Volume 5: The Hegemon of Southern Italy, Chapter 44: Dionysian Silver Coins and the Mathematical Institute

The currency circulating in Mediterranean trade during this era was gold and silver. The Persians primarily used gold coins, while Greek city-states, lacking abundant gold mines, mainly used silver coins. Since each city-state had the right to mint its own silver coinage, the monetary market across the Mediterranean was quite chaotic. The weight and silver purity of coins issued by different city-states were not uniform, which created difficulties for trade and gave rise to the need for exchange.

Whenever exchange was mentioned, Tritodemos would grumble inwardly: in Greek city-states, exchange business was mainly handled by banks. The more prosperous a city-state's trade, the more developed its banking industry. But in Daonia's cities, although there were many banks, they all belonged to one person—Christhoya, the wife of Daonia's magistrate Davos. Of course, this was not the result of Davos using administrative interference; rather, from its founding, Cheiristoya's Bank had adopted an average loan interest rate far lower than the fifteen percent standard of Greek city-states—that is, five percent.

Although Cheiristoya's Bank had broken the tacit industry norms of Greek city-state banking, at the time Amendolara and Thurii were rebuilding from scratch, and no wealthy merchants stepped forward to obstruct it. Instead, its low-interest loans helped countless families and small workshops emerge from their initial difficulties, earning Cheiristoya's Bank a good reputation. Today, Daonia's trade was incomparable to the past. Some merchants had also considered opening banks and were forced to implement low-interest loans within the Alliance. But Cheiristoya's Bank had already ingrained its brand deeply in the hearts of Daonia's people. They trusted and were grateful to it, so often there were long lines at Cheiristoya's Bank while other banks had few customers. Fair competition didn't work, and playing other tricks was even less possible—after all, behind Cheiristoya's Bank stood Davos, the only lifelong magistrate of Daonia. Since running a bank there wasn't profitable, merchants had to invest in other industries. As the Daonia Alliance expanded, there were plenty of profitable industries, competition became fierce, but there was always only one bank.

Tritodemos looked at the man before him—young, yet already the most powerful person in Daonia, with a shrewd and beautiful wife earning him great wealth. How enviable!

Davos didn't notice Tritodemos's strange gaze; his attention was entirely on the coins. He picked up two silver coins, examined them closely—they were almost identical—and asked with concern, "How do you think the design and pattern of this Daonian silver coin compare to Athenian silver coins?"

Athenian "owls" were not only high in silver purity but also exquisitely crafted. Even after Athens' defeat and the dissolution of the Delian League, when it could no longer force other city-states to use Laurium silver coins, merchants and citizens of various Greek city-states still voluntarily and willingly used them. In fact, many merchants went to Athens to exchange for these coins, storing them at home as art collectibles. Thus, the Laurium silver coins of Athens were the most widely circulated and most used hard currency among Greek city-states.

"We compared Daonian coins with over a dozen Laurium silver coins minted in different years, repeatedly. Everyone agreed that our Daonian coinage is no less than theirs in purity and engraving! And—" Tritodemos picked up a silver coin, rubbing the raised rim along its edge, and said excitedly, "Magistrate, the suggestion you gave back then was brilliant. Instead of using the traditional method—complicated and rough serrated edges—we used a simple rim, which not only improved efficiency but also made them less prone to wear. Everyone thinks they resemble the colonnades of a temple—solid and dignified! I believe that once Daonian silver coins are issued, they will quickly win the people's favor!" Tritodemos said excitedly.

Davos remained calm. That design was a suggestion he had made by borrowing features from ancient Chinese coinage—nothing to be proud of. What he cared about more was whether Daonian coinage could circulate quickly and become the primary currency used by the city-states of southern Italy. This was not just about expanding Daonia's influence but also about dominating the right to mint currency in Magna Graecia and controlling the economy and trade of the southern Italian city-states.

Just like Athens, even in the later stages of the Peloponnesian War, when trade shrank, finances were strained, and silver ore from the Laurium mines decreased, Athens never reduced the purity of its "owls." The Athenians' insistence on maintaining the credit of their city-state's currency paid off. Just a few years after the war ended, more and more foreign merchants arrived at the port of Piraeus each year. Now, Athens' trade was gradually recovering its former prosperity.

"Tritodemos, you and the Coinage Committee have put a lot of effort into this small coin over the past few months. Hard work! I believe that once it is successfully issued and accepted by the people of Magna Graecia, your name will be carved in the Hall of Sages!" Hearing Davos's praise, Tritodemos suddenly became excited. With the Temple of Hades nearing completion, certain special architectural features of the temple were spreading among the people. For example, the temple had two side halls: one called the Hall of Heroes, dedicated to warriors who died defending the Alliance's security, and the other called the Hall of Sages, where the names of citizens who had made outstanding contributions to the Alliance would be engraved for public veneration... It was said this was Davos's design. As an Alliance citizen, especially a senator, who wouldn't want to leave their name in history? No wonder Tritodemos couldn't control his emotions and showed his delight.

At that moment, a dissatisfied voice rang out: "Since it's all the Coinage Committee's credit, there's nothing left for our Mathematical Research Institute. You can handle whatever you're going to do next—'Amendolara Original Citizen Medals' or whatever—don't come to us again!" Tritodemos turned around and saw Matikoris. He quickly said to Davos, "The ability to produce such exquisite coins is also thanks to Matikoris and Mentotikels' Mathematical Research Institute. If not for the coin molds they designed, and that hydraulic... hydraulic..."

"Hydraulic press!" Matikoris interrupted impatiently.

Tritodemos coughed awkwardly and said, "It's precisely because they designed these marvelous tools that the coins we produce are so exquisite! Not only do they surpass the coins Pythagoras once designed for Metapontum, but they can also rival the famous Athenian coins of all Greece!"

"That's not entirely our credit..." Mentotikels, always steady, said modestly when it was said their skill surpassed their founder Pythagoras. "If it weren't for the water wheel you designed, Davos, giving us inspiration, we wouldn't have thought to use water power to replace human labor. Unfortunately, the force of the Crathis River's current isn't strong enough to fully drive that kind of large hydraulic forging hammer you mentioned before, which can continuously strike large cast iron pieces."

"Then build a dam," Davos said offhandedly.

"A dam?!" Matikoris's eyes lit up.

"We'll talk about that later." At present, construction was underway everywhere in Daonia—resettling immigrants in Asperustum and Crimissa, building the Temple of Hades, constructing roads, reclaiming the Crimissa marshlands, building the Thurii hot spring baths... There simply wasn't enough labor for a more demanding and complex dam project. So Davos changed the subject and said to Tritodemos, "Matikoris and the others won't compete with you for this credit. They are destined to become mathematicians remembered throughout Greece, and statues of them will surely stand in the Hall of Sages!"

Faced with such high praise, Matikoris also felt a bit embarrassed. He rubbed his head and chuckled. Beside him, Mentotikels showed more composure but still couldn't hide his excitement.

After seeing Tritodemos off, only Matikoris and Mentotikels, the two guests, remained in the reception room. They were no longer the aloof yet shabby ordinary disciples of the Pythagorean school they had been when first met. As early as last year, leveraging their achievements in manufacturing water wheels and teaching mathematics to the public for free, Davos proposed the "Foreign Scholar Introduction Act" in the Senate, which was passed (along with the earlier "Physician Act" and the later approved "Teacher Act," later generations called these the three acts that transformed Daonia's citizen quality; over time, they gradually shifted the Mediterranean cultural center westward—but that’s a story for later), making them full citizens of Daonia.

Although they had studied mathematics in Tarentum, they were not Tarentine citizens but came from the Sicilian city-state of Leontini. Having loved mathematics since childhood and admired Pythagoras, they had stayed in Tarentum for a long time. After their homeland was occupied by Syracuse, they became homeless—this was also the main reason the Pythagorean school had sent them to Amendolara initially, because they were insignificant to the school. But within the Daonia Alliance, their status underwent earth-shaking changes. Not only did they have land and houses, but they were also respected. Davos even privately funded the construction of the Mathematical Research Institute for them, providing assistants, slaves, and various supplies and funds free of charge, allowing them to immerse themselves fully in the theoretical research and practical application of mathematics, undisturbed by the outside world.

Mathematicians of this era did not only study mathematics; they also explored other fields such as physics and astronomy. For example, Pythagoras had his own insights into harmonics and aesthetics, and the famous "golden ratio" was first proposed by him. For this reason, Davos occasionally made requests to the Mathematical Research Institute. Matikoris and the others were happy to temporarily set aside their own research to complete tasks assigned by Davos—not because of the magistrate's authority, but because the various devices Davos envisioned often involved complex and even novel applications of mathematical and physical knowledge, which were very beneficial for consolidating and studying their theories of mathematics and physics.