Mediterranean Hegemon of Ancient Greece Chapter 2: The Holy Alliance and Oracles
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Sirsitas sighed: "The last time Agsilius’ messenger came here to ask for the oracle, he also made a request to me, “I hope that when the hostile city-state of Sparta comes here to ask for the oracle. When taking the oracles, we can quietly tell the Spartans what they are asking for..."
"It's more than that." Patmos, who is in charge of the management of the holy library, said angrily: "Polibidas went to me for a round after leaving the temple, and he said it intentionally or unintentionally. In one sentence,'This time they expedition to North Greece consumed a lot of materials and owed the salary of more than 1,000 mercenaries in the team'..."
"The Spartans are so arrogant!" Kabatas, the priest in charge of the Pitia Games, exclaimed angrily: "We must teach them a lesson to dispel their ambitions for Delphi!"
"Teach Sparta a lesson? It is now the overlord of Greece, with Persian support behind it. If it angers it, it might be even worse for Delphi..." Patmos said with some worry.
At this time, the chief priest Sitarsis expressed his thoughts for a long time: "Who said we are going to confront Sparta head-on! We can invite a powerful force to join the Holy Alliance to balance Sparta An absolute advantage in the league."
The priests' eyes lit up.
Patmos thought for a while and said, "Who is better to invite? Macedonia?"
"Macedonia!" Kabatas snorted: "The Spartans expedition to North Greece to help Macedonia. The Macedonians are grateful that Sparta is too late, so how can they fight against it! Not to mention the vast territory of Macedonia. , But there is not enough power, even the barbarian can't defeat it, how can it be against the mighty Sparta!"
At this moment, another priest, Cretimeney, gave an "Oh" and hesitated: "The only Greek power that can fight Sparta now is probably Dionia...Should we invite It?"
As soon as he finished speaking, Kabatas loudly objected: "No! No! Dionia is a savage kingdom, not a Greek power at all!"
"How could the Kingdom of Dionian be a barbaric country? The All-Hellenic Scholars Conference held there last year and this year, many scholars went to Turii, and they all praised the academic atmosphere there. What's more, Turriy, Tarantum, Lokri, Siritin, Crotone, Lijim, Katane... these cities under the Kingdom of Dionian were all famous Greek city-states in the Western Mediterranean more than ten years ago. Every year, I donated a lot of gold and silver to the Delphi Sanctuary..." Cretimoni defended.
"The Holy League has never invited any Greek city-state in the Western Mediterranean to join the tradition, because they are all colonies." Kabatas still objected.
Crettimeni sighed: "Everyone, it's not decades ago anymore. Everything depends on the strength of the city-state to speak. The tradition has been broken one by one. The covenant of the Holy Alliance also said,' It is not allowed to destroy any city-state in the alliance. "But you see, there are few examples of Sparta destroying Mandinia and Platia! And Dionia is the most powerful Greek country in the Western Mediterranean, I'm afraid It is also the most powerful force in the entire Greek world. Even the Spartans have taken the initiative to discuss the covenant in Turri many times. Only by inviting Dionia to join the alliance can the domineering Sparta fear and constrain. Own behavior."
Crettimeni's words made everyone thoughtful.
Patmos said embarrassingly: "Even if we intend to invite Dioria to join the Holy League, will Diornia agree to it? You must know that over the years, we have been as resolute as Olympia against Dioria's participation in the tournament. , Also because it never enshrines gold and silver to the sacred library of Delphi, but secretly promotes the barbarism of Dionian, and hopes that the free citizens of Greece will not emigrate to Dionian..."
The priests are a little unnatural. They have done all these things.
Cabatas complained: "Dionia highly respects Hades, making the number of Dionia people who come to Delphi to ask for oracles less and less...If this continues, I am afraid the entire Western Mediterranean The Greeks would regard Delphi as nothing."
His words resonated with the priests, and everyone began to complain.
At this time, the chief priest Silsitas said: "It seems that you have all determined that the country of Greece to be invited is Dionia. As for the question of the Temple of Hades, I don’t think you need to worry, I I have learned about the Temple of Hades in Dionian. Although it is very important in the hearts of the people of Dionian, the Temple of Hades does not seem to be very important in divination and the issuance of oracles. The field that Fei is good at is also the only field!" Silsitas emphasized his tone.
He knew in his heart that the reason why Hades was able to develop so quickly in Dionia must be driven by the powerful king who claimed to be a "descendant of Hades." Delphi shouldn't be so stupid to beat others. Tiger Beard: "Delphi and the Temple of Hades do not conflict with each other. I think Delphi’s oracle tradition for hundreds of years will make the people of Dionian hope that they will be guided by Apollo when they encounter difficulties. It is also possible to guide Greek free citizens who are living in difficulties to the Italian peninsula to find a new life..."
"Even if Dionia is willing to join the Holy League, I am afraid that Sparta will not agree with him to join. After all, we only have the right to make suggestions, not the right to decide!" Patmos reminded.
Sirsitas sighed: "This is what I worry about the most. I heard that in the covenant between Dionia and Sparta, there was a question about'Dionia shall not be involved in Eastern Mediterranean affairs. 'The treaty. Although this shows Spartans' fear of Dionia, it also proves that the Spartans are full of vigilance against Dionia, and Spartans will definitely oppose Dionia joining the Holy League. "
"But the Holy League does not have the right to interfere in the affairs of other city-states. It is just an organization to protect Delphi. I don't think Sparta will react so violently." Cretimony said with relief.
At this moment, Silsitas came up with the idea he had already thought up: "My suggestion is...can we send someone to Turrii quietly to discuss with King Dionia and ask them to take the initiative to the holy The Alliance made a request, and we privately contacted Athens, Corinth, Argos, Mecca, and other city-states that have gaps with Sparta, so that we can put pressure on both sides, I believe Sparta can't carelessly think about it..."
After listening to the priests, they all thought the idea was good. No one raised objections, ‘what if Dionia does not want to join the Holy League? ’, because in their opinion, Dionia must be ecstatic to be invited by Delphi, the holy place of the Greeks.
Patmos looked at Pitya, who had been closing his eyes and rested, and asked respectfully: "What does Apollo's oracle say about this time?"
For such an important matter, I must have consulted Apollo's oracle in advance. If there is no hope of success at all, it will not be possible to raise it at the priest's meeting.
Everyone's eyes are focused on Pitya. This elderly woman in girly costume (this dress is a requirement of the Temple of Apollo, she is a symbol of chastity) opened her muddy eyes and chanted with her hoarse and low voice: "Hot sun,
It is draining its brilliance,
Falling under the mountains,
The dark night has fallen,
A cluster of raging bonfires,
Light it like daylight,
……"
As the priests were thinking about the profound meaning of this oracle, Silsitas said: "Because Dionia appointed Hades as the guardian of the kingdom, this **** is the Lord of Darkness, so I I think that the oracle of Apollo is saying,'The sun represented by Sparta is about to fall, and Dionia will replace it. As for those bonfires, I haven't figured it out yet, maybe it refers to another emerging power... "
The oracles are always obscure, just like the gods themselves are inexplicable. Although it was difficult for the priests to understand for a while, it did not affect their execution of this matter, because it seems that at least the general direction is right...
……………………………
Last year’s summer heat killed a Spartan king Agcypolis. This summer, for Dionia, it was a huge test.
In the Palace of Dionia, King Daves, Secretary of Commerce Mariji, Secretary of Finance Merses, and five rotating chairmen of the Senate were all listening to the report of Secretary of Agriculture Burkos with a solemn expression.
"In fact, last year, there was less rain in spring and summer than in the past. But this year, from February to July now, there has not been a single rain in Nanyi for more than 5 months. Lucania, Apulia (this area includes Mesapi, Puchetti, and Dauni), Gran Greece, and Bruti are all facing severe water shortages, such as the Sisno River and Sara The small rivers of the Cheno River have basically exposed their beds and turned into creeks. Large rivers such as the Krati River, Ramato River, and Neto River have also narrowed their river surface and their water level has dropped...
If it were not for the large-scale application of waterwheels, large areas of wheat seedlings may have died in the Subari Plain, Croton Plain, Overfamily Plain, and Cosenza Plateau, but if such a drought continues for a month , I am afraid that by the time of the autumn harvest in September, the entire southern Italian region will suffer severely. Judging from the current situation, the possibility of such a bad situation is very high! ……"
"It's not just the crop failure. The dry weather has lasted for so long, and the pastures in the mountains have also withered, and many of the animals fed by the herders have died!" Weisba lamented.
"I remember the last drought in Nan-Italy region was 25 years ago. In these years, the weather has been smooth and the kingdom and the people have benefited a lot. I am afraid that many people have not taken any precautions against it!" Lycias looked solemnly. Said.