I feel my reactions are a bit different from the initial ones being favored. I think this is a big opportunity that we can win by being bold with the Messapii, but cautious with the Athenians.
The Old Gods had abandoned the Messapii. Where once they had kept guard over their children since those long-forgotten days when they had crossed the great sea and protected this ancient people as settlements and towns were built, now they had let the land be taken away, the people trapped in warfare and serfdom, and the towns and settlements destroyed. What purpose was there to exalt anymore these ancient Gods whose names were fading into dust? A wise man could see that the Gods of the Hellenes had granted them extraordinary favor. It would be improper to worship the, Marriage Gods, Athene & Apollon, who had visited all manner of cruelty upon their Peuketii cousins. But Artemis spoke to the ancient times when the land was at peace and the forests ruled the Sallentine Peninsula, and Zeus, locally called Zis, appealed to all who heard his voice behind the claps of thunder.
And there was the God Dionysos, who came to them not a figure of debauchery and joy but one of ecstasy and release in the face of cultural death. If it was true that the world had gone mad and cursed the Messapii, then only a God of madness who embraced all willing to take part in his rituals would do for the common people left to struggle. Whereas the aristocracy presented themselves as masters of the horse and hunt, lovers of Artemis and Orion and their union in the aping of the Eretrian tradition of divine unions, to the common people was granted Dionysos, who promised them relief in stupor from their despair.
But all of this was beyond the understanding of those great and brutal lords who enserfed their people in the name of national defense, who sought only to advance their own success and ambition against their rivals in the grand contest of the Messapii nobility. So eager were they for the silver of the Eretrians, so hungry were they for the wealth they could be granted from the cattle that they pawned to the meat-poor Hellenes, so desperate were they for the recognition from their new masters who they kindly forgot had slaughtered their people and their northern cousins in the past. They were even willing to turn against their own trusted charges, the peasants to whom they claimed a sacred duty even as they ejected them from lands and raised their taxes to pay the feed for their ballooning herds of cattle.
When the slave-driver arrived from Eretria, the creature Kyros Gennadios, the Messapii were much divided among themselves. In their future appeared nothing but subjugation by one people or another. The Kretans and their Satyr already pressed a yoke upon the people of Brention, who found themselves facing a foreign mercenary band who stole their wives right from their homes and dragged them screaming to their camps. To the south was the tyrant Artahias, who cloaked his repression in the language of the Hellenes, but pursued the enslavement of his people all the same. Caelia was paralyzed and frightened, its nobility cowards and fools who wished to protect their own meager wealth against the ambitions of Artahias or the rage of the ordinary farmer.
So it was on Hyria that the world of the Messapii turned, and as the Eretrian Kyros came towards the city, a call for action was heard from the madwoman of the Hyrian Hills, the greatest of Dionysos' local seers. She told the people of Hyria that Dionysos told her they should gather in the town square where Daxtus, their last true ruler, had been ambushed and killed, and that they should rise up against their masters and reap not the grain their masters so cruelly demand but the heads of the nobility, so that the Eretrian sees that the people of Hyria will stand tall. And it was to this that the people committed themselves, for they had had enough, and in their future they saw only a yawning despair.
But the truth of any uprising is that without the support of the noble classes, without the support of opportunists, it is much more liable to fail. The people are many, but they are disorganized and manipulable, and can be brought to heel by exceptional brutality and lightning actions. It was a gift of providence that there existed a group among the Hyrian nobility who still kept among themselves a measure of that pride and courage that made a man, and who sympathized with the people. Lesser nobles, not so willing to jump at the chance of kissing Eretrian feet, they also shared a common devotion to Dionysos, and joined the people on that day, participating in conspiracy against their fellows who they had once shared bread and wine with and now pursued extermination of.
Interesting... Dionysos' wife is Ariadne. The daughter of Minos, who helped defeat the minotaur. Goddess of mazes, and perhaps a weaver goddess as well. We might be able to wok with this.
This is the appearance of politics and strife among the truly desperate and the lost- those people who have seen decades of warfare, and subjugation, and decline, and now react with the viciousness of a trapped animal against all that they hate. So it was that the nobility of Hyria fled just as Gennadios approached, and were given quarter by the apoplectic Artahias, who saw this intrusion by the people as nothing less than the abrogation of his birthright to be king of all the Messapii. To be sure, he had made concessions in Brention, but it was all sly strategy and careful maneuver to ingratiate himself to the Eretrians. He remained the ruler of the Messapii cattle, and extracted from his clients massive rents they passed onto their peasantry, allowing him to build a new and fearsome cavalry.
I'm wary of tying ourselves more to Artahias. He's very ambitious and clever. WE choose not to back him when I think we might have tied him tightly too us. I think that we would be better to deal with him now, with the opportunity that Hypatia has bought us.
When he arrived, the overwhelmed Gennadios attempted to quell the rage of Artahias who reacted with a temerity at the common people's coup that Gennadios had not expected, (2d10+1=9), but failed. Artahias embarked upon a siege at the beginning of summer whilst Gennadios, knowing he could not do this alone, disobeyed the Antipatrid order that had declared an end to collaboration with the Exorians and summoned Mnemnon, long-known for his ability to deal with barbaroi. By the time that the young stallion had arrived, however, a great and terrible occurrence had happened that ended any chance of a non-Eretrian resolution to the matter of the Hyrian unrest.
Artahias' cavalrymen were individually brilliant, but his captains too eager and uncoordinated, and when the people of Hyria, on the order of a nobleman called Zisos the Black Goat, formed themselves into a wall of shields, once more was born that ancient array which had broken the power of the Hellene warlords all those years ago. In the passion of battle, the people stood as one, and broke upon their spears the pride of the nobility, till at last Artahias rallied his men back, all of them shocked by the display of defiance of the commoners over the great.
But this could not be an end. It could never be an end. When Mnemnon arrived he met with both Zisoa and Artahias and saw three options ahead of this uprising. On the one hand, Zisos and the people were amenable to peace with Eretria. Grant them their autonomy from Artahias under Eretrian suzertainty and end Artahias' ambitions upon that bloody Sallentine field where spear met lance and was victorious. In compensation for this, Arthias would demand full autonomy under the treaty terms agreed to between Eretria, Taras, and Metapontion. Indeed, when Mnemnon presented Artahias with this he found it fitting, but warned that if his loyalty was rebuffed and his autonomy denied, he would attempt to seek other patrons, such as Taras or Athenai. The threat was well-taken, and any full rebuff of Artahias deemed infeasible.
An alternative potential salve would be to reverse the ekklesia's position around Brention and grant him control of the strategic port. It would anger the Satyr, but an arrangement could be made where they retained some autonomy. Artahias would gain a Hellene contingent and reign in the more foolish of their impulses. Artahias also approved of this, and was pleased that the city might be willing to reverse their decision; he promised he would treat the Kretans and the local people fairly and ensure some level of discipline among them so that they would not commit trouble under Eretria's nose.
I propose a fourth alternative. That we back Zisoa fully and attack Artahias. Zisoa is more our type of aristocrat anyways, has proper noblesse oblige and cares for the peasentry. Additionally, think about the message this will send to our other barbarian allies. It implies that Eretia can be appealed to as a protector of the commoners. This would be dangerous in making the nobles our enemies, but consider the situation that has just occurred in the other two Iyapian areas. The King of the Peuketii is positioning himself as the defender of the commoners against the nobles, so this would align us better with him, and allow us to back him in his land reforms, gaining additional linkages to the Peuketii at both the royal and the commoner level.
Meanwhile the Dauni king has just murdered all of our noble supporters among the Dauni. I say we take the Path of Peace, and wait for a more opportune moment - such as when he oppresses the Dauni commoners so much that they are looking for relief. Our actions here with the Messapii could set us up as a force the Dauni commoners could appeal too.
Basically I see this as a major inflection moment where we can shift our vassal position and bring it into alignment with our ideals and domestic approach. Because right now we are guilty of significant hypocrasy if we support the aristoractic tyranny over the commoners.
It was an embarrassing way to settle the dispute after it had already erupted, but reflected the internal divisions of the Antipatrid camp. Gennadios had been sent against his will to deal with the Messapii whilst Obander was away by Antipatros Antipatrid, grandson of Antipater the elder and the faction's true leader, to punish Obander for his constant cooperation with Mnemnon. The Gongylids, junior partners in the Antipatrid coalition, were enraged at this and it was rumored they may even foment a coup against Antipatros, who they had felt inspired weak leadership and who they had wished to dethrone for a decade, restrained only by the respect all held for Obander. Now, with his term ending and his retirement arriving, there would be little to stop their fury...
Mnemnon, meanwhile, felt deeply disturbed by his part in this crisis. The entire issue with the Messapii cattle was relayed to him by an aide who spoke the local language, and when he returned to Eretria he apologized before the ekklesia for his failure to predict this action. He had not thought too much like an Eretrian, he explained in that humbly chauvinistic tone Eretrians were sometimes fond of using, and assumed that the barbaroi would behave as Eretrians and be kind to the common people. That he had been wrong had been his mistake, but the lesson to take was not to cease the cattle trade but to deal with the problem through his own proposals. If the Hyrians were allowed their freedom, then the greatest town of the Messapii would be free from tyranny, and others could follow. If Artahias suppressed them, then the problem would disappear as the source of the unrest would be crushed without undue bloodshed. And indeed, Artahias himself needed to be dealt with; either his ambitions should be granted, diverted to Brention, or else given a new meaning through his transformation into an ally.
In principle Linos supported granting the Hyrians autonomy, and Mnemnon the suppression of the Hyrians, whilst the Antipatrids were divided every which way as the absence of Obander and long-running dissension threatened the stability of their entire faction. Many feared that Obander would retire or die, and in his wake the entire faction would dissolve or be reborn as something entirely new. As the election approached, all watched eagerly this new development that reflected the collapse of the old consensus.
Interesting that this crisis is also creating forment in our internal politics. Which is another reason to make sure that our choice here reflects our best ideals and nature of a city. A city in which aristocrats serve the needs of the whole city, not just their personal ambitions.
[] [Hyria] Grant Hyria autonomy and Artahias allyship [+5,500 freemen providing tributes and levies including heavier infantry, Artahias becomes a loyal Eretrian ally rather than vassal].
[] [Hyria] Allow Artahias to subjugate Hyria [+10,900 freemen providing tribute and levies, Hyrian revolt is crushed and Artahias becomes an Eretrian vassal just as the Peuketii].
[] [Hyria] Grant Artahias Brention as a bribe to allow Hyria autonomy under Eretria [+12,100 freemen including heavier nfantry, Hyria and Artahias become full vassals, the Kretans are outraged and may cause trouble].
I think we should do the following:
[] [Hyria] Grant Hyria autonomy and make war on Artahias to subjugate the Messapii cities under his control [+5,500 freemen providing tributes and levies including heavier infantry, war with Artahias].
As part of this we would also dispatch the deputy Xenoparakletor to Taras to make sure continue to support the treaty we agreed to. This would also provide us opportunity to warn them of the Athenia proposal and prepare them for whatever move we make on that front.
The Hyrian crisis reflected the failure of Eretria to fully communicate with its vassals, but the Messapii were also very poorly connected to the Eretrians. By comparison, the Peuketii were much closer, and had long-standing trade relations. Although discussions were had in the aftermath of Hyria and before Obander's return about expanding the office of Xenoparakletor or forcing the Messapii to grant more information, there was little of this in discussion to the Peuketii for they were simply assumed to be loyal. When Mnemnon and Gennadios departed to Gorgos, they spoke to him on these matters and Gorgos explained that their concerns were warranted but that he sought to placate the Peuketii people with land reform; he simply wished to avoid speaking about it because portions of the nobility were terrified of the prospect.
In truth, he explained, his greatest fear was not his people but the Dauni, who had been courting the nobility in Canosa for some time and may be plotting against Eretria and the Peuketii. He described one scenario where a general revolt of the Iapyges is followed by Ausculos crossing the Aufidos and attacking Eretria. In this case, though Eretria may be victorious, the Dauni would visit such damage on Eretria and its tributaries that it would leave Epulia vulnerable to other threats. He admitted he had failed to speak to Eretria on this matter simply because he felt Eretrian attention was elsewhere, and, as he reminded them, the ruins of the Peuketii could be seen in the Epulian countryside. Though he felt no ill-will to Eretria, and hated the Lucani more, his countrymen did not agree. If he was too close to Eretria, or communicated too much, he was put at a deep disadvantage. Actions such as when he wrestled with Mnemnon had already humiliated him so much that he faced challengers to his legitimacy.
Mnemnon apologized for this and Gorgos said, extremely, seriously, that if they rematched Gorgos would win this time. Mnemnon conceded the point diplomatically, more than a bit baffled that the king was using this opportunity to gain such a one-up, only to hear the king's laugh as he explained that the concession was well-appreciated and something he proclaim to the nobility, restoring his honor in the eyes of those tribesmen who saw his failure as an example of his inferiority. This man was indeed Harpos' descendant, crafty and careful, understanding of the difficulties involved in politics, independent of Eretria and yet loyal to the city's interests. Mnemnon and Gennadios left comfortable and pleased, only to realize that they had been utterly unable to address any issue relating to the cattle trade during their time there.
This is good, it allows us to throw our support to Gorgos, and favor the commoners again above the nobles, but without having to side against the king.
Before they could return, however, or work out the issue in the ekklesia, the Dauni rudely interrupted. A delegate from them rode across the Aufidos, nearly getting killed by young frontier noblemen who were all too eager to hunt any Dauni they could find out of the sheer boredom of their country life. He carried with him a box he wished to present to Eretria and which could not be opened until he arrived. He was treated by Obander, who by this point had arrived back, weary from his travels and increasingly irritated at the failures of his demos. He had no time to move on this impulse, though, for when he opened the box he was met with the heads of six nobles, three from Salapia and three from Herdonia, slaughtered at a feast they thought was their reconciliation with the king.
The delegate explained that the traitors had been rooted out. Their lands would be redistributed to the loyal people of Salapia and Herdonia, as the king Ausculos looked after his subjects. He then revealed himself as the king's son, Teutan. Teutan, heir to the Dauni, then gave Obander two choices ahead of him and the Eretrian people. The king of the Dauni loved his people and he wished for peace. Those who disturbed the peace, such as these men of Herdonia and Salapia, would have the worst punishments visited upon them. But he had no ill-will for Eretria. If Eretria was willing, he would offer them the path of peace. In the path of peace, Eretria and the Dauni would end their hostilities, cease raiding, and open trade to one another. The Dauni would not plot against the Eretrians or their tributaries, allow Peuketii to cross the Aufidos, and even allow Eretrians to come to Auscula with Dauni approval. They would cease pursuing the destruction of the other, and the Eretrians would stop proposing to subjugate the Dauni at every election.
Or, he suggested, there was the path of pain. In the path of pain, Eretria and the Dauni would continue down their current path. In time, Eretria might win. But it would win with the blood of a generation. Every Dauni fortress, built against the Samnites, can be as easily turned against Eretria. The entire swampy center of Daunia can be transformed into a wasteland bereft of food or feed, with Eretria forced to besiege mighty walls at the end of long supply lines. Riders will infilitrate across the Aufidos, turning Peuketii to their side and releasing serfs, setting fire to Eretria's treasured fields, abducting noblewomen, slaughtering the armies of its allies. In time Eretria would win, but it will see the victory turn to ash in its mouth as the Dauni open their gates to the Samnites and welcome in the vanguard of Eretria's doom.
Never trust someone who invites people to a feast and then murders him. The Path of Peace is not going to give us true peace. But it may be better to take and delay. I'm leaning that way. The alternative of course is to go to war, which could actually also thematically fit with fighting Artahias, and if we act swiftly we can probably crush him before the Dauni can take advantage. The only thing is that the path of pain means a far longer war against the Dauni. We won't have the allies we expected.
However, there is the point that those murdered allies had kin, and those kin are likely not friendly to the King that just murdered their leaders. We might have more friends among the Dauni than we know.
Others were more circumspect. Obander recommended that they take the path of peace over the shouts and heckling of his own side. Linos was similarly in agreement, and hoped that in the future Eretria might even gain access to the salt fields of Salapia without even making war. there was widespread skepticism on all sides, however. Could the Dauni really be trusted? Would they not simply seek a peace to plot even more against Eretria? What guarantee was there that they could be at peace? And yet they had been at peace- one way or another- for decades, some argued. The back and forth was dramatic. Was it trason, or pragmatism?
The matter was left to the ekklesia, such as it was. Even if was determined decisively in favor of one side or another, it would surely not be a decision taken without gritted teeth.
Should Eretria accept a peace with the Dauni and put aside, at least for the foreseeable future, its ambitions to conquer and subjugate them?
[] [Dauni] The Path of Peace [Eretria and the Dauni will cease hostility, open trade to one another, and stop plotting against one another].
[] [Dauni] The Path of Pain [Eretria will continue to recieve options relating to war against the Dauni, there will be no easing of hostilities].
I think either option is possible here. Though I lean towards peace.
[] [Athenai] Accept the Athenian treaty [Athenai will be grateful, Taras will be disturbed, Eretrian grain trade will grow faster in the future].
[] [Athenai] Refuse the Treaty [Taras will be extremely grateful, Athenai will be unhappy, Eretrian grain trade may be superseded in favor of the Bosporos].
We cannot accept this treaty. We do not want to get dragged into the war with Sparta. However, we do want to continue supporting the Athenias as a neutral party. I suggest a counter offer. We send back an offer of a treaty against Korinth. Specifically, that we support the Epidamnos exiles in retaking their city from Korinth. With instructions for our Xenoparakletor to explain to the Athenians that while we are willing to engage the hostility of Korinth, we dare not risk the hostility of Sparta. We might also offer to take on the task of defending Kerkya from Korinth, perhaps having that as a sweetener the Xenoparakletor can offer in case there is hostility in Athenes to our caution.
So we basically reject the proffered broad treaty, but we offer them something else instead which takes the sting out of the refusal. (It also will strengthen the defense of the grain trade route, which ought to assuage the Athenian worries on that score). Meanwhile the deputy Xenoparakletor goes to Taras, both to ensure they will not support Artahias, but also to warn them about the Athenian meddling, and let them know that we are attempting to avoid a broad commitment to Athenes, instead attempting to placate Athenes with a promise to keep control over Kerkya from Korinth.
Taras has no reason to like either Kerkya or Korinth, so they will likely be willing to accept that, and appreciate that we are warning them about Athenian meddling.
I would very much like to here the thoughts of others.
Frankly, I'm thinking that the whole act of approaching Athenes was a mistake, but, what can we do.
