Volume 5: The Hegemon of Southern Italy, Chapter 61: The Temple Freeing Ceremony and the Dionysian Rugby Tournament

Sipros continued: “Now that Nerulum and Grumentum, two towns that once belonged to the Lucanians, are already part of the Daonia Alliance, and many Lucanians have become Daonian citizens. So how could the Lucanians of other tribes truly hate Daonia? On the contrary, with your Elea’s help, Daonia can take the opportunity while the Lucanian tribes are weakened to occupy the entire Lucania region, further strengthening Daonia’s power. So why would Daonia not form an alliance with Elea!”

Canios fell silent, pondering every word Sipros had said. After a long pause, he asked: “If Daonia grows strong, won’t the other city-states of the South Italy Alliance be afraid?”

Sipros had not yet fully calmed down from his excitement. He drank heavily and said without hesitation: “No matter what the other city-states think, I believe Daonia’s strength is a good thing for Elea. We are tired of the frequent wars between city-states and the raids of the Bruttians. The stronger Daonia becomes, the more peace it can bring to this land. After all, based on Daonia’s past practices, it has always been friendly toward its allies—unless you actively provoke it. It is far less brutal than Syracuse to the south!”

Canios understood what Sipros meant by “brutal.” When Dionysius captured Greek city-states in Sicily, he sometimes slaughtered the local inhabitants and turned all remaining captives into slaves—something never done before in the history of the western Mediterranean. It had greatly shocked the Greeks of Sicily and Magna Graecia, so even Canios, far away in Elea, had heard of it. He looked at Sipros across the table and thought maliciously: Is Dionysius’s brutality also one of the main reasons these South Italian city-states are willing to ally with Daonia?

He asked curiously: “Daonia’s political system is so unique. Surely the South Italian city-states, including Trina, have taken notice. Has any city-state tried to implement Daonia’s laws that benefit urban expansion?”

Sipros was taken aback, then smiled bitterly: “At today’s celebration, I briefly discussed this topic with a few members of the Croton Council whom I know. It is basically impossible—just think, first of all, would the entire citizen body of a city-state agree?”

Once reminded, Canios suddenly understood: How could the conservative and xenophobic citizens of Greek city-states allow outsiders to share in the city’s wealth and rights? And the highest authority of the city-state—the Assembly—was composed of the majority of citizens; they would never let such unfavorable proposals pass!

“Why can Daonia implement them?” Canios posed his question.

“Well…” Sipros lightly tapped the table, thinking, and said: “I can’t explain the exact reasons, but the immense power and prestige of Daonia’s magistrate Davos is undoubtedly the most important factor.”

Canios agreed on this point, but a magistrate like Davos could never appear in Elea.

“However…” Sipros looked at Canios and said hesitantly: “This newly formed city-state alliance of Daonia still has some problems…”

“What problems?” Canios asked urgently.

Sipros glanced back and saw that the restaurant waiter had somehow come to stand behind him. He shook his head and said no more.

…

The next morning, the celebration for the completion of the Temple of Hades continued.

This time, it was held in front of the temple, presided over by High Priest Davos. In the name of Hades, Lord of the Underworld, freedom was granted to slaves within the alliance.

Since this was the first such ceremony, not many slaves were freed—mainly the alliance’s public slaves who had performed outstandingly over the past year, and a few private slaves, mostly from Davos’s household.

As the Daonia Alliance’s territory expanded, Cheiristoya’s bank and restaurants also expanded rapidly. At the same time, she kept developing new commercial channels—for example, Cheiristoya’s Shop, which primarily sold school supplies for the newly built Daonia School, as well as rugby and football equipment. For this purpose, she purchased a large number of slaves to ensure sufficient labor, while granting freedom to slaves of outstanding performance. On one hand, she wanted to set an example to give other slaves hope and encourage them to work harder; on the other hand, Davos, as magistrate, led by example, guiding the people to treat their own slaves well, thereby alleviating the tension between slaves and their masters, and between slaves and society as a whole within the Daonia Alliance.

Among the slaves Davos freed was Cheiristoya’s personal maid—Asuna. Asuna had already told Cheiristoya that even after gaining freedom, she still wished to continue serving Cheiristoya as an employee. Cheiristoya naturally welcomed this. In fact, aside from the change in status, Asuna’s lifestyle was not much different from before—including receiving wages—because Cheiristoya had long been paying her close female slave.

For domestic slaves who spent long hours with their masters, feelings akin to family often developed, so it was not uncommon for masters to free slaves before death, or for freed slaves to continue serving the master’s household. But for Daonia’s freed slaves, there was one more thing they had to do as soon as possible: immediately submit an application for preparatory citizenship to the alliance’s registrar.

After the slave liberation ceremony came the start of the joyous celebration.

Funded by the alliance, free theatrical performances were held at the newly built theater in Thurii, running nonstop for three days. In Athens, countless people would have lined up for tickets, vying to get in. But in Daonia, especially in Thurii, the people were more interested in the Daonia Rugby Tournament. Last year, the rugby competition involving just four cities—Amendolara, Thurii, Nerulum, and Laüs—had already attracted countless eyes. This year, even more cities joined: Crimissa, Castron, Asperustum, and even Grumentum, which had only recently been incorporated into the alliance, formed a team (mainly composed of soldiers from the Third Army Corps relocated to Grumentum). With more participating teams, the competition grew fiercer, and the opening ceremony became more formal.

Distinguished guests from the Daonia Alliance and the South Italy Alliance were all invited. After the entire arena was packed to capacity, the clear sound of bronze trumpets echoed across the field. Players from each city marched in procession, circling the field once.

The crowd cheered enthusiastically, especially when they saw players from their own city.

When Amykles saw the Castron players file past the main grandstand, he clapped vigorously and loudly said to those around him: “Look! That’s our Castron team! Gorgias is at the front—look how strong they are, like a herd of Lucanian bulls!”

Those around laughed good-naturedly.

Antaoris, Euricpus, and Pleades—the three new senators of Crimissa who had just entered the Senate—did not understand why this chief general of Castron was so excited. Kynogoratas smiled and quietly explained to them: “When we held the rugby tournament last year, we invited Castron as well. Laüs participated, but Castron did not. So some people mocked them, saying, ‘Castron people are naturally timid and cowardly, afraid to join this rough, collision-heavy men’s game.’ It seems those words really stung them. This year they specially formed a team to prove themselves, and even their general Gorgias is playing in the game.”

The three, who had never seen a match before, could not yet understand the passion and frenzy of the Daonian crowd, but the fervent atmosphere around them was infectious. Like the other city-state guests, they applauded the players parading below.

Then they saw the team representing Crimissa. The leading player held up a wooden board engraved with the bright red letters “Crimissa.” Among the group of over fifty players, most were unfamiliar faces.

Antaoris knew that over the past few months, many Daonian citizens and preparatory citizens had moved to Crimissa due to land distribution. So even though they had joined the Daonia Alliance for a short time, this team’s skill was likely not too poor.

In the team, Antaoris also recognized a few familiar faces. Like the other players, their faces were full of excitement. They chatted warmly with teammates and kept waving to the spectators outside. These men, once citizens of Crimissa and now Daonian citizens—only a few months had passed—but they had already naturally integrated into this team.

Antaoris’s mood was complicated for a moment.

“Lord Antaoris, I look forward to seeing the Crimissa players perform,” Kynogoratas said meaningfully, snapping Antaoris back to reality.

“Don’t worry. They will definitely perform better than Castron,” Antaoris said with feigned ease, and the group laughed.

The eight teams finally stood in the center of the field.

Then Davos rose from his seat in the VIP section. The once-boiling arena gradually quieted down.

The guests from the South Italy Alliance were both shocked and envious: This demonstrated Davos’s immense prestige among the Daonian people!

Davos’s voice rang out across the arena: “Hundreds of years ago, the great god Zeus created the Olympian Games. From then on, fierce competition replaced bloody slaughter, and wars between Greek city-states decreased while peace increased! And a year ago, the great Lord of the Underworld Hades gave us rugby. Since then, rugby has flourished within the Daonia Alliance. Through this intense sport, people have gained health, found joy, learned unity, and won friendship! Today, the finest players of the Daonia Alliance and our allied states gather here. To thank Hades for his gift, they will engage in the most brilliant and intense rugby competition, vying for the one and only championship! Fight, players! Hades will bless you!”