ancient greece mediterranean ruler

Chapter 366 Thucydides
"This... what should I do?" Leptinius began to worry.

Philistus was about to speak when he saw the slave coming with letters. He hurriedly opened two letters and asked the slave to take them along with the one Ansitanos had given him before: "Lord Ansitanos, take a look. Is the handwriting the same?”

Henepolis also moved closer to the teacher, picked up the letter and compared it.

"It's true that the handwriting is very different." Anchitalos nodded and admitted, and Henipolis had nothing to say.

Philistus passed the letter to several others.

"This is obviously not written by Lord Philistus. I know that Lord likes to make the last stroke of the 'i' letter in his signature like a hook, but this person wrote it as a straight stick!" Marcia Si said loudly.

Herolis took a deep look at Philistus and simply said: "No."

Then he handed the letter to Philosanus next to him.

Philosanus checked it carefully, raised the letter and said directly to Ancitalus: "This is definitely not Philistus' handwriting!"

"Okay, things finally have some clues." Philistos rubbed his hands, showing an expression of relief, and then said with a serious expression: "It seems that someone deliberately pretended to be my name, and what Lord Ansitanos said Polyxes and others contacted each other, seemingly destroying the order of the Dionysian alliance, but in fact they wanted to sow discord between Syracuse and Dionia in an attempt to induce war. As for the matter of Hermes , this is more related to the security issue of Syracuse, we still need to conduct a detailed investigation! But no matter what, the source of Dionia's troubles comes from Syracuse. As the chief executive of Syracuse, I have no right Shirking management responsibilities! Here, I would like to make the most sincere apology to Lord Ansitanos and the Dionysian Alliance!" As he spoke, he stood up and bowed to Ansitanos.

Ansitanus sat upright and received this salute.

"At the same time, Syracuse is also willing to compensate for the losses caused by Dionia to express our desire to be close and friendly with Dionia!" Philistos continued to express his expectations.

"This is also another important mission that I was ordered by the Senate to go to Syracuse this time." Ansitanos said solemnly: "The Dionian Alliance is willing to sign an alliance agreement with Syracuse. , not only have friendly exchanges in diplomacy and mutual prosperity in trade. But also in terms of military security, there are powerful barbarians in the mountains of northern Dionia who have threatened our borders many times; Syracuse’s powerful enemy Carthage Although it has suffered repeated defeats, its main city in Africa still has a vast territory and huge wealth, and may come back at any time. Therefore, Dionia is willing to join forces with Syracuse militarily to jointly protect the Greek city-states in the Western Mediterranean. Safety!……"

As soon as Ansitanos said this, the banquet suddenly became quiet.

Anyone with a bit of political savvy can hear the hidden meaning in Ansitanos's words: First, Ansitanos is vaguely reminding everyone present that Carthage is still a strong enemy of Syracuse and should not fight with it anymore. Dionia is an enemy; secondly, Dionia wants to be on the same footing as Syracuse. You must know that at this time, Syracuse is the leader of the Greek city-states in the Western Mediterranean.

"Our powerful Syracuse is not afraid of any enemy now! Carthage is nothing! If it dares to come once, we will defeat him once!" Mathias loudly expressed his disdain for Carthage.

Philistus applauded and said: "A very good proposal! Lord Ansitanos, don't worry, I will report the matter to Lord Dionysius and let him make a decision."

"Thank you very much!" Ansitanos also expressed his gratitude.

"Okay! Okay! Now that the misunderstanding has been clarified, let's continue drinking and talking!" Leptinius shouted, raising his glass.

"Lord Leptinius is right, we should all put aside those annoying political affairs. Originally, I wanted to talk to Lord Ansitanos tonight about how to write a history book." Philistos took it. At the beginning of the conversation, he said with emotion: "Lord Ancitanos, I have also had the idea of ​​writing a book about the history of Sicily, but due to busy political affairs, I can't spare the time for a while, so I am very envious of you for having the time and energy. do what you want to do."

"Actually, I have never dared to write before, thanks to Lord Davos's encouragement and help..." When talking about historical writing, Ansitanos became more enthusiastic: "But although I have written part of it now, I've decided to throw it away and start over."

"Why is this?" Philistus asked curiously.

"Do you know Thucydides?" Ansitanus asked.

Everyone shook their heads to express their ignorance.

"I didn't know it at first, but I got to know this person after Lord Davos introduced him. Although he was unknown in the Mediterranean before this, I believe that in a few years, his name will spread all over Greece! I I even think he is greater than Herodotus!" Ansitanos said with reverence.

"He wrote a history book?" After all, Ansitanos was a well-known scholar in Magna Graecia, and his praise naturally moved Philistus.

"Yes. Thucydides was an Athenian who served as the 'Ten Generals' and participated in the Peloponnesian War. Later, he was exiled by the Assembly of Citizens. He lived in seclusion in Thrace and spent more than 20 years concentrating on Writing about the history of the Peloponnesian War... After the war, he returned to Athens. When Lord Davos sent someone to visit him, he was already seriously ill and lying in bed, unable to lift a pen. Lord Davos He spent a lot of money to copy the original manuscript from his nephew and brought it back to Thurii to be stored in the library to be built.

I read this book carefully. Although it is not completely finished, it is definitely a great historical masterpiece!Thucydides abandoned some of Herodotus's practices and did not write any rumors about oracles or prophecies in the book. Instead, he listed every event that happened in the Peloponnesian War in chronological order. A major event is described truthfully.As he wrote at the beginning, "Part of what I recorded is based on my personal experience, and part of it is based on the materials provided to me by other people who witnessed the incident. I used the strictest and most careful method possible." It has been verified...'.

Moreover, although he was an Athenian, he did not favor Athens in the book. Instead, he described Athens, Sparta, and other city-states involved in this war with a completely neutral attitude. Although he said, "I A historical work without anecdotes would be difficult to attract, but whenever I think of this book, the picture of the Peloponnesian War appears in my mind very realistically.I think even if decades or hundreds of years have passed, people are still willing to read it over and over again to understand the truth of this war.And those of us scholars who are willing to write history should also learn from him and use his historical works as a template to write a new history. This is why I want to rewrite it! "

After Ansitanos finished speaking extremely seriously, Philistus could no longer sit still and asked eagerly: "What is the name of this history book written by Thucydides? Has it been announced?"

"The History of the Peloponnesian War, I think it has not been published yet, but it will be soon." Ansitanos said: "If Lord Philistus is eager to read it, I can copy another one when I go back. Sent to you."

"I'm really grateful!" Philistus thanked him repeatedly.

"It's nothing. I'm very happy to see another companion on the road of exploring history!" Ansitanos said sincerely.

"Well said, I also hope to consult Lord Ancitanos in the future and communicate with each other in writing history. Come, let's drink this for our friendship!" After finishing speaking, Philistos turned to Ancitanos Si Yao raised his glass.

The two drank.

Everyone raised their glasses happily and the atmosphere became lively.

Philistus put down the wine glass, wiped the foam from the corner of his mouth, and said enthusiastically: "At this moment, it would be great if the Thucydides scholar you mentioned was also at the banquet!"

"I think this is no longer possible." Ansitanos said in a deep voice: "The Athenian Thucydides... passed away not long ago..."

Philistus' smile froze on his face, and he lost his voice and said, "What?! He's dead?!"

"Yes, this is the exact news from Athens. I originally wanted to take time to visit him in Athens, but..." Ansitanos looked regretful and sad.

"What's so sad! I heard what you said, this Athenian left a great work, so even if he went to Hades, there would be no regrets." Philosanus opened his mouth slightly drunk Eyes, shouted: "Bring me the lyre, I will sing a song for him!"

"It's rare to hear Philosanus sing a song!" Herolis also started to get excited.

The slave, at the signal of Philistus, brought the lyre.

Philosanus, who was a little drunk, took it carefully, played a few notes, and then praised: "What a piano!"

As he spoke, he jumped up and sat down directly on the dining table, ignoring the oil stains on his clothes.

The slave girl next to him was busy removing the food on the table, and he had begun to pluck the strings. Sweet music flowed from his sliding right hand. His whole body was immersed in the music, and then he improvised and sang: " In the lonely sky,

Looking for the star that shines brighter than the sun,

What kind of joy is there in the world compared to walking in the long river of history?

Talk to heroes,
Sing with the warriors,
The Muse offers you a wreath of olives,

Apollo drove his glittering carriage,
There is your ride in the car,
......"

Everyone whispered to each other and sent their sincere silence and blessings to the Athenian they had never met.

This evening, the host and guest enjoyed themselves.

　Thanks to Nanfang Sixteen for the reward!Your support is my biggest motivation for writing! !

　　
　
(End of this chapter)