Mediterranean Hegemon of Ancient Greece Chapter 1053: Maximus and Commius

Because Hades was both the patron god of the Kingdom of Daunia and the protector of slaves, they knew they needed his blessing to earn their freedom. Time had gradually worn away their hatred. They had even begun to harbor a sliver of goodwill toward the King of Daonia who had defeated them. This was not merely because he was a descendant of Hades; under his rule, state slaves genuinely lived far better than slaves in their former city-states and tribes. Most of their cheers today were entirely sincere.

"We must also thank Icarus, the commander of our camp!" the middle-aged chef called out.

The ensuing cheers were noticeably quieter, but they were still loud enough for Icarus—the director of the Thurii slave camp—to hear clearly as he stepped into the inner kitchen to inspect the breakfast improvements.

A faint smile surfaced on his face. He turned to his attendant and asked, "What is this chef's name?"

"My lord, his name is Isnikas. He comes from Asia Minor. He spent four years as a slave laboring at the Christoya Eatery in the outer city of Thurii before earning his freedom and becoming a preparatory citizen. He was recruited here as a chef over two years ago..." The attendant was the camp's record keeper, able to enumerate these details like family treasures. Icarus brought him along on dining hall inspections so that if any chefs failed to execute his orders, he could deal their most feared punishment: a black mark on their record. That would severely hinder their chances of smoothly transitioning into full citizens or maintaining their freedom.

But now, Icarus simply said in a deep voice, "Mhm. He knows how to spread word of His Majesty's benevolence. He is doing quite well—make a note of it."

This "note," of course, meant a positive commendation. The record keeper—a preparatory citizen himself—cast a somewhat envious glance toward the middle-aged chef in the distance and quietly replied, "Yes, my lord."

The primary reason many registered freemen and preparatory citizens took on low-paying, entry-level public posts or temporary labor at City Hall or other municipal departments was that it made accumulating merit easier. That, in turn, allowed them to become kingdom citizens sooner.

A department like the slave camp was not as prestigious as other administrative branches. Its highest rank was merely a junior administrative post, and it oversaw very few formal officials. Even the soldiers guarding the slaves and patrolling the grounds were dispatched on rotation from nearby barracks, falling outside the camp's actual jurisdiction. Because of this setup, however, the entry-level staff and laborers at the slave camp were more easily noticed and had an easier time earning merit. The camp never lacked applicants, though it generally preferred to recruit freed slaves.

Commius Fabius Vibulanus—once a member of the Roman Aristocracy, now a slave of the Kingdom of Daunia—sat quietly in a corner, chewing bread and drinking meat broth.

He was not as fortunate as the Roman soldiers who had surrendered at Satricum due to the plague. He had been taken captive earlier, when the Roman army tried to relieve the City of Gabii. Publius, a Senator from Rome, had proposed to the Senate of Daionia on several occasions that "the Roman soldiers captured throughout the Western Mediterranean War should also be granted their freedom," but the motion never passed. When these aristocratic Roman soldiers first became state slaves, they staged a few rebellions. After ruthless suppression, however, they were forced to accept cruel reality. Educated by the lash and endless hours of grueling physical labor, they grew numb and obedient. That was why Commius, despite hailing from a great Roman clan, was currently eating his breakfast with just as much joy as the other slaves.

Just then, someone sat down beside him.

He glanced up and said with delight, "Maximus! You've recovered?!"

Maximus was also a former member of the Roman Aristocracy. He had not been captured in battle, however, but taken prisoner when the City of Rome fell, caught attempting to flee up Capitoline Hill with his family. Unlike the unmarried Commius, Maximus's entire family were kingdom slaves. Because of this, they did not live in the collective dormitories and were instead assigned a separate, modest wooden cabin. This arrangement meant he had to pay extra housing fees, making his financial burden much heavier than Commius's.

"I saw the doctor and took medicine for two days. I'm all better now," Maximus said.

State slaves were the wealth of the kingdom. Because they mostly performed heavy manual labor and ate worse food than ordinary citizens, illness and injury were common. A dedicated hospital had been established within the camp. Doctors from the grand hospital of Thurii took shifts in rotation to ensure the slaves remained healthy. Though the pay was low and the workload exhausting, medical apprentices often fought for the chance to come here, as it gave them the opportunity to treat a massive volume of patients.

Hearing this, Commius said happily, "That's wonderful! While you were gone these past few days, that foreman haphazardly assigned tasks to our team. None of us were happy working for him, and everyone was praying for you to recover quickly!"

Maximus started. "You didn't do anything reckless, did you?" he asked in a hurried whisper.

"How could we dare do anything reckless? We just grumbled a bit at most," Commius muttered.

"Even grumbling is no good! Have you forgotten what happened to Brutus and the others? You have all been performing so well. Once this major project is finished, we will definitely earn extra rewards. We need to secure spots for our freedom, ideally every year starting from next year's festival. Do not draw the foremen's resentment just for a moment's satisfaction—that would ruin all our previous hard work!" Maximus warned him sternly.

The incident with Brutus and the others referred to two riots sparked by Romans in the Thurii slave camp a few years prior. Afterward, a Senator of Daionia proposed that since Roman slaves were insubordinate and prone to causing trouble, and since Thurii was the heart of the kingdom, all Roman slaves should be relocated to prevent accidents from disrupting the region's stability. They were to be scattered and transferred to slave camps in other towns far from the Thurii Region.

Due to Publius's fierce opposition, the proposal did not fully pass. A small portion of Roman slaves who had not participated in the riots and generally behaved themselves were allowed to stay. Publius even sent someone to the camp specifically to warn the remaining Romans: out of all the slave camps in the Kingdom of Daunia, the one in Thurii offered the best conditions and the easiest path to earning merit. Because Thurii was the center of the kingdom, oversight was strict, meaning the camp administrators generally dared not act recklessly. It was far worse in remote slave camps; in Sardinia, for instance, slaves died in the mines every single month, speaking to the truly abysmal conditions. If they wanted to earn their freedom quickly and in good health, they had better keep their heads down and behave!

"We really have been working hard these past few days! We have been breaking several more rocks than the other teams every single day!" Commius swore. He stole a glance at the foreman patrolling the dining hall, then added in a resentful whisper, "If he dares to underreport our team's output, I'll report him to the Tribune!"

At its peak, the Thurii slave camp had held tens of thousands of slaves, and even now, it housed nearly ten thousand. To better manage and placate them—and to supervise the camp's officials—the camp had its own dedicated Tribunes. Following the camp riots a few years ago, the number of Tribunes had been increased. Most of these positions were filled by Daionian Citizens who had formerly been slaves themselves.

"Enough talk. Hurry up and finish your food so we can go up the mountain and get to work!" Maximus urged.

Not long after he spoke, the foremen could indeed be heard shouting for everyone to hurry up.

The two men wolfed down their breakfast, even picking up the breadcrumbs that had fallen onto the table to eat. A few years ago, they never would have stooped to such a thing, but the harsh environment had changed them.

The moment they hurried out of the dining hall, another massive batch of slaves rushed inside in formation. The schedule was packed tightly to ensure the several thousand slaves in the camp could finish breakfast within a short window and start their shifts on time.

The last group to enter the dining hall was always the female slaves and children. There were not many of them—less than a thousand in total. After all, state slaves were different from private slaves. Because the vast majority of their work consisted of heavy manual labor, the kingdom primarily needed men. During the Western Mediterranean War a few years back, however, Daionia had captured quite a few prisoners with their families in tow. These were largely Romans, Latins, and Phoenicians.

According to the provisions regarding slaves in the Daunian Law, it was strictly forbidden to inhumanely tear slave families apart and sell them off separately. Furthermore, Daionia did not prohibit unions between male and female state slaves; slaves with families were naturally more well-behaved and driven, contributing to the stability of the slave camps.

Of course, regardless of whether these female slaves had families, they still had to work. They served as kitchen helpers, mended slave garments, assisted in purchasing food, worked as shopkeepers within the camp, and were even dispatched as temporary hired labor elsewhere...

Because men heavily outnumbered women in the camp, the Slave Law contained strict provisions to prevent the women from facing harassment and assault. Whether the offender was a male slave, a camp official, or a hired laborer, violators would be severely punished. As a result, such heinous behavior had been almost entirely eradicated in the Thurii camp, allowing the male slaves with families to set out for a day of hard labor with total peace of mind.

In the center of the slave camp sat a modest plaza. This stretch of firmly packed, level grass was used not only to assemble the slaves for roll calls and public announcements, but also as a venue for sports and competitions during their leisure time.

Several large black wooden boards were erected along the side of the plaza. Written on them in white chalk were various announcements concerning the slaves, alongside notices posted by the camp requesting "hired labor." As state slaves, their regular duties primarily involved the construction and maintenance of public works—such as temples, bridges, and roads—as well as excavation work in public mines.