Chapter 364: Banquet
When Dionysius came to power, he was deeply aware of the strategic position of the Epipolae Plateau, which is adjacent to the city for its defence against Carthage (this is where the Athenian army occupied and fought a long battle over the walls against the Syracusans). Therefore, he mobilised more than 6,000 freemen who, spurred on by the promise of citizenship, built a wall about 7,500 meters long in a short time, encircling the Epipolae Plateau, which was about six times the area of the central area of Syracuse.
At this time, Syracuse became the largest city in all of Greece: To its east, it faces the sea and cliffs; To its west and north, it leaned against the mountains, where the roads were dangerous and difficult to climb; Only to the south-west was where its great harbour was located. However, some swamps and rivers hinder the marching of the army, so when the Carthaginian commander, Himilco, led his army to the city of Syracuse, he had no way to capture this huge city, which ultimately led to their defeat due to the outbreak of plague.
Ansitanos’ carriage drove towards the southeast corner of Syracuse to the island of Ortygia. Even though it was called an island, it is, in fact, connected to the land. This place was where Syracuse was first established and later became the location of Syracuse’s acropolis. Even though most Greek city-states’ Acropolis was located mainly in the centre of the city, the acropolis of Syracuse was oddly situated across the sea.
Fancying the location of the island of Ortygia, Dionysius decided to build his palace on it. After learning his lessons from the citizen’s rioting in Syracuse twice, he surrounded the whole island with walls and stationed garrisons, only allowing his friends and supporters to live on the island. Naturally, the location of Philistus’ residence is also on the island.
The carriage kept on moving until it reaches the isthmus connecting the island of Ortygia with Sicily. In front of the carriage is a tall wall that completely cuts off the road to the island. There was also a small but fortified tower on the front side of the wall. It is imaginable that once an enemy attacked, the soldiers on the tower and wall would surround them.
Lost in his thoughts from seeing such an arrangement, Ansitanos returned to the carriage and said to Henipolis in a low voice, “With a leader being on guard against its citizens, how can the citizens respect and love him?!”
“It’s really not easy to be a tyrant as even the citizens of Syracuse had even nearly killed him!” Henipolis had been wandering around Syracuse for the past two days and had learned a few things, so he expressed his understanding, “In comparison, lord Davos is much more at ease in Thurii.”
“You should bear it in mind that lord Davos is not a tyrant!” Ansitanos notice Henipolis’ tendency to compare the status of Davos in Thurii with Dionysius, so he immediately and seriously reminded him, “Lord Davos does not even have the idea of being a tyrant. Otherwise, he would not have created that strange Tribunus Plebis to limit the authority of those in power!”
Ansitanos’ eyes were full of appreciation, and Henipolis could only nod thoughtfully. After a moment, he asked hesitantly, “Teacher, is my father a tyrant?”
. . . . . . . . . . . . .
After passing the city guard’s questioning, the carriage passed through the gates and entered the island of Ortygia.
Philistus’ residence is quite luxurious, especially the reception hall, which is large and spacious, with coloured marble paving the ground and was polished as smooth as a mirror; Both sides of the paved path are lined with intricately carved, gold-inlaid lamps with five candles as thick as an arm on each lamp post, illuminating the hall as bright as day; And in the hall were more than a dozen beautiful female slaves with different skin colours around each table.
The most important minister of Dionysius, who controlled the civil administration of Syracuse, Philistus, was a little slim, with an air of literacy under his rather handsome features. At this moment, he began introducing the other guests at the banquet to Ansitanos with a smile as kind as a spring breeze on his face.
“This is Leptines, the brother of the great Dionysius and the navarch of Syracuse!”
“I am pleased to meet you!”
Both sides gave their greetings. Ansitanos took this chance to curiously sized up the other man and thought of how the brother of the tyrant of Syracuse had a relatively simple appearance.
“This here is another minister of the great Dionysius, and also my best friend, Herolis!” The middle-aged man that Philistus mentioned had a sharped and firmed gaze. He then stepped forward and took the initiative to greet him and said, “Welcome, Ansitanos of Thurii, I have long heard of your name! A few years ago, I had gone to Amendolara and met your archon Davos. Oh, excuse me, he was not the archon of Theonia at that time, but he had given me a deep impression!”
Ansitanos then hurriedly greeted him back and expressed his thanks.
Philistus then introduced him to the next person, “He is a strategos of Syracuse, Macias.”
Macias was a crude-looking ex-Campanian mercenary leader, and he just simply gave his greetings to Ansitanos.
Philistus then led Ansitanos to the last guest, “This is also my best friend, the most famous poet-musician in Sicily – Philoxenus!”
The man named Philoxenus then said, “Lord Philistus, you praised me too much. I am but a common person who just loves music and poetry, and I can’t compare with them as I do not hold any post in Syracuse.” He pointed to the ones in front of him, “If I hadn’t heard that you were from Thurii and a scholar, I wouldn’t have come.”
Philoxenus’ blunt words made Philistus a bit embarrassed, but Henipolis, who was behind Ansitanos, asked in surprise, “Are you Philoxenus?! Amazing! The bards of Thurii often sang your poems, such as ‘the autumn wind rustles, my heart saddens, former lovers…’ Those are all wonderful!…”
Philoxenus was quite surprised as he was not expecting to meet an admirer of his from Thurii at this banquet, “You are?”
“Henipolis, a student of Ansitanos.” The young man quickly replied.
“He is also the only son of Avinoges, the archon of Laos!” Said Macias.
Ansitanos was shocked. Looking at the other’s expression, it was apparent that he had already known the identity of his student, ‘It seemed like Syracuse had already conducted a detailed investigation on us.’
“Student? What are you learning from him?” It was Philoxenus who asked in surprise, as he does not know anything about Ansitanos.
“I am studying the history of the Mediterranean, as well as training in writing literature and participating in the compilation of teacher’s books.” Replied Henipolis.
Philoxenus looked at Ansitanos in surprise and asked directly, “What book are you writing?”
Ansitanos then humbly said, “I wanted to write a book about the history of South Italia. I am just starting and currently collecting information…”
“Alright, everyone. Let’s sit back at the banquet and talk while we eat.” At the urging of Philistus, the crowd went to their seats.
Soon, the servants brought plates of dishes.
“Unfortunately, I don’t have a chef who can cook the cuisines of Thurii, which is very famous. Hopefully, this food will please you.” Philistus said to Ansitanos.
Ansitanos opened his arms, pointed to the food on his table and said in surprise, “These are all appetising!”
Philistus laughed, and as he was about to speak, Leptines then said, “I have heard that your archon, Davos, had invented most of Theonia’s famous food. Is that true?”
“You must know that those delicious foods had come from the restaurant of Davos’ wife, Cheiristoya. So almost all Theonian citizens believe that Davos had come up with them, which includes me.” Ansitanos answered politely.
“I had also heard that he invented rugby and football, which is now popular in Magna Graecia. And even your physicians in Theonia call him a teacher. With Theonia Union being a powerful force, there must be a lot of matters to attend to, so as its archon, how can he still spend so much energy on these small things?” Said Macias with a tone of doubt in his words.
“We could only admit that some people are simply favoured by gods, and naturally, they have more talent and energy than others. Although such examples are rare, they are not uncommon, such as Periander – the former tyrant of Corinth…furthermore, Hades deeply favoured our archon!” Ansitanos answered calmly.
“How can your archon be comparable to Periander, who had created the glory of Corinth centuries ago?” Philoxenus interjected.
Henipolis was angered, but Ansitanos hurriedly stopped him with his glance. With his impression of him, Ansitanos felt that this Syracusan poet was a straightforward man, so he said with seriousness, “But in the hearts of Theonian citizens, our archon Davos is far better and more important than Periander! Because he had led the army to defeat powerful enemies time and again; Rebuild the burnt down Thurii; Conquered the barbarians in the mountains; Build roads for the people and make trades prosperous; Built hospitals to help the people’s wounds and illnesses; Supported the establishment of the akademia and schools that improve the people’s quality of educations and encourage the scholars to explore knowledge; Inventing the ball games and delicious food to entertain the people; Also, he established fair laws to give citizens more rights…and it was the Theonia City-State Union that he established that made Magna Graecia, which had been in constant war in the past, to be peaceful for several years with no more wars happening. Therefore, some Theonian citizens had even called him ‘father’ at the assembly, as he deserves to be the father of Theonia Union!”
After listening, Philoxenus praised loudly, “If it’s as you say, then I would like to take back my words. With your archon doing so much for Theonia in just a few years, he is indeed remarkable. In some ways, he is…better than Dionysius!”