Chapter 233
"Diobetis, are you really from Sparta?!" Lysander sneered. "Don't forget about Demaratos!"
The elders were in an uproar. Demaratos was the eternal shame of Sparta.
… …
Although the Sparta warriors worshipped killing and despised pleasure, they still liked beautiful women. The best way to judge a future wife was to see if she could bear children easily. The beauty of a Sparta woman was also the best way to judge if she could be the mother of a future child. Training with men from a young age gave the women of Sparta their own unique beauty. They had long blonde hair, strong bodies, and elegant legs. Giving birth to an ugly daughter would make the parents depressed, but there was still a chance to change. That was to go to an ancient sanctuary next to Helen's tomb and pray to the bronze statue of Helen. It was said that the child would grow up to be beautiful.
A hundred years ago, a pair of Sparta parents prayed to Helen for their ugly daughter. The ugly priestess in charge of the sanctuary grabbed the long hair of the child. After looking at the child's face, she made a prophecy: She would become the cutest woman in Rastemon.
As time passed, the girl became a famous beauty. Her charm made the king of Sparta fall head over heels for her. He used his royal power to take her away from her husband. Only seven months later, the new queen gave birth to a son. Was the father of the child the king or the commoner? The people of Sparta did not investigate further. The child grew up and eventually became the king. He was Demaratos.
When Demaratos succeeded to the throne, another king of Sparta, Kleomenes, had been on the throne for five years. It was much more difficult for him to succeed to the throne because his father could not get his wife pregnant. The elders of the law enforcement council asked him to divorce his wife and remarry. He hesitated for a long time and chose to marry again. Not long after his second wife gave birth to three sons, his first wife gave birth to Kleomenes. But the king was already deeply in love with his second wife, and naturally preferred her children. Creomenes was not favored by his father, and his half-brother, Dorius, was given special training by the king, and was appointed as the legitimate heir. People also thought that Dorius was the best of his generation. However, after the king suddenly died in battle, the conservative people of Sparta believed that Kleomenes, who was the son of the king's first wife, had the right to inherit the throne. Kleomenes, who succeeded to the throne, banished his brothers with the excuse of sending Dorius to colonize the western Mediterranean.
Cleomenes was quick-witted, decisive, ambitious, and had a strong desire for power. Demaratos, who had just succeeded to the throne, was no match for him. Soon, he was overthrown by Cleomenes. Kleomenes ruled Sparta for more than 20 years. He defeated Agos, controlled Arcadia, meddled in Delphi, and interfered with the political situation in Athens. Sparta's power expanded to Northern Greece. At this time, the king of Persia, Xerxes, was preparing to invade Greece again. Learning from Darius, he sent a large number of spies to divide and alienate the city-states. Eyna, an island city-state not far from the east of the Peloponnesus Peninsula, offered land and water to Persia. Kleomenes angrily denounced this treachery and decided to punish Eyna.
The people of Eyna hurriedly asked another king of Sparta, Demaratos, for help. Demaratos was happy to create trouble for his political enemy, so he secretly joined forces with the elders in the council who were not willing to go to war with Persia and actively provided support. This infuriated Cleomenes, and he finally decided to get rid of this intolerable collaborator once and for all. So in the Council of Elders that he initiated, he questioned the origin of Demaratos. Not only did he win over Demaratos's clansmen and most of the elders, but he also bribed the priest of Delphi, so that the oracle he sought was also unfavorable to Demaratos. As a result, Demaratos, who had been on the throne for 24 years, was deposed from the throne and defected to Xerxes, becoming a traitor who led the way.
However, the victorious Kleomenes was not happy for long. His bribery of Delphi was leaked, and the people of Sparta were furious. He was convicted and fled Sparta. Later, he returned, but was removed from power. From then on, he drank, beat people, and cursed. Everyone said he was crazy. His two half-brothers, Leonidas and Cleombrotes, declared him insane and locked him in the temple. The next day, he was found dead. His flesh had been cut off piece by piece, and a knife was beside his hand.
This caused a great sensation! Everyone said that this was the punishment for Kleomenes's blasphemy, and it was widely accepted by the public: suicide.
Soon, Leonidas became king. However, privately, there were rumors that Kleomenes died in the hands of his two brothers.
The reason why Leonidas led 300 King's Guards to Hot Spring Gate to defend against the army of Persia was because of the situation. At the same time, he also wanted to prove his innocence to the people of Sparta.
… …
It was a treacherous history for the people of Sparta, and it could even be said to be the shame of Sparta. The meeting hall fell into silence for a while.
Chancellor Kleostida simply announced, "Let the election of a new king begin!"
Whether it was Agesilaus or Leotychides, these two candidates both had their flaws, and they both had their fans. Therefore, the debate between the two was mainly about fighting for the position of the neutral elders … and the final result of the vote was — Agesilaus won.
With tears of humiliation in his eyes, Leotychides looked at the elders who congratulated Agesilaus with hatred, and then quietly left …
Chancellor Kleostida asked the guards to welcome the five censors who had been waiting outside the meeting hall, and announced the result of the election to them.
Thus, the censors came before Agesilaus, and Agesilaus stood solemnly, listening to them read out loud, "By the great Zeus, according to the results of the election by the council of elders, we declare that Agesilaus, the bloodline of the holy Hercules, is the king of Sparta!"
Agesilaus could no longer maintain his calm expression, and his voice trembled as he swore, "I swear in the name of Zeus, I, Agesilaus, will govern and rule Sparta according to the existing laws of the city!"
The censors responded at the same time, "As long as you abide by your oath, we will ensure that your royal power is eternal!"
In February of 398 BC, Agesilaus became the king of Sparta.
… …
At the southeast end of Sicily, Dionysius led Syracuse's 80000 infantrymen, 3000 cavalrymen, and more than 400 warships on the sea, marching westward along the southern coast of Sicily.
When he easily liberated the city-state of Kamalina, which was forced to pay tribute to Carthage, Dionysius received the news that "Diónia defeated Crotone". He was silent for a while, then said to the attendant beside him, "Write a letter to Felistos immediately. Tell him that I've agreed to Rockley's request to send reinforcements as soon as possible!"
Then, he asked the messenger to urge the army, which was preparing to rest for a day, to continue marching westward.
… …
"Crotone has asked for peace with Diónia!" After receiving the news from Crotone, the Governor of Tarantum, Umachus, said in surprise, "I really didn't expect that a year ago, Diónia was still a small city-state that needed our protection to survive. Now, it has rapidly developed into a powerful alliance with Greece!"
The former Governor and current Senator of the Senate, Desytimus, sighed and said, "Fortunately, we are in an alliance with Diónia!"
"The safety of Tarantum cannot rely on the promises of others!" Umachus shook his head and said firmly, "We should speed up the conquest of the Mesapi people and strengthen the power of Tarantum as soon as possible. Only then will we have the confidence to speak when facing Diónia!"
"The capture of Manduria has already caused many casualties among our citizens! But you still want to attack Brindisi. That will cause more Tarantum citizens to be sacrificed! How can the Senate agree to such a radical approach! "Desytimus criticized angrily.
Umachus looked at Desytimus with a trace of contempt in his eyes, "Desytimus, my good friend, haven't you figured it out yet? This is not only the wish of the majority of the Senators in the Senate, but also the wish of the people! Stimulated by the rapid rise of Diónia, the people are tired of the inaction of the Senate for decades! They hate the fact that they have to endure the attacks of the Mesapi every year! They are asking us to make changes! Although there have been casualties among our citizens, we have taken control of Manduria. It will be much more difficult for the Mesapi to invade our territory! Now, Sir Diomiras is about to return to Tarantum, and Archita will continue to lead the army to attack Brindisi. I believe that after Archita learns that Crotone has been forced to ask for peace with Diónia, he will increase his attack on Brindisi without our urging! "
Desytimus fell into silence. After a moment, he said hesitantly, "I am a little worried that such a large-scale attack will stimulate the Puchetti people in the north. They are from the same race as the Mesapi …"
"Will they not hate us if we don't attack?!" Umachus retorted, "As long as we capture Brindisi, not only can we cut off the communication between the Mesapi people and the north, but we can also connect to the trade with the Adriatic Sea. There are many benefits to doing this … If we really encounter the Puchetti people that you mentioned see that our city is empty and take the opportunity to attack, then we can still —"
Umachus looked at Desytimus. Desytimus understood what he meant and sighed, "Ask for help from our ally, Diónia!"
… …
Comments