Volume 6: The Meeting of Two Heroes, Chapter 40: Heracles, an Unusual God

Then Lysias spoke seriously, “This time, Athens has sent Isocrates as an envoy to your Daonia Alliance. Knowing that I once lived here for many years, they invited me to accompany him to Thurii—”

“You mean Athens sent you as an envoy to Daonia?” Kynogoratas was visibly surprised, clearly having no prior knowledge of this. He had assumed Lysias had merely come from Athens specially to visit an old classmate.

“As you know, my father was not an Athenian citizen, so even after living in Athens for so many years, I could never become one. It’s utterly impossible for me to be a true envoy; I can only assist Isocrates.” Lysias didn’t understand the reason for Kynogoratas’s surprise, so he explained further, a hint of resentment in his words.

“If that’s the case, then please take these pottery pieces back. I cannot accept them!” Kynogoratas immediately refused.

“Why?” Lysias was astonished.

“The recent public trial of traitors in Thurii caused quite a stir. I’m sure you’ve heard of it.” Kynogoratas saw Lysias nod, then said firmly, “I have no desire to become a second Polyxides!”

“But… Athens only wishes to express friendly intentions toward your Daonia Alliance and to conclude an alliance.” Lysias spoke urgently.

“Athens is now at war with Sparta. Who is this alliance meant to target?” As a seasoned politician, Kynogoratas quickly guessed Athens’s motive: “Sparta? No, Daonia lacks the strength to face the wrath of the hegemon of Hellas. Or Sparta’s steadfast ally, Syracuse? Unfortunately, we have only recently signed a friendly agreement with Syracuse.”

Kynogoratas’s words left Lysias somewhat at a loss. Unlike Isocrates, although he lived in Athens, his lack of citizenship had long excluded him from political life. He had little political experience; even in forensic courtroom speeches, because he was not an Athenian citizen, he could not personally defend anyone in court. He could only carefully prepare and plan in advance, writing out the speech for others. Having lived this way for years, he lacked quick wit, and for a moment he didn’t know what to say.

Kynogoratas sighed. “Take these Athenian pottery pieces back first. Since the Athenian envoy has come from afar, the Daonia Alliance naturally cannot refuse to meet him. I will propose to the Senate tomorrow. Tell the Athenian envoy to prepare.”

“That would be best… that would be best…” Lysias breathed a sigh of relief.

“Lysias.” Kynogoratas looked at him and suddenly asked, “You were once a citizen of Thurii. Have you ever thought of returning to Thurii and becoming a Daonian citizen?”

Lysias was stunned.

“In Athens, you are a foreigner. No matter how great your talent, there is no larger stage for you to display it on. But if you return to Thurii…” Kynogoratas paused, then changed his tone: “Do you know Antistanos?”

Kynogoratas’s words unsettled Lysias. He murmured, “…Yes, I know him… He was a student of Herodotus. We often associated when we were young.”

“Our magistrate Lord Davos once proposed establishing a Daonian Academy in Thurii, gathering the alliance’s finest scholars there. Whether they study mathematics, medicine, or literary rhetoric… they will receive special salaries from the alliance. They can peacefully continue their own research while teaching their knowledge and theories to outstanding students, spreading their fame across Magna Graecia and even the Mediterranean!…” Seeing Lysias listening attentively, a slight smile appeared at the corner of Kynogoratas’s mouth.

“Within the academy, there is a branch dedicated to teaching literature. Antistanos is not only a senator in the Senate but also the head of that School of Literature. While teaching rhetoric, he also writes his history books. For this, he has recruited over a dozen students to impart knowledge. The Senate has even specially allocated funds for him to hire people to travel throughout Magna Graecia to gather materials for his writing… But in my view, although Antistanos is unparalleled in historical research, literary rhetoric is not his strong suit, and that is precisely where you excel. I’ve heard that in Athens, many people copy and study your forensic speeches as model examples. If you were to stay in Daonia, our Lord Davos, who values talent as life itself, would surely petition the Senate for special approval to grant you Daonian citizenship and appoint you as head of the School of Literature, teaching students and writing works. Your fame would spread across Magna Graecia just like Antistanos’s!…”

Based on his understanding of Davos, Kynogoratas dared to make such a promise. And these words struck Lysias’s heart like a stone thrown into a lake, stirring countless ripples…

…

Davos glanced roughly at the materials Antistanos had given him, then showed a look of surprise. “There is also a great Altar of Heracles built within the city of Rome? Are you certain?”

“Yes, Lord. This great altar is near the cattle market in Rome. We first learned of it from Capuan merchants trading in Pyxous, and we sent people to confirm it. You should know, Lord, that Heracles once stole the cattle of Geryon and brought them back to King Eurystheus after a long journey. Therefore, many animal-herding peoples in the western Mediterranean regard Heracles as the patron deity of animal husbandry…” Antistanos did not find it remarkable that Rome worshipped Heracles; on the contrary, once he started talking about Heracles, he became verbose.

In fact, researching Heracles’s activities and exploits in the western Mediterranean was a special task Davos had assigned to Antistanos. After conquering the Bruttii, Davos discovered a strange phenomenon: in the Bruttian region, there were many altars and statues of Heracles, and the Bruttians even claimed to be “descendants of Heracles, because their founder Brutus was born from the union of the hero Heracles and their queen Valentia.”

This claim greatly astonished Davos. A foreign tribe calling themselves descendants of a famous Greek deity gave the Daonia Alliance a common ground for assimilating the Bruttians—after all, they were “kin.”

But at the same time, this made Davos take notice of Heracles, the strongman god of Greek mythology. What he later learned from Antistanos and others made him understand: it turned out that Heracles was extremely famous in the western Mediterranean. Half of the “Twelve Labors” he completed were said to have taken place there. This outlier among Greek deities spent most of his mortal life wandering the western Mediterranean. He went to Sicily, traveled north through all of Italy, crossed Gaul, reached the Iberian Peninsula, and before stealing the golden apples from the Garden of the Hesperides (the Eleventh Labor), he split the Atlas Mountains with his divine strength to cross them, thus connecting the Atlantic Ocean with the western Mediterranean—this is the origin of what Greeks called the “Pillars of Heracles.”

Heracles traveled as far west as the mysterious island of Erytheia in the Atlantic Ocean, the farthest reaches of the world. There he killed Geryon, took the cattle, and then drove the herd back through western Europe again, finally returning to Greece… In his adventures, his heroic deeds of aiding the weak and punishing evildoers spread far and wide, earning him the love and recognition of many foreign peoples. In many places around the western Mediterranean, legends were left of his union with noble women of local tribes, fathering many children. The Bruttii were merely one of them…

Davos picked up the research material again and read it carefully.

Antistanos was in no hurry. He leaned back in his chair, closed his eyes, and began to conceive the history book he wanted to write.

A long while later, Davos closed the book, placed the materials on the wooden table, rubbed his slightly sore eyes, and asked, “Lord Antistanos, as a historian, when you look through these collected materials and brush away the dust of myths and legends, what do you see?”

Antistanos opened his eyes. Davos’s question was quite interesting, but wasn’t this exactly what a history researcher excelled at? So he thought for a moment and said, “What I see is the strong attraction of Greek refined culture to these mountain tribes still in a state of ignorance. They all want to associate with Greece, to show that their origins are not barbaric.”

“Exactly. That is also what we hope to see.” Davos nodded lightly, then said pensively, “It seems we need to build a magnificent temple of Heracles in Thurii and hold annual celebrations for him, to strengthen the foreign peoples’ identification with Daonia.”

“Lord, your decision is very wise!” Antistanos flattered.

“But—” Davos picked up the materials from the table and changed his tone: “Lord Antistanos, you have only seen the surface meaning expressed in these materials. You have not yet discovered the deeper implication.”

A deeper implication? Antistanos looked at Davos with some doubt. Before handing these materials to Davos, he had read them over many times.

“Look here—” Davos opened a page and read aloud: “On his way back to Greece driving the cattle, a lost bull swam across the Strait of Messina and arrived at a place in Sicily called Eryx, where it was taken in by a local ruler. When Heracles discovered this, he killed the ruler, reclaimed the bull, and agreed to return the land to the oppressed natives there. He made an agreement: ‘Once his descendants appear in Sicily, the original inhabitants must return the land to them.’”

“That’s right. There is indeed such a legend about Heracles in Sicily.” Antistanos nodded.