Mediterranean Hegemon of Ancient Greece Chapter 1076: Sights in the Outer City of Thurii

Maximus and his family walked along the road to Thurii. While Maximus himself had been sent from the slave camp to work in the city's private workshops a few times, Fulvia and their two children had never set foot in the largest city in the western Mediterranean, despite living in a camp just outside its borders for years.

The grand avenue leading toward the city alone filled them with delight. Broad and perfectly level, it was flanked by deep drainage ditches. Just beyond the ditches stood neat rows of shade trees, and resting beneath their branches was a line of white stone monuments.

Having finally stepped out of their cage, the two children found everything fascinating. They shrieked and shouted, chasing each other down the pedestrian path. Whenever they grew tired, they rested on the wooden benches along the roadside, soon wandering over to curiously play with the white monuments, each topped with a Statue of a three-headed hound.

Every time they did, Maximus hurried over to warn them away. Those were the tombstones of fallen Daionian Citizens from Thurii, and desecrating them was strictly forbidden. During his very first trip into the city, he had learned that while the names of Daionia's fallen soldiers were enshrined in the temple for public worship, their families and fellow citizens had requested these monuments be placed along the avenue. They wanted every passing traveler to learn of their heroic deeds and understand the hard-won nature of their current lives, while simultaneously serving as a stark warning to any outsider harboring ill intent...

This tradition supposedly originated in Thurii and had since been imitated by every town in the Kingdom of Daunia. It had once left Maximus sighing in awe: by offering such supreme honors to their fallen citizens, how could Daionia not inspire its living citizens to keep fighting with no regard for their own lives? Daionia had not destroyed Rome by mere luck!

But excited children were quick to forget. After wearing themselves out from running, the two boys casually sat on one of the monuments and were immediately caught by the Patrol Unit. The patrolmen scolded the children, slapped Maximus with a ten-Obol fine, and demanded to check his identity.

Upon learning that Maximus was a freed slave, the patrolmen made a point to educate him on the laws he ought to follow in Thurii City, sternly warning him not to break them.

The two boys were clearly frightened. From then on, they stuck closely to their parents' sides.

As they drew closer to Thurii City, the pedestrians on the road swelled in number. The open fields flanking the avenue were gradually replaced by an increasing number of houses...

Maximus had envisioned his life in Thurii City countless times, but standing before the massive city in person made him feel profoundly insignificant. Yet, feeling his wife and children huddled close to him gave him renewed strength. Like everyone else entering the city, he carried the hope of a better life as he pressed forward with the flow of the crowd.

Half an hour later, they arrived before a Statue of Hermes. Maximus wiped the sweat from his brow and said, "The outer district of Thurii is just ahead."

Fulvia's eyes went wide. "We've been walking for so long, and we still haven't actually entered the city?!"

Fulvia had grown up in the City of Rome. With a population of over a hundred thousand, she had always considered it a massive metropolis, but it paled in comparison to the city before her. Though she was born into the Roman Aristocracy, she was also a traditional Roman woman; she spent her days raising their children and managing the household, leaving all other affairs to her husband's judgment. Now completely out of her depth, she asked nervously, "Maximus... where are we going?"

Back in the slave camp, Maximus had frequently consulted registered freemen and preparatory citizens about this very issue. He already had a clear plan mapped out for the day he regained his freedom. Unlike some of his compatriots who still refused to accept reality, he had gathered information through various channels to form a clear understanding: Daionia now ruled more than half of the Italian Peninsula. If his family wanted to survive in this familiar land, they had no choice but to live within the borders of the Kingdom of Daunia. And to secure a better life, they naturally needed to become Daionian Citizens as early as possible.

Therefore, his first priority after becoming a freed slave was to visit the civil registry, officially register, and apply to become a Daionian Citizen.

Mustering his courage, Maximus approached a passing Patrol Unit for directions.

The patrolmen were surprisingly friendly, pointing him toward the nearest patrol station.

Upon entering the outer district, the first thing Maximus and his family noticed was the newfound freedom of movement. Pedestrians were allowed to walk right down the center of the main road. As long as they weren't deliberately blocking traffic, the Patrol Unit wouldn't bother them.

This was due to the sheer number of storefronts lining the road: furniture shops, ironmongers, cloth merchants, pottery stalls, cookware vendors, apothecaries, butchers, fruit stands, vegetable carts, bakeries... There were even specialty shops that simply didn't exist in Rome or any other city-state.

For example, an intimate apparel boutique—owned by the Christoya Chamber of Commerce—had guards specially posted at the entrance. Only women were allowed inside, and most of the patrons coming and going were dressed in luxurious garments.

There were also stationers exclusively selling school supplies. Maximus stopped to take a closer look; the dazzling array of educational tools was not only beautifully crafted but also fairly affordable. Had they already settled on a place to live, he would have paid for some to give to his boys.

Sporting goods stores were present too, largely stocked with equipment for the Rugby championship and football.

The two boys stared curiously at the Statues of star athletes, carved from various materials, that lined the shelves.

A shop clerk seized the opportunity to make a pitch to Maximus. "If you're looking to buy, I highly recommend this one. It's a Statue of our great king's third son, Prince Brillantes! He may only be sixteen, but he's already played in three of Thurii's Rugby championship matches and even scored a touchdown. He is incredibly popular with the kids!"

The king's son also played in the Rugby championship!... Despite his curiosity, Maximus had no impulse to buy.

The medical supply stores were far more specialized, selling a comprehensive array of goods: doctors' surgical instruments, fracture treatment devices, trauma care tools... Everything was fully stocked, leaving Maximus marveling, "No wonder the doctor at the slave camp clinic proudly claimed, 'Daionia's medicine is the best in the Mediterranean Sea!'"

Then there were the bathware shops, offering every style of wooden tub and stone basin, alongside bath herbs, spices, strigils, razors, towels, scented oils, and algae mud masks... The dazzling and exhaustive selection was proof enough of the Theonians' love for bathing.

There were even florists here. Wildflowers that grew like common weeds across the mountains of the Roman Region were formally planted in clay pots and displayed on the shelves. They were cheap, but buyers were plentiful, a sight that left Fulvia amazed.

The Thurians' habit of planting flowers had originated in the inner city. When Thurii City was first rebuilt, Davos had wanted to create a beautiful and pleasant urban environment. He advocated for every household to plant flowers in their courtyards, and he even had Herpus lead a team of doctors to publicly promote the idea, claiming that "planting flowers freshens the air and benefits one's health."

By the time the city expanded outward, the concept of planting flowers had deeply rooted itself in the public consciousness. Many residents in the outer districts didn't have the spacious courtyards of the inner city populace, and some lived in terribly cramped houses. Yet they still planted flowers in dedicated clay pots, placing them on their balconies or inside their homes to delight themselves and others. Later on, as many citizens grew too busy to forage for plants in the wild, florists naturally sprang up to meet the demand.

Though Maximus had visited Thurii City several times before, he had always rushed through under the watchful eye of an employer. He had never had the time for a leisurely stroll. Newly freed today, he found himself captivated by the endless rows of shops lining the street, even with other matters still weighing on his mind.

Turning his head, he suddenly realized his wife and children were no longer by his side. Panic flared in his chest. He frantically searched the crowd, soon spotting his two boys jumping back and forth across a row of small stone blocks in the middle of the road ahead, while his wife desperately tried to coax them back.

Maximus rushed over and finally put a stop to the mischievous boys' game.

"Dad, these little stone blocks are so much fun!" his five-year-old son said. Even while being pulled by Maximus, he still excitedly tried to jump back onto them.

"Dad, why do the Theonians put so many stone blocks in the road? Isn't it easy for people to trip over them?" his seven-year-old son asked curiously.

Maximus looked at the small, square stones lined up from one side of the road to the other. They were firmly cemented into the pavement, spaced half a meter apart. A wave of admiration washed over him. Patiently, he explained to his children, "These are called Speed-Limiting Stones. You see, because there are so many shops by the road and so many people buying things, some people have no choice but to walk out onto this avenue. But look, there are still plenty of carriages and pack beasts using this road. If they run too fast, they could easily knock people over, right?"

The two children nodded.

"So how do we stop them from hitting people?" Maximus prompted gently.

"Don't let carriages into the city," the five-year-old answered.

"Those scary uncles won't allow the carriages to speed up." This was the older son's answer, referring to the Patrol Unit.

Maximus rubbed the heads of his two children and said earnestly, "If carriages aren't allowed in the city, then people would have to carry all the goods for these shops in from the outside. Wouldn't that be exhausting? Those scary uncles can certainly make the carriages go slow, but with so many carriages from dawn to dusk, having to watch all of them would be exhausting too, right? But these things can make the carriage drivers and grooms slow down on their own. The carriages can only pass through smoothly if their wheels are perfectly aligned between the stones. Otherwise, they might be smashed..."