ancient greece mediterranean ruler

Chapter 237 The Public Dining System in Sparta

Some people have already backed down and suggested: Crotone is already enough for Locri to handle, and now it has a more powerful ally. Locri is no opponent at all, and the army should be withdrawn immediately!
At the same time, many people objected, thinking: This is a rare opportunity to beat Crotone!Moreover, Dionia and Crotone are defensive alliances and should not send troops to interfere.Moreover, the war in Dionia has just ended, and the losses should be considerable. The hatred with the Crotone people cannot be eliminated immediately. They cannot do their best to help Crotone. They should take this opportunity to seize the attack!

The two sides continued to argue, and it was not until the chief general Demodocus brought the good news that "Syracuse agreed to assist" that the council turned its worries into joy and agreed to continue the war.

When Diopantos was sent to attack the Crotone territory, the Locri councilors were still holding on to the luck that Dionia would not send troops, so the council even said "In case Dionia sends troops, The specific measures for how Lockery should respond have not yet been finalized.

But now, the Dionians are waiting in front, and Diopantos has no idea for a moment: Fight? ! ...That means going to war with the Dionia Alliance!As a member of the council, he understood in his heart the reason for the wishful thinking of the Locle Council. They were too eager to defeat Crotone, so they could not accept the existence of any variables, and Dionia was undoubtedly the biggest variable and could defeat Locle. Crotone, which had been unable to be defeated, and the triumphal scene described by Metrophenis in Thurii, made Theopantos a little afraid. If he launched an attack here, Dionysus would be killed. Asia joined the war and expanded the war. Although Locle's ally Syracuse agreed to assist, it is now fully engaged in war with Carthage. Apart from providing a little naval assistance, it is impossible to provide more help. Therefore, the people in the council will definitely take the responsibility for the failure of the final war on themselves.

But what if you don’t fight? ! ...Retreating like this would not only damage one's own honor, but also damage the prestige of Locri's city-state. He would be blamed if he went back...

While Diopantos was hesitating, some soldiers started clamoring.

"Dionians, don't think you are great! If you ask us to retreat, will we retreat?! Let me tell you, we will not retreat!"

"You're right, we Locles are not easy to mess with! Locles have been in Magna Graecia for hundreds of years. What is Dionia? I've never heard of it!"

"We just won't retreat, how dare you do anything to us!"

……

The soldiers' clamor made Theopantos anxious and angry: he had only more than 1000 men in total, and less than half were sailors.Along the way, many soldiers dragged sheep and cattle and plundered a lot of supplies. Their eyes were blinded by greed. They no longer looked like soldiers. How dare they compete with the Dionians? !
Theopantos had the intention of retreating, but he did not issue an order. The other party had already sounded the rhythmic sound of drums, and the stationary phalanx moved, making a relatively orderly "clatter" of footsteps, like a thick iron wall. The wall pressed straight against him, and the Lockley soldiers who had shouted just now fell silent.

Theopantus sighed and said: "Retreat!"

The order had just been given, but before the bugle sounded, the Lockley soldiers had already turned around and ran backwards, and the formation had completely dispersed.

Theopantos was completely unable to stop the soldiers from this chaotic and crazy retreat, as if there was death chasing him behind him. He just wanted to escape from here quickly and threw the looted items on the ground...

Asistes did not expect to push back the Locris so easily. He sent a small number of soldiers to clean up the battlefield, and led the army to follow the Locris without haste until he saw them rushing to board the ship and sail away. Then he led the soldiers back to the coast, and then handed over all the collected materials to the Crotone people who came to express their gratitude with ambivalence, which made the Crotone people even more grateful and ashamed.

Of course Theopantos was not willing to return to Locri like this. After the fleet sailed south for a while, he led the team to land on the coast of Siliting, which was not yet an ally of Dionia...

.....................

There is a building in the city of Sparta that occupies a very large area. The simple stone pillars hold up a roof that provides shelter from the wind and rain. It is ventilated on three sides and has a kitchen on one side. The vast hall is filled with long wooden tables and chairs. This is Sparta. Canteen for citizens of Badda.

When it was time to eat, Spartans gathered here from all directions, lined up one by one, received their share of the "public meal", and then ate in the cafeteria, which could accommodate 500 people at a time.On sunny days, the dining table was even placed on the grass. Thousands of Spartan citizens, regardless of age or rank, ate together. Everyone had roughly the same food. This not only reflected the equality of all Spartan citizens, but also always emphasized the importance of equality. their unity.The Spartans, who emphasized discipline and obedience, kept this grand dining scene always in order. This is the public dining system that Sparta is famous for in Greece.

The food they received was not free, but had to be produced from the "allotment" allocated to citizens by the city-state and paid to the city-state before they could enjoy public meals.It is said to be the "allotment" of the citizens. In fact, the citizens themselves have no right to use it. Instead, it is managed by the city-state, and the helots work hard to cultivate it. Once the citizens lose their "allotment" and cannot pay the output, they lose it. They had the right to participate in public meals, and thus became marginalized people in the city-state (i.e., Piliasians). Therefore, the public meal system created by the Spartans was not only a dining system, but also an important political activity. Certification of Bada Citizenship.

Since the Peloponnesian War, it has been difficult to recreate the spectacular scene of thousands of people dining in the Spartan dining hall. Citizens were away at war for a long time and were accompanied by death. The number of people dining here at one time has never exceeded 500, even after the war was won. Later, this number did not recover, because the Spartan fleet patrolled the Aegean Sea, and some city-states in important geographical locations conquered by Sparta needed Spartan garrisons to remain loyal, although most of these soldiers were mercenaries. Pilians and helots, but authentic Spartan citizens must serve as commanders and senior officers.

On this day, there were only more than 100 Spartan citizens dining in the restaurant.

Phoebidas sat at the dining table, chewing the bread in his hand, thinking about the recent accession of the new king to the throne. Agesilaus became the king, which was beyond the expectations of many people, but he was happy because Agesilaus became the king. Rouse had several in-depth contacts with him. He thought: He was a kind and wise man who would be a good king.

"Hey, look! There are two damn helots over there!" A man at the table next to him suddenly shouted. Following the direction of his finger, Phoebidas saw the expressions of the two men who were dining at the table opposite. It immediately became unnatural. Although they were all topless, their body shape and skin color were different from those of real Spartan citizens.

"Those are new citizens. Being able to enjoy public meals means that they have achieved enough meritorious service in the war, and they were able to impress the conservative old men on the council, grant them freedom and citizenship, and allot them land. This is quite It's not easy! We should respect the real warriors!" Another man said in a gentle tone.

"Hmph, who knows if Lysander did it?! During the war, he used his power to turn many Pisians and a few Helotes into Spartans for the sake of defeating Athens. Citizen!" The man lowered his voice and said angrily.

"No matter how brave we Spartans are, we cannot withstand the casualties caused by frequent battles. Without these new citizens, we would not be able to win against Athens."

"But look at how many real Spartans there are around here, but several of my comrades-in-arms have temporarily lost their citizenship rights and become inferiors because they were unable to pay their share of the public meals!... If this continues, Sparta is still Sparta?!”

"Well... you are right..."

"I'm telling you, we..." The man leaned close to another companion and whispered something.

Spartans are always taciturn, especially when dining, but this citizen not only talks a lot, but also whispers to each other. It is difficult not to attract Phoebus's attention. Just when he turned his head to see who this person was, Someone tapped his shoulder: "Phoebidas, King Agesilaus invites you to come over."

"Okay." Phoebidus immediately put the last bit of bread into his mouth, drank the cereal in one gulp, wiped his mouth, stood up and followed the guard towards the front of the canteen. He subconsciously turned back to look at the man just now, He had finished his meal and left the restaurant. Only his back could be seen.

Phoebidas shook his head, dispelling the doubts in his heart, and came to the new king of Sparta.At this time, Agesilaus was different from him before, a little more calm and a little more majestic.

Phoebus saluted respectfully.

"Sit down quickly, Phoebus." Agesilaus looked at him with a smile on his face: "You and I are old friends, so there is no need to be so polite!"

After hearing this, Phoebus lost his humility and sat down directly opposite Agesilaus.

"Are you full? Not enough, I have more here." Agesilaus said, pushing a dinner plate over.

The king of Sparta also has to participate in public meals. The food is no different from that of other citizens. The only privilege is that he can receive double public meals. It is not for the king to eat more, but for the king of Sparta to use the extra For this public meal, others are invited to eat together, not necessarily citizens of Sparta, but even Gentiles.The previous king, Akis, entertained Alcibiades in this way.

The public meals in Sparta were not actually delicious, but they were a political gesture, which meant that the invited people became the king's guests, allowing the Spartan king to use this right to bridge gaps and resolve conflicts. Cultivate cronies...and today, Agesilaus gave this honor to Phoebias.

　Thanks to Li Shibin for the tip!Your support is my biggest motivation for writing! !

　　Because the Sea Battle of Siliting was a war fought by other city-states, it was written simply. It will be described in detail later in the Sea Battle of Dionia.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)