Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ

Five years later, Ben-Hur arrives in Antioch and discovers that one of the people his family enslaved now controls of a portion of the family’s wealth; the formerly enslaved man, Simonides, has become a prominent merchant with many ships. Gratus has twice used torture to break Simonides into revealing where he has kept the family’s money, but the merchant has resisted both times, even though he is now physically injured.

Ben-Hur’s ship docks at Antioch, and he hears of the Grove of Daphne, a mysterious place that is supposed to be delightful beyond measure.

The morning following his first night in Antioch, Ben-Hur sets out for Simonides’s house. He anticipates conflict over control of his family’s remaining assets but resolves to release Simonides from all service so long as he can give news of Tirzah and their mother. Simonides confirms that he knew Ben-Hur’s father and that they were in business together. Ben-Hur then notes that his father had a servant named Simonides and that he has heard that this is the same Simonides. Simonides obliquely confirms his formerly servile status and that he does not know what has been done with the rest of the family.