Volume 3: The First Croton War Chapter 29: Amendolara Welcomes You

That day, the citizens raided Kynogoratas's home like a mob: one of his sons was beaten to death, another daughter was violated and committed suicide, many of his clansmen and slaves were injured, and most of the valuables in the house were looted.

The next day, heartbroken and bedridden from his injuries, Kynogoratas sent a slave to deliver a message to the city hall, offering to resign his post as general. But the populace remained unsatisfied, also fearing that Kynogoratas might later take revenge for their actions. So they continued to gather and protest outside the city hall, demanding an immediate meeting of the Assembly. General Neonxis and others "reluctantly" agreed.

Soon, the Assembly was convened at noon. The first agenda item: the people proposed expelling Kynogoratas. The majority of citizens marked "yes" on their pottery shards, and the motion passed. Thus, Kynogoratas—the man who had served as chief general for several years after the Peloponnesian War, helping Thurii, a city with clear Athenian ties, survive the reckoning of Sparta, the new hegemon of Greece, and its allies—was himself driven out of Thurii by the Athenian-invented law of ostracism.

The second agenda of the Assembly was to re-elect the Nine Generals. In the end, Neonxis was elected chief general, Bourkos was chosen as general for successfully hiring Davos's expeditionary army, and Antistanos, who had spoken a few words in defense of Kynogoratas when the crowd besieged the city hall, was abandoned by the people and failed to win election.

When word reached him at home, Kynogoratas was silent for a long time, then let out a deep, weary sigh. According to the law of ostracism, he could return to the polis after ten years. But he resolved to leave this city of sorrow. After obtaining the agreement of his wife, children, and clansmen, he began packing that very afternoon and sold his estate and lands at rock-bottom prices. During this time, only Antistanos came to visit him once.

A day later, Kynogoratas, along with his family, some of his followers, and nearly a hundred loyal slaves, carrying bundles and driving pack carts, prepared to leave the city.

When the Thurians heard the news, they flocked over—not to see him off, but to hurl insults and vent their lingering resentment. Some even threw debris at Kynogoratas and his family. His companions cowered and hurried along with their heads down, but Kynogoratas, lying injured on the cart, faced the countless angry gazes with a calm expression. A few years ago, he himself had used this same method to expel Thurian citizens of Athenian descent. Today, to fall into this same predicament—was it not just retribution?

He also recalled the Alcibiades clan, driven out after a defeat, and the original Sybarite inhabitants who, shortly after the city's founding, had been mass-expelled or even killed...

Was this what Greek democracy was? A doubt suddenly arose in him, until his young son Dikaiokrates called out, "Father, Neonxis is over there!"

He followed the direction of his son's finger and saw Neonxis standing on the city wall above the gate, looking down.

A veteran of many years in politics, Kynogoratas had known from the moment things began who the true puppet master was. Now, as their eyes met, it stirred no more hatred in his heart.

He watched silently until they passed through the gate. Then he turned back to gaze at his mother city that had raised him, a sorrowful expression on his face.

He suddenly said in a low voice, "Neonxis used that beast called 'public opinion' to deal with me. This time, I underestimated him. But with his ability, he probably won't be able to rein in that beast. Sooner or later, something will go wrong..."

Dikaiokrates, half-understanding, said, "Then will that villain be driven out of Thurii too?!"

"Who knows?..." Kynogoratas turned back, one hand stroking his son's head, gazing northward into the uncertainty ahead, and said with slight tension, "Come on, let's go to Amendolara first, as we discussed..."

...

When Kynogoratas's party arrived at the Saraceno River, they saw Davos, the magistrate of Amendolara, waiting on the opposite bank with several senators of the Senate and a squad of guards.

Upon hearing this, Kynogoratas quickly ordered the slaves to drive his cart to the front of the column.

Seeing Kynogoratas lying on the cart, Davos spoke clearly: "Lord Kynogoratas, I am glad you have chosen to come to Amendolara! Upon learning of your arrival, our Senate held an urgent deliberation and decided to grant you the citizenship of Amendolara. Are you willing to accept it?"

After all, Kynogoratas had only been expelled from the polis; his Thurian citizenship had not been revoked. After ten years, he could still return to Thurii. During those ten years, he only needed to reside in another city. So this move by Amendolara might be presumptuous.

But upon hearing these words, Kynogoratas's slightly anxious heart finally calmed. He immediately expressed his thanks to Davos and said sincerely, "I am very glad to become a fellow citizen of Lord Davos!"

His clansmen also breathed a sigh of relief. Though Thurii had just signed an alliance with Amendolara, given the strained relations between the two cities, they had feared that Amendolara might refuse to accept them.

In fact, precisely because he had considered this issue, Davos did not welcome Kynogoratas with great fanfare, afraid of triggering discontent among the old citizens. As for Kynogoratas himself, Davos had only met him twice and did not know him well, but those two encounters gave him the impression that Kynogoratas had considerable political skill. From the information he had gathered, during Kynogoratas's tenure as chief general, Thurii had maintained stable governance and prosperous trade, which demonstrated his administrative competence. Unfortunately, his lack of military talent led to his loss of the chief generalship and eventually his expulsion from Thurii. But this suited Davos's preferences perfectly. Moreover, from this expulsion incident, Davos vaguely sensed something, which is why he actively welcomed Kynogoratas.

On the way to Amendolara, both sides avoided discussing affairs in Thurii.

"There are some vacant houses inside Amendolara that can be lent to you and your family. However, I recommend you buy them, as the price is not high. As for your clansmen, they can only rent for now, since they are not yet Amendolara citizens." Treasurer Mesis, caring nothing for Kynogoratas being a newly arrived honored guest, adopted a "business is business" attitude and explained matters to him seriously.

Kynogoratas expressed his understanding and said, "I heard that the polis recently passed an Immigration Law. I wonder if they meet the conditions? Can they apply to become Amendolara citizens?"

Is this matter already circulating in Thurii?! Davos was pleased to hear this and immediately explained in detail: "Of course, they can submit an application. This matter is handled by Registrar Raphias. I believe there should be no problem passing the review and being registered. However, according to the Immigration Law, a lengthy probation period is required—generally two years—during which they must become familiar with Amendolara's laws and customs and commit no violations. Only then can they become preparatory citizens, which grants them some rights in the polis. Then, after another two to three years, they can become full citizens..."

"You mean it takes five to six years to become a full citizen of Amendolara?!" Kynogoratas was somewhat startled. After all, these clansmen had voluntarily left Thurii because of him, and he felt responsible for their future livelihoods.

Davos naturally sensed his objection and stressed, "That is because under Amendolara's new law, full citizens are to be allocated allotments of land. Therefore, we must be cautious!"

Kynogoratas thought he had misheard and looked at Davos in surprise, but saw that his expression was serious, as if he were not lying. To give citizens "allotments" was a right that only existed when a polis was first founded. Thurii had much more land than Amendolara, yet after its establishment, it had never distributed allotments to new citizens. Amendolara had a much longer history than Thurii and even less land. Where would they find extra land to distribute to new citizens?! And they had even enshrined this in city law?! Kynogoratas wanted to challenge Davos but, thinking that he was a newcomer, decided not to argue with this young magistrate right away, lest he seem difficult. He could look into these matters later. So he changed the subject: "I also heard that in your polis, slaves can easily become freemen and even have the chance to become citizens."

"That is indeed the case, but their situation is special. If you want your slaves to become Amendolara citizens, the conditions required might be quite difficult," Davos said truthfully.

"As long as there is a chance, I will do my utmost to make them citizens, to repay their loyalty in risking their lives to protect me and my family in Thurii!" Finally, Kynogoratas spoke a sentence touching on this matter, his expression calm, as if he had seen through the ways of the world.

This was very different from the Kynogoratas Davos had known. Could this incident have been a valuable lesson for him? Some people grow through setbacks; others despair from them. If Kynogoratas was the former, then it would truly be a blessing for Amendolara. Thinking this, Davos said with emotion, "These slaves are fortunate to have you as their master!"

Kynogoratas immediately replied, "Amendolara is fortunate to have you as its magistrate, bringing about unprecedented changes!"

"Change is unavoidable!" Davos did not show modesty; his tone was firm. "In this chaotic world, those who do not change perish; those who change survive."

Kynogoratas pondered these words silently until they reached the foot of the Amendolara mountain. Seeing the Lucanian slaves busy at work on the construction site, he stopped and stared for a long time with a complex expression, then said in astonishment, "I can hardly believe these Lucanians are so obedient! There must be over a thousand of them here. The guards watching them are few, yet they work so earnestly and diligently!"

"That's because the polis did not cut off their means of survival for their crimes but rather gave them hope!" Davos said meaningfully.

"Hope?"

"Why must Greeks and Lucanians slaughter each other to death? Why can't they live together peacefully within one polis?" Seeing some promising changes in Kynogoratas, Davos decided to reveal a little in advance.

Davos's words struck Kynogoratas like a thunderbolt. He jerked his head toward Davos, his face full of disbelief.