Mediterranean Hegemon of Ancient Greece Chapter 1141: Leotychides

In the early days of the kingdom, Senators typically brought only one or two servants when heading to the Senate and various departments for meetings and state affairs. However, after several incidents of passersby harassing Senators, they were forced to bring guards every day to avoid accidents.

By law, slaves were forbidden from carrying weapons, and registered freemen walking the streets of Thurii with weapons faced strict interrogation and inspection by the Inspection Squad. The law was only relatively lenient toward citizens. This environment gave rise to a unique industry in Thurii: Senator guard agencies. (In reality, wealthy merchants and officials later began hiring these guards as well.)

Establishing a guard agency required more than a business permit from the Commercial Office. It also needed approval from the Inspection Office in Thurii and was subject to supervision by the Thurii Military Camp. Since the vast majority of these guards were active or reserve legionaries, their duties had to coordinate with the camp's military training. As a result, these agencies were usually funded and organized by retired legion officers. This incidentally solved the livelihood problems of some injured and retired soldiers, thereby earning the support of the Ministry of Military Affairs.

As Leotychides passed through the inner city's east gate, the city guards respectfully saluted the kingdom's renowned military commander.

Leotychides's residence was located along a bustling street, and it was quite expansive. It was a typical two-story house built in the shape of the "日" (sun) character, the architectural style most frequently constructed by the wealthy in Daionia. The side of the estate facing the street even featured several shops rented out to merchants.

A manservant stood at the main entrance holding a large yellow dog on a leash. The beast glared fiercely at the street outside, ensuring no passersby dared to linger. But the moment Leotychides arrived at the gate, the seemingly ferocious dog wagged its tail, excitedly pouncing on him to lick and nuzzle.

Leotychides gave it a firm pat on the head, and the large dog immediately quieted down. Then, he strode into his estate.

The property looked quite presentable from the outside, but the interior was plain. The surrounding corridors lacked mosaic flooring, the front courtyard had no central pool or Statue, and the backyard had no garden. There wasn't even a small pavilion in the middle for chatting and drinking. Instead, the front and back yards were completely connected, forming a sizable dirt training ground in the center.

On one side of this training ground, his seven-year-old younger son was practicing horseback riding. On the other side, his seventeen-year-old elder son was practicing combat skills with a manservant, wielding a sword and shield. (Leotychides originally had three children, but his second daughter had died just a few years after birth.)

Hearing their excited barking, his wife finally realized her husband was home. She immediately went to greet him. "Why are you back so late today?"

"The Ministry of Military Affairs had important matters to discuss," Leotychides said. Pulling off his senatorial Himation, he shouted toward the training ground, "Tertotis, I'll practice with you!"

"Alright!" His elder son, Tertotis, stopped his attacks and answered loudly, "Father, I won't lose so easily this time!"

Leotychides strode onto the field, took a wooden sword and shield from a slave, and fell into a stance. "Come," he said deeply.

Watching the father and son spar on the field, Rifenna looked confused. Having lived with Leotychides for so many years, she could sense that her husband was somewhat exhilarated. This was incredibly rare. She couldn't help but wonder: 'What happened?'

Just then, the younger son, Pagondas, dismounted and quickly ran to the edge of the field. He picked up a jug of water and began gulping it down greedily.

"Pagondas, don't drink too much, it's bad for your health!" Rifenna hurriedly chided. "I've been chilling a large watermelon in the well. I'll cut it up in a bit to quench your thirst."

Leotychides's residence was decorated very simply, hardly resembling a Senator's estate. The only luxury was a private well that Rifenna had spent a heavy sum to dig when the house was first built. It was quite deep, and the water at the bottom was bone-chillingly cold. It was mostly used to keep vegetables and fruits fresh.

"Oh." Pagondas obediently put down the water jug and sat on the ground to watch his father and brother fight, only for Rifenna to haul him back up and give him a firm kick on the rear. "Look at you, covered in sweat. Hurry up and go take a bath first!"

After shooing her younger son away, Rifenna called out to the two female slaves beside her, "It's almost dark. Don't just stand there staring, go to the kitchen and hurry them up. Get dinner ready as soon as possible!"

Twenty years had passed. Even though Leotychides had entered the kingdom's upper echelons and held noble status, the fierce and fiery temperament of Rifenna, born of the Bruttii, remained entirely undiminished.

At the dinner table, when Rifenna once again asked, "Just what good thing happened today?", Leotychides finally set down the beef bone he had been gnawing on. Looking serious, he said, "His Majesty has decided to support the Thebans, deploy troops to the Peloponnese, and attack Sparta. And he has appointed me to be the commander of this expeditionary force."

"Father, you're going to lead an army to conquer Sparta?!" his younger son exclaimed. His elder son, Tertotis, also looked shocked.

In the past, Leotychides rarely had time to come home. Whenever he did and spent time with his children, he was either training them or telling them stories during breaks. Most of these stories were about Spartan legends and heroes, told in hopes of gradually instilling a sense of admiration for Sparta in them. In truth, the effect wasn't very noticeable; the children were far more eager to defeat the treacherous villain that was Sparta, as they spent much more time at school.

Rifenna might have seemed brash, but she was actually quite shrewd. When they first married, she had been completely ignorant of Greek affairs, but over the years, she had picked up a fair amount. Her husband was from Argos and ought to hate Sparta, yet his usual speech didn't reflect that at all. This inevitably confused her. Since Leotychides never explained, she never took the initiative to ask. But now, she couldn't help it. "You didn't accept this appointment, did you?"

"Of course I accepted it," Leotychides said, looking at his wife. As if understanding her thoughts, he offered a rare elaboration. "I'm more than happy to go teach the Spartans a lesson!"

This was his true sentiment. Back when he fled Sparta, he had sworn a venomous oath: one day, he would lead an army back to Sparta and kill every last Spartan who had humiliated him and forced his mother to commit suicide!

The reason for his unusual behavior in the Royal Palace's council chamber was that he hadn't expected the perfect opportunity to fulfill his oath to fall upon him so suddenly. He had been desperately suppressing the thrill in his heart.

"Tertotis," Leotychides continued, "you will march to war with me this time."

"That's wonderful!" Tertotis was so excited he nearly jumped out of his seat.

Protective as ever, Rifenna immediately reminded him, "Tertotis isn't even eighteen yet. He can't serve in the military!"

"He's coming with me to serve as my orderly. He won't need to fight on the front lines." Having said that, Leotychides buried his head back in his meal, leaving his family in a state of unease.

...

Even though Davos had convened multiple meetings to analyze and forecast the potential shifts in the Greek landscape following the Battle of Leuctra, events still unfolded beyond their expectations.

First, the sheer speed at which the Thebans and Spartans signed a truce caught Daionia somewhat off guard. However, this did not affect their military preparations; expedition arrangements continued in an orderly fashion.

Second, Jason's series of actions after the battle aroused even greater vigilance in Davos. He specifically ordered Aristiras to strengthen surveillance within Thessaly.

Third, Davos and his cabinet had originally assumed that the defeat at the Battle of Leuctra would provoke Sparta into a desperate campaign of revenge to restore its prestige. To their surprise, Sparta swiftly signed the truce and actually refrained from any hostile maneuvers against Thebes in the aftermath. The reason was that the battle's impact on Central Greece and the entire Peloponnese Peninsula was far greater than the Daionian leadership had anticipated.

After all, Davos and his men did not live on the Greek Mainland, and having barely ever tasted defeat in their own wars, they couldn't truly comprehend the Greek populace's sentiments toward Sparta. Tracing back to the era after the Messenian Wars and before the Greco-Persian Wars, the Spartans had dominated all of Greece. Their longstanding supremacy had forged an ingrained belief among the Greek people: unless the enemy held an overwhelming numerical advantage, Spartan hoplites were completely invincible in a pitched battle. This was considered an unbreakable principle.

But in this battle—which was of a grand scale to the Greeks—the Thebans had actually won with fewer numbers, defeating Sparta and even killing its king. It was worth noting that ever since Leonidas sacrificed himself at the pass of Thermopylae, not a single Spartan king had died on the battlefield. Thus, when the detailed accounts of the battle spread across the Greek Mainland, the citizens of many city-states suddenly realized something: the Spartans weren't so terrifying after all. What the Thebans had achieved, perhaps they could achieve too.

As a result, many city-states were spurred into action. Two months prior, after the signing of the Peace of Callias, Sparta was supposed to recall the military commanders it had stationed in various city-states according to the treaty's terms. The Spartans had dragged their feet and refused to fulfill the agreement. Now, these city-states boldly expelled these Spartan military commanders on their own.

What was even worse for Sparta was that, as an oligarchic city-state, it had constantly promoted and propped up oligarchies within the city-states and allied nations it controlled. These empowered oligarchs would then persecute the members of the Democratic Faction within their cities and intensify the exploitation of their own commoners (partly to meet Sparta's military demands). Now, emboldened by the Thebans' victory in the battle, exiled members of the Democratic Faction from various city-states flocked back to their homelands, rallying the long-disgruntled populace and setting off a massive wave of uprisings.