Volume 5: The Hegemon of Southern Italy, Chapter 39: The Family Affairs of Kynogoratas

It should be understood that in the original Croton Alliance, both diplomacy and warfare were dominated by Croton. The other city-states had to pay tribute every year. Of course, Croton did exert great effort in defending the allies against external enemies. But given Croton's dominance, it often acted on its own without consulting the allies, while the other allies had to provide support, just as before when war was declared on Daonia. If Davos's proposal were adopted, the opinions of the smaller allies would be valued in the new alliance. This would be a blessing for Trina, Caulonia, and Scylletium.

“I agree with the Magistrate’s suggestion to establish such an alliance among our city-states. It will unite the city-states of southern Italy, protect our interests, and make enemies hesitate to offend us!” Sipylus, the envoy from Trina, was the first to express support.

Then the Scylletium envoy endorsed the proposal. The Caulonia envoy, whose homeland was under the protection of the Crotoniate army, only gave a veiled expression of approval.

All eyes then turned to Sisprontis.

Sisprontis was now thoroughly unsettled. He knew that if he nodded, the new alliance would be formed, the Croton Alliance would cease to exist, and Croton’s century-long dominance in southern Italy would come to an end. In truth, after the Second Croton War, Croton’s strength had already declined; it was merely the fig leaf of the Croton Alliance that comforted the public.

Sisprontis dared not shoulder such a heavy responsibility and become a scapegoat cursed by the people. So he stammered, “This matter… I… I cannot decide. It must… be discussed and decided by the Council.”

The other envoys were disappointed by his delay. Davos said calmly, “That’s fine, we can wait.”

…

The negotiations could wait, but the war situation would not pause.

In mid-February, the Syracusan army easily captured Acragas, bringing the second largest Greek city on Sicily under its control.

A few days later, the Locrian army, which had received a small reinforcement from home, marched out of camp toward Caulonia. Although more than two thousand Crotoniate soldiers still remained in Scylletium territory, the Crotoniates, together with the Caulonian soldiers, ventured out of the city to meet the enemy. After an hour of battle, the Locrians, relying on their numerical advantage, began to gain the upper hand. Had it not been for a sudden gust of wind that prevented the Locrian cavalry from pursuing, the Croton-Caulonia coalition would certainly have suffered more than a minor setback.

Back when Thurii was rebuilt, each senator was allocated a residence. Kynogoratas had deliberately chosen a courtyard far from his former home to avoid painful memories.

That evening, he returned home to find candlelight still burning in the living room. His eldest son, Sostratus, came out to greet him: “Father, you’re back quite late today. Has something troublesome happened in the city again?”

Kynogoratas glanced at him, took off his sweaty chiton, and stood in the courtyard while a male slave brought water for him to wash his body. Then he said, “Antaolis and his people from Crimissa have come to the Senate to report. I’ve been busy registering their citizenship, allocating residences, and a whole pile of other things…”

“Why do you need to do all that yourself? Just let your subordinates handle it.”

“What do you know! Given that Crimissa has just been incorporated into the alliance, we need to show that Daonia values these senators representing the people of Crimissa, to alleviate their concerns…”

Sostratus leaned against a pillar and said dismissively, “This must be another demand from Davos, right?”

“You damned fool!” Kynogoratas grabbed a wet cloth from the slave and threw it at Sostratus, scolding loudly, “How many times have I told you not to disrespect the Magistrate, and you still don’t listen!”

“Where have I disrespected the Magistrate!” Sostratus protested loudly while picking up the wet cloth and carefully tossing it back to the slave. “Lord Davos is my commander; I always obey the Military Code and follow orders. But I’ve always been this way when I talk—I can’t change it.”

Kynogoratas looked at his son, whose face still wore a lazy expression even as he earnestly argued back. He sighed inwardly: this son truly wasn’t cut out for politics! Thinking this, he asked, “You’re not in bed this late, waiting for me—are you here to borrow money again?”

“You underestimate me, Father. Last time I borrowed money from you to contract the warehouses and inns in Amendolara. After repaying you and paying the rent, guess how much I made?” Sostratus asked smugly. Kynogoratas ignored him.

“One talent and twenty minas!” Sostratus wagged his fingers proudly. “If it weren’t for the war with Croton and the blockade of Thurii’s port, I could have made even more!”

He paused, then said, “Father, I have something to discuss with you.”

“Go ahead,” Kynogoratas replied, pretending to be casual, knowing his son must have something on his mind.

Sostratus watched his father’s expression and said cautiously, “After this war, the alliance awarded us a total of four plethra of land in the northern Croton Plain. I want to exchange it with someone for land in Amendolara.”

“What?! You want to exchange fertile Croton Plain land for poor Amendolara land!” Even Kynogoratas, who didn’t value money much, had to be careful about land—it was the lifeblood of the Greeks.

“Father, hear me out!” Sostratus said hastily.

Kynogoratas knew his son must have a reason, so he finished washing, changed into clean clothes, sat in the living room, and listened attentively.

“Father, you are the Chief Magistrate of Thurii. You should know that trade volume in the port has been rising since Thurii was rebuilt last year.” Sostratus’s words made Kynogoratas snort. How could he not know? He could even recite the monthly number of cargo ships entering and leaving Thurii’s port and the commercial tax revenue. Mariji had drawn up detailed plans to revitalize alliance trade, and Kynogoratas had put great effort into realizing them.

“Why am I making money?! It’s because the port of Thurii can no longer accommodate all the goods and foreign immigrants. That’s why the warehouses and inns under the walls of conveniently located Amendolara are so popular. Now that we’ve defeated Croton, we not only expanded our territory but also became a truly powerful state in southern Italy. Merchants and freemen will swarm in. But your Senate has passed a law forbidding the use of fertile Sybaris Plain land for other purposes, on pain of confiscation—”

“Yes, Burkes is in charge of that. It’s also to protect Thurii’s farmland,” Kynogoratas interjected.

“I think that law is very correct!” Sostratus flattered first, then continued, “So Amendolara becomes the inevitable choice for these outside merchants and freemen. And last year, Mariji set up that industrial zone; all the land has been auctioned off. I went to look a few days ago—a weapons workshop, a pottery workshop, and a stone carving shop have already started operations. These are large workshops needing many laborers and slaves, so there’s a huge demand for housing, food, and even entertainment. I’ve had preliminary discussions with others: four plethra of Croton Plain land can probably be exchanged for eight plethra near the industrial zone in Amendolara. With that much land, I can build plenty of cheap housing and warehouses. Just the annual rent won’t be a small sum. I can also build small shops to rent out for bakeries, clothing shops… and if I have money in the future, I can buy many slaves and lease them out for profit…” Sostratus rattled on about his dreams.

“Father, no matter how fertile the land is, it can suffer heavy losses in a bad year. But with my plan, as long as our Daonia Alliance remains strong, our family’s annual income will far exceed that of farming!”

Kynogoratas gazed at his son’s exuberant face and pondered for a long time. Finally, he said, “Sostratus, from now on, you will be in full charge of the family’s finances. Tomorrow I will announce this in the household and tell Croesus (Kynogoratas’s slave steward) to follow your orders from now on.”

“Really?!” Sostratus couldn’t believe his ears.

“Of course it’s true! Since you have a talent for commerce, I won’t let it go to waste. But—” Kynogoratas said, “After I die, you must give half of the wealth you earn to your younger brother. Can you promise that?”

Under his father’s gaze, Sostratus calmed down, thought carefully, and said solemnly, “Ever since we were driven out of Thurii, and my sister Sephina also… left us, I’ve come to cherish my family even more. Dikaiokrates is my only brother. Father, I will draw up an agreement as you wish: when you go to the Elysian Fields, I will divide half the estate to him! And for my sister, when she remarries, I will also prepare a generous dowry!”

“Very good! Excellent!” Kynogoratas’s heart was greatly comforted. He felt his decision was correct. Sostratus’s words also reminded him of another worry.

Dione—his eldest daughter. She had already married when he was expelled from Thurii, so she hadn’t followed them to Amendolara. She suffered humiliation from her husband’s family within the city. During the Crotoniate attack on Thurii, her husband died in battle, and her in-laws threw her out.