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“Also, Crotone does not have any other cities, so using the money of the treasury to set up a postal cart to deliver letters would be too wasteful. If…Aprustum still belongs to us, then we could have considered it. But if that was the case, our roads and bridges must be built like this.” Strasippus stomped his foot. Indeed, Crotone’s uneven, unpaved road would make the carts prone to fall apart.

“Aprustum!” This was the pain in the Crotonians’ hearts. Nicostratos snorted and cursed, “All of it is due to the incompetence of the Council! You know, this place, which is a fertile land, was still a part of the Plains of Crotone a few years ago! But now, all of it belongs to the Theonians…”

“It’s time for us to go, else we won’t reach Krimisa tonight to rest!” Strasippus changed the subject by reminding them.

“How far till we reach Krimisa?” Asked Nicostratos, rubbing his thigh. As someone who doesn’t come out often, he was already a bit tired.

Strasippus stood up and looked forward carefully. Then he pointed ahead and said, “Lycasis, go and check that milestone and see how far till Krimisa.”

“Could it be that the distance is inscribed on the stone tablet?” Lycasis went over in doubt.

After a while, he pointed to the stone tablet and exclaimed, “‘Krimisa – 10 kilometres Ahead’. Is this it?”

“Yes.”

“And…there is also a small house carved next to it and a ‘3 kilometres ahead’. What does it mean?”

“It means that there is a post station 3 kilometres ahead, which can provide short rest, food and even accommodation.” A passerby next to Lycasis replied.

“Oh, thank you!” Lycasis politely express his gratitude.

“Are you a physician?” Seeing the medical box he was carrying, the man asked with a smile.

“Yes. my teacher and I will go to Thurii to attend an…erm…medical symposium.”

“The physicians of Theonia are highly skilled in medicine and are blessed by Hades to bring back to life those who are dying. So you have come to the right place to study!” The man had a look of understanding, then he added, “What a coincidence! I am also going to Thurii.”

The man’s words made Nicostratos uncomfortable. So he stood up and said, “Let’s go. We need to hurry.”

The group then started travelling on the sidewalk.

Out of the sidewalk were fields of grains being planted, no different from what they had seen before. The only difference was that the water channels were crisscrossed, broader and deeper. The slaves were more enthusiastic in their work that they even sang in the middle of their work, and their masters not only did not stop them, but some had even begun singing. The Theonian slaves were more like normal people than the lifeless slaves of Crotone, and this was not an individual case, as almost all the Theonian slaves that Lycasis could see were in this state.

Lycasis couldn’t quite understand it. He was born in a peasant family and knew a lot about a farmer’s life. Farmers in Crotone usually have one or two slaves, but they could not afford it anymore if there are more. Because of the need for labour to do farm work, they are very dependent on the slaves, so they do not oppress them as hard as the mill owners in the city. Rather, they even regard the slaves as part of their families.

When he was a child, Lycasis was taken care of by a slave in his family. Therefore, he always thought that the honest Thracian old man was more like his father than his birth father.

‘The Crotonian farmers already treat their slaves good enough, but could it be that the Theonians treat their slaves better?’ Lycasis thought that this was not the case and wanted to consult Strasippus. However, when he turned to look at them, he saw that Nicostratos was busy discussing medical problems with Strasippus. Thus he had to give up for the time being.

In the corner of his eyes, Lycasis caught a glimpse of the man, who he had talked to before, walking not far behind them. With a jolt, he slowed down his pace, “I am Lycasis from Crotone. Thank you for your explanation just now.”

“I am Cariades, a Scylletian.” The man said with a gentle smile, “I have been to Thurii many times, and I know more about Theonia. That’s why if there is something you don’t understand about this city-state union, feel free to ask me.”

The man seemed to perceive his thoughts, making Lycasis feel embarrassed. In the end, he nodded and asked, “I don’t understand why these slaves are so happy?”

Following the direction of Lycasis’ finger, Cariades saw the slaves singing in the field. He thought for a while and said, “That’s because they saw hope.”

“Hope?”

Cariades became solemnly, then said in a low and long tone, “The great Hades once said that ‘Everyone’s destiny is different. Some are born rich, some are born poor, some become slaves, and some are lucky to be nobles. But as long as we always have good intentions and don’t give up, once our life ends and comes to hell for our trial, in the face of the golden scale of equality and selflessness, the status and wealth we have before death are just illusory. What truly decide whether one soul goes to the beautiful Elysium or the terrifying hell is what you have done in your life.’ The good go to Elysium while the evil goes to hell. So those who have struggled all their lives can enjoy music and delicious food, while those who love leisure but hate hard work will suffer hard labour forever.”

Lycasis was taken aback, “You…you mean…that the reason why these slaves work so enthusiastically was to enter Elysium?”

“Not exactly.” Cariades then said, “Davos, the archon of Theonia, who had the blood of Hades running through his vein, was enlightened by his father god to pass a bill in the Senate that states, ‘Every year at the Celebration of Hades, the outstanding slaves of the city-states will get their freedom back.’ Thus during this day, Davos will give the slaves he owns their freedom. And because Davos was deeply loved by the Theonians, they were also influenced by the archon. Therefore, when they had the spare ability, they would also consider freeing their slaves that have made contributions to their families…

I remember that last year, there was a Nubian slave that was sent to the port market by his master to buy goods. But on his way home, he rescued two drowning children in the Crati River. Not only the father of the child was willing to pay for his freedom, but the whole city unanimously asked for his freedom…thus you can see, with Theonia having such an atmosphere”, how can these slaves not express themselves?!”

Lycasis nodded. Although Crotone also gave the slaves their freedom, they still never proposed such bills as what Theonia had done. Moreover, the number of slaves released was so frequent and so many.

There is actually another reason that Cariades did not know. Although the age composition of the Theonian citizens and the preparatory citizens is dominated by the young and middle-aged (because Theonia received a large number of immigrants), the citizens have to participate in military training more than ten times as many times as that of Crotone and have to undertake some garrison tasks. Thus they do not have the extra energy and time to take good care of their land, making them rely more on the slaves. Therefore, besides regarding the slaves as a member of their family, they even allow them to have more autonomy, which is more beneficial to the enthusiasms of the slaves.

“It is for this reason that the slaves of Scylletium fled to Clampetia from time to time in the past two years.” Cariades added.

“Ah…we also have a large-scale slave desertion in Crotone!” Lycasis remembered, “But not to Clampetia, but to Aprustum, which is not far from Crotone. At that time, we also held an ecclesia and sent our people to protest to Aprustum, asking them for the return of the escaped slaves. Then they were soon escorted back…”

“If Scylletium and Crotone do not make changes on the issue of slavery, then such things will repeat in the future.” Cariades said with a sigh. However, as a Scylletian, he seems to not be worried about the issue, rather, he was somewhat happy in seeing it.

Naturally, the young Lycasis didn’t think so much about it. He then asked another question with suspicion, “By the way, the thing you just said…how come I have never heard of those words of Hades?”

“There are so many things that you haven’t still heard of about the gods.” Cariades’ eyes glistened, “You should know that when Zeus and his brothers and sisters joined up to overthrow their father Kronos and divided their father’s power. Hades, as the eldest, could have chosen the sky or the sea as his divine realm, but he rather chooses the dark and damp hell and live underground, creating a fair and warm place for the weak human soul to reside, ensuring the stability of the earth. Isn’t he amazing?!”

“I…is that so?” Lycasis then said with suspicion, “But we all know that Hades was forced to choose hell.”

“Have you ever wondered who passed down this fact that you know?…without the permission of Zeus, the king of gods, how can mere mortals know such secrets? Zeus ruled the Olympian gods, so he naturally would let the contents of the rumours be beneficial for him. Hades, the king of hell, was introverted and somewhat gloomy looking, and the Greeks do not like him. Thus they all believed that rumour.” Cariades continued with a solemn expression, “But in fact, among the gods, Hades is the most devoted and faithful. Zeus is debaucherous and capricious, Poseidon is ruthless and violent, Aries is crazy and bloodthirsty, Hermes is mischievous and playful, Dionysus is drunk and mad, and Apollo is proud and insidious…only Hades, have you ever heard of anything bad regarding him?”

After listening to Cariades’ words, Lycasis felt a bit confused. He rubbed his forehead and said, “He…kidnapped Demeter’s daughter, Persephone, as his wife.”

Cariades, with an expression of “I know you would say this”, seriously explained, “With the bad environment in the underground, there is no goddess that is willing to go. Thus Hades has no choice but to kidnap a wife to marry for himself.”

Note: The description of the road signs in this chapter does not come from modern ideas. In the early Roman Empire, there were road signages that are very similar to present days. And the Roman merchants also sold Vicarello Cups for sale to travellers on long journeys, with detailed itineraries for each province engraved to help their travel.

In the previous chapter, Darius and Atossa were not related by blood. However, Cyrus the Great’s son, Cambyses II, did marry his two sisters, Atossa and Roxane, in order to ensure that Cyrus’ noble lineage was not tainted. When Persia fell into chaos, Darius seized power in Persia with his cavalries while also taking over the pair of sisters (Atossa and Artystone) as his wives to make his throne appear more orthodox. And Atossa bore the next Persian king, Xerxes.

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