“Although I did not become a soldier of the legion, I am still a citizen of Theonia. And it is our duty to donate to Theonia to defend our homeland!”
“Although my husband died in Brutii and several of my children are still young and can’t join the army, the soldiers’ committee had taken care of my family and me. So today is the time for me to repay them!”
“Even though I am just a freeman, I like Theonia Union because it’s the only place that gives us poor people opportunities and hope. Thus even though I don’t have much savings, I am willing to donate some of it to Theonia in the hope that it can overcome its enemies and keep on existing!”
. . . . . . . . . . . . .
On this day, people of different statues, whether they are men, women, elderly, children, citizens, freemen, or slaves, had gathered together for a common purpose and moved in several long lines from the east, west, south and north towards the centre of Theonia – the Nike Square and the Grand Senate Hall…
. . . . . . . . . . . . .
“Big brother, you are back!” Kunogelata’s youngest son, Dicaeogelata, couldn’t help but be overjoyed when he saw Sostratus enter the residence. Sostratus was drafted into the seventh legion some time ago and served as a centurion. It made him so happy that he rushed up excitedly and said, “Brother, the battle where your seventh legion wipes out the Tarantines was so amazing! Tell me the details of the entire battle!”
“I don’t have time now, so I’ll tell you about it at another time, okay?” As he strode in, Sostratus asked, “Where’s father?”
“He went to the square to donate.”
“I knew this would happen, and that old man didn’t even wait for me. At least we could have gone together so that we would donate less.” Although Sostratus’ words were full of complaints, the smile on his face was more like he was joking.
His brother’s previous words disappointed Dicaeogelata a bit. However, when he heard about what his brother just said, he became curious as his brother only had money in his eyes, “Brother, are you going to donate as well?!”
“Of course!” Sostratus replied affirmatively, “It would be too noticeable if I did not donate while everyone has! Moreover, since I have to donate, then I have to donate more to attract the attention of his majesty Davos and the statesmen. Brother, you should know that if we win this war, there is a large area of land to the south just waiting for us to occupy. Furthermore, we would take over Syracuse’s thriving trade market…”
Looking at the excited and dreaming Sostratus, Dicaeogelata knew that the man in front of him was still the big brother he knew and had not changed as the donation was just to get more benefits.
After Sostratus muttered his visions of the future, he asked, “Where’s your sister-in-law?”
“Sister-in-law should be in the house…” As soon as he mentioned his sister-in-law, Dicaeogelata’ speech became respectful, not because Sostratus’ wife was virtuous, but because-
“Sostratus, why are you back?! You didn’t desert, did you?! I heard from my father that desertion in Theonia is punishable by death! You should go back to the camp while I’ll have your father and my father go together to plead to his majesty Davos!” The Lucanian woman that came out of the main residence shouted in surprise as soon as she saw Sostratus.
“I am not a deserter, I-” Sostratus hurriedly said.
But his wife didn’t even listen to him as she strode forward and grabbed his ear in one hand, “You are going to lie to me again, aren’t you?!” (T/N: RIP Sostratus)
Sostratus immediately screamed like a pig about to get slaughtered, “Ouch! It hurts! It hurts! Be gentle…”
Dicaeogelata was unable to stop himself from laughing at seeing a familiar scene.
After Kunogelata returned to Thurii, he thought about finding a wife for his eldest son, Sostratus, as he was almost 30 years old and still single.
But while looking for a daughter-in-law, Sostratus took the initiative to tell him that he wanted to marry Hemon’s second daughter, Kelina, after finding out his father’s plan.
Although Kunogelata was surprised, he still followed his son’s advice. After all, archon Davos advocates the intermarriage with Lucania and even enjoys a lot of benefits. Besides, Hemon is a statesman from Lucania, so the marriage between both sides is a match.
Kunogelata wasn’t a traditionalist person, so he soon went to propose the marriage while Hemon was able to climb Theonia’s top powers through Kunogelata, an influential Greek statesman. Thus Sostratus smoothly married Kelina as his wife.
Sostratus marrying Kelina wasn’t due to her beautiful appearance but because he values Hemon’s influence in the Lucanian region, which would smoothen his future business in Lucania.
After their marriage, the newlyweds should have lived independently according to Greek tradition. However, after suffering a disaster, Kunogelata now cherishes his family and does not allow Sostratus and his daughter-in-law to move out.
Afterwards, Sostratus was surprised to find that his wife was far more assertive than other Lucanian women, having a fierce and decisive personality that made him develop “wife-phobia”. (T/N: RIP again)
Surprisingly, Kunogelata is actually happy because his daughter-in-law not only handled the affairs of the family in an orderly manner but more importantly, she was able to fix his eldest son’s somewhat deviant personality and make him obedient.
“I swear to god Asinu that I did not desert! It’s really his majesty Davos who had told us to go home…you can go and ask the other people!” Sostratus hurriedly explained but ended up blurting out the wrong words again.
“Since when did you start believing god Asinua?! You tried to deceive me again! Do you no longer want to live?!” Kelina’s finger pinched hard again.
“OUCH! IT HURTS! IT HURTS!…”
Seeing the couple quarrel, Dicaeogelata found it amusing and went forward to persuade her, “Sister-in-law, it is true that his majesty Davos asked them to return because the soldiers also wanted to donate their money to Theonia.”
Kelina’s attitude was much better when faced with her brother-in-law. She then let go of her hand and asked with doubt, “Is it true that his majesty Davos allowed you to return because you want to donate?”
“That’s right!” Sostratus rubbed his ears that turned red and complained loudly, “How dare you doubt your husband’s words!”
Kelina ignored him and continued to ask, “How much are you going to donate?”
Although Sostratus wanted to donate more, he knew that his wife was much more generous in her actions. Thus the moment he hesitated, Kelina had already made the decision for him, “Then donate all the money you have in Cheiristoya’s bank.”
When Sostratus heard this, he forgot his wife-phobia and immediately cursed, “You prodigal woman! That money of mine is nearly six talents! Do you think is it that easy to earn money, so you can just give it all away so easily?!!”
“What did you say?!” Kelina’s eyebrows rose. When she reached out her hands, miserable screams immediately rang out again…
. . . . . . . . . . . . .
Melisander, the platoon captain of the second legion, was on his way to his home. He no longer lived in Thurii with his mother and Philesius and had gone out on his own after he got married. But this marriage has its own twist and turn.
When Arsinis died in the Battle of Bruttii, they removed the will he kept in the Temple of Hades. (Since the establishment of the Temple of Hades, Plesinas, at the suggestion of Davos, allowed the temple to open up this function to the people’s trust in the prestige and divine power of Hades so that they could be completely relieved that the contents of the will would not be revealed. Furthermore, because Theonia is mainly a union formed by immigrants, they have far fewer elderly. Thus most of the wills stored in the Temple of Hades are from the soldiers before they go to war as they do not know when they will die in battle. Hence they will write their will before each expedition and store it in the temple, which was done by the legion’s logistics before the temple assumed function.)
And since Arsinis had no relatives, he gave half of his properties to his newly married Lucanian wife. He also allowed her to remarry in his will while giving the other half of his properties to his close friend, Melisander, with the hope that he would take care of his wife until she remarried.
So when Melisander received this will, he broke down in tears.
But what Arsinis didn’t know before he died was that his wife became pregnant before he left for war. Out of his friends’ memories and to fulfil his last wife, the 18-year-old Melisander decided to care for Arsinis’ wife, Hepnea, and let her give birth to Arsinis’ child smoothly. But due to their frequent contacts, Melisander and Hepnea, who was not too far apart from him in age, developed a mutual love for each other and eventually joined together. After their marriage, Melisander decided to live in the house given to him by Arsinis in Amendolara.
. . . . . . . . . . . . .
Melisander and his comrades from the second legion, who also lived in Amendolara, laughed and joked around as they walked north. But after they crossed the river, they were shocked by the sight that appeared before them: Burned villages, felled trees, destroyed farms and blocked canals…the devastation caused by the Tarantine soldiers could be seen everywhere, causing the soldiers to curse at Taranto and regretting their leniency in yesterday’s battle, hoping that they should have killed them to relieve their hatred.
Fortunately, the city of Amendolara was not damaged by the war. So after entering the city, Melisander bid farewell to his comrades and pushed open the door of his house.
“Master, you are back!” The female slave shouted excitedly.
“Where is your mistress?” Melisander looked eagerly through the atrium to the main building.
“The lady is praying for you at the altar of Hades, milord! After you left for war, the lady has been praying there every day!”
Hepnea was especially worried because her ex-husband, Arsinis, died in battle. So when Melisander set out on the expedition, she built a special room in the courtyard to place the altar of Hades and prayed for her husband’s safety every day.
“Oh, the old lady is also here. She has been living here all this time.” The female slave added.
