Chapter 370
"What … what should we do?" Leptinus began to worry.
Just as Philistos was about to speak, he saw a slave coming over with a letter. He quickly opened the two letters and handed them to the slave along with the one Ancitanos had given him. "Lord Ancitanos, can you see if the handwriting is the same?"
Henepolis also moved to his teacher's side and picked up the letter to compare.
"The handwriting is indeed very different," Ancitanos nodded and admitted. Henepolis did not say anything else.
Philistos then passed the letter to the others.
"This is obviously not written by Lord Philistos. I know that he likes to sign his name with a hook at the end of the letter 'i', but this person wrote it with a straight stick!" Marsyas said loudly.
Harolis took a deep look at Philistos and said simply, "It's not."
He then passed the letter to Ferosanus who was standing beside him.
Ferosanus carefully checked it, raised the letter, and said to Ancitanos, "This is definitely not Philistos' handwriting!"
"Alright, there's finally some progress." Philistos rubbed his hands and showed a relieved expression. Then, he said with a serious expression, "It seems that someone purposely used my name to contact Polyxis and the others that Lord Ancitanos mentioned. It seems like they are trying to destroy the order of the Diónia Alliance, but they are actually trying to sow discord between Syracuse and Diónia in an attempt to incite a war. As for Hermes, this is related to the safety of Syracuse, so we need to conduct a detailed investigation! But no matter what, the source of Diónia's troubles is Syracuse. As the chief executive of Syracuse, I have an unshirkable responsibility to manage it! Here, I would like to express my sincerest apologies to Lord Ancitanos and the Diónia Alliance! "He then stood up and bowed to Ancitanos.
Ancitanos sat upright and accepted his bow.
"At the same time, Syracuse is willing to compensate for the losses caused by Dionia, as a sign of our desire to be close to Dionia!" Philistos continued to state his hopes.
"This is another important mission that I've received from the Senate to go to Syracuse." Ancitanos said solemnly, "The Diónia Alliance is willing to sign an alliance agreement with Syracuse. Not only will we have friendly diplomatic exchanges, but we will also prosper in trade. Moreover, in terms of military security, there are strong barbarians in the northern mountains of Diónia, who have repeatedly threatened our borders. Syracuse's formidable enemy, Carthage, has suffered repeated defeats, but it still has vast territory and great wealth in the city of Afrika, which could make a comeback at any time. Therefore, Diónia was willing to join forces with Syracuse to protect the Greek city-states of the Western Mediterranean! … "
As soon as Ancitanos said this, the banquet suddenly became quiet.
Anyone with a bit of political sense could understand the hidden meaning in Ancitanos' words. Firstly, Ancitanos was subtly reminding everyone that Carthage was still a formidable enemy of Syracuse, and that they should not be enemies with Diónia anymore. Secondly, Diónia wanted to be on the same footing as Syracuse. After all, Syracuse was currently the leader of the Greek city-states of the Western Mediterranean.
"Our mighty Syracuse is not afraid of any enemy now! Who cares about Carthage!? If it dares to come again, we will defeat it again! "Masias loudly expressed his disdain towards Carthage.
Felistos clapped and said, "That's a very good suggestion! Sir Ancitanos, don't worry, I will report this to Sir Dionysius and let him make the decision. "
"Thank you very much!" Ancitanos expressed his gratitude too.
"Alright! Alright! Since the misunderstanding has been cleared up, let's continue drinking and talking! "Leptineus shouted and raised his glass.
"Lord Leptinus is right. We should all put aside the troublesome business of politics. I originally wanted to talk to Sir Ancitanos about how to write a history book. " Felistos took over the conversation and said emotionally, "Sir Ancitanos, I once thought of writing a book about Sicily's history, but I was busy with political affairs and couldn't find the time for it. That's why I'm so envious that you have the time and energy to do what you want to do."
"Actually, I didn't dare to write it before. It's all thanks to Sir Devers' encouragement and help …" Ancitanos seemed much more enthusiastic when it came to writing history. "However, although I've written part of it, I've decided to throw it away and write it again."
"Why is that?" Felistos asked curiously.
"Do you know a person called Thucydides?" Ancitanos asked.
Everyone shook their heads.
"I didn't know about him at first. I only learned about him after Sir Devers introduced him to me. Although he is still unknown in the Mediterranean Sea before this, I believe that in a few years, his name will spread all over Greece! I even think he's greater than Herodotus! "Ancitanos said with reverence.
"He wrote a history book?" Ancitanos was a well-known scholar in Greece, after all. His praise naturally moved Felistos a little.
"Yes. Thucydides was from Athens. He was one of the Ten Generals and participated in the Peloponnesus War. He was later banished by the Citizens' Assembly and lived in seclusion in Thrace. He spent more than 20 years writing the history of the Peloponnesus War … After the war ended, he returned to Athens. When Sir Devers sent someone to visit him, he was already seriously ill. He was lying in bed and couldn't even pick up a pen. Sir Devers spent a lot of money to copy the original manuscript from his nephew. He brought it back to Turií and prepared to store it in the library that was about to be built.
I read the book carefully. Although it wasn't finished, it was definitely a great historical work! Thucydides abandoned some of Herodotus's methods. He didn't write any prophecies or prophecies in the book. Instead, he described every major event that happened in the Peloponnesus War in chronological order. Just as he wrote at the beginning, 'Part of my record is based on my own experience, and part of it is based on the materials provided to me by other witnesses. I've tried my best to verify it in the strictest and most detailed way …'
Moreover, although he was from Athens, he didn't side with Athens. Instead, he described Athens, Sparta, and other city-states that were involved in the war in a completely neutral manner. Although he said that 'my historical work without anecdotes is not very interesting', every time I think about this book, the image of the Peloponnesus War comes to my mind. I think even if decades or centuries pass, people will still be willing to read it again and again to understand the truth of the war. And we scholars who are willing to write history should also learn from him and use his historical work as a template to write a new history. This is why I want to rewrite it! "
After Ancetanos finished speaking, Felistos couldn't sit still anymore. He asked eagerly, "What's the name of this history book written by Thucydides? Has it been published? "
"'The History of the Peloponnesus War'. I don't think it has been published yet, but it should be soon," Ancetanos said. Ancitanos said, "If Lord Philistos is eager to read it, I can write another copy and send it to you after I go back."
"Thank you so much!" Felistos thanked him profusely.
"It's nothing. I'm glad to see another colleague on the path of exploring history!" Ancetanos said sincerely.
"Well said. I also hope to learn from Lord Ancetanos in the future and have an exchange in writing history. Come, let's drink to our friendship! "Felistos then raised his glass to Ancetanos.
The two drank it in one gulp.
The others also raised their glasses happily, and the atmosphere became lively.
Felistos put down his glass, wiped the foam from the corner of his mouth, and said in high spirits, "How great it would be if the Thucydides scholar you mentioned was here!"
"I don't think that's possible," Ancetanos said in a deep voice. Ancetanos said in a deep voice, "Thucydides from Athens … has passed away not long ago …"
Felistos' smile froze on his face, and he cried out involuntarily, "What?! He's dead?! "
"Yes, this is the exact news from Athens. I originally wanted to find time to visit him in Athens, but … "Ancetanos looked regretful and sad.
"What's there to be sad about? From what you said, this man from Athens left behind a great work, so even if he went to the Nether Prison, he had no regrets. " Felistos opened his slightly drunk eyes and shouted, "Bring me the lyre, I want to sing a song for him!"
"It's rare to hear Felistos sing a song!" Harolis also began to get excited.
Under Felistos' signal, the slave brought the lyre.
Felistos, who was a little drunk, took it carefully, played a few notes, and then praised, "Good instrument!"
As he said this, he jumped lightly and sat directly on the table, completely ignoring the oil stains on his clothes.
The slave next to him quickly moved the food on the table away, and he had already begun to play the lyre. Pleasant music flowed from his right hand, and his whole body was immersed in the music. Then, he improvised and sang, "In the lonely sky,
Looking for the star that shines brighter than the sun,
What joy in the world can compare to walking in the long river of history,
Talking to the heroes,
Singing to the warriors,
The muse offers you a crown of olives,
Then came Apollo's shining chariot.
You ride in it,
… "
The crowd whispered to each other, sending their sincere condolences and blessings to the man from Athens they had never met.
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