The Presentation of the Wedding Gifts proceeded smoothly and at a somewhat rapid pace. Many of the dignitaries were anxious to return home, as there were always things in need of oversight for any ruler. Kingdoms and Empires did not run smoothly by themselves, after all, and many of the various potentates would only trust delegation so much after seeing how overreliance on ambitious governors and generals had led to the destruction of Alexandros Megas' Empire in the Diadochi Wars.
That did not diminish the splendor of the wealth on display by any means, however. Golden tableware from King Kartam of Colchis joined Jeweled Goblets from Armenia, Silk Tapestries from the Saka Kingdoms beyond the Indos Mountains were joined by Amphorae of Lemnian Wine from Athens, Garum from Rome, Honey Mead from the Aitolian League, and Olive Oil from Sparta. Kohl Cosmetics and Nubian Longbows from Upper Egypt were joined by Lapis Inlayed Combs and a Gilded Coat of Scale Armor from Lower Egypt, while Cyrenaican Silphium Medicine shared space with Carthaginian Tyrian Purple Dye, Iberian Tin Kitchenware, and Numidian Leopard Skin Cloaks. Containers of Bosporan Hemp Tea shared space with Pottery, Jewelry, and Furniture from across Magna Graecia as well as with Fine Linens for their marital bed from Massilia. Macedon even sent gold and amber Jewelry and an amber-hilted Xyphos that they had taken from chieftains during the fighting in Thrace, while Meleager of Phoenicia gifted the Newlyweds a pleasure barge made in the shipyards of Sidon and the Nabateans offered large amounts of sandalwood incense.
Even Kingdoms as far away as Aksum and the state of Kao in the various Warring States of Sinae, sent gifts, with the Former sending Frankincense and Ivory Handled Daggers while the latter sent Jade Hair Ornaments and Silk. More surprising than either of those or any of the recent enemy nations sending gifts was the arrival of gifts from Amitrochates of the Mauryan Empire, who sent a chest of spices for the newlyweds to spice their honeymoon foods with.
It seemed no Kingdom in the Known World who could afford to send a lavish gift for the happy couple had skimped out on doing so. My own gift to my Daughter and new Son-In-Law was a fine suit of Steel Linothorax for Achaeus and a richly dyed, Carmine and Seasilk Dress for Olympias that she could wear to the premiere of the War of the Stars. That by the way, was Antiokos' gift to the Newlyweds, hiring out a troupe of actors to put on the Play that Olympias had written down which had been cribbed from my using Star Wars as a bedtime story when she was a girl.
Aside from that, the Steel Weaponry and Armor that I had brought for the Garrison of Pergamon and the luxury items I had brought in bulk for the treasury of Pergamon were matched by Antiokos gifting the Satrapy's stables a breeding population of Nisean Horses and a sizable amount of gold from the Royal Treasury in Seleukia. Between all of that, Achaeeus would be able to raise a force of well-equipped, well drilled, Kataphractoi of his own, should he be so inclined to put in the effort. It was a staggering amount of trust that Antiokos was showing his brother. I mentioned that much to the Master of Asia in passing.
"In truth, the reasoning for that is not so complex. I fear my son and heir Antiokos has been spending too much time with Saulaces of Colchis. Saulaces' propensity to find trouble has rubbed off on Antiokos, but my son does not have the same level of ability that Saulaces does when it comes to getting out of said trouble. I fear that should he not learn such skills before I am gone, that the Empire will suffer for it." Admitted Antiokos I Asianos.
"So you offer Achaeus wealth and power in the hopes that he will be able to guide his nephew on a wiser path and buttress his rule?" I questioned.
"Indeed. Achaeus is a good deal younger than I am, almost young enough to be mistaken for a cousin rather than a brother. He should be able to grant a grace period to my Son's reign, assuming he can be dragged from his new wife long enough. Your daughter has had quite the effect on him." Chuckled Antiokos.
"Olympias is a smart girl and like her mother in that her intelligence seems to enhance her subtler charms. I am proud of the woman she has grown into and I imagine your brother has discovered how amazing of a woman she has become." I grinned.
"Indeed. Your son seems to be thoughtful as well, though his thoughts seem tempered with the boldness of his father. Antiokos has had nothing but words of praise for young Ptolemy. Your daughter Eurydice, on the other hand. Well, let us just say that the Palace Staff have been referring to her as the Little Whirlwind when they believe I am out of earshot." Grinned Antiokos.
"She can be a handful. I still wouldn't trade my family for a thousand, thousand, thousand talents of gold." I nodded.
Eventually, however, the last of the gifts were presented, these being bronze busts of the newlyweds cast in Rhodes, and the festivities were effectively over. Wrangling Eurydice from whatever mischief she was planning and breaking Ptolemy away from his new friends had taken some doing, even with guards and servants helping, though. By the time we began moving down the road back toward Elaia, the sun was already descending down on its terminal journey that would end with it dipping below the Horizon.
Our caravan would be forced to stop for the night at a small town named Teuthrania on the banks of the Caicos River as it wound toward Elaia through a series of hilly uplands. The locals were glad of our arrival, for the armed guard we brought with us would help deter raids from the Hill Folk that lived in the uplands. Apparently, the Hill Folk would come down from their hidden hilltop villages every year around this time to attempt raids on lowland settlements. Possibly out of revenge for the Greeks coming in and taking all the good lands centuries ago, possibly also just as a way to garner wealth and bleed off excess population.
As we entered Teuthrania, I spotted a lookout on one of the nearby hilltops with an axe tucked into his leather belt and a javelin in one hand looking out at the town in the valley below. He took one look at the Kataphractoi that were guarding our caravan and scampered off deeper into the hills to tell his friends. They must have decided that Teuthrania was too tough a target because nothing happened during the night. Instead, we got word of smaller, less well-defended, villages being raided east of Heraclea as we reached Elaia after two days of travel along the road.
Unfortunately, we were forced to wait to depart as the port was closed thanks to the attacks. Apparently, Antiokos had ordered Achaeus to do so in order to avoid any raiders stowing away on a ship with their ill-gotten loot. Achaeus himself was mustering a force from Pergamon to handle the raiders. It seemed most of the other delegates had largely departed yesterday, before the port was sealed, owing to not having rambunctious children to wrangle before leaving. Only two yet remained. Archidamus the Fourth of Sparta and Chlaeneas the Elder, Ambassador of the Aitolian League were stuck in port alongside us.
This provided the perfect opportunity to speak about the upcoming war with Athens. I took Ptolemy with me to the meeting but advised him only to speak when spoken to and to otherwise wait for permission to say anything. He was there to learn, after all. Fortunately, both Archidamus and Chlaeneas were understanding about the need to bring my almost-grown heir with me, and Ptolemy was a clever lad in any case.
"So. Crete?" I questioned as soon as we were seated.
"It does seem to be trending that way, aye." Nodded Archidamus.
"What can your vassals in Crete muster should Athens attempt to steal a march on us all?" Queried Chlaeneas.
"The League of Knossos covers two-thirds of the Island and can muster some ten-thousand troops, though many of them will be lighter armed Archers and Light Infantry. If it was just against the League of Polyrrhenia, I would say the Cretans could hold out indefinitely while we punished Athens by marching into Attica and defeating them close to their precious city." Huffed Archidamus.
"But it's not just the League of Polyrrhenia. It's also Athens, whose navy is superior to that of many others. They will be able to ship troops to Crete with their fleet." Pointed out Chlaeneas.
"I'm not so certain that the Athenian Fleet is as big a concern as it once was." Chimed in Ptolemy, forcing everyone to look over at him.
"I thought the Prince was only here to learn?" Asked Archidamus.
"My son may have spoken his mind unasked for, but in this case he is correct. I would hear his reasoning before sharing my own, however." I prompted.
"Well, think about it. Athens' Navy has not had decades to build up as it was before the conquests of Phillip the Second. They've been independent for perhaps twenty-six years and only just now began expanding their influence again. That tells me that they have only recently been building their fleet back up. A fleet takes more than just timber and sailors, it requires an institution to support it for it to truly thrive, and Athens has had to rebuild that institution from scratch. Epirus meanwhile, has a fleet that not only is large, well-drilled, and well-equipped, but it has recently beaten the Fleet of Carthage and is thus filled with veterans. I don't think Athens' New Navy will be able to compete." Explained Ptolemy.
"My son hits all the salient points. The fact of the matter is that we three together outclass Athens and her puppets on both land and sea right now. Both in terms of size of forces and quality of forces. This war shouldn't take more than a single year, and a good thing at that, for Bolgios and his Empire are a much more dire threat to us all than Athens is." I agreed.
"Bolgios and his Barbarian Horde are currently contained in Istros by the Bosporans." Frowned Chlaeneas.
"Bolgios and his Horde are hardly a horde at all. They've got discipline the other Barbarians lack and enough quality equipment to be a problem. Plus, for all his victories, Paerisides the Second and his Bosporans have only managed to deal with a fraction of Bolgios' overall forces. It's our habit of hiring Gauls as mercenary forces coming back to bite us, I'm afraid. The Gauls fight with our forces if paid, but they also learn from them as well." I informed.
"Crafty of them. Can't say I wouldn't approve if they were Spartans. As it is, though, Pyrrhus is correct. We should finish Athens quickly in preparation for whatever happens with Bolgios. We certainly have the ability to do that." Nodded Archidamus.
"To that end, should we go over the potential rewards of such a victory?" Questioned Chlaeneas.
"Sparta wishes for Achaea and the Isthmus of Corinth. The Athenian Puppets there should belong to us and that's including Corinth herself." Demanded Archidamus.
"In that case, Epirus wishes for the Islands including Euboea and Athens itself. That leaves the Aitolian League with Boetia and Thebes. Does everyone agree?" I queried.
"What about Aegina and Salamis? Those are Islands but in the Saronic Gulf. They could be seen as falling in both yours and Sparta's areas of influence, Pyrrhus." Pointed out Chlaeneas.
"I have no qualms about allowing Sparta control of Aegina, though I would like Salamis as it is close enough to Athens to serve as a naval defense for the city, if that is all right with you, Archidamus?" I asked.
"Seems fair." Nodded Archidamus.
"Excellent. Then when you return to your territories, begin your preparations. We should march no later than the fall campaign season of this year." I insisted.
And with that, the meeting broke up. As we made our way back to our lodgings for the evening, I turned to Ptolemy. My son had spoken out of turn, but in doing so it seems that he had impressed our Spartan and Aitolian Allies. That would serve him well when the time came for him to take the mantle of Kingship. When I mentioned this, Ptolemy's face lit up with pride. I couldn't help but be proud of him as well.
Two days after the meeting with Archidamus and Chlaeneas, word was received that forces from Pergamon had brought the Hill Folk Raiders to battle southwest of Adramyttion and crushed them with steel weapons and Nisean horse cavalry. The port was officially re-opened, as the wedding gifts that I and Antiokos had given Achaeus were already paying for themselves, so to speak.
We set sail for home the same day we heard the news. When we made port in Ambracia, I immediately began preparations for war with Athens. As promised, correspondence with Archidamus and the Aitolian League showed them doing the same. When the fall campaign season of two-seventy came, we would go to war with Athens.
Between me, Sparta, and the Aitolian League, Athens didn't stand a chance. . .
XXXX
AN: The next chapter is already up on the site-which-shall-not-be-named. If you feel like reading it, you can search my name on there to check it out. I can't link to the page thanks to site rules, though.
All right. I hope you all enjoyed those break chapters because we're going right into War with Athens now. Pyrrhus is hoping that it will be a quick war and to his credit, he and his allies do have enough superiority on land and sea over Athens to make it be a quick war. Bolgios is going to be a bigger problem, but you'll see what I mean about that when I get around to doing my end-of-the-year look at various other nations for two-seventy.
For now, though, the wedding of Olympias and Achaeus went well. Connections were made, deals were forged, and time with the family was spent. Pyrrhus the Family Man isn't as fun for me to write as Pyrrhus the General or Pyrrhus the King, but it's still good characterization.
At any rate, the next chapter will be the start of the Fall Campaign Season and the War with Athens.
Stay tuned. . .