Volume 5: The Hegemon of Southern Italy, Chapter 35: Sparta's Communal Dining System

Some people were already having second thoughts, arguing: "Croton is already enough for Locri to handle. Now it has an even stronger ally. Locri is no match for them. We should withdraw the army immediately!"

At the same time, many others opposed this, believing: "This is a rare golden opportunity to deal a heavy blow to Croton! Besides, Daonia and Croton have a defensive alliance; they probably won't send troops to intervene. Moreover, Daonia just ended a war and must have suffered considerable losses. Their hatred for the Crotonians can't be wiped clean overnight. They won't put their full effort into helping Croton. We should seize this chance and press the attack!"

The two sides argued fiercely until the chief general, Demodocus, brought the glad news that "Syracuse has agreed to aid us." This turned the Council's worry into joy, and they consented to continue the war.

By the time they dispatched Diopantos to raid Croton's territory, the Locrian councilmen were still mostly clinging to the hope that Daonia would not send troops. Thus, the Council had not even finalized concrete measures for "what Locri should do if Daonia does send troops."

Now, with the Daonians arrayed for battle ahead of him, Diopantos was at a loss. Fight?! That would mean declaring war on the Daonia Alliance! As a member of the Council, he knew full well that the Locrian Council had been wishful—they were too desperate to defeat Croton and could not accept any variables. And Daonia was undoubtedly the biggest variable. Having defeated Croton, which Locri could never beat, and given the scene of the triumph that Metrophanes had described seeing in Thurii, Diopantos felt a pang of fear. If he launched an attack here, causing Daonia to enter the war and escalate it—even though Locri's ally Syracuse had agreed to help—Syracuse was now fully engaged in war with Carthage and could offer no more than some naval assistance. The councilmen would surely pin the blame for any eventual defeat on him.

But if he didn't fight?! Withdrawing like this would not only damage his own honor but also tarnish Locri's prestige as a city-state. He would face criticism upon his return just the same...

While Diopantos was hesitating, some soldiers began to clamor first.

"Daonians, don't think you're so great! You tell us to retreat, and we just retreat?! Let me tell you, we won't retreat!"

"That's right, we Locrians aren't to be trifled with either! Locri has been in Magna Graecia for centuries. What is Daonia? Never even heard of it!"

"We just won't retreat. What are you going to do about it?!"

...

The soldiers' bravado made Diopantos both anxious and angry: he had only a little over a thousand men under his command, and nearly half were sailors. Along the way, many soldiers had dragged away sheep and cattle, looted a lot of supplies, and their eyes were blinded by greed—they no longer looked like soldiers. And yet they still dared to challenge the Daonians?!

Diopantos was leaning toward retreat, but before he could give the order, rhythmic drumbeats sounded from the enemy side. The stationary phalanx stirred, producing the regular rustling and stomping of marching feet, pressing forward like a solid iron wall. The Locrian soldiers who had been shouting just moments before fell silent as cicadas in winter.

Diopantos sighed and said, "Retreat!"

The command had barely been given, and before the war horn could even sound, the Locrian soldiers had already turned and fled, their formation completely scattered.

Diopantos could not stop his men's chaotic, frantic retreat. It was as if the Death god himself were chasing them; they only wanted to escape faster, leaving looted items strewn all over the ground...

Asiastes had not expected to drive off the Locrians so easily. He sent a small detachment to clean up the battlefield, led his army at a steady pace behind the fleeing Locrians, and only turned his men back to camp after watching them scramble aboard their ships and sail away from the coast. He then handed over all the recovered loot to the grateful but conflicted Crotonians who came to thank him—which only made the Crotonians feel both thankful and ashamed.

Diopantos, of course, was not willing to simply return to Locri like that. After sailing south for a while, he led his force to land on the coast of Scylletium, which was not yet an ally of Daonia...

Within the city of Sparta, there was a building with an extremely wide footprint. Plain, unadorned stone pillars supported the roof, sheltering from wind and rain, with three sides open to the air and one side housing the kitchen. The vast hall was filled with long wooden tables and chairs—this was the common mess hall for Spartan citizens.

At mealtime, Spartans gathered from all directions, lined up in turn, received their portion of "common meal," and then ate in the hall. It could accommodate up to five hundred people eating at once. On clear days, tables were even set up on the grass, where over a thousand Spartan citizens—young and old, high and low—would dine together, each receiving roughly the same food. This not only embodied the equality of all Spartan citizens but also constantly emphasized their unity. And the Spartans, who stressed discipline and obedience, ensured that this grand dining scene was always orderly. This was the famous common meal system of Sparta that was known throughout Greece.

The food they received was not free; it was provided from the produce of the "allotments" assigned to citizens by the city-state. Only by paying this produce to the polis could they partake in the common meal. Although these were called the citizens' own "allotments," the citizens themselves did not have the right to use the land. It was managed uniformly by the city-state and farmed by the Helots. If a citizen lost his allotment and could not pay the produce, he lost the right to participate in the common meal and thus became a marginal person in the city-state (i.e., a Perioeci). Therefore, the common meal system established by the Spartans was not just a dining system or an important political activity; it was also a certification of Spartan citizenship.

Since the Peloponnesian War, the Spartan mess hall had rarely seen the spectacular sight of a thousand people dining. Citizens were constantly away on campaigns, and with deaths, the number dining at one time never exceeded five hundred. Even after victory in the war, that number did not recover, because the Spartan fleet patrolled the Aegean Sea, and some strategically located city-states conquered by Sparta needed Spartan garrisons to maintain loyalty. Although most of these soldiers were mercenaries, Perioeci, and Helots, true Spartan citizens inevitably served as commanders and senior officers.

On this day, there were only a little over a hundred Spartan citizens dining in the mess hall.

Phoebidas sat at a table, chewing on a piece of bread, recalling the recent enthronement of the new king. Agesilaus becoming king had surprised many, but he was pleased, because he had had several in-depth conversations with Agesilaus. He believed that Agesilaus was a kind and wise man who would be a good king.

"Hey, look over there! Those two are damned Helots!" a man at the next table suddenly shouted. Following his pointing finger, Phoebidas saw the expressions of two men dining at the opposite table turn slightly unnatural. Although they were also bare-chested, both their build and skin color were different from true Spartan citizens.

"Those are new citizens. To be able to partake in the common meal means they earned enough merit in war to move those conservative old men on the Council to grant them freedom and citizenship, and even give them allotments. That's quite an achievement! We should respect true warriors," another man said in a gentle tone.

"Hmph, who knows if it was Lysander pulling strings behind the scenes?! During the war, he used his authority and the pretext of needing to defeat Athens to turn quite a few Perioeci and a few Helots into Spartan citizens!" the first man said in a lowered, indignant voice.

"However fierce we Spartans are, we can't withstand the casualties from constant fighting. Without these new citizens, we could never have won against Athens."

"But look around you—how many true Spartans are there? And yet several of my comrades have temporarily lost their citizenship and become lower-class because they couldn't pay their full share of the common meal!... If this continues, will Sparta still be Sparta?"

"Hmm... what you say is indeed..."

"Let me tell you, we..." the man leaned in to whisper something to his companion.

Spartans were traditionally taciturn, especially during meals. This citizen, however, not only talked a lot but also whispered to others. It was hard for Phoebidas not to notice. As he turned his head to see who the man was, someone tapped him lightly on the shoulder: "Phoebidas, King Agesilaus requests your presence."

"Very well." Phoebidas immediately stuffed the last bit of bread into his mouth, downed his barley porridge in one gulp, wiped his mouth, stood up, and followed the guard toward the front of the mess hall. He instinctively glanced back at the man, but the man had already finished eating and was leaving the hall. Phoebidas could only see his back.

Phoebidas shook his head, dispelling the slight doubt in his mind, and came before the new Spartan king. At this moment, Agesilaus was different from his former self—more composed, and more imposing.

Phoebidas saluted respectfully.

"Sit down quickly, Phoebidas." Agesilaus looked at him with a smile. "You and I are old friends. No need for such formality!"

Upon hearing this, Phoebidas did not stand on ceremony and sat directly opposite Agesilaus.

"Have you had enough to eat? If not, I still have some here." As he spoke, Agesilaus pushed a plate across.

The Spartan king also had to participate in the common meal. His food was no different from that of other citizens. The only privilege was that he could receive a double portion. This was not for the king to eat more, but so that the Spartan king could use the extra portion to invite others to dine with him—not necessarily Spartan citizens; even foreigners could be invited. The previous king, Agis, had used this method to entertain Alcibiades.

The Spartan common meal was not actually delicious, but it was a political gesture, meaning the invitee became a royal guest. This allowed the Spartan king to use this privilege to draw people close, resolve conflicts, cultivate loyalists... And today, Agesilaus had bestowed this honor upon Phoebidas.