Citizens' Assembly

“Thurii again! Selfish Thurii! Damned Thurii! May the Goddess of Misfortune curse them!” Cornelus ground his teeth in anger.

To make a man who was always kind to others hate like this, Davos could guess the reason (Archytas had told him), but he still feigned curiosity and asked: “Lord Cornelus, I remember that Thurii and Amendolara were allies, yet you seem to despise Thurii.”

“The Thurians forced us to temporarily leave the city of Amendolara and help them defend Thurii, otherwise—once the Lucanians besieged Amendolara—they would offer no assistance. At that time, considering that the Lucanians were all invading from the south and the north was safe, we reluctantly opened the city gates carrying a large amount of supplies, preparing to relocate to Thurii. But then… then, completely defenseless, we were… attacked by Lucanians who had braved the Sinni River downstream and slipped into the city by surprise… Over the past half year, we have suffered so much… Temples defiled, women violated, children starved to death, citizens slaughtered…” At this point, Cornelus was already in tears: “All because of that selfish decision by Thurii, while their own city remains intact to this day! Every one of us Amendolara natives hates Thurii more than we hate the Lucanians!”

“Ah!…” Davos let out a long sigh, not knowing what to say.

“I heard from your soldiers that recapturing Amendolara was your own decision, not an order from Thurii?” Cornelus wiped his tears and asked.

“That’s correct.”

“Then good. We no longer owe Thurii anything! Whatever amount they hired you for, we’ll pay double, just stay!” Cornelus said resolutely.

Davos replied helplessly: “What’s the point of that? We mercenaries are three thousand strong. The monthly cost in grain and coin is no small sum, and Amendolara is not a wealthy city-state. Besides, if we accept your hiring, we will still leave when the term ends. We are men without homes. We must keep going out to take on contracts, earning money to survive…” Davos’ expression turned somewhat sorrowful. His words instead reminded Cornelus: “Without homes…” he blurted out: “Then stay.”

As soon as he spoke, as if emboldened, he shouted loudly: “Yes, all of you stay! Become citizens of Amendolara!”

…

Earlier, Amendolara’s square had been used by the Lucanians as a camp, and it was also where the mercenaries had encountered the only real resistance in the city the night before. By this afternoon, the square had been cleaned, with only streaks of blood remaining on the marble ground, revealing that a battle had taken place there.

The surviving people of Amendolara—except for the very young children—including women and underage youths, had all gathered in the square.

Now, standing on the wooden platform in the center of the square were five of Amendolara’s remaining prominent citizens, led by Cornelus. Cornelus looked at the almost entire populace of Amendolara below the platform—the old, the young, the rest mostly women, most of whom had not yet recovered their strength and even needed the support of mercenary soldiers and doctors—and once again grief welled up in his heart: Just a year ago, Amendolara had four thousand citizens alone (Greek city-state citizens were only adult males), with a total population of over ten thousand. Now only a pitiful thousand remained, mostly the elderly, women, and children. Not to mention defending the homeland, even daily tasks like planting wheat and herding cattle could not be accomplished. This only strengthened his resolve.

“Citizens of Amendolara, women, and children, I, Cornelus, a member of the Council, have summoned you to the square today because there is an important matter that requires our joint decision! Over two hundred years ago, our ancestors left Sybaris to build a city here. For two hundred years, nourished by the Sisno and Brano Rivers, sheltered by Mount Amendolara, we have lived in peace with ample resources. Even when our mother city Sybaris fell, our land was never touched by war. But… ever since last year, when our citizens followed Thurii into the Lucanian territory, we…” Cornelus choked up, and many below the platform wept bitterly.

“My wife, unwilling to be defiled by the Lucanians, struck a pillar and took her own life… One of my children also died of illness… All of you below have suffered similar fates… In two hundred years, Amendolara has only experienced this one war, and this time it nearly made Amendolara, like our mother city Sybaris, a thing of the past. When we prayed day and night in the temples to Zeus for salvation, Zeus answered our call and sent us our saviors—the mercenary warriors from the Ionian region of Greece, our fellow Greeks!” Cornelus pointed toward the back of the crowd, where Davos, along with his officers and some soldiers, and the witness Archytas in civilian clothes, stood quietly waiting.

“They defeated the fierce Lucanians, rescued us from suffering, and warmly cared for us! To be honest, I have seen many mercenaries before, but these are completely different—like family!…” Cornelus’ words won the agreement of many below, especially the emotional women.

“But they are about to leave us, leave Magna Graecia!” As soon as he said this, many began to panic.

“If they leave, what shall we do? Who will guarantee Amendolara’s safety? Thurii?” Cornelus paused briefly, and below, a chorus of curses erupted.

“No! Rather be destroyed by the Lucanians than be deceived by the Thurians again!”

“The selfish Thurians are not allowed to enter Amendolara city again!”

Amid the people’s anger, Cornelus seized the moment and shouted: “This bitter lesson has taught us that our own home can only be guarded by ourselves! But Amendolara is now very weak, so what shall we do?” Cornelus gazed at the people below and repeated the question, prompting them to think deeply.

“Amendolara’s magistrates have all died. I, Cornelus, as a member of the Council, now propose an important motion: request to convene the Assembly, and vote to decide whether to approve it. Since there are too few citizens now, and this matter concerns every Amendolara native, I specially request that all Amendolara people participate in the vote.” No sooner had Cornelus finished speaking than the other four on the platform spoke up in support before any commotion arose below.

The women, who made up the majority below, were excited about voting for the first time in their lives, so naturally, the opposition could not stir up trouble.

“I had heard that Cornelus of Amendolara is a decent man but seems to lack strong opinions on political matters. I never thought he would do something so astonishing today!” Archytas said to Davos, half surprised, half skeptical. After all, letting women vote on major city-state affairs was unprecedented among the Greek city-states—perhaps only in ancient times, legend says that women’s votes played a key role in Athena becoming the patron goddess of Athens.

Davos smiled and said nothing. Letting women vote was, of course, his idea. Compared to men who care more about interests, women are more emotional and more eager for the protection of the strong. Facing the mercenary soldiers who had saved them and treated them kindly, their choice was predictable.

“Since everyone agrees to this procedure, then next—my proposal is—” Cornelus’ gaze swept toward Davos and his men in the distance: “To accept our benefactors—all the mercenary soldiers who saved Amendolara—as citizens of Amendolara. Then we no longer need to worry about the city’s safety!”

The crowd below erupted in uproar. After all, it was not easy for a freeman to become a citizen of a Greek city-state, let alone to accept three thousand people as citizens all at once—this was very rare (Greece was not Rome after all).

But after a stir, when a woman first raised her right arm and shouted: “Agreed!” immediately cries of “Agreed!” resounded throughout the assembly.