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Chapter 194

According to Sparta law, the throne was inherited by the eldest son; however, if the eldest son was born before the king succeeded to the throne, he would give way to the oldest son born after the king succeeded to the throne; if the king died without an heir, the throne would be inherited by his closest male relative; if the heir was still young, the regent would act on his behalf (the founder of Sparta's current regime, Lycurgus, was the regent).

Arkis had only one son, Leotychides, who was twenty-three years old. It was only natural for him to succeed to the throne, but whether Leotychides was Arkis' biological son had always been a topic of gossip among the people of Sparta. During the Peloponnesus War, the Athens general Alcibide defected to Sparta, and King Arkis valued him very much. However, he did not expect the handsome and romantic man from Athens to seduce his queen, and even let the whole city of Sparta know about it. The humiliated Arkis threatened to tear Alcibide into pieces, but Alcibide ran back to Athens when he heard the news in advance. Not long after, Arkis' wife became pregnant, so the people of Sparta naturally had doubts about Leotychides becoming king.

Arkis' younger brother, the forty-five-year-old Agesilaus, had always performed well. In the eyes of the people, he was a traditional and pure Sparta. Although he was lame, he also had the support of many people.

It was conceivable that the issue of succession would be enough for the elders to worry about. Who would have the mood to deal with a trivial matter like Diónia?

… …

It was the second time that Corinth's merchant Dios came to Turií. After a few months, the port had changed a lot. First, the people of Diónia dug inward on the north bank of the estuary of the Krati River, thus expanding the port. Two long poured stone breakwaters surrounded the merchant ships that entered the port like the arms of a giant. The dock was no longer as simple as it was the last time he came. Wooden trestles went deep into the coast, and on the shore were neat and orderly stone houses and buildings, as well as flat and wide transport roads …

Although there were many merchant ships coming and going from the estuary, the port management personnel still commanded them to dock and unload goods in an orderly manner. The organization was quite orderly and efficient. The porters at the docks were also very efficient in their work. Very few of them were slacking off, playing tricks, or even bullying strangers.

From time to time, Dios would see people in white Bolton uniforms strolling back and forth between the docks with pen and paper in their hands. Wherever he passed, these laborers behaved even more diligently. Later, after asking other merchants, he found out that those people were civil servants sent by the Registry of Diónia. They were in charge of inspecting the daily labor performance of the freedmen who wanted to become citizens of the Union. If there were any misdeeds, it would be difficult for them to wait for a few years to obtain the status of preparatory citizen.

Of course, there were two or three squads of fully armed soldiers patrolling the port, maintaining order in the port.

When Dios walked into the port, he found that the Diónia Union had surrounded the port with a thick and towering city wall, and the market was located outside the city wall.

When he came to the market, it was also a noisy area. The original wall of the market had been demolished. Because there were too many shops, the expansion of the market could not keep up with the speed of the addition of shops. Rows of shops and workshops occupied all the open space, leaving only a wide passage for customers to buy and sell, transport goods, and firefighters to fight fires.

In addition, there were two special buildings that were independent of the market.

One was a hospital. Most of the Greeks in northern Greece knew that the doctors of the Diónia Union were skilled in medicine. Some even said that they were much better than the doctors of Crotone! Moreover, the Diónia Union had built a comprehensive hospital that was unprecedented in Greece. It was obviously different from the previous clinics. Whether it was in terms of facilities, system, or management, it was very standardized and strict. For the patients, this was an unprecedented treatment method. The sacred feeling made the patients feel better even before the doctors started the treatment. For the doctors, this place was like a magnet that attracted their attention. It was said that if it were not for the bad relationship between the Diónia Union and Crotone, many doctors of Crotone would want to come here to learn and visit. Naturally, the front of the hospital was overcrowded every day.

There were also many people in the other building. When Dios asked, he found out that it was a court specially set up by the Diónia Union for the Turií market and port to quickly deal with all kinds of trade disputes and conflicts that occurred there every day, and to provide convenience for merchants, customers, and a large number of sailors and laborers. Dios was very interested in this pioneering work that no other Greek city-state had, so he also squeezed into the crowd.

The Diónia Union established the position of judge at the beginning of November, mainly because after the influx of a large number of foreigners, the regular administrative affairs were enough for the city governors to work on, and they had to deal with more detailed and cumbersome legal disputes. The governors of the three cities were complaining, so the Devers proposed, and after discussion by the Senate, it was decided to establish the position of senior judge (there was no special judge in the Greek city-states. Cases were often judged by generals or consul, but in Athens, there was not even a judge, and the verdict was made by the jury. In Dionia, as the only Archon, Dyvers naturally had the highest judicial authority. However, he was busy with work, and unless it was a major case, ordinary disputes would not require his time to deal with. Hence, this authority was initially delegated to the various city magistrates. He was responsible for supervising the low-level judges that were sent to the various cities and handling appeals. Polyxis was one of the names to be elected by the Senate, but when it was submitted to the Devers for review, he did not say anything, but in the end, Proxilaus won (because of the strong recommendation of the Devers).

Originally, Proxilaus was supposed to be in charge of the court in Turií (although it was not yet fully built), and the court next to the market was handled by his subordinates. But the newly established Union was like the sun in the morning, and the people were busy with their own affairs. There were almost no complicated or influential cases for him to deal with, so the energetic and idle new judge came to the market, seized the power of his subordinates, and tried the cases himself.

"What's the next case?" Proxilaus, who had just finished a dispute, asked impatiently.

The junior judge, Fraukeleon, looked at him with a bitter look. Fraukeleon used to be a subordinate of Cunogorata, and he was originally assisting the governor in dealing with legal affairs in the city hall. After the independence of the law, there were not many talents in the Union who were proficient in the law. Fraukeleon was recommended by Cunogorata, and was quickly promoted to a junior judge, which could be counted as entering the ranks of the middle-level officials in the Union. Who knew that after a few days of happiness, his position was taken by Proxilaus, and he did not dare to say anything. After all, Proxilaus was not only an elder of the Senate, but also a senior judge. His position was equally prominent, and as soon as it was established, he was promoted by the Devers to a position second only to the city governor, to show the importance the Union attached to the law. Moreover, as Fraukeleon's immediate superior, Proxilaus had the right to report his work performance to the Senate Public Service Management Committee, and the right to recommend him when he wanted to transfer.

"The wife of a citizen of the Union filed a lawsuit against a Ligim merchant for discrimination," said Fraukeleon.

"Discrimination?" Proxilaus was a little confused.

"That woman is Lucanian," Fraukeleon said in a low voice.

"Oh." Proxilaus nodded. "Then bring in the plaintiff and the defendant."

The courtroom in the market was not big, and it could only accommodate a judge, a clerk, a programmer, a guard, and other public officials. The plaintiff and the defendant could only stand outside the open-air courtroom, and behind them was an open space surrounded by iron railings. The public could watch from outside the railings at will, so that the people and foreigners could understand the laws of the Union, and achieve the effect of propaganda and education. At the same time, the judge was under the supervision of the people.

A man and a woman entered the courtroom, and under the guidance of the programmer, they first chanted the names of the three judges under Hades Hades, Minos, Rhadamantos, and Iku, and swore by their names that what they said was the truth.

Then, the plaintiff made her statement.

The young Lucanian woman spoke in a strange but fluent Greek, "Your Honor, I am the wife of Izam, a citizen of the Union. Today, I came to the market to buy a pottery bottle for olive oil, and when I went to his shop — "The woman pointed to the merchant next to her and said," I found that he sold a lot of pottery, and they were all very beautiful, so I decided to buy from him. But because I spent a little more time choosing the pottery, he suddenly got angry at me. He said, 'Damn barbarian, are you going to buy it or not? If you can't afford it, don't touch my bottle with your dirty hands, or if you break it, it will not be enough even if I make you my slave!' He also said … he also said … "

"Your Honor, she is lying! I have never said such a thing! "The merchant shouted loudly.

"Shut up first, wait for her to finish before you speak!" Proxilaus scolded, and then said to the woman, "Continue."

"He also said —" The woman blushed, stared at the merchant, and gritted her teeth. "He also said, 'A barbarian woman like you does not deserve to use such noble pottery. You might as well be my slave, and make me … make me happy, and when I am happy, I may reward you with a pottery —'"

Note: The third interposition of Alcibiades is described in another of my novels, "From City to Empire".