Chapter 1146
Although the Greeks did not know the destination of this large fleet, they were very familiar with the symbol of "black hair entwined with a double fork" on the sails. In the past, they had only seen it on the merchant ships of Diónia, but now it had appeared on a warship. Did this mean that the barbarian kingdom on the other side of the Adriatic Sea was finally going to attack the Greek mainland?
Regardless of the fear and suspicion of the Greek people, the Diónia fleet did not slow down and went straight south. Soon, they passed the entrance of Corinth Bay and entered the waters of the west coast of the Peloponnesus Peninsula. As dusk approached, the fleet had to disembark early to prepare a camp. This was because they could not reach the southern coast of Messenia today. Further south was a steep and narrow coast. It was difficult for the ships to dock, and the crew could not get a rest.
The place where the fleet docked was the northwest corner of the Peloponnesus Peninsula. The terrain here was relatively flat, and it had been called the Elis area since ancient times. It was very famous throughout the Greek world because the Olympia was held here. There was also the famous Temple of Zeus here. Of course, there were also two more famous city-states, Elis and Pisa. They had been competing for the right to host the Olympia and had always been enemies.
The location where the Diónia fleet disembarked happened to be within the territory of Elis. Seeing the dense number of ships swarming to the coast and thousands of soldiers rushing to the beach, the neighboring Greek people were frightened and ran inland with their families.
The people of Elis soon received the news and were also very panicked. Although they had little contact with the Diónia, they had never provoked this behemoth in the west. Without any warning, why did the Diónia send an army to invade their territory?!
The council of Elis carried out an emergency military mobilization for the citizens in the territory and held an urgent discussion. They even came to a conclusion: it was said that the Diónia people believed in Hades and did not recognize Zeus as the king of gods. Could it be that this time, they came to destroy the Temple of Zeus?
The councilors of Elis sadly found that if this was the case, in order to defend the god Zeus, the people of Elis had to fight to the death.
Just when the Elisians were feeling pessimistic, they received an urgent notice from the city guard: an envoy from Diónia had come to visit.
Tisias, a citizen of Diónia and a native of Tyndaris, had served as a Tyndaris general for several consecutive terms. He had a high prestige among the people of Tyndaris. Later on, he responded to the request of the people, held and presided over the Citizens' Assembly, which finally allowed Tyndaris to be incorporated into the Kingdom of Diónia. Because of that, he also became the Kingdom's Elder.
When the news that the Devers had approved the Dionysian Army to attack Peloponnesus and rebuild Messenia reached the Senate, he took the initiative to see the King of the Devers, hoping to follow the army, as his ancestral home was Messenia …
At this time, Tisias walked to the center of the Assembly of Elis with his head held high. Looking at the angry and frightened gazes, he felt a sense of pride as a citizen of a great country, but he suppressed this pride and tried to make his expression as sincere as possible. "Descendants of Zeus, respectable citizens of Elis, on behalf of the Kingdom of Diónia, I extend my sincerest apologies to you! Because it was getting late during our voyage, in order to prevent any accidents from happening, our fleet had to temporarily stop by the shore to rest. Hence, we entered your territory, but please be assured that we will only rest for one night and leave tomorrow. We will not cause any harm to this land or the people on it. Due to the inconvenience caused by our reckless actions, we, the Kingdom of Diónia, will also pay a certain amount of gold and silver as compensation for the army's overnight stay in Elis … "
Tisias's words made the Ellis councilors skeptical, but their hearts were finally at ease.
There was a commotion in the assembly, and the Senators discussed in whispers for a while before someone stood up and said, "People of Diónia, your reckless actions have indeed caused great trouble to Elis, but if things are as you said, we are still willing to forgive your reckless actions …"
Elis was not a city that was easy to talk to. Not to mention the decades of conflict between it and Pisa, during which it had fought several wars with Sparta. However, the reason why the Senators of Elis were so reasonable at this moment was because of the sudden arrival of the Diónia, and the large number of their army, which made them feel that they could not defeat them, so they wanted to send this god of plague away as soon as possible.
Then, another Senator asked curiously, "May I know where your army is going?"
Tisias was waiting for this question, so he immediately asked back, "Have you heard of the city of Tyndaris in Sicily?"
"Tyndaris … should be a city-state established in the northeast corner of Sicily with the support of the original Tyrant of Syracuse, Dionysius. It is said that more than half of its citizens are from Messenia, and later, Tyndaris defected to Diónia …" said a Senator.
"Not defected, but the citizens of Tyndaris collectively decided to join Diónia!" Tisias corrected him loudly, then continued, "When the people of Tyndaris joined the Holy Kingdom of Diónia, the King of Devers made a promise that 'one day, he will help Messenia achieve independence, and free the Messenians who had been enslaved' … But not long after that, due to the influence of the war, Diónia and Sparta signed a long-term peace agreement, and this promise was temporarily put on hold until this year, when the people of Sparta tore up the peace agreement with us, Diónia —"
Tisias had a gloating smile on his face, and said loudly, "The King of Devers finally has the chance to fulfill his promise, so the Dionysian Army that you see is heading to Messenia to chase away the people of Sparta who have occupied the area for hundreds of years, and to make Messenia the home of the Messenians again!"
At the end of his speech, Tisias became excited, as if a flame had suddenly been ignited in the hall, and the people of Elis present were shocked and excited. This news was too shocking! The hegemon of the western Mediterranean, Diónia, had declared war on Sparta!
Why were the people of Elis so excited? Wasn't it also a member of the Peloponnesus Alliance?
Elis was indeed a member of the Peloponnesus Alliance, but ever since the King of Sparta, Arcis (Leotychides' father), led an army to invade Elis' territory, defeated it, and even occupied part of its territory, the people of Elis gradually drifted away from Sparta. In the subsequent military campaigns led by Sparta, the people of Elis contributed very little. To punish them for their disobedience, the people of Sparta even gave the right to host the Olympia to Elis' nemesis, Pisa.
In the Peloponnesus Alliance, Elis was gradually being marginalized. What worried the people of Elis even more was that during the armistice conference in Sparta, besides Thebes, Elis was the second city-state that did not sign the agreement. According to the agreement, each city-state must be independent, and the people of Elis would never allow the towns under their control to become independent. Therefore, Elis also refused to participate in the swearing ceremony held in Athens. As a result, Elis was too isolated in the western part of the Peloponnesus Peninsula.
Therefore, during this period of time, when the people of Arcadia and Sparta fell out because of the establishment of the alliance, the people of Elis were wild with joy. A few days ago, they specially sent messengers to Megalopolis to express their support for the people of Arcadia. Now that the Kingdom of Diónia declared war on Sparta, there was no doubt that it was another shot in the arm.
In this boiling uproar, suddenly, someone shouted hoarsely, "Dear messenger of Diónia, you just said that the Kingdom of Diónia will let the Mercenians rebuild their homeland. Who are the Mercenians you are referring to?"
Tisias fixed his eyes on the person who spoke. It was the person who had answered Tyndaris's question. He had a rough idea in his heart. He said loudly, "All the Mercenians who were enslaved by the Sparta, living in Messenia and Laconia, and all the Mercenians who were forced to live in exile in other city-states, as well as their descendants, will be regarded by the Holy Kingdom of Diónia as citizens of the Messenian city-state that will be established. The Holy Kingdom of Diónia welcomes them to return to the homeland where their ancestors lived and rebuild their homeland that truly belongs to them!
In fact, I am a Mercenian. This time, I will personally witness the Dionysian Army defeating the Sparta bandits that have occupied our homeland for hundreds of years. I will also personally liberate my fellow Mercenians, allowing them to regain their dignity and freedom. The land of Messenia will be rejuvenated in the hands of the true Mercenians! "
After hearing Tisias' words, the councilor's eyes suddenly turned red. He could not help but open his mouth and sing, "At the foot of the towering and precipitous Mount Tegetos flows the clear and gentle Pamisus River. The majestic Etum Rock protects the beautiful city of Messenia. Countless cattle and sheep run on the fertile plains. Countless farmers work in the fields …"
Tisias was stunned for a moment, and then he sang along, "… Like wolves, the Sparta have seized our land and enslaved us like cattle and sheep. We cannot bear the heavy burden. Their cruel whips do not stop. More than half of the fruits of labor on the well-cultivated land belong to these ferocious bandits …"
At this moment, several Elis councilors joined in, singing passionately, "… Gods of Olympus, if you are willing to protect Messenia, I am willing to sacrifice my daughter like the hero Aristodemus, and then fight to the death.
Gods of Olympus, please bless me. I will be like Aristophorus, fighting all my life. As long as the people can be saved, I am willing to go through hardships, to be covered in cuts and bruises, to be left with nothing … "
At the end of the song, the voices of seven or eight people drowned out the noise in the hall. At this moment, everyone's face was covered in tears.
Ever since the fall of Messenia, this song, composed by an unknown author, had been quietly sung among the enslaved people of Messenia. It also made the Mercenians who had fled their homeland and scattered across the Mediterranean Sea always remember the suffering of their ancestors.
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