Mediterranean Hegemon of Ancient Greece Chapter 1234: The Establishment of the New Greek League (2)

On January 5, the New Greek League Council officially convened, presided over by Crotokatax and assisted by Hylos. Nearly two hundred envoys from various city-states attended. Although the broader framework of the alliance was already established, the envoys still engaged in fierce debate over minor details.

By January 11, the final alliance agreement was cemented. Its main terms were as follows:

First, the primary article stated that Daionia, Athens, Sparta, Thebes, Argos, and the other Greek city-states would voluntarily establish the New Greek League and unanimously elect Daionia as its permanent leader.

Upon the establishment of the New Greek League Council, each city-state would recommend one of its citizens to serve as a council member for a three-year term, though the Daionian council member would hold the permanent chairmanship.

Member states were forbidden from waging war against one another. If any did, the League would assemble an army led by Daionia to march against the instigator.

Any conflicts or disputes between member states had to be submitted to the League Council, whereupon Daionia would form an investigative committee to mediate and resolve the issue.

In the event of a foreign invasion against a member state, the League would raise an army commanded by Daionia to fight until the invaders were repelled, ensuring the safety of all members.

If a member state wished to wage war against an external power, it had to submit a request to the League Council. If the council approved it, the League would provide support. If the request was denied and the state forced a war regardless, the League would not guarantee the security of its territory. Furthermore, Daionia held veto power over these requests.

Any other city-state wishing to join the League required the council's approval, with Daionia again holding veto power.

Furthermore, under Daionia's deterrent pressure and unyielding insistence, the New Greek League confirmed the spheres of influence for its major members:

Athens' territory was recognized as the entire Attica peninsula, including Aegina and Salamis Island.

Sparta's territory was recognized as Laconia, including Cythera. (Because Argos had surrendered promptly near the end of the Greek War and actively sent troops to assist the Daionian army, Daionia returned Tethia—which Sparta had occupied for over a century—to Argos. The Spartans, anxious about their own fate at the time, had no heart to object.)

Thebes was confirmed to establish the Boeotian League under its leadership, encompassing the entire Boeotia Region and Oropus.

(As the only powerful Greek city-state that never opposed Daionia during the Greek War—and actually supported them in its latter stages to hasten the victory—Thebes naturally deserved a reward from its ally. Daionia fully satisfied the long-held dreams of Theban leaders like Pelopidas and Epaminondas.

However, the Athenian delegation led by Callistratus vehemently opposed placing Oropus under Theban jurisdiction. They argued that the people of Oropus had always been close to Athens and viewed Thebes as their enemy. Furthermore, Oropus had long been considered part of Attica and should be incorporated there, rather than into the Boeotia Region...

Because Pelopidas argued just as fiercely, the issue sparked endless debate during the drafting of the treaty. Finally, Crotokatax stepped in to mediate. He proposed returning Aegina, which Daionia had occupied, to Athens, while Oropus would go to the Boeotian League. Since Aegina was clearly more vital to Athens than Oropus, Callistratus eventually agreed, allowing Pelopidas to perfectly achieve his goal as well.

As for Daionia, since Athens was now an ally, returning Aegina to them was only natural. It was a perfect way to hit two birds with one stone.)

Mantineia was confirmed to establish the Arcadian League under its leadership, with the former territory of Tegea placed entirely under Mantineian control. (This was Crotokatax's greatest reward for Mantineia, which had steadfastly supported Daionia throughout the war, and it fulfilled his prior promise. Hylos even threatened the other Arcadian City-States that opposed this measure, declaring, "If you disagree, then Daionia will come settle the score for your betrayal during the war. Tegea will be your example." Ultimately, the envoys of the Arcadian City-States dared not raise further objections.)

Olympia was confirmed to fall under Elis's jurisdiction. However, Elis had no right to stop citizens of the New Greek League from coming to worship Zeus, nor could it revoke their right to participate in the games. (One could say Elis ultimately regained control of Olympia thanks to the intercession of Ionicus and other former Elis citizens who had already joined Messenia, as well as the full cooperation of the Elis people when Crotokatax dispatched troops to surround Olympia and threaten its priests.)

...

On January 12, the city-state envoys signed the alliance treaty one after another. Renowned Greek sculptors then engraved the entire treaty and its signatures onto a bronze pillar three meters tall and one meter in diameter. The envoys took turns facing this text-covered pillar, solemnly swearing by the twelve main gods of Greece that their city-states would honor the pact and never betray it!

Finally, this sacred bronze pillar would be transported to Thurii and erected before the gates of the New Greek League Council building, which was currently under construction.

On March 1, a grand Triumphant Return was held in Thurii, the capital of the Sacred Kingdom of Daunia.

When news of the conquest of the Greek Mainland reached Daionian territory, the citizens of Greek descent were ecstatic. The vast majority of them were either refugees from the Eastern Mediterranean or descendants of immigrants from the Greek Mainland. Even though their nation was now wealthy and powerful, a faint sense of colonial inferiority had always lingered deep in their hearts. But now, those very Greek city-states they once revered as motherlands were bowing in submission to Daionia. Their immense pride and vindication were palpable. They scattered flowers and danced in the streets to welcome the returning soldiers, who had been waiting for this Triumphant Return for months.

On the platform before the Grand Council Hall, Davos's joy was just as apparent as the people's. His eyes never left his son as the young man strode confidently up the steps.

Stepping before him, Crotokatax snapped his heels together with a loud crack. Delivering an exceptionally forceful military salute, he shouted in a booming voice, "Your Majesty, Commander of the Greek expeditionary force, Crotokatax, salutes you!"

In that moment, Hades Davos—a man who had weathered countless storms over his more than twenty years on the throne—actually grew emotional. His voice trembled slightly as he said, "My boy... you've lost a lot of weight, but you look more vigorous than ever! You did perfectly. You did not disappoint my expectations!"

His father's warm words melted away the hardened resolve Crotokatax had forged over half a year of campaigning. His eyes suddenly reddened, and he whispered guiltily, "Father, please forgive me. I didn't take good care of my eldest brother!"

Davos comforted him softly, "That wasn't your fault! Your mother and I don't blame you, and neither do Cynthia or Aedi! Once the Triumphant Return concludes, we will go home together and pay our respects at Adoris's grave!"

He clapped Crotokatax firmly on the shoulder and pressed the Golden Scepter into his hands, encouraging him, "But right now, you must lift your spirits! Celebrate this great victory, bought with the blood of countless soldiers, alongside the people of our kingdom!"

Crotokatax nodded, forcing a smile to his face. Together with Davos, he turned to face the tens of thousands of soldiers and citizens filling the square, hoisting the scepter high into the air.

Cheers immediately erupted, washing over them in ever-rising waves like a surging tide.

A month later, Davos appointed Crotokatax as the consul of the Sacred Kingdom of Daunia, tasking him with managing state affairs alongside the six Ministers of State.

...

...

Within Athens' Attica territory stood Mount Aegaleus. To its east lay Athen, and nestled at its western foothills was a small town named Thriasium. Thanks to the high-quality clay along the nearby riverbanks, it was famous throughout Greece for its pottery industry.

The town was filled with pottery workshops and kilns. Countless plumes of smoke rose from it every day, burning day and night and blanketing the entire town in soot. Visitors often worried for the townspeople when they saw this, but Athenians would always calmly tell them that this was a good thing. It meant the Athenian Pottery industry was booming!

And indeed, it was true. Even after the establishment of the New Greek League and Daionia's rise as the new hegemon of Greece, the fears of Athenian pottery merchants never materialized. The Athenian Pottery industry didn't decline; instead, its orders surged far beyond anything seen before.

Early in the morning, Hesklaus led a pack train from the outskirts of Athens, hurrying toward Thriasium.

A large estate in the western district of the town, right by the gates, housed his pottery workshop. As soon as he entered the courtyard, the foreman in charge of the facility rushed over to report that the final batch of pottery was about to come out of the kilns.

He immediately hurried to the kilns. They had just been opened. Amid the scorching, ash-filled air, piece after piece of red-hot pottery was revealed to the crowd. They came in all sorts of shapes, yet none resembled the traditional styles of Athenian Pottery.

Everyone present was already used to this. These wares were custom-ordered, with the designs provided directly by the buyers—who were merchants from Thurii.

When Hesklaus had first handed these new buyer-provided designs to the master potters responsible for shaping the clay, the highly skilled Athenian artisans had flatly refused to make them. They considered the styles to be heretical and nonsensical. Hesklaus had to fire potter after potter. Their collective boycott nearly drove his fledgling pottery business into ruin. Eventually, however, more than half the workshops in Thriasium received orders from Daionia at incredibly lucrative prices. Needing to feed and clothe their families, the potters finally caved.

While waiting for the pottery to cool, Hesklaus headed to the adjacent vase-painting room. He wanted to express his gratitude and hand out a generous reward to the vase painter Onesimos and his assistants, who were decorating this batch of pottery.