Mediterranean Hegemon of Ancient Greece

Phidias gladly accepted it, as he happened to be still a bit hungry. He picked up another piece of bread, spread some honey on it and ate it.

Agesilaus patiently waited for him to finish his meal before he said, “Can you tell me the details of your last mission to Magna Graecia?”

Phidias became happy, because when he came back to report to the Gerousia, however, due to the death of king Agis, the elders were busy with the funeral and the election of a new king, so they simply did not care about other matters.

Just as Phidias finished his brief mission to Magna Graecia, the new king of Sparta expressed his concern for Theonia, and Phidias immediately gave a detailed account of his mission to Theonia without any exaggeration.

Agesilaus propped his head on one hand, and straightened his limp foot and listened carefully, while showing a pondering expression on his face.

When Phidias finished his account, Agesilaus said, “It seems that the Theonians have embarrassed you, and that your impression of them is not good.”

“I am angry because of Theonia's lack of respect for Sparta, but as far as I am concerned -” Phidias paused for a moment and said truthfully, “Actually, I appreciate Theonia's….”

“Oh” Agesilaus was a little surprised and asked, “Why?”

“Perhaps it is due to their unyieldingness that they had shown…” Phidias then said with a sigh as he recall the situation at that time, “Although I was in Thurii for just a short time and didn't have deep contact with the Theonian citizens, it gave me a feeling that the…the Theonian soldiers were also very disciplined, and I even heard that the senate of Theonia held a celebration ceremony to the strategoi and soldiers that have returned victorious. It gave me the feeling…the feeling that….”

Phidias pondered and said, “Theonia is like the Sparta of Magna Graecia….”

Agesilaus was taken aback, and then teased him, “You actually compare a city-state union ruled by a tyrant to Sparta where our citizens are equal and free.”

“Although there is only one archon in Theonia, and it is still a lifelong archon, they still have the senate. And from my experience in the senate of Theonia, those statesmen seemed to be able to influence the law-making of Theonia, and the relationship between the archon and the statesmen of the senate is…uhm…anyway, it is not like Syracuse, where Dionysius is the one who has the final say.” Phidias said with seriousness.

“You don't seem to like Syracuse.” Said Agesilaus while glancing at him.

“I don't think that anyone who hears that Syracuse can mobilize such a huge army to attack Carthage will be in a good mood!” Phidias straightforwardly said, “The tens of thousands of infantry are nothing. But the main issue is that there are thousands of cavalry and a huge fleet no weaker than us! And Dionysius is an ambitious man!”

Agesilaus looked at him and smiled, “I am glad that you can see these, Phidias! In the latter part of the war with Athens, we began to pay attention to the west and it was through the alliance with Syracuse that Sparta could get involved in the matters of the west. Carthage is the ally of Persia in the western Mediterranean, so we need an ally in the western Mediterranean to suppress Carthage and protect the rear of Sparta. Hence why we supported Syracuse, and at the same time, made Sparta to gradually deepen our influence among the Greek powers in the west. However, some of the past practices of Sparta has blindly allowed Syracuse to expand and allowed it to annex the Greek cities in Sicily, which might cause trouble to ourselves in the end. We don't want our allies to be too weak, but we can't allow them to become too strong.”

“You are right, milord! But now, Carthage still has the advantage in Sicily and our strength is concentrated in Asia Minor. So for now, we should continue supporting Syracuse for the time being.” Phidias understood the obscure meaning of Agesilaus, but he was still thinking about the city-state and said frankly.

“There is no need for us to do anything, because the power to restrain the expansion of Syracuse has emerged.” Agesilaus did not feel unhappy, but instead, smiled at him with relief and said, “It's the one who had made you unhappy, Theonia.”

“Theonia!” Phidias was surprised and then shook his head, “Theonia can't compare with Syracuse at all. Syracuse is too strong in terms of territory, population, trade and military strength.”

“That is true for now, but Theonia is expanding very fast.” Agesilaus then said with a complicated expression, “I have just received a report from Magna Graecia that Theonia has defeated Crotone and forced them to cede their territory and sign an alliance agreement with Theonia….”

“When did this happen?!” Phidias widened his eyes. Not long after he left Magna Graecia, Theonia has actually defeated Crotone once again!

Phidias could not believe it, “Crotone is obviously stronger than Theonia, and this time, Crotone should not have made the same mistake as last, so how could they….”

“A hundred years ago, before the war between Sybaris and Crotone, many Greek city-states thought the same, but the result was that the weak Crotone has won!” Agesilaus sighed, “Cheirisophus is right. Davos is a military genius. Although Sparta had missed him regretfully, it would still be good if he could lead Theonia against Syracuse.”

“Theonia will definitely clash with Syracuse!” Phidias was still thinking about how Theonia defeated Crotone, which has caused him to be slightly absent-minded, so he replied with a strong tone.

Agesilaus didn't mind and said, “Now that Syracuse has occupied the eastern part of Sicily, with our support and with their own strength, it will not be a big problem for them to drive Carthage out of the eastern part of SIcily, and it is even possible for them to…completely expel Carthage out of Sicily, and even if they couldn't, Syracuse will definitely become the leader of the Greek city-states in Sicily. And just like you have said, Dionysius is an ambitious man, so will he be satisfied with just those?” Said Agesilaus, while dipping his fingers in the porridge and drawing a simple map of Sicily on the dining table.

Phidias shook his head.

“So will he lead his soldiers into Africa?” Asked Agesilaus.

Phidias shook his head hard. Agesilaus was naturally joking, because Africa is the base camp of Carthage, and has been there for hundreds of years. So if Syracuse dares to send an army to set foot on the land of Africa, Carthage will certainly make sure that none of them will return, just like what happened to the army led by Dorieus, the elder brother of the Spartan king, Cleomenes, that was exiled a hundred years ago.

“And so, this is the only place where Syracuse can expand its power-” Agesilaus then drew a rough outline over Sicily, “Sicily and Magna Graecia is only separated by a narrow strait, and they are all Greek city-states, and Dionysius has always been cruel to his fellow Greeks….”

“You are right.” Phidias nodded in agreement. He and Agesilaus did not even think about the Greek mainland in the east of Sicily, because they thought that Dionysius would not dare to offend these powerful city-states with long history no matter how bold he was.

“Now that the Theonians have subdued the Crotonians, the only powerful city-states further south of Crotone are only Locri and Rhegium. And Locri and Syracuse are allies, with Crotone and Locri being mortal enemies, and now, Crotone is allied with Theonia. Therefore, sooner or later, Theonia will have a conflict with Syracuse….” Agesilaus analyzed.

Phidias looked at the table and shook his head and said, “Theonia is still too weak.”

“As long as the army of Dionysius set foot on the land of Magna Graecia, I am afraid that all the other city-states, except for Locri and Taranto, will unite around Theonia.” Agesilaus said solemnly, “We don't want another Syracuse in the western Mediterranean, but I believe that Davos will be able to make Theonia create enough trouble for Syracuse, so that Dionysius wouldn't be able to conquer Magna Graecia in a short time, and it will give Sparta the time to mediate. Don't forget, there is also Taranto in Magna Graecia, which is a friendly colony established by Sparta.”

Thinking of what happened in Taranto, Phidias said, “Taranto may not listen to us.”

“Wait until Theonia and Syracuse become strong, and by then, they will definitely listen.” Agesilaus sneered and stretched out three fingers, and propped them on the table, “Syracuse, Theonia and Taranto are the three important city-states that maintain the stability of the western Mediterranean. This is what the Gerousia discussed after learning of Syracuse's attack on the western part of Sicily and Theonia defeating Crotone. Therefore, you no longer have to worry about Theonia anymore.”

“Esteemed king Agesilaus, I understand!” Phidias understood that the indifferent elders in the Gerousia would not care about the tangles in the heart of a young strategos, and it was instead Agesilaus who was comforting him. For this, Phidias was very grateful.

Agesilaus gave a faint smile, as if it was just a matter of lifting his hand, and said, “There is another reason for why I have called you.”

Phidias immediately leaned forward with a serious expression.

Note: Agesilaus and Phidias underestimated the boldness of Dionysius. In history, Dionysius have sent mercenaries to attack Greece together with pirates. Of course, their target was not Sparta, but the sacred sanctuary of all Greeks – Delphi. Dionysius attempted to plunder the temple of Apollo of their hundreds of years of accumulated wealth in order to make up for their empty treasury caused by his long war.