Mediterranean Hegemon of Ancient Greece

Chapter 170: Theonia City-State Union

Sybaris! Although Sybaris has become the laughing stock of the whole Magna Graecia and the negative model of the city-states, it is undeniable that more than a hundred years ago, it was the largest city-state in Magna Graecia, which spanned to the east and west of the Apennine Peninsula and had ruled many city-states, it had shocked many native races such as the Bruttiis, Lucanias, and possessed amazing wealth. At that time, Syracuse was only a small city-state and Taranto and Crotone could only look up to it. Recalling the past glory of Sybaris and reveling in their vision for the future, the statesmen once again cheered with excitement and even exclaimed excitedly, “Let’s cross the Siris river, take Grumentum and take back our Poseidonia!”

When did Poseidonia become ours?! Davos laughed to himself but was glad to see this happen.

At this time, Vespa stood up and asked with concern, “Lord Davos, what's the situation with Grumentum and the other Lucanians?”

“Because our attack was successful and no one managed to escape, I estimate that the Lucanians in the north are still clueless about it. Sesta is now seizing this moment to stabilize the situation in Nerulum, and with the full assistance of Bagul, a large number of Lucanians and slaves in Nerulum are willing to become our citizens. So now, Sesta and Asistes are busy registering them, distributing land and distributing the livestock for these Lucanians that have joined us, and also strengthening the defense of the city….in addition, Asistes is also building a fortress in Lao river, and they will be able to return in two days. Even if the Lucanians in the north learned about it, they would not be able to attack Nerulum for the time being. According to the information that we had received before, we all know that Pyxous has just had a battle with Grumentum, and due to the rebellion of some chieftains, Lusau, the son of Akpir who occupied the city of Grumentum, was defeated, and had led his people to flee to Potentia, and Potentia sheltered him. Obviously, even if Cincinnag of Pyxous occupied the city of Grumentum, he also had to be careful about the intervention of Potentia. With this, Nerulum is safe for the time being!”

The words of Davos had dispelled some of the statesmen's worries, and the place became enthusiastic.

However, Cornelius loudly said, “Everyone, there is an important problem which needs to be solved by the Senate!”

Most of the statesmen were taken aback, ‘What is the important problem in this day of victory?’

“Before, we had two cities, Amendolara and Thurii, so we had called it Thua Union. It was simple and clear, and the people understood its meaning as soon as they heard it. But now, there is Nerulum. If we still call it Thua Union, it would not be right!” Said Cornelius earnestly.

The carefulness of Cornelius made the statesmen realize that it was indeed inappropriate. This is tantamount to excluding Nerulum. What will the people of Nerulum think in the future? Moreover, from the perspective of the development trend, the majority of Nerulum will be the Lucanians. So many efforts and a lot of bills have been made just to bring the Lucanians into the Union, this was a long-term plan that was gradually agreed by the statesmen. And just because of a name problem, it may lead to discord and division, and the long-term efforts of the Union will be in vain! This is really an important problem that needs to be solved immediately!

“Then let's call it the Thurii-Amendolara-Nerulum Union!” The answer of Amintas was simple and clear, but some of the statesmen couldn't stop themselves from laughing.

“Well, it's convenient to call it that way. But…what if we manage to take Grumentum? Should we go on to name it Thurii-Amendolara-Nerulum-Grumentum Union?! If this continues…every time we mention the official name of our union in the future, it will take a lot of time!” Said Mersis with exaggeration.

Everyone burst out laughing.

Amintas said angrily, “Mersis, then give us a better name!”

“It's simple, since we want to restore the glory of Sybaris and regain its amazing wealth….” while saying this, they felt that Mersis was salivating, “We will simply call it New Sybaris!”

As soon as he said this, Kunogelata shook his head in opposition, “This name is not good! This will easily intensify our relationship with Crotone, and it will also make the neighboring city-states feel uneasy!”

Ansitanos agreed, “Yes, when the trade was prosperous, there was competition with many city-states in Magna Graecia, and their relationship was not very good, even the Campania Alliance* to the north of Lucania was hostile to Sybaris. We must not have a stalemate with our neighbors just because of a name!…” (Note: Campania is the alliance of Naples)

As a historian, Ansitanos' words had naturally won the attention and recognition of the statesmen. Many old statesmen have already thought of a good name, but it may cause discontent among the neighbors, and could only swallow it back to their stomachs, such as Antonios' “The Magna Graecia Union”. At this time, the statesmen found that it was not easy to choose a name. They should not only let it contain a certain meaning but must also represent all the cities in the union. At the same time, they should consider the future development and the relationship with neighboring city-states. Some of the statesmen pondered and discussed it quietly, while some just simply turned their gaze to Davos….

“It's not easy to choose a name, but I have thought of one and all of you will definitely like it!” Someone said confidently.

It was Plesinas.

“Say it!” At the urging of the statesmen, Plesinas said it slowly, word by word, we will call it Theonia City-State Union!“”

When the statesmen with only a bit of culture like Amintas were still pondering over the meaning of the name, many of them then turned to look at Davos once more.

Davos did not expect it. He really ignored the issue of the union's name before. When everyone was thinking about a name, he was also thinking about it, but he did not expect that Plesinas would manage to repeatedly surprise him. The name of Davos means “Son of God”. Some of the people in the Union think that the name of the Archon was given by the gods, otherwise, how could his parents know whether their children will become the favored of Hades, or is his descendant! And “Theos” refers to god, and the name “Theonia” means the land of god. Therefore, the two names “Theonia” and “Davos” are closely related. (T/N: We are not sure if the fact besides "Theos" is correct.)

Before Davos could make a statement, Marigi has already exclaimed, “Good name! Good name! The Greeks have a tradition of naming the city-states with the names of the gods, just like Poseidonia, that was mentioned earlier, as well as Athens that we all know of….our Union have been blessed by Hades for many times, that had made us win against forces that outnumbered us, to defeat the strong, and develop so rapidly in just a short time! To thank Hades, the symbol of our Union is Hades, and the flag of our army is Hades, and we are also building a temple for him, but that is still not enough! The people of the whole Union deserve his blessing, so the name ‘Theonia' is just right! I believe that with it, the development of our Union will be much more faster!….”

Having a Persian talk about gods and blessings of the Greeks seems strange. However, the statesmen here are all listening very carefully. Some of them have already nodded their approval. Due to the troops going on a campaign, a lot of the former mercenary statesmen who firmly supported Davos are missing, without these people cheering, the place was a bit quiet.

Davos looked around, and his gaze fell on Cornelius and Kunogelata, “The two praetor, what do you think of this name?”

Cornelius bowed his head and said, “I have no objection.”

Kunogelata glanced at Plesinas, then looked at Davos and said, “I totally agree. This is a good name!”

“Then we shall call it Theonia City-State Union!” Davos calmly made the final decision.

. . . . . . . . . . . . .

At the end of the meeting, Davos went out together with the statesmen, but he did not deliberately talk to Plesinas.

Just after leaving the Senate hall, all the statesmen were surprised: In front of the Senate hall of Amendolara, were a lot of people standing densely, which extended to the foot of the mountain. Among them were the wives who had lost their husbands in the hands of the Lucanians, the elderly who had lost their children, the children who had lost their fathers, the hundreds and thousands of Thurians that are suffering from their phobia due to the Lucanians, and the Amendolarans who were worried about the situation of the war at the front line (almost all the families of the soldiers on the campaign are in Amendolara)…at this moment, they all stood still and when they saw Davos and the others come out, no one knew who shouted it first, but it was then followed by a roar like a tsunami, “ALL HAIL THUA UNION!!!”

“LONG LIVE THE SENATE!!!”

“LONG LIVE LORD DAVOS”

“THANK YOU!!! THANK YOU….”

Everyone was cheering heartily with tears in their eyes…this was years of humiliation getting cleared! This was a comfort from having their hatred settled! This was a joy from being no longer afraid from now on!

The Thua Union that was led by Davos had captured Nerulum, which had solved the troubles of Thurii for many years. The people's sincere gratitude had infected all the statesmen. At this moment, they all felt the pride of being a part of the Senate of Thua Union, just as Davos had said, ‘We must lead the people to create a prosperous and powerful Theonia City-state Union! And making the Theonian, no matter which city-state in the Mediterranean, be proud to claim that they are citizens of Theonia, and that no foreign forces dare to invade Theonia!’

Naturally, Teratus saw this magnificent and moving spectacle, no matter how he felt in his heart, the message that he sent back to the city hall of Crotone was brief, ‘The Thua Union has captured Nerulum, and Laos has become its ally.’

The strategoi of Crotone, such as Milo and Lysias, and the members of the council were surprised. Less than a year after the arrival of the mercenaries that were led by Davos to Magna Graecia, the high winning rate of the battles that they had led made them feel dread.