The Thieves of Ostia
- The description of the slave market, and the slave dealer Venalicius.
- Nubia watching her mother and baby sister die on the march and then be callously tossed aside for scavengers.
- The implications of the line Nubia recites to Flavia when she brought home."Greetings. My name is Nubia. How may I please you?"
- The three severed dog heads impaled on a trident. Flavia actually thinks she's having a nightmare when she sees it.
The Secrets of Vesuvius
- The second half of the book provides pretty much constant nightmare fuel with it's escalating descriptions of Vesuvius's eruption."Earlier, the fall of ash had been like silent black snow, now it was fiery rain. The volcano's rumble was deeper, angrier now, and flashes of lightning flickered ominously above it's cone. Despite the muffling ash, they could hear women and children screaming and men crying out."
The Pirates of Pompeii
- The disappearance of the children around the refugee camp, from the point of view of the parents.
The Assassins of Rome
- The description of the famine during the siege of Jerusalem."Simeon and I watched our parents slowly weaken and die. There was nothing we could do to help them. We cooked belts, sandals, even scrolls."
The Dolphins of Laurentum
- When Lupus almost drowns diving for treasure after getting caught in the tentacles of a massive octopus.
- The description of Venalicius's death. Doubles as a Tear Jerker.
The Gladiators From Capua
- For a children's book, Lawrence's descriptions of the spectacles in the Colosseum are graphic and unsparing:
- One criminal found guilty of matricide is disemboweled and devoured, very slowly, by a wild boar. Flavia and Nubia avert their eyes, but can do nothing to shut out the sound of the man's screams. They agree that they both need some fresh air, and a place to vomit.
- Flavia is roped into what looks like an idyllic recreation of Orpheus in the underworld. But upon reaching the island in the center of the man-made lake, Orpheus is devoured by a bear, and the young girls rowing his boat are devoured alive by crocodiles and hippos. Flavia is the only survivor.
- Jonathan, wrongfully accused of setting the fire that burned half of Rome, is sentenced to be executed by lion, despite being only 13 years old.
