“…Posing as an envoy from Thurii, I finally reached Sparta after a great deal of effort. In the Gerousia, I described the calamity that had befallen Thurii to the Spartan elders and pleaded with them for reinforcements. The elders expressed their sympathy for our plight but said they had no troops to spare. They did, however, grant me a certificate of permission to recruit.”

“Brilliant!” As Burkos reached this part of his story, Pheresus couldn’t help but exclaim in admiration. Several of the other senators also breathed a sigh of relief; it seemed Sparta did not hold a grudge against Thurii for its past support of Athens.

“It is only because we took decisive action that Sparta now treats us with such an attitude,” Kunogelata remarked from the side, and several senators nodded in agreement. Whether Sparta’s attitude had changed because Thurii had expelled its citizens of Athenian descent, or because Sparta had simply never cared much about Thurii in the first place, was irrelevant. The generals who had supported the expulsion needed to believe in this false validation to assuage their own guilt.

Burkos glanced at the assembly of senators and continued, “When I arrived in Miletus and was in the process of recruiting the mercenaries led by Drakos and Sextus, I began to hear many stories about Cyrus the Younger’s expedition into Persia with his Greek mercenaries in an attempt to usurp the throne.”

Several of the senators nodded. Though Thurii was thousands of miles from Asia Minor, they were aware of this news. The constant flow of merchant ships across the Mediterranean ensured that information traveled. Furthermore, even though the first batch of mercenaries was confined to a camp outside the city, a steady stream of merchants, peddlers, and even prostitutes had gone to do business with them, bringing stories and news from the camp back into the city.

“The Greek mercenaries crushed the army of the Great King of Persia. Although Cyrus the Younger was killed, on their return journey to Greece, they repeatedly defeated the forces of the Persian satraps of Asia Minor, Tissaphernes and Orontes. It is said they even killed several of Persia’s most famous generals! They marched for thousands of miles, constantly battling the native tribes, including many mountain peoples who had been a headache for the Persians for years. Now, my fellow generals, would you not say that such a Greek army is rich in combat experience? That their fighting strength is astonishing? That they are, in fact, comparable to the Spartans themselves?”

“Are you saying that the army you hired is—” one of the senators gasped, unable to contain his shock. “They are the Greek army that marched on Persia?!”

“Yes, my fellow senators.” Seeing the mixture of amazement and excitement on their faces, Burkos felt a great weight lift from his shoulders. “The reason we failed in our last battle against the Lucanians was not only due to the carelessness of Asikulodoax, but also because our citizens have lived in peace for too long and lack combat experience.”

In truth, after repelling an earlier Lucanian invasion, the Thurians had launched a major offensive deep into Lucanian territory. It had not been the decision of Asikulodoax alone; the entire citizenry of Thurii, including the generals, had been clamoring for it. This overwhelming desire for revenge had led the army to advance recklessly into enemy territory, resulting in its near-total annihilation.

Burkos now disingenuously placed the blame on Asikulodoax—who had already been made the scapegoat by the citizen assembly after the defeat. He saw the senators nodding in agreement and felt a flash of contempt, but he kept his voice earnest. “I believed that if we could hire such an army, not only could the danger to Thurii be averted, but we could also deal a massive blow to the Lucanians. I therefore instructed my men to post themselves in the taverns and inns, gathering any information on the whereabouts of the Greek expeditionary force. Soon after, I learned they had reached the city of Heraclea on the coast of the Euxine Sea. But at the same time, I received another piece of bad news: Sparta and Persia were on the brink of war, and the Spartan general Thibron had been appointed governor-general of Asia Minor and had arrived in Miletus to recruit an army. I was terrified that this legendary Greek force would be recruited by Sparta, so I immediately set sail on a fast ship for the Hellespont and found them in Byzantium.

“However, most of the mercenaries were weary of fighting and unwilling to travel so far from home to fight in a strange and distant land. It was only the contingent led by General Davos who, tempted by the high wages I offered and after I had agreed to some of their conditions, consented to our employment. And even then, as I was leading them out of Byzantium by sea, we were intercepted by a Spartan fleet. It turned out that the Spartan governor-general, Thibron, had sent an envoy to recruit the entire Greek expeditionary force to fight for him. Davos’s unit was the best of the entire army; it was they who were responsible for the deaths of several of Persia’s top generals. It was only because I had a signed contract in hand, along with the recruitment permit from the Spartan Gerousia, and after I paid a personal bribe of half a talent to the Spartan envoy, that the fleet was finally allowed to pass.”

“Gentlemen!” Pheresus declared, his voice ringing with emotion. “After accepting the mission we gave him, Burkos endured hardship and peril, even risking his own life. He did not flinch, nor did he give up. Instead, he used his intelligence and tenacity to complete his task—no, he exceeded our expectations! He has not only brought a powerful ally to Thurii but has also given us insight into Sparta’s attitude toward our city. We should thank him! All the citizens of Thurii should thank him!” Pheresus finished his speech by leading a round of applause.

The other senators joined in, and the applause continued for some time.

Burkos, for his part, was at a loss for words.

Kunogelata stepped forward, his face a mask of sincerity. “Burkos, you are a hero of Thurii. Please forgive my earlier words. I should not have been so suspicious of you. It is just that the financial problems of Thurii have been a great cause of concern for us all. Will you accept my apology?”

Burkos nodded his acceptance.

Next, Neanthis also offered his apologies.

Another senator, Anxitanos, then spoke up. “Should we not pay a visit to this commander of the Persian expedition to show Thurii’s welcome?”

“Anxitanos,” Kunogelata said sternly, “I know you wish to learn more from them about Persia so that you can complete the sequel to your teacher Herodotus’s great Histories. But now is not the time. I admit that this force Burkos has brought us is formidable, but they are, after all, mercenaries. They are outsiders. We represent Thurii. We must remember that soldiers accustomed to bloody slaughter, while they may deter our enemies, can also pose a threat to ourselves. We have seen many such examples. We cannot indulge them or allow them to harbor unnecessary fantasies. And if we show them too much favor, what will the other mercenary contingent think? What will the Tarentine reinforcements think?”

“He’s right!” Neanthis shouted. “They are just landless freemen! We are paying them to fight for us!”

Kunogelata seized the opening. “Neanthis is correct. No matter how strong they are, mercenaries are still mercenaries. We pay them, which makes us the employers. Let us not get this relationship backward, gentlemen.”

Though he and Kunogelata disagreed on many matters of policy, Pheresus could not help but nod. “Kunogelata is right. We shall treat them according to the standard protocols for mercenaries. There is no need for excessive ceremony.”

Just then, Neanthis said, “Now that we have these powerful reinforcements, and since the Lucanians are about to launch their attack, should we not reconsider our defensive strategy?”

Kunogelata immediately replied, “The villages and farms outside the city have been rebuilt, and the wheat has already been sown. We must defeat the Lucanians before they can destroy the property of our citizens once again!”

“Our last defeat was caused by advancing too rashly, which led to the deaths of over ten thousand of our citizens,” Pheresus cautioned. “We must be prudent. According to our intelligence, the Lucanian army may number over ten thousand men. Our own forces, even with the mercenaries and the Tarentine reinforcements, will number nine thousand at most. And that number includes many citizens who are over the age of forty.”