BXBX NOVEL Chapter 102: The first council meeting (I)
As the only archon, Davos naturally became the chief of the council and sat in the middle of the city hall, “Citizens, the reconstruction of Amendolara needs a lot of work, but we are pressed for time. First of all, we have to complete electing council members.”
Davos said seriously, “The council(Boule)*, is an important institution of the city-state of Amendolara, as they are chosen from the most experienced and wise elites among the citizens of a city-state. They put forward suggestions and advise to the archon, selecting candidates for senior officials position to be approve by the archon, and to supervise the operation of the city-state, from auditing financial affairs to the morality and customs of the citizens, and have the power to propose bills. The high ranking officials of the city-states are also elected from the members of the council. Therefore, the council must also have certain administrative ability. This is what you once lacked as mercenaries. Fortunately, the population of Amendolara is not large, and so you should start learning and sincerely consult Cornelius and the respected original citizens for advice…” https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boule_(ancient_Greece)">https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boule_(ancient_Greece)
Cornelius was not amused by the fact that a 20-year-old youth was teaching a group of men in their thirties and forties and them seriously nodding. To his surprise, a young man that was said to be from a remote village in Thessaly that had never lived in a city was so familiar with the political structure of Amendolara…. ‘is this really the so-called revelation of Hades?!’
Due to getting absent-minded, he intentionally or unintentionally ignored how Davos had partially altered the functions of the council.
“And so, I propose Cornelius, Tritodemos, Stromboli, Scambras, and Raphias to be one of the elders.”
Except for Cornelius, who had been an elder before, the other four were not. Davos repaid their efforts in giving the mercenaries their own home. At the same time, it\'s also him fulfilling his promise. With the exception of Cornelius, the other four could not stop from smiling.
“Agree!” Although the officers in the venue raised their hands, they weren\'t following Davos blindly, but also out of their guilt as they had to make up for them occupying the lands of other people and seizing their rights.
“Sesta, Adrien and Drakos, as leaders of the mercenaries, should also join the council.” Continued Davos.
“Agree!” Not only the officers raised their hands to express their opinions, but also the new elders began performing their duties.
At this moment, Sesta whispered a few words to Adrien, then he stood up and walked to the center of the city hall, and said in a loud voice, “Adrien and Drakos had asked me to thank all of you, specially to you, archon! When we came to Magna Graecia, we had only wanted to earn some money and make a living. We didn\'t even expect to become citizens of Amendolara, let alone enter the council! These are all the things that the archon and all of you here have given to us. Even though we don\'t have anything to repay you, we will certainly contribute all our strength to Amendolara!”
“Clap Clap” applause rang out, as the former mercenary officers clapped hard. While Sesta was returning to his seat, Davos had gotten a new impression of the mercenary leader who he only had been in few contact.
“The 12 senior officers of the mercenaries, namely Philesius, Antonios, Kapus, Amintas, Hielos, Hieronymus, Agasias, Epiphanes, Cid, Arpenst and Ledes, and the 2 head of their respective departments, Mersis and Herpus, I recommend them to join the council.” Continued Davos.
“Agree!!” This time, the voice of approval is a lot louder.
Davos glanced at the familiar faces at the back row, such as Matonis, Olivos, Asistes, Giorgris, and Martius, and said calmly, “As for the squad leaders and the others, I am not going to recommend you for the time being.”
As soon as he finish speaking, there was sighing at the back row, but no one dared to question Davos.
He continued to explain, “It is because most of you are still very young (when saying this, Davos obviously did not include himself, and the others had taken it for granted). A few months ago, you were soldiers, lacking experience in managing a city-state and handling political affairs, but don\'t be discouraged. As long as you actively participate in the affairs of the city-state and strive to improve yourself. As I had said previously, the council will always be open to excellent citizens of the city!”
Davos\' words of encouragement had cheered up the squad leaders.
Davos then went on to say to the new elders, “Although the council has no salary, they are very important to the city-state. I hope that you can prove through your performance that you are worthy of this lofty position. According to what I had discussed with Cornelius before, once you enter the council, you would be an elder for life (this is the benefit that Davos gave to Cornelius, which is actually what Davos had already expected). But I don\'t want it to be like this, and so I will discuss it with you to formulate some regulations. Those who are not competent for this position or violate the laws of the city-state, should voluntarily withdraw or else will be remove by the council.”
When they heard this, they suddenly felt cold in their heart.
“I guess this is the end for electing the council. Cornelius, do you have anything else to add?” Davos asked his deputy politely.
As the only former elder in this assembly, Cornelius had never had the chance to speak due to the strength of Davos. And now, he thinks that it is necessary to give a good advise to these beginners, “First of all, I want to let you all know that it is not only the elders who are not paid, but also the other administrative position of Amendolara who won\'t even get a 1 obol salary, as it is the honor for every citizens to serve the city-state!…” Cornelius had taken this opportunity to educate these new citizens of Amendolara and then reminded Davos, “Amendolara has a hundred elders, which is far from enough-”
“If we don\'t have enough, then we will have these position be vacant first, until we have suitable candidates to make it up.” Davos would not be constrained by the traditional system of Amendolara, let alone listen to Cornelius who relied on old teachings. At the same time, he believes that hastily replenishing the number of elders will only reduce their quality and ability. And also, more than 20 elders were enough for the population of Amendolara, which has only about 5,000.
Cornelius opened his mouth, but he was unable to persuade him.
“What administrative positions does Amendolara have now?” Davos continued to ask him.
“The executive magistrate of the city that is, the one responsible for assisting the archon in managing the affairs of the city-state, maintaining order in the city, and taking charge of litigation. Under its jurisdiction are departments such as the patrol force, fire brigade and the prison. The position changes once a year, and the council -” Cornelius looked at Davos, who was staring at him, and hesitated for a moment and then changed his words, “The council will be the one to propose the candidates, and the archon will be the…the one to give the final decision…”
Davos was not very familiar with the various official functions of the Greek city-states. Athens and Sparta were just the typical examples, as there are hundreds of Greek city-states. Even if their political system were basically the same, but there are also various differences between them. However, he was familiar with the Roman system. In his previous life, he had also taken courses in this field, and the system of Amendolara was somewhat similar to that of Rome, and the post of executive magistrate was somewhat similar to that of the Roman\'s praetor. And so he said to Cornelius, “It seems that the duties of the chief executive of the city are not only the same as those of the deputy archon, but also more comprehensive and more acceptable to the citizens. I think you should take up this post and the position of deputy archon is obviously my negligence, and can be remove.” (T/L note: We will just call it praetor…much shorter)