Mediterranean Hegemon of Ancient Greece

Chapter 816: Religious Issue in Rome

“Camillus is finally coming!” After entering the city of Rome and spending the night, Davos felt the pressure of Rome from his previous life lift off his shoulders. Now, he could calmly and leisurely convey his order to Tolmides, saying, “Instruct all legates to prepare their defences.” Following that, he quietly resumed his breakfast.

Just after he finished his breakfast, another guard came to report, “Priest Kaldeas hopes to meet you.”

“Kaldeas…let him in,” said Davos. Due to his legendary experience, Davos found himself quite interested in the priest of Hades, who had accompanied the army to Rome and received a strong recommendation from Plesinas.

According to Greek tradition, one must be born into a family of priests or appointed by a dying priest for one to become a priest. The common people are not even allowed to aspire to this sacred profession. However, the situation in the Kingdom of Theonia is quite different. Davos' efforts to promote the growth of the Temple of Hades within the kingdom have led him to select servants who willingly serve the temple. Nonetheless, these individuals must undergo a sacred ceremony that Davos personally conducted in order to become official priests. This is not only because Davos serves as the head priest of the kingdom but also because he is a descendant of Hades himself. With his personal blessing, the priests of Hades naturally possess the ability to communicate with the gods.

Kaldeas, originally from Scylletium, was just an ordinary citizen as he wasn't born into a Greek family of priests. However, he chose to serve as a temple attendant in Thurii after receiving favour from the Temple of Hades. Then when the tragic massacre of the Scylletians by the Syracusans happened, he was further motivated to dedicate himself to studying at the temple. Within a few years, his proficiency in theology, eloquence, and the trust he earned from the believers resulted in his promotion to the position of priest.

Later on, Kaldeas willingly preside over the Temple of Hades in Catania. Under his leadership, the number of Hades believers in Catania significantly grew, and the influence of the Hades faith even extended to Syracuse. However, he faced criticism for using the donations from the believers to hire individuals who would purchase and free slaves from Scylletium in Syracuse. As a result, he was transferred back to Thurii after a few years. Nevertheless, due to his exceptional performance, he was still promoted to the position of priest-in-charge.

Before the army set out to Latium, Plesinas selected a priest of Hades who would come to Latium to build a temple. Despite the risks, many had applied because the people who could become priests-in-charge were believers with firm beliefs and wanted to preach for the temple. In the end, the one chosen was Kaldeas. During the annual Assembly of the Priest of Hades held by Davos as the head priest, he intentionally or unintentionally mentioned that Latium and Rome in central Italia would be the kingdom's next target of expansion. After the assembly, Kaldeas went to great lengths to purchase a Latin slave to teach him Latin. As a result, he became the only one among the priests of Hades who was proficient in Latin and thus ultimately selected. After all, the difficulty of developing Hades' believers would significantly increase if they were to rely on someone translating their preaching.

After arriving in Rome, Kaldeas refused the others' advice and insisted on communicating with the Romans. While Davos worried about his safety, he never expected Kaldeas to look for him so quickly.

Unlike how he treated the officials and generals the day before, Davos immediately stood up to meet him.

The nearly fifty years old Kaldeas hurried into the Senate of Rome and greeted Davos with the greeting of the priest, “Good morning, head priest*! ” (Since the establishment of the kingdom, the priests of the Temple of Hades addressed Davos, not by his administrative position – ‘Your Majesty’, but by his supreme position as the head of the religion of the kingdom, which was at first only a strict rule of the Temple of Hades, and later the other temples of the kingdom also began implementing this practice)

“Good morning, priest Kaldeas,” said Davos while responding to his greeting, “Did you discover something that made you come to see me so early?”

“Head priest, I have come to propose,” said Kaldeas straightforwardly.

“Which is?” Asked Davos curiously.

“When you gave your speech on the Roman Forum yesterday, you said that you hope the Romans become citizens of Theonia. However, in my conversation with them yesterday, I noticed they were uneasy and thought we might destroy their temples and stop their sacred ceremony.”

“Oh?!” Upon Kaldeas' reminder, Davos realised that he had only announced certain benefits that the Romans would receive upon becoming citizens of Theonia because he had intended to discuss the kingdom's religious tolerance with them after they had obtained citizenship, as he had done during the conquest of Messapi, Peuceti, and Dauni in Apulia. However, the situation in Rome was more tense and complex than in Apulia at that time, intensifying the unease among the Romans.

So Davos quickly asked, “So what's your proposal?”

“Head priest, I found the Romans have a strong belief in the goddess of hunting Diana, the goddess of the hearth Vesta, and the other gods such as Caelus, Liber and Libera, which the Roman plebeians mainly believed-”

“The Roman plebeians still have gods they exclusively believed in?!” Davos was somewhat surprised as it was the first time he had heard of this.

“Yes, the Romans believed in many gods, far more than we Greeks. With the Roman nobility and the plebeians each having their own gods they exclusively believed in, and these few gods and goddesses are their most revered.” Kaldeas began recounting, “Moreover, these five Roman deities, Diana, Vesta, Caelus, Liber and Libera, all have temples on Collis Aventinus, especially the Temple of Diana, which the plebeians in all Latium worshipped…”

‘Aventinus…which is the main residential area of the Roman plebeians…’ Davos fell into pondering. When it came to Rome, Davos primarily focused on gathering political, economic, and military intelligence, giving less emphasis to the religious aspects. This was due to the multitude of gods worshipped by the Romans, with every river, road, forest, intersection, door, and house was a god, perplexing even the Roman priests with the sheer number of gods in Rome. What's worse, the Romans were far less devout in worshipping the gods than the Greeks, as they were more practical and utilitarian; thus, Davos didn’t delve into this area deeply. So he actually didn't know that the Roman plebeians had their own gods they worshipped!

‘But this seemed like a good thing!’ As a ruler, Davos immediately understood the importance of this matter and asked, “You mean for me to worship these deities to show Theonia's respect for the Roman plebeians' faith?”

“Yes, head priest,” Kaldeas nodded. As a priest-in-charge of Hades, he actually hoped that his head priest would worship the gods of other races, which seemed absurd.

But in reality, King Davos wasn't just the high priest of Hades but was also in charge of the ceremonies of all the temples in the kingdom. Davos, in turn, established the Temple of Hades as the central authority in the Theonian religious hierarchy, granting them the authority to oversee the other temples in the kingdom. Furthermore, the annual gathering of the kingdom's priests took place at the main Temple of Hades in Thurii and was headed by the head priest Davos; this assembly welcomed priests from various temples across the kingdom to engage in negotiations and jointly resolve the issues they encountered.

Once they conquered Rome, they could assimilate these Roman deities into the popular faith of the kingdom. So as a priest representing the kingdom's dominant religion, Kaldeas had the responsibility to thoroughly learn about these deities and strive to ensure the supervision and harmonious coexistence of these temples in the future while fostering the growth of Hades' followers within the kingdom.

“Then I'll go to the temples of these gods worshipped by the Roman plebeians on Collis Aventinus today!” Davos decided. Then he asked, “Do you know anything about the ceremonies of these temples?”

“I have already understood it clearly,” replied Kaldeas.

‘Seems like he had thoroughly prepared!’ Davos look at him approvingly. He then turned around and said, “Heni, immediately send someone to inform the priests of these temples on Collis Aventinus and arrange for some men to announce to the whole city that I will go offer a ceremony to these Roman gods.”

“Yes, Your Majesty.” Henipolis immediately stood up.

After remembering another thing, Davos said, “And…immediately go and call Emilius.”

Davos suddenly realised it would be an excellent opportunity to lure the snakes out of their hole.

. . . . . . . . . . . . .

The Roman plebeians, who had just joined Theonia and become a guard, walked down the streets of Rome with their shields and spears, led by a legionary soldier, shouting loudly.

In a grand residence, larger and more ornately decorated than its neighbouring houses, situated on the slopes of Collis Caelius, a young Roman man was lying in his bedroom on the main floor. His wife gently tends to him, carefully removing the bandage from his wound, revealing a long and recently healed scar on his left thigh.

Upon hearing a commotion from outside, he strained his ears in an attempt to understand the situation. However, he still failed to hear it clearly, prompting him to ask his wife, “Konya, can you go see what's happening outside?”

After immediately leaving the bedroom, his wife soon returned. Then with a strange expression on her face, she said, “Those plebeians that had defected to the enemy said that the damned king of Theonia is going to offer a ceremony to the gods.”