Volume 3: The First Croton, War Chapter 40: Rescue

“Lord Chief Magistrate, the Crotonians outnumber us. Attacking rashly might—” Cornelius’s words of concern were cut short as Amyntas shot back: “You don’t know anything about warfare, so don’t interfere!”

Davos immediately rebuked Amyntas and made him apologize, then explained to Cornelius and the other elder citizens: “As the Chief Magistrate of Amendolara and a seasoned commander, I will treasure the lives of Amendolara’s citizens. I won’t recklessly attack a strong Crotonian army without a solid chance of success! The Crotonians captured Thurii, gaining great glory and abundant plunder, and our Amendolara chose to retreat. They must be brimming with pride, and their general, Melanthius, is even more arrogant. These Crotonian soldiers, laden with spoils, will be thinking only of returning home to divide their gains—what desire for battle could they have? By the time they reach their camp, they’ll be exhausted, their defenses slack. We will strike hard while they sleep, just like when we retook Amendolara!” Seeing Cornelius and the others deep in thought, Davos added: “Of course, if our scouts report that the Crotonian camp is well guarded, we’ll call off the attack.”

Philistos emphasized: “The Chief Magistrate’s plan is indeed feasible!”

Antonios said: “We agree!”

At that moment, Scombrus, Tritodemos, and Protesilaos spoke up first in favor, and the attack plan was quickly approved.

“Now, immediately summon the citizens of the four battalions to gather in the square. Each battalion commander must ensure the soldiers keep quiet—no shouting or noise! I don’t want Crotonian spies to notice anything unusual!” Davos gave orders calmly. “My attack plan is…”

Philistos and the senators serving as military officers accepted the orders and left.

Davos then said earnestly to Cornelius: “Thurii has suffered such a disaster. As its ally, we should help its people. I want to form a Thurii Emergency Relief Committee, with you in charge of directing aid—providing food, shelter, and medical treatment…”

Cornelius hesitated for only a moment before nodding in agreement.

The other elder senators, who had once hated Thurii, remained silent, but Strombopoli reminded them: “If we use our food to help the Thurians, we might not have enough for ourselves.”

“Don’t worry!” Davos said confidently. “The Crotonians have plundered so much grain. Once we defeat Melanthius, we’ll have everything.” He silently added: And something even more important.

“I hope the Crotonians are as unwary as you say,” Strombopoli said, not pressing further, for he too held hope.

Davos remembered there was someone in the city who knew Thurii extremely well, so he asked: “By the way, has Kynogoratas recovered from his wounds?”

“It should be much better. I saw him in the temple yesterday, walking down the hill without a slave supporting him,” Scombrus said.

“Let him be your assistant. He knows Thurii’s people and affairs very well,” Davos said to Cornelius.

“But he was once—” Cornelius hesitated.

“I think Thurii, after all, is his mother city that bore and raised him—the place he lived for decades. His concern and longing for Thurii must outweigh the hurt it caused him, especially now that the city has been burned!” Davos affirmed. Though he had only met Kynogoratas a few times, he remembered that the old man (actually just over fifty) had spent much of his energy in previous years striving for Thurii’s stability and prosperity, even offending many people. He wouldn’t easily let go of Thurii.

Sure enough, Kynogoratas, who had nearly fainted from grief upon hearing Thurii had been burned, rushed to Cornelius’s residence as soon as he received the Senate’s notice to discuss relief matters.

At that moment, Davos summoned the Lucanian chief Vespa and his son Bacule to his residence.

“Tonight we plan to attack the Crotonian army. I hope you will join us. If we win, your five years of servitude will be halved,” Davos said bluntly, without beating around the bush.

“Attack the Crotonian army?! I heard they have over ten thousand men!” Vespa, though now a slave, was not isolated from news and hesitated.

“We’ll join!” Bacule spoke first.

“Son, you—” Vespa panicked and tried to signal him.

Bacule ignored his father and stood tall, speaking loudly again: “We Lucanians will join!” Vespa, because of his age and status as chief, was confined to the city and not forced into hard labor. But Bacule had participated in many rugby games recently and learned about the uniqueness of this citizen militia of Amendolara. Through private chats with the soldiers, he also learned about the wonders of the young Chief Magistrate. He believed that if Amendolara dared to attack, they surely had a good chance of success—and this was an opportunity for their tribe.

“Good! Very good!” Davos was pleased not only by Bacule’s agreement but also excited that the “assimilation policy” was showing results so quickly.

Davos stepped forward, patted Bacule on the shoulder, and said with slight emotion: “I believe this will be an extremely correct decision—for you and your people.”

Bacule did not flinch.

Vespa sighed softly.

“As for what to do next, let your brother-in-law Asiastes tell you. He will serve as your adjutant, and you will be the captain of the Lucanian battalion.” Davos looked behind him, where Asiastes smiled shyly.

By noon, the Crotonian army abandoned the thousands of Thurii citizens outside the ruins of Thurii and retreated with their massive plunder, but did not burn the pontoon bridge.

When the news reached Amendolara, Davos, accompanied by priests and Hetushu, went to the Temple of Zeus on the mountaintop. He sacrificed a bull, prayed to Zeus for the campaign amid hymns, received blessings from the priests, and performed sacred divination.

Davos returned to the square and told all the waiting citizens: “Zeus’s omen is auspicious! We will surely be victorious!”

Due to military orders, the unarmored citizen soldiers did not cheer loudly, but each showed excited, fervent expressions.

The entire city of Amendolara mobilized.

As Davos watched the townspeople drive oxen carrying food and bear supplies out through the city gates in a stream, Caesar’s words before crossing the Rubicon inexplicably surfaced in his mind from his past life: “The die is cast!”

Regarding the events of that day, Antistanos, who later wrote *History of Magna Graecia*, gave a detailed account in the chapter “The Burning of Thurii”:

That day, the sky was dark, thick clouds pressing low, as if the gods had shown ill omens from the start…

The Crotonian soldiers were not men—they were robbers, beasts! They seized everything edible, even the barley porridge from children’s bowls; they looted anything of value, even the gold teeth from people’s mouths. Anyone who tried to stop them was ruthlessly kicked down or even killed. They coldly ignored those who knelt and begged. From every house came the desperate wails of Thurii’s people; every street ran with their blood and tears. What crime had the Thurians committed to bring such terrible demons upon themselves? (It should be said that Antistanos maintained a mostly neutral stance in his *History of Magna Graecia*, but in this chapter he poured strong emotion into it. Later, the Crotonians protested, claiming Antistanos grossly exaggerated the facts, which was harmful to unity, and demanded revisions. Antistanos refused, and the dispute dragged on for a long time.)

Finally, the Crotonian soldiers drove the Thurian people out of the city with shields and spears. Then they spread branches and dried grass in every corner of the city, doused them with oil, and set Thurii ablaze…

The Thurians watched helplessly as their homes turned to ashes and the temple they worshipped collapsed. Had the gods abandoned Thurii and let Hephaestus cast down his fire of wrath?

After the Crotonians withdrew, the Thurian people, disregarding the still-smoking ruins and the dying flames, rushed frantically back into the city. The scorching heat seared their flesh, but they desperately plunged into the smoldering ashes, searching for anything usable…

Without shelter, food, clothing, or money—how could the Thurians survive on the Sybaris Plain, now turned into a wilderness?

Just as they were in despair, the Amendolara people appeared.

Thousands of Amendolara citizens arrived with hundreds of pack-drawn carts (half of them secretly containing weapons and equipment). They began to aid the Thurian people, setting up tents and digging camp… Kynogoratas completely forgot what Thurii had done to him before. Though his wounds from the earlier beating were not fully healed, he tirelessly moved through every corner, helping every Thurian in need. Cornelius, the Chief Magistrate of Amendolara, organized the relief effort methodically, directing manpower and distributing supplies…

Allow me to mention Davos last. At that time, he was the Chief Magistrate of Amendolara and the hero who had saved Thurii from the Lucanians, yet the Thurian people saw him for the first time—and under such dire circumstances. In their eyes, this youth who looked barely of age was as kind as their own child. He always wore a warm smile, listened intently to their painful stories, comforted the injured with a gentle voice, picked up crying children to wipe away their tears and dust, and helped the elderly, offering soft bread…

Under Davos’s leadership, the Amendolara people treated the Thurians like family, doing everything they could to help. Davos saved the Thurian people once again, sparing those who had lost their homes from hunger and disease. The Thurians were deeply grateful to the Amendolara people, and even more so to their hero, Davos, who had twice rescued them.

—Excerpt from Antistanos’s *History of Magna Graecia*