Chapter 275
The Devers leaned against the back of the chair and stopped talking. Grief instantly enveloped him … Since coming to this era, the Devers had never stopped killing and had long been accustomed to life and death. Even if the mercenaries and soldiers who had gone through thick and thin with him fell in front of him, it would be difficult to cause ripples in his heart. But when he heard the news today, he lost his composure …
In fact, Archita did not spend much time with him, but the two of them hit it off at first sight. This gentle and elegant Tarantum aristocrat who was seven or eight years older than the Devers was like a generous elder brother who had helped the Devers many times. When the Devers were still unknown, Archita, as the senator of Tarantum and the general who led the expedition, had no complaints about assisting him in repelling the Lucanians. After the Devers seized Amendolara, not only was Archita not dissatisfied with the Devers' deception, but he also took the initiative to form an alliance between Tarantum and Amendolara. At the same time, he persuaded the Devers not to use violent means to seize power. The reason why the Diónia alliance was able to develop so quickly was largely due to his advice. Although the relationship between Tarantum and Diónia began to drift apart, Archita still actively campaigned for the friendship between the two states, allowing the Turií port to be blockaded by the Crotone to still be able to buy food from Tarantum …
The Devers was immersed in his memories, and his eyes began to moisten. He suddenly took a deep breath and said loudly to Polydorus with a solemn expression, "Diónia is an ally of Tarantum. It is the responsibility of Diónia to help our ally repel the enemy's invasion. I will immediately apply for a Senate meeting! I firmly believe that all the senators of the Diónia Senate will agree to send troops to rescue our friendly ally without hesitation! "
Polydorus was relieved. Marcus is right. The relationship between Archita and the Devers is extraordinary. It is said that the Senate of Diónia is controlled by the Devers alone. With his permission in advance, there will be no problem in asking for help this time!
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When Polydorus presented the request of Tarantum to the Senators in the Great Chamber of the Senate, the Devers took a stand, and few objected.
Most of the senators from Amendolara and Turií remembered the help that Tarantum had given them in their most difficult times. Cunogorata and the others said, "Keeping promises has always been the principle that the people of Diónia believe in. Diónia is already a powerful alliance of Greater Greece. We should bravely shoulder the responsibility of defending the southern Greek city-states and show our sincerity to the surrounding city-states!"
These words struck a chord in everyone's heart. The Senate unanimously passed the resolution to send reinforcements to rescue Tarantum, but there was a dispute over the number of troops to be sent.
Some of the senators, led by Cornelus and Burcos, believed that it was almost the autumn harvest season in September. If too many young and strong laborers were sent to participate in the war, even with the assistance of slaves, the harvest of the fields would still be greatly affected. It was suggested that the number of people sent should not exceed a legion.
A small number of Turií senators, led by Polyxis, believed that the Diónia alliance had fought too many wars in the past two years, and the people were tired and in urgent need of rest. Moreover, Tarantum had the help of Metapontum and Heraclea, so the strength of its army was not greatly weakened. Diónia only needed to send three to four thousand people to show their sincerity.
On the other hand, the military senators, such as Antonios and Capus, objected. They believed that after the Mesapi and Puchetti united, they were powerful. If the reinforcements sent by Diónia were too little, they would not be able to help Tarantum end the war quickly. If the war continued for a long time, it would affect the return of Diónia reinforcements, causing dissatisfaction among the people. Moreover, the more people they sent, the more they would be able to take the lead in the war. This would prevent Tarantum from making random arrangements and causing the soldiers to be sacrificed in vain …
They suggested that it was best to send two legions to Tarantum.
The opinion of the military senators convinced most of the senators, but the huge number of 14000 people in two legions still made the senators hesitate. In the end, the decision was handed over to the Devers.
Of course, the Devers agreed with the opinion of Antonios and said, "Since we have agreed to send reinforcements, we should show the sincerity and courage of Diónia as an ally of Tarantum to the greatest extent. With two legions and the help of Tarantum and its allied forces, we should be able to quickly repel the enemy, so that the people can return as soon as possible and take care of their farms …"
When the Devers spoke, he unconsciously placed the army of Diónia in the position of the main force, completely forgetting that when they arrived at Tarantum, they were just guests. None of the senators felt that it was strange. Instead, they thought that it was natural.
This time, Mersis did not have to worry about sending the troops. When Polydorus learned that Diónia had actually sent a huge army of 14000 people, he was overjoyed and repeatedly said to the Devers, "The rations and materials needed by the reinforcements of Diónia will naturally be provided by Tarantum!"
The agriculture department of Burcos had to be busy to ensure that the farms of each soldier could be taken care of when the owner left.
Grumentum, Crimissa, and Aspurustum had just submitted, so it was not easy for them to send troops to war. As the most stable rear of Diónia in Lucania City, Neutum also shouldered the responsibility of sending troops to stabilize Grumentum at any time. Unless there was a special situation, the citizens of the city would not be transferred to Tarantum. Therefore, the citizens that the Devers chose to send were in the two cities that were very close to each other, Turií and Amendola, where the first and second legions were stationed. This way, it also saved time and energy for Burcos' supervision of the farms.
At the same time, the Senate began to recall the soldiers belonging to the first and second legions who were about to go to Corinth to participate in the Isthmian Games.
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The Isthmian Games was one of the four major games in Greece. It was held in the summer and autumn of the second year after the Olympia Games. It was a celebration to worship the sea god Poseidon.
The Devers did not know much about it at first. After the celebration of Hades, the chief general of Crotone, Lysias, exclaimed about the excitement of Diónia's rugby competition. He unintentionally mentioned that Crotone was about to line up to participate in the Isthmian Games, so the Devers took note of it.
Now, the mercenaries led by the Devers had not only taken root in Great Greece, but the Diónia Alliance that he created had also become one of the strongest alliances in Great Greece. It was not inferior to the powerful Sybaris a hundred years ago. However, many people in Sicily had heard of Diónia, but it was basically unknown from Sicily to the Greek mainland. It was even more unknown to the Ionian islands in the Aegean Sea, not to mention the Greek states in Asia Minor.
Diónia's current strength had passed the dormant stage. It needed to strengthen ties with the Greek city-states in the Eastern Mediterranean. Whether it was to increase trade or to attract free people, it would be of great benefit. Therefore, the Devers's proposal to organize athletes to participate in the Isthmian Games in the Senate was warmly received by the senators.
The enthusiasm of the Greek city-states in the Western Mediterranean to participate in the four major Greek Games was no less than that of the native Greek people. They were also much more active than the city-states in Asia Minor. The main reasons for this were: First, the four major Greek Games were held either on the Peloponnesus Peninsula or near the Gulf of Corinth, which was closer to Great Greece and Sicily than Asia Minor. Second, the colonial city-states in the Western Mediterranean were geographically superior, with fertile land and rich mineral resources. Therefore, most of them were relatively wealthy, far surpassing the native Greek states. Usually, there was no opportunity for comparison. Therefore, the Games became a stage for the "local tycoons" of the Western Mediterranean to show off their luxuries. They donated large amounts of gold and silver to the sacred treasury of the Games, held large banquets, and invited athletes from various city-states, and so on. The native Greek people who lived a simple life were dumbfounded. Out of jealousy, they ridiculed the Greeks of the Western Mediterranean as "poor people who have nothing but gold and silver".
The Greeks of the Western Mediterranean did not only show off their wealth at the Games, but their achievements in the Games were also very outstanding. Crotone was a well-known professional champion of the major Games, and Syracuse was another. Athletes from Tarantum, Locri, and Agrigento had won many championships. Sybaris, the former Turií, and Naples had also won excellent results at the Games. They were keen to show the native Greek states through the Games that although they were only colonists or descendants of colonists, their achievements were far better than the citizens of the native states.
The Devers' proposal was nothing more than a continuation of the glorious tradition of Great Greece.
After the announcement of the participation in the Games was announced in various cities, the citizens of Diónia enthusiastically signed up, forcing the Union to hold a selection competition. In the end, ten people were qualified to go to Corinth to participate, including: Tegthenos participated in the wrestling competition, Matonis participated in the javelin competition, Amyntas signed up for the "armed long-distance running", and Soberkos signed up for the horse carriage competition … Now they had to return to the First and Second Legions to prepare for the expedition to Tarantum.
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Although it had only been a few months since the Union of Diónia stopped the war, and the enemy they were about to face was quite powerful, it did not affect the enthusiasm of the citizens to go to war. In addition to the war allowing them to accumulate merits and obtain citizenship or land, the establishment of the Hall of Valhalla and the Pantheon of Hades also greatly stimulated their pursuit of glory.
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