles them and is tied about the rope, actually a velvet cable, leading to the dais.
This helps to keep the line straight and, as the audiences are held out of doors, controls the number of petitioners."
"I understand," I said. "How does one obtain a position on the rope?" I asked.
"Sometimes it is a nasty business," said the man.
"Good," said Hurtha, approvingly.
"I suppose it is a good idea to come early?" I said.
"Some people are there from the fourteenth Ahn the day before," he said.
"I see," I said. "Thank you, Citizen."  MERCENARIES OF GOR-, (21) Pages 266-267

"Come along," I said to my party. I led them east on Venaticus, to the Avenue of the Central Cylinder. It was then my intention to go south on that avenue until I came to Wagon Street, taking it east to Turia. There is more than one "wagon Street" in Ar, incidentally, but the one I had in mind, that which led to the Street of Brands, was the one usually called Wagon Street. The "wagon streets" are generally east-west streets. They are called that, I suppose, because they are open to wagon traffic during the day, and wide enough for two wagons to pass on them. On many streets in Ar wagon traffic is discouraged during daylight hours because of their narrowness. There is little difficulty, of course, with the avenues and boulevards. They are generally wider. Many girls, incidentally, have been on Wagon Street, being brought down it on their first trip to Ar, though perhaps they did not see much of it, their ankles chained to the central bar in the blue-and-yellow slave wagons, those delivering them, according, say to the disk numbers on their collars, or the addresses marked on their left breasts, to the various houses on the Street of Brands.
"Ah!" said Boabissia.
"The Avenue of the Central Cylinder," I said. "It is indeed beautiful. We will go right here."
"I am thirsty," said Hurtha, going toward a fountain. We followed him. There are many among this avenue.  MERCENARIES OF GOR-, (21) Pages 268-269

"This way," I said. We could go south on the Avenue of the Central Cylinder, some four or five pasangs, and then make a left on Wagon Street, taking it over to the Avenue of Turia. Somewhere in that vicinity, probably in the lower end of the avenue, somewhere in the Street of Brands district, was the Alley of the Slave Brothels of Ludmilla. I would have to ask directions once we were on the Avenue of Turia. I did not doubt but what we could quickly find such an area. It sounded as though it would not be unknown.
"What is the name of the place?" asked Boabissia.
"The Alley of the Slave Brothels of Ludmilla," I said.
"I do not like the sound of that," said Boabissia.
"I do not think it sounds bad," I said.
"No," said Hurtha.  MERCENARIES OF GOR-, (21) Page 272

"Here it is," said Marcus, calling back to me, "on the public boards." The public boards are posting areas, found at many points in Ar, usually in plazas and squares. These boards were along the Avenue of the Central Cylinder , and were state boards, on which official communiqués, news releases, announcements and such, could be posted.  MAGICIANS OF GOR-, (25) Page 75

"Way, make way!" we heard. Now, moving south on the Avenue of the Central Cylinder, toward the great gate of Ar, were several riders of tharlarion.
"That is the personal banner of Seremides!" said a man.
The riders were muchly cloaked. From the precision of their lines, however, and the ease and discipline of their seat on the tharlarion, I took them to be soldiers. Too, if the fellow was right, that one of the banners in the group was that of Seremides, then presumably he, or his empowered agent, was one of the riders.  MAGICIANS OF GOR-, (25) Page 80

"Are you hungry?" Marcus asked Phoebe.
"Yes, Master," she said.
"Perhaps then," he said, "you will not be fed today."
"I am not permitted to lie to my master," she said.
"A slave, like any other animal," I said, "may grow hungry."
"True," said Marcus.
He then crouched down and removed the bracelets from the ring and collar.
"I, too, am hungry," I said.
"Very well," he said.
"There are food shops on Emerald Street," I said.
"Is it far?" he asked.
"No," I said.
Then, in a moment we left, retracing our steps, moving north on the Avenue of the Central Cylinder, past shops, fountains, columns and such, until we would make our left turn, toward Emerald Street, Phoebe heeling him, her hands now fastened behind her in the bracelets.  MAGICIANS OF GOR-, (25) Pages 81-82

"The wall seems very bare there," said Marcus, as we passed a public edifice, a court building.
There were also numerous small holes in the wall, chipped at the edges.
"Surely you have noted similar walls," I said.
"Yes," he said.
"Decorative reliefs, in marble, have been removed from them," I said. "As I recall the ones here, they celebrated the feats of Hesius, a perhaps legendary hero of Ar."
"He for whom the month of Hesius is named," said Marcus.
"I presume so," I said. The month of Hesius is the second month of the year in Ar. It follows the first passage hand. In Ar, as in most cities in the northern hemisphere, the new year begins with the vernal equinox.
"Were the marbles here well done?" asked Marcus.
"Though I am scarcely a qualified judge of such things," I said, "I would have thought so. They were very old, and reputed to be the work of the master, Aurobion, though some have suggested they were merely of his school."
"I have heard of him," said Marcus.
"Some think the major figures profited from his hand and that portions of the minor detail, and some of the supportive figures, were the work of students."
"Why would the marbles be removed?" asked Marcus.
"They have antiquarian value, as well as aesthetic value," I said. "I would suppose that they are now on their way to a museum in Cos."
"The decorative marbles on the Avenue of the Central Cylinder, and those about the Central Cylinder itself, and on the Cylinder of Justice are still there," he said.
"At least for the time," I said. The building we had just passed was an extremely old building. Many in Ar were not sure of its age. It may have dated to the first ubarate of Titus Honorious. Many of the functions originally discharged within its precincts had long ago been assumed by the newer Cylinder of Justice, located in the vicinity of the Central Cylinder. Incidentally, many buildings, particularly public buildings, in this part of the city, which was an older part of the city, were quite old. Many smaller buildings, dwellings, shops, insulae, and such, on the other hand, were relatively new. I might also mention, in passing, if only to make the controversy concerning the "Auborbion marbles" more understandable, that many Gorean artists do not sign or otherwise identify their works. The rationale for this seems to be a conviction that what is important is the art, its power, its beauty, and so on, and now who formed it. Indeed many Gorean artists seem to regard themselves as little more than vessels or instruments, the channels or means, the tools, say, the chisels or brushes, so to speak, by means of diversities, in its beauties and powers, its flowers and storms, its laughters and rages, its delicacy and awesomeness, its subtlety and grandeur, expresses itself, and rejoices. Accordingly the Gorean artist tends not so much to be proud of his work as, oddly enough perhaps, to be grateful to it, that it consented to speak through him. As the hunters of the north, the singers of the ice pack and of the long night have it, "No one knows from whence songs come." It is enough, and more than enough, that they come. They dispel the cold, they illuminate the darkness. They are welcomed, in the darkness and cold, like fire, and friendship and love. The focus of the Gorean artist then, at least on the whole, tends to be on the work of art itself, not on himself as artist. Accordingly this attitude toward his art is less likely to be one of pride than one of gratitude. This makes sense as, in his view, it is not so much he who speaks as the world, in its many wonders, great and small, which speaks through him. He is thusly commonly more concerned to express the world, and truth, than himself.  MAGICIANS OF GOR-, (25) Pages 106-108

Marcus and I were on the Avenue of the Central Cylinder, the major thoroughfare in Ar.  MAGICIANS OF GOR-, (25) Page 162

We paused to drink, from the upper basin of a fountain.
"Listen," I said.
"Yes," he said.
We turned about.
Some twenty men, stripped, in heavy metal collars, these linked by heavy chains, their hands behind their backs, presumably manacled, prodded now and then by the butts of guards' spears, were approaching. Behind the line came a flute girl, sometimes turning about, playing the instrument. It was this sound we had heard. Some folks stopped to watch.
"Political prisoners," said Marcus.
That could be told by the fact that the ears and noses of the prisoners had been painted yellow, to make them appear ridiculous.
"Interesting," said Marcus, "that they would parade them so publicly down the Avenue of the Central Cylinder."
"It is to be expected," I said. "If they were conducted out of the city in secret there would be much inquiry, much resentment, much clamor, much objection. It would be as though the Central Cylinder wished to conceal the fate imposed upon them, as though they were afraid of its becoming public, as though it might not be legitimately defensible. In this way, on the other hand, it performs its action openly, without special attention but, too, without stealth. It says, thusly, the action is in order, that it is acceptable, even trivial. Too, of course, it hopes to enlist public approbation by the painting of the ears and noses, thus suggesting that any who might disagree with its policies must be mad or dunces, at best objects of caricature and ridicule."  MAGICIANS OF GOR-, (25) Page 165

Marcus and I, some days after the incident of the shop, were strolling on the Avenue of the Central Cylinder, which is, I suppose, in a sense, the major thoroughfare in Ar. It is at any rate her most famous, if not busiest, avenue, and it gives access to the park of the Central Cylinder, which edifice is itself, of course, located within the park of that name. It is a long, shaded, wide, elegant avenue, with expensive shops and fountains.  MAGICIANS OF GOR-, (25) Page 206

We turned to look at the street. Approaching, singing, was a group of youths, in rows, a sports team, marching together. Their colors were of both Ar and Cos. Such teams, drawn from various parts of the city, competed in various games, in hurling the stone, in hurling the thonged javelin, both for distance and accuracy, in races of various sorts, in jumping, in wrestling, and such. There were meets, and local championships, with awards, such as fillets of the wool of the bounding hurt, dyed different colors, and for champions, crowns woven of the leaves of the mighty Tur tree. Eventually various teams, in their respective age brackets, would become city champions. Such sports as there were familiar to Goreans, and had for years been privately practiced at numerous palestrae throughout the city. Indeed, such palestrae, upon occasion, would compete with one another.  MAGICIANS OF GOR-, (25) Page 206

"You could try the southern insulae," he said, "such as those below the Plaza of Tarns."
"The Anbar district?" I asked, skeptically.
"Or those of the Metellan Quarter," he said.
"What about east of the Avenue of the Central Cylinder?" I asked.
"There is the District of Trevelyan," he said.
"That sounds nice," said Boabissia.
"We would hope to survive the night," I said.
"You know the city?" he asked.
"I have been here before," I said.  MAGICIANS OF GOR-, (25) Pages 260-261

"You would be fortunate if you managed to get the stone as far as the Teiban Market," I said. "If I did not know your skill with the sword, I would have placed a bet you would not get it as far as Clive." This street actually entered the Avenue of the Central Cylinder, from the west.  MAGICIANS OF GOR-, (25) Page 350
 

Kudos to you, Mr. Norman for writing the Gorean series!
A rich, yet utterly simple saga; a world, a time, a people;
those of the Counter-Earth .. the planet .. Gor.
Thank you!

The material presented herein was researched and compiled by me, naia{Saul}.
The material referenced comes from John Norman's Gor Series, The Counter-Earth Saga.
This is a work in process.
Please, do not take, copy, duplicate, or use this work as your own.
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