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Davos leaned back on his chair and did not speak as grief enveloped him for a moment…in this era, Davos has never stopped fighting and had long been used to life and death, and even if a mercenary soldier he had once shared a difficult situation with were to fall in front of him, it would have hardly made a ripple in his heart. But when he learned the news today, he had lost control of his emotion…

In fact, even though Archytas had not spent a long time with Davos, the two had immediately hit it off. This gentle and refined nobleman of Taranto was like a generous elder brother who helped Davos on many occasions. When Davos was still unknown, Archytas, as a statesman and strategos of Taranto, did not complain when he help Davos to repel the Lucanians; And after Davos captured Amendolara, Archytas had not only not feel any dissatisfaction with regards to Davos’ deception, but he had also actively let Taranto to ally with Amendolara, and at the same time, he had advised Davos not to seize power by violent means; Although the relationship between Taranto and Theonia began to drift apart, Archytas was still actively campaigning for friendship between the two city-states, enabling food to be bought from Taranto even when the port of Thurii was blocked by Crotone…

Davos was so immersed in his memories that his eyes began to moisten. He took a long and deep breath and then said aloud to Polidorus, with a solemn expression, “Theonia is Taranto’s ally, and it’s Theonia’s responsibility to help his ally repel the invasion of the enemy. Therefore, I will immediately request a Senate meeting! And I am confident that every statesman of Theonia will not hesitate to agree to send troops to rescue our friendly ally!”

Polidorus was sure that Umakas was right that the relationship between Archytas and Davos was extraordinary. And with the Senate of Theonia being said to be Davos’ alone, just getting his permission in advance means that there won’t be a problem in asking for their help this time!

. . . . . . . . . . . . .

When Polidorus told the request of the statesmen of Taranto in the Great Senate Hall, with Davos taking a stand, there was little opposition.

Most of the statesmen from Amendolara and Thurii still remember the aid that Taranto had given them in their most difficult times. Kunogelata and the others had even said that keeping promises has always been the principle of the Theonians. And with Theonia becoming a powerful union in Magna Graecia, they should be brave enough to take up the responsibility of defending the city-states in South Italia and showing their sincerity to the surrounding city-states!

These words struck a chord in the hearts of everyone, and so the Senate voted unanimously to send reinforcement to Taranto, but there was a dispute over the number of troops to be sent.

Some statesmen, headed by Cornelius and Burkes thought that since it would soon be the autumn harvest season if too many young and able-bodied men were to be deployed at once and even with the help of the slaves, the harvesting would still be greatly affected. Therefore, they have suggested that no more than one Legion should be dispatched.

While a small number of Thurian statesmen headed by Pollux had thought that Theonia Union had been in too many wars within the past two years, and the people were already tired and in urgent need of recuperation. What’s more, with the help of Metapontum and Heraclea, Taranto’s military strength has not been greatly weakened, so Theonia only needs to send three thousand men to show their sincerity.

However, Antonios, Kapus and other military statesmen raised their objection that the combination of Messapi and Peucetti was too powerful, so if Theonia were to only dispatch too few reinforcements, they would not be able to help Taranto to end the war quickly, and with the duration of the war being longer, it will affect the return of the reinforcements they have sent and will cause dissatisfaction among the people. Besides, only by sending a large number of soldiers can they take the lead in the war and avoid being randomly grouped up and ordered by Taranto, resulting in the soldiers being sacrificed in vain.

And so they suggested that it would be better to send two legions to Taranto.

The opinions of the military statesmen had convinced most of the statesmen, but the huge number of 14,000 soldiers in the two legions had still made the statesmen hesitant. In the end, everyone handed over the decision to Davos.

Davos naturally agreed with the opinion of Antonios and the others, and he then said, “Now that we have agreed to send reinforcements, we should show the sincerity and courage of Theonia as Taranto’s ally to the greatest extent. With the assistance of the two legions and the allied force of Taranto, we should be able to repel the enemy quickly and allow our citizens to return and take care of their farms as soon as possible…”

When Davos spoke this, he had consciously and unconsciously put the Theonian army in the position as the main force of the allied army, forgetting that once they arrived in Taranto, they would only be a visiting army. And no one in the Senate felt it strange, but rather had taken it for granted.

This time, there was no need for Mersis to worry about the dispatching of the troops, because when Polidorus learned that Theonia would send a huge contingent of fourteen thousand men, he was overjoyed and said to Davos in a loud voice, “The rations and needed supplies for the Theonian reinforcements will be provided by Taranto!”

Burkes of the Ministry of Agriculture had to get busy to ensure that each soldier’s farm could be better cared for while its owner was away.

Grumentum, Krimisa and Aprustum had only recently been integrated into the union and so they could not easily send troops into battle, while Nerulum, as the most stable rear of Theonia in the Lucanian region, also had the responsibility of having to send troops to stabilise Grumentum at any time, and so they would not send citizens from the city as far as Taranto unless there was an exceptional circumstance. Therefore, the citizens that Davos chose to go to war were all from Thurii and Amendolara, which are very close to each other, and these are the first and second legion. In this way, it will also save time and energy for Burkes when supervising the farmlands.

And at the same time, the Senate began to recall the soldiers belonging to the first and second legion who are going to Corinth to participate in the Isthmian Games.

. . . . . . . . . . . . .

Isthmian Games is one of the four major games in Greece which is held in the summer and autumn of the second year of the Olympiad. It is a celebration dedicated to Poseidon.

Davos didn’t know much about it, and it was Crotone’s polemarchos Lysias who, when bidding him farewell after the Hades celebrations, had sighed about the excitement of the Theonian Rugby Tournament and inadvertently mentioned that Crotone would soon be joining for the Isthmian Games in which Davos began to consider.

Today, the mercenaries led by Davos have not only taken root in Magna Graecia but also the Theonian Union he founded has become one of the most powerful in Magna Graecia, which is no less powerful than that of Sybaris a hundred years ago. However, while the exploits of Theonia are still well known in Sicily, they remain largely unknown from eastward of Sicily to Greece itself, and even less so to the Ionian Islands of the Aegean, let alone the Greek city-states of Asia Minor.

Theonia was now past the dormant point and needed to strengthen its ties with the Greek city-states of the eastern Mediterranean, which would be of great benefit in promoting trades and attracting freemen. Therefore, the proposal of Davos in the Senate to organize athletes to participate in the Isthmian Games was met with enthusiasm from the statesmen.

The enthusiasm of the Greek city-states in the western Mediterranean in participating in the four major Greek Games is not less than that of the Greek native people, and also much more active than that of the city-states in Asia Minor: First of all, the four major games are held either in the Peloponnesian Peninsula or near the Gulf of Corinth, which is closer to Magna Graecia and Sicily than Asia Minor; Secondly, these colonial city-states in the western Mediterranean have superior geographical location, fertile land and rich mineral resources, so most of them are relatively richer than their mother-city in Greece itself, and as there was no opportunity for comparison, the games became a stage for these “city-states rich men” in the western Mediterranean to show off their luxury by donating a large amounts of gold and silver to the temple treasury, and holding large-scale banquets for the athletes of the city-states…and so on., and to the dumbfounded eyes of the native people in Greece who were living a simple life, the Greeks of the western Mediterranean were ridiculed out of jealousy as “wretched people who have nothing but gold and silver”.

The Greeks of the western Mediterranean are not only able to show off their wealth at the Games but also get outstanding achievements. Crotone is a famous professional champion of major sports games, Syracuse is another, and athletes from Taranto, Locri and Agrigento have won numerous championships, while Sybaris, the former Thurii and Neapolis have all excelled in the Games. They are all keen to show their mother-city in Greece through the Games that although they are only colony or descendants of colonists, they are still far better than the Greeks in Greece.

And the proposal of Davos had merely inherited the glorious tradition of the Greeks in Magna Graecia.

After the announcement of the participation in the Games in the various cities, the Theonian citizens enthusiastically signed up, forcing the union to hold a trial competition. Finally, ten people were qualified to compete in Corinth, including Tagetinos who would take part in the wrestling competition, Matonis taking part in the javelin competition, Amintas signing up for the “armed distance race”, and Solikos taking part in the chariot competition…but now, they all have to return to the first and second legion to prepare for the battle at Taranto.

. . . . . . . . . . . . .

Although it was only a few months ago since the war that Theonia Union participated in had ended and the enemy they are about to face is quite formidable, it still did not dampen the enthusiasm of the citizens to go to war. Apart from the fact that war allowed them to accumulate merit and gain citizenship or land, the establishment of the Hall of Heroes and Hall of Sages in the Temple of Hades had also greatly stimulated their pursuit of honour.

Just as the citizens of Thurii and Amendolara were making active preparations for the expedition to Taranto, at the residence of the archon, Davos and the Chief of Military – Philesius, and the two legatus – Kapus and Drakos, were listening attentively to the detailed introduction of the two major powers in the Apulia region – Messapi and Peucetti, by the envoy of Taranto – Polidorus, “I think the several lords have heard the story that has been passed down since a long time ago….”

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