Chapter 659
Syrsitas sighed. "When Agesilaus' emissary came here to ask for the oracle, he made a request to me. 'I hope that when Sparta's enemies come here to ask for the oracle, we can secretly tell the Sparta what they ask for …"
"That's not all." Patmos, who was in charge of managing the Sacred Vault, said angrily, "After Polybiadas left the temple, he purposely went to my place and said, 'This time, they have consumed a lot of resources in the expedition to Northern Greece, and they owe the pay of more than a thousand mercenaries in the team' …"
"The Sparta are too arrogant!" Kabatas, the priest in charge of the Pythian Games, shouted angrily. "We must teach them a lesson to dispel their ambitions towards Delphi!"
"Teach Sparta a lesson? They are now the overlord of Greece, and they have the support of Persia. If we anger them, I'm afraid it will be even more disadvantageous for our Delphi … "Patmos said worriedly.
At this moment, the high priest, Sitarsis, voiced out the idea that he had been thinking for a long time. "Who said that we are going to fight against Sparta head-on! We can invite a strong force to join the Sacred Alliance to balance out the absolute advantage that Sparta has in the alliance. "
The eyes of the priests lit up.
Patmos thought for a moment and said, "Then who should we invite? Macedonia? "
"Macedonia!" Kabatas snorted. "The Sparta expedition to Northern Greece is to help Macedonia. The Macedonians can't wait to thank Sparta, so why would they fight against it? Moreover, although Macedonia's territory is vast, they don't have enough power. They can't even defeat the barbarians, so how can they fight against the powerful Sparta? "
At this moment, another priest, Chrytimeni, said hesitantly, "Now, I'm afraid the only Greek force that can fight against Sparta is Diónia … Are we going to invite them?"
As soon as he finished speaking, Kabatas loudly objected, "No! No! Diónia is a barbaric kingdom, not a Greek force at all! "
"How could the Kingdom of Diónia be a barbaric country? Last year and this year, the All-Greek Scholars Conference was held there, and many scholars went to Turií, and they all spoke highly of the academic atmosphere there. What's more, Turií, Tarantum, Locri, Siletina, Crotone, Ligium, Catanae … These cities under the Kingdom of Diónia were all famous Greek city-states in the Western Mediterranean Sea more than ten years ago. Every year, they contribute a lot of gold and silver to the Sacred Treasury of Delphi … "Clementi argued.
"The Holy Alliance has never invited any of the Greek city-states in the western Mediterranean Sea to join us, because they are all colonies." Kabatas still objected.
Clementi sighed, "Everyone, it's not like it was a few decades ago. Everything depends on the strength of the city-states. The tradition has long been broken. The covenant of the Holy Alliance also states that 'no city in the alliance is allowed to be destroyed.' But you see, there are many examples like Sparta destroying Mandinia and Plataea! And Diónia is the most powerful Greek country in the western Mediterranean Sea, I'm afraid it is also the most powerful force in the entire Greek world. Even Sparta has taken the initiative to go to Turií many times to discuss the covenant. Only by inviting Diónia to join the alliance will the domineering Sparta fear and restrain themselves. "
Clementi's words made everyone fall into deep thought.
Patmos said awkwardly, "Even if we have the intention to invite Diónia to join the Holy Alliance, will Diónia agree? You must know that all these years, we, like the Olympia, have firmly opposed Diónia's participation in the Games, and because it has never offered gold or silver to the Sacred Treasury of Delphi, we have secretly promoted the barbarism of Diónia, hoping that the Greek freedmen will not migrate to Diónia … "
The priests all looked a little unnatural. They had all done such things before.
Kabatas complained, "Diónia highly respects Hades, causing the number of Diónia citizens who come to Delphi to seek the oracle is decreasing … If this continues, I'm afraid that all the Greeks in the western Mediterranean Sea will regard Delphi as nothing."
His words resonated with the other priests, and everyone began to complain.
At this moment, Archbishop Sircitas said, "It seems that you have all confirmed that the Greek country to be invited is Diónia. As for the problem of the Temple of Hades, I think you don't have to worry about it. I've learned about the Temple of Hades in Diónia. Although it is very important in the hearts of the Diónia people, the Temple of Hades doesn't seem to value divination and oracles very much, and this happens to be the field that we, Delphi, are good at, and the only field! "Sircitas emphasized.
He knew very well that the reason why Hades could develop so quickly in Diónia must be because of the powerful king who claimed to be a "descendant of Hades", and Delphi should not be so stupid as to stroke the tiger's whiskers. "Delphi and the Temple of Hades do not conflict with each other. I think the hundreds of years of tradition of oracles in Diónia will make the people of Diónia who encounter difficulties hope to seek guidance from Apollo. And we can also guide the Greek freedmen who are living in difficulties to the Italian Peninsula to find a new life … "
"Even if Diónia is willing to join the Sacred Alliance, I'm afraid that Sparta will not agree to it. After all, we only have the right to suggest, but not the right to decide!" Patmos reminded.
Sircitas sighed. "This is the problem that worries me the most. I heard that in the treaty signed between Diónia and Sparta, there is a treaty that states that 'Diónia shall not interfere in the affairs of the Eastern Mediterranean'. Although this shows that Sparta is afraid of Diónia, it also proves that Sparta is wary of Diónia. Sparta will definitely oppose Diónia joining the Sacred Alliance. "
"But the Sacred Alliance does not have the right to interfere in the affairs of other city-states. It is only an organization that protects Delphi. I believe that Sparta will not react that violently," Menni of Krati consoled.
At this moment, Sircitas brought up the idea that he had already thought of. "My suggestion is … Can we send someone to Turií secretly to discuss with the king of Diónia and have them take the initiative to make a request to the Sacred Alliance? Meanwhile, we can privately contact Athens, Corinth, Argos, Mecca, and other city-states that are at odds with Sparta. With this kind of pressure, I believe that Sparta will have no choice but to consider it carefully …"
After hearing this, all the priests felt that this was a good idea. None of them objected. "What if Diónia is unwilling to join the Sacred Alliance?" In their opinion, Diónia would definitely be overjoyed to be invited to Delphi, the holy land of the Greeks.
Patmos looked at the Pythia, who had been resting with her eyes closed, and asked respectfully, "About this matter, what did Apollo's oracle say?"
For something as important as this, Apollo's oracle must have been consulted beforehand. If there was absolutely no hope of success, it would not have been brought up in a meeting of the priests.
Everyone's eyes were focused on the Pythia. The old woman, who was dressed like a young girl (this was a requirement of the Temple of Apollo, a symbol of chastity), opened her murky eyes and chanted in a low, raspy voice, "O scorching sun,
Exhausting its radiance,
Falling beneath the mountains,
The pitch-black curtain of night had already descended.
Clusters of blazing bonfires,
Illuminating it as bright as day,
… "
Just as the priests were pondering the profound meaning of the oracle, Syrsitas continued, "Since Diónia worships Hades as the kingdom's protector, this god is only the Lord of Darkness, so I think Apollo's oracle is saying, 'The sun represented by Sparta is about to fall, and Diónia will take its place. As for those bonfires, I haven't figured it out yet. Perhaps it's referring to another rising power … "
Oracles were always cryptic, just like the gods themselves. Although the priests could not understand it at the moment, it did not affect their execution of the matter, because at least the general direction seemed to be in the right …
… …
Last year's scorching summer had killed the King of Sparta, Agesiporis. This year's summer was a huge test for Diónia.
In the Royal Palace of Diónia, the King's Devers, Minister of Commerce Marigi, Minister of Finance Merces, and the five Presidents of the Senate were listening to the report of the Minister of Agriculture, Burcos, with solemn expressions.
"In fact, last year, there was less rain in the spring and summer than in the past. But this year, from February to July, there has been no rain for more than five months in Southern Italy. Areas such as Lucania, Apulia (this area includes Mesapi, Puchetti, and Downey), Magna Graecia, and Bruti are all facing a serious water shortage. Small rivers such as the Sisno River and the Saraceno River have basically exposed their riverbeds and turned into small streams. Large rivers such as the Krati River, the Ramato River, and the Netto River have narrowed and their water levels have dropped …
If it were not for the widespread use of waterwheels, a large area of wheat seedlings may have withered in the Sebari Plain, the Croton Plain, the Orfemia Plain, and the Cosenza Plateau. But if such a drought continues for another month, I'm afraid the entire Southern Italy will suffer a serious crop failure during the autumn harvest in September. Judging from the current situation, the possibility of such a bad situation happening is very high! … "
"It's not just a problem of grain failure. Such dry weather has lasted for so long, the pasture in the mountains has withered, and many of the livestock raised by the herdsmen have died! "Vesba lamented.
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