Mediterranean Hegemon of Ancient Greece Chapter 1241: On the Education of Children

As soon as Theos finished speaking, Dicaeopolis immediately added, "Although His Majesty and the Ministry of Commerce have been somewhat harsh with our Thurii Chamber of Commerce, their fundamental goal is to showcase the kingdom and Thurii to the people of other Mediterranean nations, promoting greater prosperity for Thurii's trade.

"In the long run, the growth and prosperity of Thurii's commerce will greatly benefit us merchants. This is a tremendous opportunity. I believe we should be thrilled, and we should fully assist the Ministry of Commerce in making the commercial side of these games a success!"

Sostratus looked at Dicaeopolis. By taking the initiative to speak up on his behalf, Dicaeopolis was effectively signaling his willingness to mend their relationship.

The other guests at the banquet were left thoughtful by the words of Theos and Dicaeopolis.

Sostratus laughed heartily and called out, "Gentlemen, now that business is out of the way, let's not just sit here! Come, come! Eat up. I personally supervised my head chef in preparing these dishes, and they're getting cold. Let's not let them go to waste!"

...

While the banquet in the rear hall had only just begun, the feast in the front reception room, hosted by Sostratus's steward, was already in full swing with clinking glasses and lively chatter.

Hesklaus had drunk enough to be flushed and warm. Beside him, a Carthaginian merchant who had been a complete stranger moments ago was now holding onto him affectionately and chattering away. "You mentioned you brought your child to Thurii. How old is he?"

"Nine."

"No, no, you've got it wrong. I just brought him to watch the games. The kingdom has also built schools in Larissa and Pherae, so I plan to send my son back to Thessaly for his education next year."

"Take my advice," the Carthaginian merchant said, hiccuping as if he hadn't heard Hesklaus's reply at all. "It's better to let him study in Thurii. It will be a tremendous help when he grows up, whether he goes into business or politics. After all, your Thessaly has now been absorbed into Daionia, and you are a Daionian Citizen. That is your good fortune..."

Hesklaus was greatly tempted by the idea.

Just then, a head suddenly popped out from behind him, giving him a start. He looked over and saw it was the Massalian merchant he had met earlier.

This merchant had clearly overheard their conversation and asked curiously, "I heard there are over a dozen Daonian Schools right here in Thurii?"

"Of course! Haven't you seen how many people live in Thurii? Word is the population has surpassed 400,000—that's several times the population of Carthage!" the Carthaginian merchant sighed in admiration. "So one or two schools wouldn't be nearly enough. I hear there's practically a school for every block now—"

The Massalian merchant eagerly took over the conversation. "I heard the school in the Inner District is the best! The king's descendants, the children of Senators, and the children of the kingdom's key ministers all study there. They say they even accept outside students. If our kids could get into that school, it would definitely be a massive help to their future careers!"

"Stop dreaming!" The Carthaginian merchant spat some grape seeds onto the table and sneered. "With the children of the royal family and top officials studying there, you think the security isn't tight? Yes, it accepts outside students, but only two types: children of fallen soldiers from the Thurii Region, and children of tribal chiefs and city-state leaders who are vassals to the Kingdom of Daunia. For people like you and me, getting a kid into that school is downright impossible...

"But it doesn't matter if you can't get into the Inner District school. The ones in the outer districts are quite good too. The children of some Senators and kingdom officials study there as well. In fact, my eldest son studied at the Daonian School in the East Outer District not far from here—"

"Do these schools accept children of non-citizens like us?" the Massalian merchant asked in surprise.

"Of course not, but there are other ways—" The Carthaginian merchant flashed a sly smile, swaying as he pointed at the wine on the table. "Drink three cups, and I'll tell you."

Without a word, the Massalian merchant picked up his wine cup and downed three cups in rapid succession.

Massalia was the only Greek colonial city-state established within the sphere of influence of the Gauls. Aside from its early colonial days—when it accepted the invitation of Greek city-states like Cumae in Campania to jointly resist the northward expansion of the Carthaginians by sea—it had never since participated in the conflicts of any power on the Italian Peninsula, focusing entirely on its own development.

Because it bordered the Tyrrhenian Sea, leaned against the Alpine Foothills, and sat at the Mouth of the Rhone, right beside another famous mountain pass connecting Transalpine Gaul to Italy, the Massalians had built high, sturdy city walls that rendered the poorly equipped Gauls helpless against them. Instead, Massalia leveraged its convenient sea and land routes to develop into a famous port for trade between Transalpine Gaul and the Mediterranean Sea.

Though frequently harassed by the Gauls, the Massalians profited immensely from their position and were perfectly content with their detached status. It wasn't until Daionia conquered Rome and became the hegemon of Italy that Massalia yielded to the changing tides and formed an alliance with Daionia. Today, the entire western Mediterranean—even the former hegemon Carthage—had become dependent on the Sacred Kingdom of Daunia, to say nothing of the various Daunian Allied States that had voluntarily requested to be fully absorbed into the kingdom. Yet Massalia maintained its old treaty unchanged, trading frequently with Daionia while keeping a polite, measured distance in politics.

In reality, however, many Massalian merchants grew increasingly uneasy as they witnessed the Kingdom of Daunia's ever-growing might. They proposed at the Council on several occasions to "establish closer diplomatic relations with the Sacred Kingdom of Daunia." But this proposal was never passed in the ecclesia. The ordinary people of Massalia were used to the comfort of their isolated, enclosed existence and had no desire to change the status quo. Therefore, some Massalian merchants had to find their own ways to cultivate closer ties between their families and the Kingdom of Daunia to guarantee their safety and growth, just as this particular Massalian merchant was doing.

He slammed his empty wine cup onto the table and said, "Th-three cups down. Now... you can talk!"

The Carthaginian merchant stared in shock. Not daring to keep him in suspense any longer, he quickly said, "Er... alright, I'll tell you. Well... although Daionia has laws stipulating that only the children of Daionian Citizens can attend a Daonian School, there are loopholes.

"You should know that many Daionian Citizens were once refugees from the Eastern Mediterranean. They came to Daionia alone, made a living, eventually became full citizens, and settled here permanently. However, some of these citizens died on the battlefield after marrying but before having any children..." The Carthaginian merchant chuckled. "Adopted sons and daughters of Daionian Citizens are legally recognized. If you can get a fallen citizen's widow to agree to adopt your child and register it at the local census office, then your child can enter the school with the future status of a Daionian Citizen! Back in the day, Lord Sostratus used this exact method to get my child into the school in Thurii..."

"Oh... I see!" the Massalian merchant murmured. His mind began racing, trying to figure out how he could beg Sostratus to arrange the same thing for his own child.

"That method doesn't work anymore!" a deep voice rang out from behind the Carthaginian merchant.

Hesklaus and the Massalian merchant immediately spoke with deep respect, "Lord Caunus!"

The Carthaginian merchant turned his head and, sure enough, saw Sostratus's steward, Caunus, standing right behind him. He hurriedly stood up to greet him.

Caunus was originally a trusted slave of Kunogorata. He had earned his freedom many years ago and become a Daionian Citizen, but he had chosen to continue serving Kunogorata. Later, he became Sostratus's right-hand man. The massive commercial sales network Sostratus had established was primarily implemented by him, and many downstream merchants dealt with him more frequently than they did with Sostratus himself. This was exactly why he could host this banquet so smoothly, and why the merchants were so eager to flock around him.

Right now, the intense gaze he leveled at the Carthaginian merchant made the man involuntarily shiver, realizing he had spoken out of turn.

Caunus quickly put on a smile and announced loudly to the surrounding guests, "The method he described worked ten years ago. However, after tribunes in Thurii reported the practice, the Senate passed a specific decree to address it: 'Unless one of the biological parents is a Daionian Citizen, a child adopted by other Daionian Citizens cannot enjoy the rights entitled to an underage citizen of the kingdom.' Therefore, even if a foreigner's child is adopted by a Daionian Citizen today, they still cannot enroll in a Daonian School! However—"

Caunus turned to the dejected Massalian merchant and said earnestly, "There are other paths for your children to study in the kingdom's schools. For example, in sparsely populated towns like Capsa and Garaguso, the kingdom has also built schools and dispatched teachers. Because there are so few students, it's actually a bit of a waste of resources. If you go to the Ministry of Education in Thurii to apply and are willing to pay a hefty tuition fee, having your children study in the schools of those towns will be absolutely no problem."

"But... what's the point of having a child study in such remote places?" The Massalian merchant seemed somewhat disappointed by this.

"First of all, in the kingdom today, even the teachers working in remote town schools are graduates of a Daonian School or even an academy. They have all passed the Ministry of Education's exams and undergone over a year of specialized training to earn their teaching qualifications before they can assume their posts. Their teaching ability is guaranteed."