Mediterranean Hegemon of Ancient Greece

Chapter 361: Davos Speech

When Aristocrates asked his question, Hemis immediately told the truth of his communication with Pollux following the command of Dionysius.

Pollux, naturally, denied it in every way, but the restless people erupted like a volcano.

“Traitor!”

“Betrayer!”

“Hang him! Let hell give harsher punishment to his soul!”

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

Pollux's collusion with the enemy was not the only reason that enraged the people, but also his contempt for ordinary citizens and looking down on the citizens of different races in his letter. The whole square was like a storm suddenly rising on a calm sea, with huge waves hitting and trying to destroy the temporary court.

It was not only Pollux and the others that trembles under such powerful momentum, but even justice Tritodemos felt nervous because, according to Theonian Law, Pollux' crime was not enough for the death penalty. After all, Syracuse and Theonia were not enemies and were not in a state of war. And as a statesman, Pollux had the legal right to propose the bill of resuming the ecclesia. However, after the jurors declared him guilty and with yesterday's trial, Tritodemos hesitated to make a final judgment in the face of the public's anger. So he could only go discussed with the assistant judge and the prosecutor, Aristocrates, on what to do in a low voice.

At this time, a loud salpinx rang out.

The crowd turned to look at where the sound came from: only to see the Senate Hall's gate opened, with Davos leading the statesmen as they stepped out of the Senate's Hall.

Under the protection of the guards, Davos walked down the stairs and onto the wooden platform. (The platform was built beside the stairs)

Tritodemos hurriedly went forward to give his greetings, but he was stopped by Davos, “This is the court, and you are the master here. I am just here to solve a little trouble for you.”

He then immediately understood what Davos meant, so Tritodemos said gratefully, “Thank you!”

When Davos looked back, he saw Aristocrates greet him respectfully. He then patted him on the shoulder and praised him, “Aristocrates, I didn't expect for you to do so well.”

Then he greeted the jurors for their hard work.

Afterwards, his eyes swept over the defendants. Compared to the gazes of Ariphes, Marsyas, and others mixed with fear and pleading, Pollux’s was completely broken. Then a fierce gleam shown in his desperate eyes, as he pointed at Davos and curse, “Davos, you are afraid that I will fight for more rights for the citizen, so you have fabricated false evidence to frame me. One day, the people will find out who you really are, and you will not escape the fair trial of Hades!”

But Davos completely ignored him and went to the front of the wooden platform. He stretched out his hands and pressed them down, causing a miracle to happen: the square filled with howling winds and waves gradually restored its calmness…

Then he said, “Citizens of Theonia! Families of Theonia citizens! I am pleased to see so many here that had come to participate in this public trial! This shows that you love Theonia Union and care about Theonia's legal system! Here, on behalf of the Senate, I would like to thank you who had stayed here for these two days!”

With that, he bowed to the crowd.

The crowd then gave their warm applause for his encouragement and sympathy.

“Remember, the law is sacred, especially in Theonia Union because Hades is watching us!” Davos pointed below, “We all know that the citizens of Theonia Union had come from all parts of the Mediterranean and are of different races. Because of different customs and cultures, it is inevitable to have conflicts. Thus the law gave Theonia order and united us. That is why we should not protest against the judgment made according to the union's code of law because if the judgment is changed because of your anger, then one day, this injustice may fall on you or your family…”

Davos words made the crowd ponder. Some had initially thought that Davos appeared to exert pressure on Tritodemos in order to make the situation worse for his political opponent, Pollux. However, it seems that it is not the case.

Taking advantage of the calmness in the square, Tritodemos handed down his verdict: Pollux's punishment for several crimes are deprivation of citizenship, confiscation of illegal property and sentenced to 30 years' imprisonment; Although Ariphes, Marsyas and the other statesmen accepted bribes from Syracuse, there was no clear evidence to show that they had further ties. In addition to yesterday's judgment, they were deprived of their civil rights, confiscation of illegal property and sentenced to 20 years' imprisonment; while the statesmen such as Enanilus and Eurypus, who were found without any association with the Syracusans, were sentenced according to their judgment yesterday, deprivation of citizenship, confiscation of illegal property and a ten years imprisonment…

Davos' previous words had indeed played a role. When the crowd heard the verdict, they all hissed with regret, but they didn't make any further drastic moves.

However, Pollux suddenly broke away from the restraint of the soldiers and cried out to the audience, “I did all of these for you! For the freedom of the citizens! One day, you will regret today's judgment on me!…”

His behaviour was like pouring a can of oil into a drying furnace, and soon, the crowd's anger flared up once more. They began to curse again angrily, and some even spat on the platform.

The guards immediately rushed to escort the group of prisoners, such as Pollux, down the wooden platform. And when they passed by Davos, Enanilus did not dare to look at him until they got down and stood under the stairs of the Senate Hall, glancing at the statesmen who were standing on the stairs, feeling endless regret in their heart: Just because of a moment's greed, they, as a noble statesman who is above tens of thousand people, had now become a prisoner that everyone curses…

At the end of the public trial, Tritodemos, Aristocrates, the jurors and the others left the wooden platform one after another. However, the people on the square did not disperse because Davos did not leave, making them know that the archon must have something to say. Therefore, compared with yesterday's trial's ending, the square gradually recovered its calm.

Facing thousands of expectant gazes, Davos knew clearly what these Theonians want to talk about at this moment and what they want to get.

But first, he wants to bring up another topic, “Just now, Pollux said that what he did was for the sake of the citizens of Theonia. If he had not committed the crimes of illegal possession of land and restricting the freedom of the citizens, I would be delighted to hear that because that is the duty of a qualified Theonian statesman.”

There was a burst of sneering under the platform, expressing their contempt for the ugly behaviour of Pollux of saying one thing and doing another, which had diluted the slight influence of Pollux' last cry.

“I am also grateful to lord Dionysius of Syracuse for taking the time to care about the political affairs of the Theonians while fighting against the Carthaginians. I had heard that the Syracusans are not living a rich life, so he does not need to waste a lot of money here. If he had used it on the Syracusans, then maybe, their life would have been better! And the most important thing is-” With a sneer, Davos exclaimed, “He, Dionysius, the tyrant of Syracuse, who could not even wipe the crap on his ass, has no right to dictate our Theonia Union and disturb Theonia's order!”

Davos' ironic remarks made the crowd laugh.

“The Senate will send an envoy to Syracuse to protest against Dionysius and asked him to explain and apologise! You might feel worried about Syracuse's hostility, but I can clearly tell you that even though Syracuse is really strong, we Theonia are also powerful. Since the establishment of the union five years ago, we have not suffered any defeat! On the other hand, Dionysius of Syracuse had suffered some difficulties in dealing with Carthage, a powerful enemy in the south, so how would he dare provoke us and risk being attacked on both sides! Citizens, the Theonian legions, composed of you, are both the true steel walls of Theonia and its extremely sharp sword, armed with you, we can defeat the ambition of any city-state towards Theonia!”

Davos' words resonated with the people, but more than that, it has stirred up their courage and sense of honour.

“Lord Davos is right. Our first legion is invincible. We are not afraid of any enemy’s attack!”

“Our second legion is not bad either. As long as Syracuse dare to step on the land of South Italia, we will drive them to the sea and feed them to the fish and shrimp!”

“In the mountains, no one can defeat our third legion, where we are the strongest!”

“You know, among the Theonian legions, our fourth legion is the only one powerful in besieging enemy cities. We are the strongest in terms of siege!”

“We have not only a strong army but also an invincible commander! Under the protection of Hades, if the Syracusans still dare to fight against us, then there is something wrong with their head!”

“All hail Theonia legion!”

“Long live the grand legatus!”

The initial bickering finally turned into a roar of shouting, and the initial shadow of hearing that “Syracuse is causing trouble” was swept away.

When the cheering subsided, Davos said in a deep voice. “This time, the statesmen such as Pollux and Enanilus had committed such a huge crime, occupying so much of Theonia's property, and a large number of union's officials were involved in this case as well. It had not only shocked the Senate and me, but also you who were here, and even the whole Theonia Union! This is my dereliction of duty! The Senate's dereliction of duty! You should be angry and blame the Senate! But after the anger, we have to think about how to avoid such things from happening again!!”

Author's Note: Recently, our brothers are discussing the population of Syracuse. According to the information that I have collected, in the peak of Syracuse, that is, in the middle of Dionysius' reign, he not only gained more than half of Sicily but also controlled Magna Graecia. In addition, he established many colonial city-states and even indirectly controlled the Adriatic Sea. At that time, the population under his rule was about 2.2 million, so considering that Syracuse right now is still in the early days of Dionysius' reign, I had cut it by half. After all, Sicily is his base and has the largest population. And according to historical records, the population of Syracuse alone is about 200,000.