Chapter 124: Heracleides the Architect

Many people knew the clerk of the “archon” Davos, because he often went to relay the order of Davos to the troops. So when Asistes stood on the farm ridge and shouted, Izam immediately dropped his farm tools and ran over.

Asistes found it funny seeing the independent Carduchian, “Hey Izam, why do you work so hard on the farm and you have even taken your wife with you?!”

“The city-state’s first military training will be carried out in two days, and I heard that it is very tiring and after the training, the archon will teach us an interesting game! So I have to finish the farm work fast, so that I can devote myself to training.” Said Izam, as he wipe his sweat.

Asistes said half jokingly, “Your farm is pretty decent, you are more like a Greek than us Greeks!”

Izam laughed and regarded the words of Asistes as a praise, “It’s easy to work, but it’s troublesome to get water. I needed to waste a slave just to fetch water!” He complained.

“I heard that lord Davos asked Alexius to convene the carpenters in order to discuss some kind of ‘waterwheel’ that should be build. After its completion, it will be placed on the river bank, so that the water of the river can flow directly to higher fields like yours.” Whispered Asistes.

“Oh, is there such a magical thing! What is this ‘waterwheel’?!” Izam asked curiously.

“From what I heard from lord Davos, it’s like a carriage wheel. You can ask lord Davos what kind of wheel it is.” Shrugged Asistes, and said that he wasn’t very clear.

“How could I even dare ask the archon!” Said Izam in veneration. When he first served as the guide of the mercenary, he often came to Davos, at that time, he was more curious about this young man who had manage to become a leader of the mercenary. However, with the repeated success of the mercenaries that he had led, Davos weight in Izam’s heart became more and more important. In addition, there was a lot of rumors about him in the army, “He’s a God’s Favored”, and some rumors even said that “Davos is the son of Hades”. This made Izam, who was a Carduchian that worship the Gods more, hold the young leader in veneration. In Byzantium, when Davos called on the mercenaries to follow him to Magna Graecia, even though it was thousands of miles away from his hometown, Izam did not hesitate to follow him, because he firmly believed that by following the “Son of God”, they would never suffer defeat.

“Now you have a chance. Lord Davos wants to see you.” Said Asistes with a smile.

“Really?!” Izam asked in disbelief.

“Of course! How would I dare make fun of you in the name of lord Davos!” As soon as Asistes said it, Izam cheered and he then called out to his Lucanian wife, and ran towards the direction of the city of Amendolara without wiping his face.

. . . . . . . . . . . . .

“Izam, we finally meet again! I heard that the council has given you a house and a land, and that you are now married. How are you now? Are you used to it? Do you cry because you miss your hometown?…”

As soon as they met, Davos greeted him with concern, which made Izam relaxed. He then excitedly told him about his experience during this time, while Davos listened carefully and then said, “You see how the Greeks, Carduchians, Lucanians can live together very well, like a big family, right?!”

“Yes, your majesty!” Izam boldly added, “As far as I know, many of my teammates that have married a Lucanian, have said that they have found a good wife, and even if they don’t speak Greek that well, and couldn’t weave cloth, make bread, nor command the slaves to work…but they will take the initiative to help their husband in doing heavy work. Moreover, they express their feelings in a very warm way, and they dare try all kinds of things with their husband at night…” ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)

Said Izam, although it was a bit vulgar, Davos still laughed, “Yes, our Greek women are too traditional and conservative, both sides should learn from each other and communicate!”

Izam notice that Davos was so amiable, he became more daring and said, “It’s just…it’s just that these Lucanian women miss their relatives very much, and hope that their relatives can get back their freedom as soon as possible!”

In fact, Davos was very happy to see such a situation happen, “Rest assured, the city-state does not abuse their relatives and have been taken good care. As long as they can abide by the agreement, then they can get back their freedom once the deadline we agreed ends, and as long as they perform well, this period can be shortened. You can go back and tell your wife that she can tell the other Lucanian women that the city-state will arrange for them to meet their relatives in a while!”

“I will, milord.” Nodded Izam.

“I called you here today to ask if you are willing to take a mission.” Davos finally got to the point. He looked at Izam and said, “We need to know what’s going on in Lucania. Currently, we don’t know the situation in there, and so I need someone to sneak in and collect information. And so, Asistes has recommended you.”

“I am willing!” Answered Izam without any hesitation.

Davos did not expect that he would get an answer so quickly, and so reminded him, “This is a very dangerous task, and is even life-threatening. So are you sure that you won’t reconsider it?”

“I’m sure!” Although Izam yearns for the prosperity of the outside world, the strict regulation of the army always made him felt uncomfortable. And he likes the feeling of running freely in the mountains and forest, and the excitement of quietly approaching his prey, and now, he finally has a good opportunity, “But, milord archon, please give me some time to prepare.”

“Don’t worry, you can take your time to prepare carefully. As long as you successfully return from Lucania, I will set up a mountain reconnaissance team with you as their captain. In addition, after you leave, I will have Cheiristoya pay attention to your family’s situation and solve their difficulties at any time!”

The commitment and care of Davos had made Izam grateful and excited, and so said it out loud, “Rest assured milord! I will do my best in finding out the situation of Lucania and return successfully! Please keep the position of the mountain reconnaissance’s captain for me!”

“Good!” Davos likes his confident subordinate. Setting up a mountain reconnaissance team is what he was thinking these days. After all, the Apennine Peninsula has a large number of mountains, which restricted the cavalry scouts. A mountain reconnaissance team that can easily cross mountains and do a concealed observation will give more help to the army of Amendolara.

. . . . . . . . . . . . .

Bagul was leading his people to build warehouses and inns for Amendolara, and they are divided into several groups: One is responsible for cutting down trees, another one is responsible for grinding stones, and the last one is for tamping down the foundation.

There were also a dozen or so craftsmen of the city-state, some of whom were commanding the Lucanian slaves to lay the foundations, and the others were making measurements.

Alexius and Heracleides were on the site monitoring the progress of the project and looking at the drawings.

Heracleides, is an apprentice of the famous Greek urban planner, Hippodamus, and had participated in the design and construction of the city of Thurii with his teacher when he was young. His greatest regret was that he wasn’t able to stay in Thurii at that time, since he returned to Athens together with his teacher, else he would have been one of the first citizen of Thurii. Later, the political enemies of Pericles accused his mistress Aspasia of accepting bribes during the construction of the Parthenon, and made Hippodamus to be inexplicably involved, and so he was imprisoned. While Heracleides was also expelled from Athens, and had to return to his hometown in despair. Then the Peloponnesian war broke out, and his hometown fell into the chaos of war and he began to struggle in life…

Twenty years later, he took his wife’s girdle and fled from his hometown that was occupied by Sparta to the relatively war-torn Greek mainland, then to the relatively peaceful Magna Graecia, to Thurii which he had contributed. However, the city was no longer the one that needed a large number of immigrants and talents like when it had been built, and so the city hall refused to accept him as a citizen of the city-state, Heracleides, who was penniless, had to live at the port for more than 20 years. For the past 20 years, he, together with his son had built houses for others and maintain the city walls…for their living, which gained him some fame and had manage to saved some money. However, he was still a freeman living in a crowded and humid shack without any land and status. And now, he is old, and his wife had died of illness a few years ago. He does not have much demand for life, but his only regret was that his son, Heracleides the Younger, was still young and have fully inherited his skills and should have had a brighter future…

Just as he was worrying about the future of his child day and night, one day, a stranger entered his shack that he shared with others, and he still remembers their conversion clearly.

“Who is Heracleides?”

“That is me. Who are you?”

“I heard that you were an apprentice of Hippodamus, and that you had contributed in building the city of Thurii?”

“Yes, this is indeed the truth, and I have never lied about it.”

“Then, are you willing to be hired by Amendolara to supervise the construction of some projects with a salary of 50 drachmas a month?”

“What kind of project?”

“I don’t know much about it, but when you go to Amendolara, Alexius will tell you about it, and at the same time, he also asked me to tell you, ‘If you do a good job and truly have a great architectural talent, then he will recommend you to the archon, lord Davos, for you to become a citizen of Amendolara.’”

He then immediately heard the envy of the people behind him.

Note: Hippodamus, is a native of Miletus, and a friend of Pericles. He is the most famous master of architectural planning in ancient Greece, the Piraeus and the Agora of Athens are his own work.