Mediterranean Hegemon of Ancient Greece

Chapter 228: Kings Election

Metelophes believes that the senate of Theonia had deliberately delayed making a decision and played him for a fool, when they are already in fact been talking peace negotiation with Crotone and were just wasting his effort on getting to Thurii. ‘How dare Theonia, a newly established union, make such a fool of and look down on Locri.’

As a result, he dragged his still sick body to participate in the triumphant return. As an envoy of Locri, the senate arranged him to live in an inn not far from the senate hall and since he was already living in the city and was also an important guest, he naturally was allowed to watch the triumphant return. Originally, he also wanted to meet the archon of Theonia at the end in order to vent his dissatisfaction and at the same time, to express some appropriate threats to Theonia, who had just formed an alliance with Crotone, and forced them to make some changes which is beneficial to Locri. However, after watching this magnificent and lively military victory ceremony, which he had never seen before and caused him to be shocked by Theonia’s huge military strength, high morale and the enthusiasm of the people, which made him realize that this is a union that admires heroes and military might from the statesmen to the common people. He is afraid that they won't easily compromise, so he just retreated….

Seeing the last group of freemen leaving, the people then rushed into the square, and the triumphant return was brought to a successful conclusion with the speech of Davos, “On behalf of the senate, we thank you, people of Theonia!

When a formidable enemy tried to invade, you did not show any fear nor shrink back, but you had instead worked together and fought bravely! The soldiers without fearing any sacrifices had fought bravely in the frontline, and strove to become heroes. While those working in the rear had spared no effort in delivering supplies, avoiding the surprise attack of the enemy's fleet, and enduring the grief of losing their loved ones, while supporting us in this battle!

And now, we have won. This is the result of the citizens, the preparatory citizens, freemen and their families joining hands! We will use this victory to comfort the warriors who have died in the battlefield, and hope that their spirits can arrive at Elysium! I, your archon, Davos, also wants to use this victory to tell you that the days of us being bullied have passed, and you will now have a better future! THEONIA HAS WON!…”

“Victory for Theonia!!!”

“Victory for the senate!!!”

“Long live Davos!!!”

“Long live Davos!!!”

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

At this moment, cheers rang out in the square and the whole city of Thurii became a sea of joy!

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

After the funeral of king Agis of Sparta, the Gerousia finally decided to elect a new Spartan king after a period of preparation in order to avoid the throne being vacant for too long and causing domestic political turmoil.

On this occasion, the 29 elders of Sparta had all entered the assembly hall early, and the two candidates for the throne were also present. They were Leotychides, the son of Agis and Agesilaus, the brother of Agis.

The speaker of the assembly, Cleostidas, then announced, “The sacred election conference begins! First of all, the candidates will state their reasons for why they should be the king.”

The young and energetic Leotychides was the first one to stand up and shouted to his uncle, “Agesilaus, the ancient law clearly states that ‘The son of the king, and not his brother, should be the first to inherit the throne. If the king happens to have no children, then his brother may succeed him.’ If you don't want to lose face, then you'd better leave.”

Agesilaus did not face his nephew and had instead faced the crowd, then said with a respectful but firm tone, “Esteemed elders, the successor to the throne should be me, Agesilaus, the only brother of Agis!”

Leotychides jumped up and yelled to interrupt his uncle, “Agesilaus, don't think that just because you are lame, you can pretend to be stupid! Stop fooling around and listen, the sacred Spartan law has stipulated that as the only son of Agis, I should become the king!”

Agesilaus then turned his head and looked at the angry Leotychides with some disdain on his face, “Yes, this is what the law stipulates, but only if you are the son of Agis! However, I heard from the man you called father say that ‘You are not his son!’ more than once.”

“Shut up!” Since growing up, similar rumors have always entered the ears of Leotychides, which became his nightmare that troubled him, and it continued to worsen as he grew up. At this time, his face suddenly turned red, he then jumped up from his seat and rushed to grab Agesilaus and shouted, “Damn cripple! Just because you are my uncle, don't think that I will not beat you up!”

He tried to hold back his anger and clenched his teeth, “Listen, my mother knows the truth better than my father! To this day, she has always said, ‘You are the son of the king! You are the son of Agis!’….”

“Quiet! Be quiet! The assembly hall is a sacred place. Fighting is not allowed, else face expulsion!” Warned Cleostidas.

Agesilaus brushed aside his nephew's hand and remained calm as he solemnly said, “Esteemed elders, you might remember that year when an earthquake struck Sparta. Agis left his wife and led the soldiers to do disaster relief for nearly a year. The anger of Poseidon had made the Spartans filled with awe, and at the same time, it also made the most powerful testimony that Leotychides is not the son of Agis! Time! Leotychides was born ten months after Agis left his wife!”

As soon as he said this, the elders fell into thinking, and some have even become serious.

“Shut up!” Leotychides once again became furious, but was stopped by the guards who were on standby.

“Alright, this is the end of the statement of the candidates!” Cleostidas then hastened to say, “Does anyone have anything to add?”

Diopetus stood up and said, “Everyone, as everyone knows before this meeting, I had been authorized by Pausanias to go to Delphi on behalf of the Gerousia and ask Apollo for an oracle. And the oracle warned us that ‘Sparta should be on guard against a cripple becoming a king!’ Therefore, I think Apollo warned us that if Agesilaus becomes the king, it will bring danger to Sparta!” After that, he passed the scroll parchment to the elders, and some of them nodded as they read it.

Diopetus glanced triumphantly at Lysander, who was sitting in front of him, and then made a gesture to pacify Leotychides.

The face of Agesilaus struggled to maintain his calm, but he was already clenching his hand tightly behind his back, because he saw the elders glancing at his foot from time to time, so he subconsciously drew his left foot back.

At this time, Lysander stood up, and due to his great influence, all the gazes of the crowd suddenly focused on him, “As everyone knows, the oracles of Delphi and Apollo have always been abstruse. If we only try to understand it from the literal meaning, we will often come to a wrong conclusion!” Lysander looked around and said, “At that time, the king of Lydia got an oracle about ‘a great nation will perish’ and so he thought that Persia would be defeated, but his kingdom is the one that had perished instead. If the Athenians built a wooden wall according to the literal meaning before the invasion of Persia, then they would not have defeated Persia in the maritime war…so we should try to understand the oracle more deeply! If the king we choose is not the true blood of Agis, then our proud dual kingship and the divine blood that was inherited from Heracles be tainted!”

The words of Lysander are thought-provoking and adding his influence, the elders continued to whisper and discuss with each other.

Leotychides glared at Lysander, but he did not dare to insult Lysander like what he did to Agesilaus. Although his power was intentionally weakened by the Gerousia a few years after the Peloponnesian War, he was still the hero of the Spartans and his charisma was still amazing, so how could someone who is only a successor to the throne insult him.

Pausanias, the other Spartan king, had no preference over the two heirs of the throne of Agis, but he was very hostile and wary of Lysander, who had once wanted to shake the “Dual Kingship”. Therefore, he would always oppose anything Lysander supported. However, according to tradition, another king can attend the conference regarding the election of a new king, however, he does not have the right to suggest and vote. Because Sparta is a dual kingship and they wanted to achieve mutual checks and balance, so the king must avoid any suspicion. Therefore, Pausanias can only signal to an elder that he trusted – Heliopidas.

Heliopidas hurriedly stood up and stammeringly said, “Sparta is now the overlord of Greece, but if…the king of Sparta is…uhm…someone with a physical disability, it will only cause the other city-states to secretly laugh at Sparta, which will reduce their reverence to us. What is more, Sparta has never had a king with disability in his body! Never had been!”

As soon as he finished speaking, Lysander immediately said, “Indeed, Agesilaus is lame. But he had fought bravely and was righteous. He has alway been respected by our elders and the people, he is a traditional and pure SPARTAN warrior, and has not disgraced the reputation of the royal family! But take a closer look at Leotychides, who do you think he looks like?!”

Leotychides is strong and handsome, and had inherited his appearance more from his mother. However, under the guidance of Lysander's words and the influence of the rumors, the more the elders look at him, the more they feel that he looks more like the handsome and charming Athenian – Alcibiades.

Seeing the crowd's expression, Diopetus became a bit anxious and hurriedly said, “The rumors regarding the birth of Leotychides are just rumors spread by some people in order to achieve their own purposes, and there is no conclusive evidence! And…and in our history, we have never let the heirs who have the first right of inheritance fall off from the throne because of false rumors!”