Chapter 353

August 31, 2023 | Author: Chen Rui

“Please speak, Lord Polyexis.” Rotating Chairman Cornelius certainly couldn’t show that expression; he could only nod to indicate the other party could speak.

“When the Lucanian and Bruttian tribes joined our Theonian City-State League, we had a formal agreement with them: ‘No interference in the internal affairs of the tribes; guaranteeing tribal independence and integrity.’ However—”

Polyexis waved his arm and said loudly, “However, a few years have passed, and the independence of the tribes has been seriously affected. Many small tribes no longer even exist. What is the reason? Because the young and middle-aged men of the tribes have requested to leave the tribes and live independently, causing the tribal population to decline sharply. Without enough labor to maintain their livelihood, they had to dissolve… The agreement we signed with the Lucanian and Bruttian tribes was completed under the gaze of Hades. Now, the survival of tribes within the League has been seriously threatened. This not only severely affects Theonia’s reputation but also causes hesitation and suspicion among other races in Magna Graecia who want to draw closer to us. To not fail the support and trust the tribes have always shown us, I propose that the Senate should legislate to ‘prohibit tribal members from leaving their tribes to maintain tribal integrity.’“

Some senators looked at each other, feeling strange in their hearts: What is going on? Polyexis, who has always been indifferent or even cold toward non-Greek affairs, is actually starting to care about tribal affairs.

Vespa, Hermon, Bagilipi, and others had strange expressions, while Sedorum, Bergum, Petaru, Kadulk, and others were thoughtful.

At this time, Praexinas stood up. “I disagree with this proposal! The adult men of Lucania and Bruttium are now basically Theonian citizens or preparatory citizens. As citizens of the League, they naturally enjoy freedom of choice. The Senate has no right to make such a regulation! Isn’t that right, Tritodemus?”

Current Senior Judge Tritodemus nodded and said, “The first detailed rule of the Theonian Law is ‘guaranteeing citizens’ rights and freedom of choice.’ No new bill may violate this bottom line! I think whether it’s the tribes or the tribal members, everyone hopes to live a stable and prosperous life. And judging from the current situation, they have all developed well within the Theonian League. I don’t think there is a need to change.”

Davos listened quietly to their debate, his fingers lightly tapping the wooden chair…

***

Kardias arrived at the Temple of Hades in Thurii, requesting to see the presiding priest Praexinas to explain his intention.

Praexinas readily agreed to his request. Thus, this young man from Scylletium entered the Temple of Hades as a believer to study.

Every dawn and dusk, Kardias studied the doctrine of the Temple of Hades. (The main tenet of the Hades doctrine was proposed by Davos, primarily preaching: people who do good and punish evil, love their country and family, abide by the law, and help others enthusiastically will ascend to Elysium after death, while those who behave contrarily will inevitably go to Tartarus for punishment… Based on the original Greek theogony, he also elaborated on the formation of heaven and earth, the disputes of the gods, Elysium, and Tartarus. Of course, it was biased towards Hades, establishing him as a benevolent god similar to the Eastern Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva who endures for humanity. Further interpretation and compilation by Praexinas and his subordinate priests followed. Now, just the works concerning Hades and his temple amounted to several thick volumes, not including the deeds of his wife Persephone.) During the day, Kardias followed the priests to handle temple affairs.

Every morning, the people of Thurii streamed into the Temple of Hades.

Farmers going to till the land, fishermen going out to sea, merchants going on business… as long as it was convenient, they would come to the temple to pray first before leaving with confidence. People making and fulfilling vows would also drop a few coins into the donation box and light a small oil lamp in front of the divine statue to show their sincerity. Those begging for oracles would draw wooden lots and then ask the priests to interpret their doubts (the wooden lots were engraved with cryptic sentences; good or bad interpretation depended entirely on the priest’s level). Of course, there were also some people who had received help from the priests of the Temple of Hades bringing gifts to thank the temple…

Today, Kardias’s job was to welcome and send off people who came to offer gifts. From morning until now, he had hardly stopped. Although tired, he felt fulfilled.

Just as he had escorted a white-haired old man down the slope, he suddenly heard someone shouting: “Help! Help!…”

He looked towards the sound and saw a blood-stained man running towards him in panic, with two people chasing fiercely behind him.

Although he had only been at the Temple of Hades for a few days, he already had the self-awareness of a Hades priest to help the distressed and relieve the needy. He immediately went up, wanting to help the man up and ask: What happened?

Seeing someone blocking the way ahead, the man became even more anxious. The words of that person echoed in his heart: Only by running to the Temple of Hades and asking the King of the Underworld for help can you escape your current predicament and become a true Theonian citizen!

He reached out and pushed Kardias aside forcefully, continuing to run towards the Temple of Hades on the slope.

Kardias stumbled a few steps and nearly fell.

Just as he stood up, the two people behind arrived in front of him. He immediately questioned loudly, “Who are you?! What happened?!”

The two burly men looked at Kardias in the white robe of a Hades priest, hesitating.

During their hesitation, the man had already rushed to the front of the temple. The coming and going of people and priests made the two hesitate, and they finally left resentfully.

The man burst into the temple and fell to his knees with a thud in front of the statue of Hades. While kowtowing, he pleaded, “Merciful Hades! Please help me! Help me…”

Hearing his miserable cries, the people inside and outside the temple didn’t know what had happened and gathered around to see.

At this time, the priests inside the temple also rushed over…

***

Polyexis’s proposal only gained the support of a few people like Petaru, Kadulk, and Bergum, and did not pass.

However, a while later, he brought up the old matter again, demanding the convening of a Citizen Assembly.

The senators voted again. Surprisingly, the number of people supporting him approached 15. This unexpectedly included: Enanilous, Orikepos, and Plaedes—senators serving in the military—as well as Bergum, Petaru, Kadulk, and other former Bruttian tribal chiefs… Although still not reaching half, adding the abstaining senators, Polyexis’s supporters actually occupied one-third of the voters.

For Polyexis, this was absolutely a huge victory. No wonder after the voting ended, he declared somewhat smugly: “The result of this election shows that more and more senators realize the importance of the Citizen Assembly. If Theonia wants to achieve glory like Athens, more citizens must participate in the League’s decision-making to truly realize equality and freedom for citizens of all races in Theonia! As time goes by, I believe other opposing senators will also realize this, because you are the leaders of Theonia, the wisest among the people! I look forward to the day the Citizen Assembly convenes!” Polyexis’s speech was powerful and resonant.

The senators’ expressions changed slightly, and they all looked at Davos sitting in the front row.

Bagilipi had now figured out the intention behind Polyexis’s previous proposal: Polyexis knew that proposal wouldn’t pass, but he wanted these tribal senators to see that as long as Davos’s power was unchecked, the tribes’ predicament wouldn’t change, whereas he could bring a turning point to this issue. Currently, the organization of Bruttian and Lucanian tribes, administratively relatively independent, had suffered a huge impact within the Theonian League. Years of subtle influence made young people in various tribes yearn more for the free life of League citizens and unwilling to be bound by tribal rules anymore, so they left the tribes one after another…

Bagilipi was aware of this situation. Moreover, his tribe was in Besidiae, located right next to Thurii. The year before last, Davos directly placed Besidiae under Thurii’s jurisdiction on the grounds of facilitating management, making it more closely connected to Thurii both politically and economically. The impact was naturally greater, and his tribe existed in name only.

But Bagilipi took it lightly. He understood this was the general trend, and besides, it wasn’t a bad thing for the Bruttians. His confidence stemmed from that young man in front. Yet at this moment, the authority of this young Archon was challenged, and he couldn’t help but worry for him.

Davos, however, said calmly at this time, “Senators, Polyexis just mentioned the Citizen Assembly and said, ‘Only by holding a Citizen Assembly can the equality and freedom of the people be realized.’ If your memory serves you well, Polyexis, you should remember how Thurii declined rapidly a few years ago? And how it was burned down? What role did Thurii’s Citizen Assembly and your so-called ‘equality and freedom’ play in this? Can you tell me?”

Hearing this, Kunogelata, Anxitanos, Burkos, and others looked gloomy.

Polyexis hadn’t expected Davos to mention this matter. He was stunned for a moment, then argued roguishly, “Thurii being burned down was just a momentary negligence. Neanthis was too careless, allowing the Crotoniates to succeed in a sneak attack. And the rapid decline of Thurii’s strength was due to the disastrous defeat against the Lucanians. That was the incompetence of Acirodoakes and Pheresus; these have nothing to do with the Citizen Assembly!”