ancient greece mediterranean ruler

Chapter 338 Believer Chaldeas

"We don't have any other cities in Crotone. It's a bit too wasteful to use the treasury's money to set up postal vehicles to deliver letters. If... Asprustum still belongs to us, we can consider it. But in that case, we The roads and bridges must be built like this." Stasypus stamped his feet.Indeed, Crotone's uneven dirt roads could easily cause a carriage to fall apart.

"Asprostum!" Speaking of this, it was the pain in the hearts of the people of Crotone. Nicostratus snorted and cursed angrily: "It's all the fault of the council's incompetence! You know , the Croton Plains that belonged to us a few years ago were all fertile lands! Now they all belong to the Dionians..."

"It's time for us to set off, otherwise we won't be able to make it to Crimesa to rest tonight!" Stasypus changed the subject and reminded the two of them.

"How far is it from Crimesa?" Nick Stratus asked, rubbing his thigh. He was a little tired because he didn't often walk around.

Stasypus stood up, looked forward carefully, pointed in front of him and said: "Lycasus, go and see that stone monument. How far is it to Crimisa?"

"Is there a distance engraved on the stone tablet?" Lycasus walked over doubtfully.

After a while, he pointed to the stele and shouted, "Crimisa 20, is this it?"

"Yes."

"Also...the next line engraved a small house and wrote 5 miles. What does it refer to?"

"That means there is a post station five miles ahead, which can provide short rest, food, and even accommodation." A pedestrian next to Lycasus answered.

"Oh, thank you!" Lycasus thanked him politely.

"Are you a doctor?" The man asked with a smile when he saw the medical box he was carrying.

"Yes, my teacher and I went to Thurii to attend a... uh... medical forum."

"The doctors in Dionysia have superb medical skills and are blessed by Pluto. They can save dying people. You went to study, but you found the right place!" The man said with a clear look: "What a coincidence! I'm going there too. Thurii.”

The man's words made Nick Stratus feel uncomfortable, and he stood up: "Let's go, we have to hurry."

A group of people were walking on the sidewalk.

Outside the sidewalk were wheat fields being plowed one after another, the same scene as before.The difference is that the aqueducts are criss-crossed, wider and deeper; and the slaves are more enthusiastic about working. They even sing loudly while working, and their masters not only do not stop them, but some even sing in response.Compared with the dullness of Crotone slaves, Dionian slaves are more like normal people, and this is not an isolated phenomenon. Almost all Dionian slaves Lycasus saw were in this state.

Lycasus did not quite understand this.He comes from a farming family and knows the life of a farmer very well.Farmers in Crotone usually have one or two slaves, and they cannot afford to keep more. Since they need labor to do farm work, they are very dependent on slaves. Therefore, they do not squeeze them as hard as the various workshop owners in the city, but Treat slaves as part of the family.

When Lycasus was a child, he was carefully cared for by his family's slaves. He always thought that the honest old Thracian man was more like a father than his father.

Crotone farmers treat slaves well enough. Do the Dionians treat slaves better?Lycasus felt it was impossible. He originally wanted to ask Stasypus for advice, but turned around and saw that Nicostratus and Stasypus were discussing medical issues, so he had to give up temporarily.

From the corner of his eye, he happened to catch a glimpse of the man who had spoken before walking not far behind them. He was moved in his heart and slowed down: "My name is Lycasus, from Crotone. Thank you for reminding me just now."

"My name is Kardeas, from Xiliting." The man smiled gently: "I have been to Turiyi many times, and I know a lot about Dionia. What don't you understand about this city-state alliance? , feel free to ask me."

The man seemed to see what he was thinking. Lycasus bowed his head in embarrassment and asked, "I don't understand why these slaves are so happy?"

Cardius followed Lycasus' finger and saw the slaves singing in the wheat field. He thought for a while and said, "That's because they have hope."

"hope?"

Kardeas' expression became solemn and his voice was low and long: "The great Pluto once said, 'Everyone has a different destiny. Some are born rich, some are born poor, some are unfortunate enough to become slaves, and some are lucky enough to become nobles, but As long as you always have kind thoughts and never give up your efforts, when your life ends and you are judged by Hades, you will face the fair and selfless golden scale. Your status and wealth during your lifetime are just illusions. It is the beautiful Elysee that truly determines each person's soul. Or is it a terrible hell? Is it what you do in your life? Good people go to the Elysee, evildoers go to hell, those who strive all their lives can enjoy music and food, and those who love leisure and hate work will be forced to do hard labor forever..."

Lycasus was dumbfounded when he heard this: "You...you mean...these slaves are working so enthusiastically in order to enter the Elysee in the future?"

"It's not entirely because of this." Kaldeas said softly: "Davos, the Dionysian consul with the blood of Hades, was inspired by Father God and passed a bill in the Senate, 'Every year in Hades, At the Diss celebration, freedom will be granted to the slaves of the city-state who have performed well that year.' And Davos will also grant freedom to the slaves he owns who have performed well on this day. Because Davos is deeply loved by the people of Dionia , they were influenced by the consuls, and if they had spare power, they would also consider granting freedom to private slaves who contributed to the family...

I remember that last year, a Nubian slave was sent by his master to the port market to buy goods. He rescued two children from drowning in the Kekrati River. Not only was the father of the children willing to pay for their redemption, but the whole city was also They unanimously demand their freedom... So you see there is such an atmosphere in Dionia, can these slaves not try their best to express themselves! "

Lycasus nodded. Although Crotone also granted freedom to slaves, it never formulated it with a bill like Dionia, and the slaves were released so frequently and in such large numbers.

In fact, there is another reason that Kaldeas doesn't quite understand: Although the age composition of Dionia citizens and preparatory citizens is mainly young adults (because Dionia accepts a large number of immigrants), the citizens have to participate in the military The number of trainings is more than ten times that of Crotone, and they also have to undertake some garrison tasks. They do not have more energy and time to take good care of their land, and rely more on slaves. Therefore, they not only regard slaves as part of the family, It also gives them more autonomy in work, which is more conducive to the efforts of slaves to exert their enthusiasm.

"In the past two years, the slaves of Silitium have escaped to Cnapetia from time to time. It is for this reason." Cardeas added.

"Ah... We also had a large-scale slave escape in Crotone!" Lycasus remembered: "But it was not to Cnapetia, but to Agra, not far from Crotone. Spruestum. At that time, we also held a citizens’ meeting and sent people to protest to Asprostum, demanding that the escaped slaves be returned. They quickly escorted the slaves back..."

"If Silitium and Crotone don't make changes on the slave issue, things like this will be inevitable in the future." Kaldeas sighed. As a Silitian, he didn't seem to be worried about this, but was a little happy. See how it works.

Of course, the young Lycasus didn't think that much, and he asked another topic in confusion: "By the way, what you just said... those words said by Hades, how come I have never heard of it?" ?”

"There are so many things you haven't heard about the gods." Kaldeas's eyes brightened: "You have to know that the god Zeus and his brothers and sisters worked together to overthrow their father God Clo When North wanted to divide his father's power again, Hades, as the eldest brother, could choose the sky or the sea as his divine domain, but he would rather choose the dark and damp hell, so that he could live underground forever and serve as a refuge for weak human souls. He created a fair and selfless place to live and ensured the stability of the world on earth. Isn’t he great!”

"Is...is that so?" Lycasus said suspiciously: "Everyone knows that Hades was forced to choose hell."

"Have you ever thought about who passed down the facts you know? ... Without the permission of Zeus, the Lord of the Gods, how could such a secret matter be known to us ordinary humans? Zeus rules the universe. Of course, among the gods of Lympus, he would make the content of the rumors favorable to him. Hades, the king of Hades, is introverted and has a somewhat gloomy appearance. The Greeks did not like him, so they all believed the rumors." Kardeas said with a serious expression. : "But in fact, among the several main gods, Hades is the most loyal to his duties and the one who abides by his duties. Zeus is wanton and willful; Poseidon is violent and ruthless; Ares is crazy and bloody; Herme Hades, who plays wildly; Hevastus, who is drunk and promiscuous; Apollo, who is proud and sinister...Only Hades, have you ever heard of anything bad about him?"

After listening to what Chaldeas said, Lycasus felt his brain was a little dazed. He covered his forehead and said for a long time: "He...he took Demeter's daughter Persephone as his wife. "

Kaldeas had an expression of "I knew you would say this", and he explained seriously: "The harsh underground environment makes no goddess willing to go there. Hades had no choice but to rob the place for him. He took a wife himself.”

Note:
The description of road stele in this chapter does not come from modern ideas. In the early days of the Roman Empire, there were humanized designs for road stele, which were very similar to today’s signboards. Roman merchants also sold an iron water cup to travelers traveling far away. for travelers, with detailed road maps of each province engraved on it to facilitate travel.

Darius and Atosha were not related by blood in the previous chapter, but Cyrus’s son Cambyses did marry his two sisters Atosha and Atosha in order to ensure that Cyrus’ noble bloodline was not contaminated. Roxanne.After Persia fell into chaos, Darius relied on his grooms to seize the Persian power, and he took over the sister queens to make his throne more orthodox.The next king of Persia, Xerxes, seems to be born of Atossa.

(End of this chapter)