Volume 4: The League of Dionia, Chapter 10: The Future Role of the Hades Temple

Pleisinas had clearly prepared thoroughly. He spoke unhurriedly: "Don't forget, Hades also rules the Elysian Paradise—a happy land free from worry about death or clothing, carefree and bathed in sunlight, a place every Greek longs to go after death! Moreover, as lord of the Underworld, he controls the wealth beneath the earth, able to bless the mines of our alliance's territory even more abundantly! As for it being gloomy and terrifying—that is for enemies, for it brings them death, while to us it brings victory!"

"Well said, I love Hades!" Amyntas cheered.

"I agree to build a temple to Hades! He has already brought us victory, and he will bring us more!"

"Our magistrate is a descendant of the King of the Underworld. With Hades as our patron god, the alliance will receive even greater blessings!"

...

The former mercenary senators expressed their approval noisily, creating quite a stir.

Polyxides sat down sullenly, and the others found it difficult to oppose at that moment.

Davos lightly tapped his thigh with his left hand, watching the scene calmly. He had indeed not communicated with Pleisinas beforehand, and because he had been busy lately, he hadn't even thought of this. But he hadn't expected Pleisinas to give him such a pleasant surprise, making him realize there was much more that could be done with this.

His mind raced, weighing the pros and cons, then he stood up. Everyone's eyes focused on him again: "Gentlemen, when we are helpless, we pray to the gods; when we are lost, we also pray to the gods. The gods not only possess great divine power but can also give us wisdom and spiritual guidance. Hades is a deity who can offer much help to the people—not only bringing victory to our army and protecting the city's peace, but also educating the people.

You see, good people go to the Elysian Paradise after death to live a happy life, while those who do evil in life cannot escape the judgment of the three judges—Minos, Rhadamanthus, and Aeacus—and ultimately suffer in the Underworld. Hades is an impartial and selfless god-king. Once his temple is built in the city, it will constantly remind the people that even if evil men escape the law for a time in life, they cannot avoid punishment in the Underworld after death. This will compel them to repent and turn to good as much as possible while alive. For those who do good, worshipping at Hades' temple will encourage them not to abandon their kind hearts because of temporary grievances, for the beautiful Elysian Paradise calls to them... In this way, the morality of our alliance's people will improve, the city's order will become more orderly, and citizens will treat each other more kindly! Don't you agree?"

"I agree! With Hades' temple, my work will be much easier!" Ephor Antonios immediately seconded loudly.

While some were still hesitating, Davos continued: "Regarding the construction of Hades' temple, I have a suggestion: we can have one main temple and one auxiliary temple. The main temple should be bright and cheerful, with murals of the happy scenes of Elysian Paradise around it, and Hades should be depicted as gentle and kind. The auxiliary temple should be dark and frightening, with scenes of the Underworld's horrors all around, and Hades as majestic and impartial. Additionally, we can build a Hall of Heroes in the main temple, where the names of all citizens who died fighting for the alliance and the city will be inscribed, to be revered and worshipped by the people! I believe their brave souls must also be accompanying the King of the Underworld in Elysium."

Davos spoke with some emotion about his vision, and especially his final words moved the senators. In the end, they decided to build the temple to Hades.

Then Davos proposed that the construction be entrusted to Pleisinas, which was approved.

Putting Pleisinas in charge of this most important public building project of the alliance was not only Davos's way of repaying Pleisinas's thoughtful efforts, but also because it was his proposal—to build Hades' temple—so he would naturally work doubly hard to see it done well.

After the meeting, when Pleisinas came to thank him privately, Davos reminded him to consult and coordinate well with Heracleides.

The next agenda item concerned "the distribution of Thurii's land." Originally, Melanthius had massacred most of the nobles and wealthy merchants in Thurii, leaving only a few large landowners among the remaining citizens, such as Bourkos, Polyxides, Oryphus, Eanilus, and Massicus.

Since the original city of Thurii had been destroyed, everyone had lost proof of their land holdings. To avoid disputes and ensure fairness, the newly established Senate of the alliance redistributed the allotments of all former Thurii citizens. Basically, each household was guaranteed five *plethra* of land. The vast majority had no objections—after all, for those who had lost their homes to receive land again was already the blessing of the gods. Besides, most common citizens of Thurii had never had so much land before. Only a very few objected, the strongest being Polyxides. His reason was simple: everyone knew his family had once owned over five hundred *plethra* of land, but now he only got five—not even a fraction. How unfair was that!

When he made a fuss, people like Oryphus and Massicus stood by to watch the fun.

Davos quietly had Bourkos stand up to declare that he willingly gave up his original land and accepted the new allotment.

At the same time, he secretly had Amyntas and others rise to condemn Polyxides, even warning him: the old Thurii was destroyed, and though a new city was being rebuilt, it had no connection to the former Thurii. If someone insisted on linking the old city to the new, then they would have to account for the crimes some had committed in the destruction of Thurii. The people would certainly not merely expel those accomplices who had ruined their homes and families!

Polyxides was terrified and no longer dared to oppose. The others had no choice but to agree. In truth, it was their own greed at work. They didn't consider that in this war, they had lost not only land and money but also many of their clansmen and slaves. Even if they were given more land, they would not have enough hands to work it in the short term, nor could they even support such a large population.

After this law was passed, the earlier shortfall in the allotments for some citizens of Amendolara was also made up.

The Sybaris Plain was vast and fertile. After distributing the allotments for the alliance's citizens, the Senate found that they had used less than a tenth of the plain's area. There was still a huge amount of unused land. For the cash-strapped Thua Alliance, how could they let it go to waste?

After discussing with the senators, Davos promulgated the "Land Lease Law": preparatory citizens of all alliance cities could lease public land from the city, up to five *plethra* per person, paying an annual rent of one-tenth of the land's produce.

Mesis had proposed a tax of one-fifth, but Davos vetoed it, arguing: since they were already preparatory citizens, they should enjoy the benefits of the alliance early, which would encourage other freemen to join the alliance eagerly.

The Senate also declared in the law: any preparatory citizen who actively farmed and paid taxes on time would smoothly transition to full citizenship after the probation period.

This suggestion came from Kynogoratas, who believed that farming could test a person's endurance, patience, and physical strength. A good farmer makes a good citizen, so this was a form of assessment.

The senators all agreed with his view. Later, this became a custom: every preparatory citizen had to lease and farm land for two or three years as an evaluation.

With so much land, many people leased it. Davos proposed establishing the position of Agricultural Affairs Officer to centrally manage the distribution, leasing, and cultivation of the alliance's lands.

The proposal passed, and Bourkos, whom he nominated, was appointed.

The responsibilities of the Military Affairs Officer, Philistos, were also quite heavy. Since the release of the Croton captives was still three months away, to prevent Croton from suddenly reneging on their agreement after the captives returned home, the Thua Alliance had to organize and train the numerous preparatory citizens, making them combat-ready within three months. Therefore, Philistos had to order more veterans to serve as instructors in the new recruit training camps on training days.

The next agenda item was again Davos's proposal: to give low-level public officials a salary of about two or three obols per day to subsidize their living needs.

As soon as he proposed it, Mesis stood up excitedly: "Lord Davos, since every citizen now has land and pays only about one percent tax per year, their income is more than enough for daily life. Holding public office is a duty and an honor for a city's citizens. Why should they be paid?! If your proposal passes, a low-level official earning about three obols a day would cost the treasury about 16.7 drachmas per month. Currently, the Thua Alliance might need about 200 such low-level officials. That would cost one talent per month! That's no small expense! We can't imitate Athens—Athens has the Laurium silver mines, producing three talents a day, while we still have more expenses than income!"

"Calm down, Mesis. Let's take this slowly." Davos motioned for Mesis to settle down and asked softly: "How many accountants do you have under you?"

"Five, but they are all preparatory citizens."

"Do they work in the treasury every day?"

"No. Before, our treasury had little income, so we only called them in occasionally to record deposits. The rest of the time, they leased land from citizen households."

"And now?"

"Now... now that we have Thurii, the market, and the harbor, simply from tariffs alone, our daily income is considerable. Of course, they have to follow me around every day, shuttling between the treasury, the market, and the harbor."

"Do they still have time to farm?"

"No."

"Then how do they live?"