Volume 6: The Meeting of Two Heroes, Chapter 16: The Grand Market at Thurii Harbor

Davos finished his speech, and all the doctors in the hall stood up, bowing to him in unison, then began to applaud—desperately, unceasingly.

Words like "brilliant" and "innovative" could not describe Davos's lecture. He had pushed the medical theories of this era into a deeper and broader realm. If previously doctors were groping forward in the dark, then each of Davos's speeches produced a beam of light, allowing them to follow that light forward.

Words could no longer convey the shock and gratitude in the doctors' hearts; they could only express their emotions in this way. This included Nicostratus. Although he was not even clear on human anatomy, he finally confirmed that the true essence of medicine lay here—in the Daonia School of Medicine, in Davos himself!

Davos bowed repeatedly in return.

The applause continued...

...

The three-day medical forum finally concluded. Some foreign doctors left, while others applied to stay and continue observing and studying, including Nicostratus and Stasippus.

For several days straight, they served as assistants in the Thurii hospital, learning how Daonian doctors diagnosed and treated illnesses, and occasionally observing surgeries.

As for systematic study of medical theory, human anatomy, and so on, the Daonia School of Medicine had strict requirements. Students had to be Daonian citizens, preparatory citizens, or freemen who had left their mother city and applied for Daonian citizenship. They also had to pass a rigorous exam before being admitted to the school.

The zealous Nicostratus had a trait: once he identified with something, he would invest far more passion than ordinary people. Conquered by Daonian medicine, he harbored a desire to stay here. But for a man like him with a family, becoming a Croton citizen to join Daonia was no easy matter—he had to return to discuss it.

Nicostratus's attitude even influenced Stasippus, who also began considering staying to study.

One day, the two decided to visit the Thurii pharmacies. After touring the pharmacies within the city, they heard that the port had a larger, more comprehensive medicinal materials market, so they decided to check it out.

The Thurii port of today was different from a few years ago. Although it lacked the excellence of Croton's deep-water port, the natural storm protection of Tarentum's harbor, or the geographical advantage of Rhegium's port, it had become the largest port in Magna Graecia.

The reason was simple: the Daonia City-State League was now undeniably the hegemon of Southern Italy, its strength far surpassing other city-states. As the center of the alliance, Thurii held a powerful political advantage. Countless freemen wanted to flood into Thurii and become Daonian citizens; envoys and councilors from many Magna Graecia city-states came to Thurii to visit, seek help, and negotiate with the Senate; countless merchants and tourists came here to experience the unique city-state culture of Daonia, enjoy the distinctive ball games, festival ceremonies, and even food and entertainment—not to mention the constant flow of people from within the Daonia Alliance moving to and from Thurii from dawn to dusk. This massive flow of people naturally created huge demand, which Thurii itself could not fully satisfy. So merchants, keen to seize business opportunities, flocked from all directions with fully loaded merchant ships.

The Thurii port and market had been expanded repeatedly, now stretching from the original mouth of the Crati River northward to near the Temple of Hera.

Nicostratus and his companions passed the Temple of Hera and entered the port market area, soon feeling the difficulty of walking. Although Thurii had built several roads between the main city and the port market, with separate lanes for vehicles and pedestrians, the huge crowd still made traffic terribly congested. Walking among them, shoulder to shoulder, even though it was only a warm spring, Nicostratus and his two companions were already drenched in sweat.

Just then, a patrol passed by.

The clever Lycasus quickly led the two to follow behind them. With the patrol clearing the way, they had an easier time.

The Thurii port had actually developed into a large town, divided into two parts: the port and the market, separated by a stone wall guarded by soldiers. Cargo ships entered the harbor, docked, and after unloading, the goods were either transported directly to the market, stored in warehouses, or sold in shops.

The market was strictly planned by the Daonian commercial officer, Mariji, into straight streets lined with rows of shops, warehouses, and workshops... Goods of the same type were placed as much as possible on one or several streets for easy management and trading. The Thurii port market contained several commercial streets or small markets (areas formed by several streets selling the same kind of goods) famous throughout Magna Graecia and even all of Southern Italy.

For example, the Stone Market. For the Daonia Alliance, which was keen on building roads and temples and possessed several stone quarries within its territory, this industry thrived. It not only had marble of various qualities, but also a large workforce engaged in this trade, and prices were relatively cheap.

Matching this was Sculpture Street. Temple statues, memorial pillars in squares, stone markers along the roads... these attracted and gave birth to a large number of sculptors engaged in this craft. However, since no sculpture had yet emerged to shock all of Greece, no master sculptor had arisen; most production was of low-to-mid-range works.

The Weapon Market was also extremely famous. Knowing that the Daonians had conquered Magna Graecia through force, they naturally placed great importance on the production and sale of weapons. And citizens, eager to earn merit, did not hesitate to spend money in this area. As a result, the port market gathered hundreds of large and small weapon workshops and shops, half of which came from other Greek city-states outside the alliance. Among the most famous were two: one was the Army Corps Weapon Shop under the Disabled Soldiers Committee of the Ministry of Military Affairs; the other was the Theos Weapons Workshop.

Another very famous market was the Livestock Market. Since the two mountain-dwelling Italic peoples, the Lucanians and Bruttians, had joined the Daonia Alliance, Daonia also possessed the highlands and mountains of Lucania and Bruttii, rich in pasture resources. Additionally, Cheiristoya's restaurants were widespread in all cities of the Daonia Alliance, with more than half of their menus turning cattle, sheep, and other livestock into various delicacies, fueling the Daonians' huge demand for meat. While gradually changing their dietary structure, this also prompted the regions of Lucania and Bruttii to raise large numbers of cattle and sheep.

Livestock from these two regions were not only numerous but also had tender, flavorful meat, much loved by the Southern Italian Greeks who had tasted Cheiristoya's restaurant food. In fact, long before, Lucanian oxen were famous throughout the Western Mediterranean for their docile temperament, strength, and endurance, making them the preferred pack oxen in the region. Similarly, Bruttian horses, though not good at running, excelled at climbing mountains, were hardworking and uncomplaining—excellent pack horses with a good market in Magna Graecia. In recent years, under the policy guidance of the Senate, the Bruttii region began to raise horses in large numbers. It should be noted that most of the horses used for Daonian carriages came from the Bruttian livestock market in the Thurii port...

There was also a street unique to Daonia and quite famous in Southern Italy—the Ball Sports Goods Market. Rugby and football first started being played in the Daonian army camps, then swept through the entire Daonia Alliance and its allies, with annual city competitions. But the people were no longer satisfied with only one competition per year. So, at Davos's suggestion, the Senate last year passed a new law allowing citizens (note: only citizens) of each city to organize their own rugby or football teams. After registering at City Hall, the City Administrator would organize rugby or football matches for each city, approximately one match every ten days. A single round-robin format: a win gave three points, a loss zero, a draw one point. The team with the highest points became the city champion and would be sent to Thurii to participate in the Southern Italy finals. The rugby finals were held every year on September 9th after the Festival of Hades ceremony; the football finals were held on November 1st, the day celebrating the founding of the alliance, ultimately deciding the year's overall rugby or football champion. Participating teams also included some allied city-states, though some were invited but never participated, such as Tarentum and Croton.

Thus, most Daonian citizens were both participants and spectators. Every match at the arena was often packed, and the public's enthusiasm for these games surpassed that for plays, becoming their main form of entertainment. As the saying goes, the whole nation's investment naturally fueled the industry's boom. Everything from the referee's whistle to the goals used in matches—any equipment or items related to rugby and football games—were sold on this street. It also included some items for other athletic sports. The most astonishing thing was that on this street, there were even shops selling items of famous players. The booming ball market naturally produced some highly skilled players, some of whom shone in city matches, others dominated even in the Daonia finals. Naturally, the public would idolize them, and such shops emerged accordingly. Statues and dolls of famous players in various materials and sizes, sportswear bearing their names and numbers—everything was available... This illustrated the commercial prosperity of this street.

Another street unique to the Thurii port market and famous throughout Southern Italy was the Medicinal Materials Market, which Nicostratus and his companions were about to visit.