Chapter 31: An Astonishing Cheer (I)

Just then, a thunderous cheer rang out, “Davos! Davos!! Davos!!!…” The shouts were so organize and loud that they overwhelmed all the noise and made several of the leaders turned pale.

“That’s the mercenaries of Menon!” Timasion tiptoed and look in the direction of the sound.

“They should now be the mercenary of Davos!” Heironymus enviously said.

Davos, who was on the stage, smiled and said, “Greek warriors, I am Davos of Thessali, I am the new leader that replaced Menon!”

When the soldiers on the stage finished repeating what he had said, the soldiers of Davos’ camp immediately stood up and applauded him, causing the other soldiers to look at each other, ‘Are these guys crazy?!’

Some of the people who knew about the inside story began to show off their information in front of their companions, “I heard that this young man is favored by Hades, and every time he gets an ‘oracle’ its effectiveness is incomparable!”

“I also heard that he magically saved a dying soldier. Yes! That man who is standing behind him!”

“He also invented something that were very useful to us! Like this one on my leg…um…leg bindings…”

The soldiers’ words spread from mouth to mouth and in the blink of an eye, everyone looked at him with less contempt and now became curious.

Davos’ words once more resounded in their ears, “Just now, Cheirisophus’ speech was very thrilling, but they were just too short! Just like when a man and a woman do things, and when the woman started to get excited, the man was already done. How uncomfortable the woman would feel!”

The soldiers did not expect that such a vulgar words would be uttered from the mouth of a still childish young man. They were stunned for a moment and then burst out laughing, “Ha ha ha…”

Many people also took the opportunity to catcall…

“This young man is very interesting!” Many soldiers said with a smile.

“Nonsense! This is a mess!” Timasion looked at Cheirisophus and swear.

Xenophon was also surprised that Davos, whom he knew, was a young a man with a unique insights and polite speech and should not be so crude.

Cheirisophus didn’t speak, he wasn’t angry despite Davos ridiculing him. Cheirisophus, who had been living in the military camp until he was 30, knew what the thoughts of the soldiers, and he did not know whether Davos didn’t know about it or was intentional. All in all, this dirty joke has made the soldiers felt intimate with this too young of a leader.

“When I came up just now, I saw that all of you are drooping in frustration and some of you even had tears in yours eyes. You are afraid! You are afraid that you can’t get back to Greece! You are afraid! You are afraid that the Persians will annihilate you! But think carefully, when we were in the middle of Persia and our employer, Cyrus the Younger, was killed and we did not know what to do, the Persians, who had more soldiers than us, did not immediately attack and destroy us! What did they do?” Davos slowly aroused the interest of the soldiers with questions.

“Everyone in here are very clear. The Persians spent their energy talking to us and providing us with plenty of food and to accompany us on such a long journey… they spent so much time, money, and energy in order to fool our leaders just to kill them!” Davos said slowly, then he paused and loudly asked, “Soldiers, tell me! Who is the one that is afraid?! In fear?! – It’s the Persians! They are more afraid than us! They are afraid of our bravery! They dare not fight us! They are cowardly enough to use these schemes quietly! They fear us more than they fear their gods, so that they violated the oath made before their gods!

Now that they have killed our leaders, when we are in chaos, they still not dare attack us immediately, and instead, want us to surrender! What do you fear in the face of such timid Persians! You know, that we Greeks are a race that is not afraid of any threat! Decades ago, Darius, the King of Persia, led an army that conquered all races in the land. When he pointed his next conquest at the weak Greek city-states across the strait, SOLDIERS, TELL ME, DID GREECE SURRENDER?!” Davos leaned forward and stretched out his right hand, and asked loudly to the soldiers below.

“No.” Someone answered one after another.

“Too low, I can’t hear it! Tell me, did Greece surrender?!!” Davos asked louder.

“No!” The answer was very organize.

Davos was still not satisfied, “The voice is as low as a timid Persian! Once again, DID GREECE SURRENDER?!!”

“NO!!!” the soldiers shouted, causing their emotions to stir.

“Yes! We Greeks did not surrender! In the battle of Marathon^[1], the Athenians beat the Persian army with fewer people, and Darius got frightened and retreated back to his old nest and within a few years, he died of illness. For revenge, his son, Xerxes, assembled an unprecedented army and once more invaded Greece. But we Greeks never yield to power! Soldiers, tell me where did we beat the Persians?!”

This time, There was no need for Davos to lead them and the soldiers shouted enthusiastically, “Salamis^[2]!”

“Plataea!^[3]”

“Thermopylae!^[4]”

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

Davos took the lead, “Yes, the Greeks united and defeated the Persians repeatedly, which made Greece a fertile land of freedom, peace, and prosperity for decades to come. Soldiers, can any of you tell me the names of some of the strategoi and soldiers who fought against Persia?!”

“Miltiades!^[5]”

“Aeschylus!^[6]”

“Pericles!^[7]”

“Leonidas!^[8]”

“Themistocles!^[9]”

“Aristides!^[10]”

“Pausanias!^[11]”

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

One by one, the soldiers scrambled to shout out the names, at first they shouted the names of the strategos and later the names of soldiers who had participated in the war…around 80 years have passed since the Persian war, and almost the entire Greek world was affected. The mercenaries still vividly remembered it and even many soldiers who are present were descendants of those who fought in the war. They couldn’t wait to proudly make the names of their ancestors known to the public. Even the leaders such as Xanthicles, Cleanor, and Hieronymus couldn’t help but participate. The atmosphere of the whole venue began to boil…

Timasion couldn’t help but stare at the young man and realize that he had underestimated him.

It took a long time for the shouts from all directions to fade…

Davos continued to passionately speak, “These names in your mouth were written by Herodotus in 《Histories》, and into your memory! They became Greek heroes! Their spirit is as immortal as the gods! We grew up listening to their stories and when we grew up, we followed their examples and longed for an earth-shattering achievements like them! Now, soldiers, you have the opportunity to be a Greek hero and write history like them!” At this point, Davos paused again.

The eager soldiers stood up and eagerly asked, “Tell us! Where is the opportunity?!”

“Don’t you already know!” Davos loudly shouted, “Our ancestors defeated the Persians, in Greece and at sea, and there has never been a Greek army that was able to invade the Persian Empire. Yet we were able to go deep into the middle of Persia, and so long as we work together to defeat the Persians and overcome difficulties, then triumphantly return to Greece and make history! Our deeds will be written into books, compiled into songs and sung all over Greece, beautiful girls and lovely children will chase us and we would tell our adventurous story! Our children and grandchildren will be proud of us as we are today! More importantly-”

Davos took a deep breath and said with excitement, “Our deeds will inspire future Greeks! We will let them know that the Persians who look strong, are in fact weak inside, and they are just giants made of clay. The countries are like humans, there is a time when they are strong, similarly, there is also a time when they age. One day, when Persia and Greece are at war again, the Greeks will follow our example and invade Persia along the route we have traveled. What will they say when they win and come to the battlefield where we once shed our blood, offering sacrifice and praising us?!”

The soldiers were fascinated by what they heard.

[2] Battle of Salamis was a naval battle fought between an alliance of Greek city-states under Themistocles and the Persian Empire under King Xerxes in 480 BC which resulted in a decisive victory for the outnumbered Greeks.

[3] Battle of Plataea was the final land battle during the second Persian invasion of Greece. It took place in 479 BC near the city of Plataea in Boeotia, and was fought between an alliance of the Greek city-states (including Sparta, Athens, Corinth and Megara), and the Persian Empire of Xerxes I (allied with Boeotians, Thessalians, and Macedonians).

[4] Battle of Thermopylae was fought between an alliance of Greek city-states, led by King Leonidas of Sparta, and the Persian Empire of Xerxes I over the course of three days, during the second Persian invasion of Greece.

[5] Miltiades was an Athenian citizen known mostly for his role in the Battle of Marathon, as well as his downfall afterwards.

[6] Aeschylus was an ancient Greek tragedian. He is often described as the father of tragedy.

[7] Pericles was a prominent and influential Greek statesman, orator and general of Athens during its golden age – specifically the time between the Persian and Peloponnesian wars.

[8] Leonidas was a warrior king of the Greek city-state of Sparta, and was mostly known for his last stand in Thermopylae.

[9] Themistocles was an Athenian politician and general and he fought during the first Persian invasion of Greece at the Battle of Marathon.

[10] Aristides was an ancient Athenian statesman and was remembered for his generalship in the Persian War.

[11] Pausanias was a Spartan regent, general, and war leader for the Greeks.