Chapter 248: Akademia of Theonia (I)
Marticoris was completely obsessed with mathematics and didn’t care about common things. While Metoticles was different, he is not averse in spending time on various matters, what’s more, mathematics gave him a careful mind, so that he is quite capable of managing the institute, arranging manpower and making plans, which is why Davos have made him serve as the director of the institute. In this regard, Marticoris raised both hands in favor.
“I’ll think about it.” Metoticles replied cautiously.
“I now understood the principle of this ballista!” At this moment, Marticoris came to Davos excitedly and pointed to the drawing and excitedly exclaimed, “Look here! Look here! The most important thing of this ballista is these two things, one is the string made of strong animal tendons, and the other is the pulley that can pull the string with less effort. In addition, the longer the slider, the farther its range will be, because the string will be pulled as far as possible, then the more force it will rebound and give to the stone…I think the Syracusans are very stupid, as they had only use one pulley system which is too simple and harder to use. In fact, making a pulley set and fixing it to the end of the slider will make it much easier to pull the string to the end of the slider. Give me the best carpenters and materials, and I will soon be able to make a better ballista than them!”
The confident look of Marticoris satisfied Davos and he then said with a smile, “I have just told Metoticles that I am going to send the engineering technicians of the Legion engineering camp to the Institute of Mathematics as your assistant, and Theonia has the best cattle in the western Mediterranean – The Lucanian cattle, which can supply you with a lot of high-quality beef tendon at any time.”
“Great!” With that, Marticoris took the drawing and walked out.
“Marticoris, I have an idea.” Davos stopped him in a hurry, “If the ballista can accurately tell where the stone will fall before shooting the stone, then it would be helpful for the operator to accurately hit the target.”
“This….” As for the proposal put forward by Davos, Marticoris and Metoticles did not feel that it was an additional burden, on the contrary, they started thinking about it.
“I still have another idea.” Davos then said seriously, “I think that no matter how much force we use and how many angles we throw the object, the trajectory of the object in the air should be like this -” Davos stretched out his finger and drew different arcs in the air.
Marticoris and Metoticles were staring at Davos’ moving finger and were lost in their thoughts.
“If there is no wind and the ground is at the same level, and with the highest point of the trajectory of the thrown object in the air as the center, the two sides of the trajectory when folded up should be able to overlap….” Davos said in a calm tone.
Both of them were shocked and suddenly became excited.
“Hold on…archon, this…this is…has Hades given you a revelation again?!” Asked Metoticles, stutteringly. There have been several similar situations in the past, when Davos talked to them both, he would occasionally put forward some novel ideas, which were verified to be correct afterwards, and each time, it allowed both of them to achieve a breakthrough in their study of mathematical theory, and also greatly expand their knowledge.
“You can think as such.” Davos smiled mysteriously.
“Come! Come! Now draw the trajectory in order for us to take a closer look!” Marticoris excitedly took Davos by the hand and walked outside without saying anything.
Davos understood what he meant. The floor of the living room was paved with marble, so naturally, they could only draw on the mud in the courtyard, so he followed him out of the living room.
. . . . . . . . . . . . .
“Mother, come, come and see! Father is doing something in your garden together with someone, and has stepped on all of your flowers!” Cynthia pointed to Davos and yelled loudly.
“Shh!” Cheiristoya made a hush gesture and whispered, “Don’t wake up your brother!”
She came to the window, looked down and frowned slightly, then she turned back and said with a smile, “It’s nothing. It’s just your father and some uncles talking about some mathematics.” Although Cheiristoya loves her flowers, she is a woman who will never embarrass her husband in public.
“What is mathematics?” Adoris who was next to her asked curiously.
“That’s a very interesting knowledge and your sister will soon learn it.” Cheiristoya smilingly said.
“Can I go to school, too?” Asked Adoris longingly. (E/N: We will interchange between school and akademia)
“Of course.” Cheiristoya stroked his head, “But you are still young, so you will have to wait another year.”
“I don’t want to wait! I want to go to school together with my sister now!” Adoris said with dissatisfaction.
“Brother, stop causing trouble! Listen to what mother says, or I won’t let father tell you a story at night!” As soon as this was said, Adoris, though he was pouting, had quieted down.
“Mother, is it really good to go to school and study with other boys?” Cynthia said hesitantly to Cheiristoya. At this time, Cynthia was seven years old. According to the Greek tradition, a girl could marry at 16 years old, so she already knew about many things. Since childhood, her biological mother taught her how to be a good woman in a Greek family. In her impression, her mother never went out of the house, but now, she would need to study with many boys in public year after year, day after day, which made her feel a little uneasy.
Cheiristoya pulled Cynthia to her body, combed her long, slightly messy hair and said softly, “Child, do you know how lucky you are?! Apart from Theonia, girls like you in other Greek city-states are trapped in their houses for most of their lives. They are busy raising their children and managing housework, and they don’t even know what the outside world is like. They haven’t seen the sports game, drama, or even the sea. Do you want your life to be like them in the future?!”
Cynthia shook her head in fear.
Cheiristoya continued emotionally, “Your father is a great man! He worked hard to persuade the Senate to give you girls the same learning opportunities as the boys. At that time, not only you but also the girls from other citizens’ families will go to school. Cynthia, you will not be alone at the school. Therefore, you should study hard and prove that women are no worse than men. Don’t let your father’s efforts be in vain!”
Cynthia nodded her head.
In fact, although the social customs of the newly rising Theonia Union are different from those of other Greek city-states, and are more open to women, when Davos proposed “allow the girls to go to school together with the boys” in the Senate, he was opposed by many statesmen.
Davos was only able to persuade them with a passage that resonated with everyone, “….by allowing the daughters of the citizens of Theonia to also go to school will not only allow them to learn more knowledge and skills, they will also learn how to get along with the boys. Knowledge will make them more cultured, more temperate and more intelligent. When they grow up and get married, they will have more common topics and hobbies with their husbands, which will reduce the possibility of their husbands going out to find brothels and ensure the stability of the family. It will also help them in managing their family affairs wisely and not be hoodwinked by cunning slaves. It will also enable them to raise their children better, so that the future citizens of Theonia can develop good habits in their early years, which is vital for their entire lives!….”
. . . . . . . . . . . . .
In this era, because there is no electric light, most people go to bed as soon as it gets dark, except for a few rich people who continue to work with candles. Because they go to bed early, they will get up early in the morning, often after the rooster crowed. But for the diligent Theonians, most of them get up much earlier, often before dawn, when the stars are still shining on the night, in order to start preparing for their work. Only the children don’t like to get up early and only start washing up after getting urged by their parents.
Today, however, the 13 year old Patroclus got up very early. After washing up in a hurry, he helped his mother bake bread, which made his mother feel very grateful: His always naughty son really grew up after the invasion of Crotone.
At the dinner table, his mother asked again with concern, “Clus, do you really not want me to send you to the aka…akademia?”
Patroclus shook his head like a rattle, “No! When the bad guys from Crotone came, I was alone in sending messages to several nearby villages! Even uncle Aguilas praised me as a warrior. I am already old enough, and the akademia is in the city, if I still need you to send me, it would be embarrassing!”
“But-” As soon as her mother’s words were uttered, she was interrupted by Patroclus’ father – Periandorus, “Let him go alone!”
Periandorus looked at Patroclus seriously, “When you arrive at the school, you should listen to the teacher, do what you are told and If you don’t perform well, I will beat you up!” His illiterate father naturally hopes that his son can write well and have a better future, but he couldn’t say anything better to encourage him, so he can only use his usual tone to frighten his son. However, Patroclus, who often talks back, answered cleverly, “I know father!”
When Periandorus got surprised, a knock on the door came, “Who is it?”
“It’s me.”
“It’s uncle Aguilas!” Patroclus cheered and rushed to open the door.
“It’s time for little Clus to go to school today.” As soon as Aguilas came in, he touched Patroclus’ head with a smile and said, “I have brought you a schoolbag, a stylus, a few wax-coated practice tablets, and a small folding wooden chair that you can use for school.”