Chapter 35 The Public Meal System in Sparta

Some people have already retreated and proposed: Crotone is enough for Locri to deal with, and now it has a stronger ally, Locle is not an opponent at all, and the army should be withdrawn immediately!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, so they should not send troops to interfere. Moreover, Dionia has just ended the war, the loss should be not small, and the hatred with the Crotones cannot be cleared immediately, and their help to Crotone cannot be done with all their hearts. They should take this opportunity to attack!

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

When Diopantos was dispatched to attack the territory of Crotone, the members of the Lokri members were mostly lucky that Dionia would not send troops, so the council even even said "In case Dionia sends troops, Specific measures on how Locley should respond" were also not finalized.

And now, with the Dionysians lining up in front, Diopantos was at a loss for a moment: fight? ! ...that would mean war with the Dionian League! As a council member, he knew in his heart that the reason for the wishful thinking of the Loclery Council was that they were too eager to defeat Crotone, so they could not accept the existence of any variables, and Dionia was undoubtedly the biggest variable, able to defeat Locri Crotone, who has always been invincible, coupled with the triumphant scene that Metrophenis described to see in Turii, made Diopantos a little scared, if he launched an attack here, causing Dionysian Asia joins the war to expand the war, although Locri's ally Syracuse agrees to aid, but it is now fighting Carthage with all its strength, and it is impossible to give more help except for a little naval aid from ti gong , so the gang in the council will definitely take the responsibility for the final defeat of the war on their own heads.

But if you don't fight? ! ... Retreat like this will not only damage your own honor, but also damage the prestige of the city-state of Lokrie, and you will be blamed for going back...

While Diopantos was hesitating, some of the soldiers shouted first.

"Dionysians, don't think too much of yourself! If you tell us to retire, will we retire?! Tell you, we won't retire!"

"That's right, we Lokri people are not easy to mess with! Lokri has been in Greater Greece for hundreds of years, what is Dionysia? I've never heard of it!"

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

...

The clamor of the soldiers made Diopantos anxious and angry: he had no more than a thousand people in his hands, and half of them were sailors. Along the way, many soldiers dragged sheep and cattle, looted a lot of materials, their eyes were all blinded by greed, and they no longer looked like soldiers.

How dare you take on the Dionysians? !

Diopantos had the intention of retreating, but he did not issue an order. The other party had already sounded rhythmic drum beats, the stationary phalanx had moved, and there were relatively neat footsteps, like a thick iron block. The wall was pressing straight on, and the Lokrie soldiers who had been shouting just now froze.

Diopantos sighed and said, "Retreat!"

As soon as the order was given, before the bugle sounded, the Loclery soldiers had already turned and ran back, and the formation had all dispersed.

Diopantos was completely unable to stop the chaotic and frantic retreat of the soldiers, as if there was a god of death chasing him behind him, he just wanted to speed up his escape and discarded the stolen items...

Asisters did not expect to push back the Lokri so easily. He sent a small number of soldiers to clean the battlefield, and led the army to follow the Lokri unhurriedly until they were rushing to board the ship and sail away. The coast, then led the soldiers back, and then returned all the seized materials to the Crotones who came to express their gratitude with ambivalence, which made the Crotones both grateful and ashamed.

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

………………

In the city of Sparta, there is a building that occupies a very large area. The unpretentious stone pillars support the roof for shelter from the wind and rain. It is ventilated on three sides, and the kitchen is on the other side. The vast hall is filled with long wooden tables and chairs. This is Sparta. Canteen of the citizens of Bada.

When it was time to eat, Spartans gathered here from all directions, lined up in turn, received their "public meal", and then ate in the cafeteria, which could accommodate 500 people at a time. On sunny days, the dining table is even placed on the grass. Thousands of Spartan citizens, regardless of age or level, dine together. Everyone's food is roughly the same, which not only reflects the equality of all Spartan citizens, but also always emphasizes their unity. And the Spartans, who emphasized discipline and obedience, kept this grand dining scene in good order.

The food they receive is not free, but must be produced from the "land" allocated to citizens by the city-state and paid to the city-state before they can enjoy public meals. It is said that it is the citizen's own "land". In fact, the citizens themselves do not have the right to use it, but are managed by the city-state, and the Helaus will work hard. Once the citizen loses the "land" and cannot pay for the output, it will be lost. The right to participate in the public meal, and thus become the marginal people of the city-state (that is, the Periasis), so the public meal system created by the Spartans is not only a dining system, an important political huo dong, but also a Certification of Spartan citizenship.

Since the Peloponnesian War, it is difficult to reproduce the spectacular scene of a thousand people dining in a Spartan canteen. Citizens have been fighting abroad for a long time, and with death, the number of people dining here has never exceeded 500 at a time, even in the victory of the war. Afterwards, the number did not recover, because the Spartan fleet patrolled the Aegean Sea, and some city-states in important geographic locations conquered by Sparta required Spartan garrison to remain loyal, although most of these soldiers were mercenaries, Piriasians, Heros, but true Spartan citizens were bound to serve as commanders and senior officers.

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

Phoebe Das sat at the dining table, chewing the bread in his hand, recalling the new king's accession to the throne not long ago, Agesilaus became king, which was beyond the expectations of many people, but he was happy because Agesy Rouse had several close contacts with him, and he thought that he was a kind and wise man who would be a good king.

"Hey, look! There are two goddamn Helots over there!" a man at the table next to him suddenly shouted, following the direction of his fingers, Phoebe Das saw the expressions of the two men who were eating at the opposite table. Immediately it became a little unnatural. Although they were both topless, they were different from real Spartan citizens in terms of body shape and skin color.

"That's the new citizens. Being able to enjoy the public meal shows that they have won enough merits in the war, and they can beat the conservative old men who moved the council, give them freedom and citizenship, and give them a share of land, which is quite It's not easy! For real warriors, we should respect!" Another man said softly.

"Hmph, who knows if it was Lysander's hands and feet?! During the war, he used his power to turn a lot of Pythias and a few Helots into Spartans in order to defeat Athens. Citizen!" The man lowered his voice and said indignantly.

"No matter how brave we Spartans are, we can't resist the casualties caused by frequent fighting. Without these new citizens, we could not have won the victory over Athens."

"But look at how many real Spartans are around here, and several of my comrades in arms have temporarily lost their citizenship because they couldn't pay their full share of public meals, and they have become inferior! Sparta or Sparta?!"

"Well...you're right..."

"I tell you, we..." The man whispered something close to the other companion.

Spartans are always taciturn, especially during dinner, and this citizen not only talks a lot, but also whispers, and it is difficult not to attract Phoebe Das's attention, just when he turned to see who this man was, Someone tapped him on the shoulder: "Phoebe Das, King Agesilaus invites you to come over."

"Okay." Phoebe Das immediately put the last bit of bread into his mouth, drank the cereal in one gulp, wiped his mouth, stood up and followed the guards towards the front of the cafeteria. He subconsciously looked back at the man just now, He had finished his meal and left the restaurant, only his back could be seen.

Phoebe Das shook his head, dispelling the trace of doubt in his heart, and came to the new king of Sparta. At this time, Agesilaus was different from the previous him, a little more calm and a little more majestic.

Phoebe Das saluted respectfully.

"Sit down now, Phoebe Das." Agesilaus looked at him with a smile: "You and I are old friends, don't be so polite!"

After hearing this, Phoebe Das really lost his humility and sat down directly opposite Agesilaus.

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

The king of Sparta also had to participate in the public meal. The food was no different from that of other citizens. The only privilege was that he could receive double public meals. It was not for the king to eat more, but for the king of Sparta to use the extra meal. This public meal invites others to dine together, not necessarily Spartan citizens, but even Gentiles. The previous king, Archis, entertained Alcibiades in this way.

The public meal of Sparta is actually not delicious, but it is a political expression, which means that the invited person becomes the king's guest of honor, so that the Spartan king can use this right to win over people and resolve conflicts. Cultivate cronies... and today, Agesilaus gives Phoebe this honor. js3v3 () "Mediterranean Overlord of Ancient Greece" only represents the opinion of the author Chen Rui. If you find that its content violates national laws, please delete it. The position is only committed to providing a healthy and green reading platform.

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