Chapter 357: Public Trial
Chapter 357: Public Trial
The complainant and the defendant separated in front of Tritodemos. In accordance with the law, the complainant and the defendant are allowed to hire lawyers to defend them in the court since they are not necessarily knowledgeable and eloquent about the Theonia Code with its numerous entries. However, Pollux, who was the first to be tried in this case, decided to defend himself because the crimes he committed had far exceeded what the complainant (the liberated slave) had accused him of, as the prosecutor appointed by the court had charged him. (The prosecutor was Aristocrates, the former clerk of Davos.)
After receiving his Theonian preparatory citizenship, Aristocrates, under the suggestion of Davos, tried to work in the court, managing to pass the examination smoothly. Starting from the initial court reporter position, he worked hard and studied Theonian Law diligently. When he became an official citizen of Theonia, he became a circuit judge of the circuit court. Over the past year, he became a new star among Theonia’s judges with his brilliant achievement of convicting more than 200 cases and disputes without error. In this trial, Davos had personally appointed him as the prosecutor, with high hopes for him.
The uniqueness of Theonia’s court system was due to Davos bringing the court system of later generations with some modifications.
It should be known that during this era, the most respected Athenian court has no dedicated judges. The archons could only maintain the court’s procedures, while the jurors had the power of the court. However, the number of jurors is not fixed, as the size of the case determined the number of jurors, and the highest number of jurors could even reach more than two thousand, and the outcome of the trial would then be decided by a majority vote system. That is why, in Athens, a jury must participate no matter how large the case is. Hence, about 3,000 to 4,000 citizens would rush back and forth to various courts in the city and the port every day, causing the other city-states to call the Athenians the Greeks who love litigation.
However, in Theonia, besides important cases such as Homicide, treason, and so on that needs a jury to decide, the other civil disputes are usually resolved by the judge directly. And even if the defendant demands a jury, it would be likely to be rejected…because the citizens of Theonia Union are busy with military training, fieldwork, market trading, constructing public facilities…and so on, they do not have so much free time to sit in the court and listen to the complainant and the defendant about things that have nothing to do with themselves.
On the other hand, with the abundant wealth of Athens, the jurors would be compensated with money that some citizens even make a living from it. That is why their citizens are happy in being a jury.
In short, Theonia could not afford this kind of time and money consuming court system of Athens with their existing strength and financial resources, and that he is not ready to implement it. However, severe crimes were rarely committed as the Theonians feared that breaking the law would jeopardise their entry into the legions, public office, and obtaining city-states rewards. Hence, such a large-scale trial with jurors is rarely seen by the public, while many people could even say that this is the first time they witnessed how the Theonians court works.
Soon, the Nike Square was filled with people, and many even kept pouring from the outside…
When the level of the clepsydra* fell to the eight o’clock mark, Tritodemos rang the court’s bell. (Water Clock)
Since both the complainant and the defendant were present, the prosecutor was the first to make a statement. Aristocrates briefly explained how the liberated slave went to the temple, the patrol conducting a search and finding evidence according to standard regulation…he then showed the evidence to the jurors, accusing Pollux of illegal possession of land, restricting the people’s freedom and other crimes.
Then a commotion happened among the audience, causing Tritodemos to ring the bell, reminding everyone to be quiet. Then he signalled that the defendant, Pollux, could now defend himself.
As a veteran statesman who has long been involved in politics, Pollux remained proud and determined because he knows that if he shows weakness, then the people would consider him guilty. Although he did not participate in the establishment of the legal trial system, he had observed the process of Davos’ persuading the statesmen. Thus he knew that the jurors were the key to him getting acquitted in Theonia’s large-scale trial. Therefore, he said in a passionate voice, “Members of the jurors, at this moment, I think of my father, grandfather…as one of the earliest founders of the city of Thurii, they have poured all their hearts and blood on this once wildland, leading to the current prosperity of the city. Following the example of my father, I had been making my own efforts for this city since I became an adult, took part in battles, served as a low-level official, and was then elected as one of the strategoi of Thurii by many. I had done all my best for this city-state-”
Just then, Aristocrates stood up and interrupted him, “Pollux, as one of the strategoi of Thurii, you are responsible for the burning of Thurii! At the last moment before the city’s destruction, instead of leading the people to fight the enemy, you as a strategos had disappeared! So how dare you say that you had done everything for the city! That is simply not true!!” Aristocrates had carefully investigated Pollux beforehand.
After saying this, someone in the audience cried out, “He’s right! I had fought in the battle against the Crotonians. In that battle, many had died, including Nianses, yet I did not even saw your shadow!”
“Coward!”
“Coward!!”
. . . . . . . . . . . . .
Some people in the audience threw their insults.
“Quiet! Quiet!!” Tritodemos rang the bell to remind the people and warned, “You two should refrain from topics unrelated to the alleged issue.”
Due to the Theonian court not having that many large-scale cases, young prosecutors like Aristocrates are inexperienced. Otherwise, he would have objected when Pollux first spoke.
However, seeing their initial confrontation had attracted the attention of the audience, making them think that a courtroom is like a battlefield, where they battle with words, and life and death are at stake, which is far intense than watching a play, so the people of Theonia began to widen their eyes in anticipation of the more exciting arguments that would follow.
Pollux became quite embarrassed as he had forgotten that he was a deserter. Even though he still wants to continue advertising his hard work in the Senate, it is now of no use. He glanced at his opponent and began to say, “As a member of the Senate of Theonia, I followed the example of archon Davos and responded to Hades’ revelation, which is why I have given many slaves in my household their freedom. So far, I have freed 57 slaves, and six of them have even become citizens. Thus besides lord Davos, there is no one else as kind to the slaves as I am!” Pollux looked around.
“So out of gratitude, those slaves I have freed repaid me by giving some of their money every year. And I could not refuse their kindness, so I reluctantly accepted it because, with more money, I could buy more slaves and give them freedom!… Alas, I never thought that I would get accused of corruption! This…this is a huge blow to my enthusiasm to learn from lord Davos! This is just a misunderstanding!…” Putting on an aggrieved expression, Pollux looked at the jurors.
Aristocrates coldly said, “Whether or not Pollux is corrupt, your honour, please allow me to ask the witnesses a question.”
Tritodemos nodded in agreement.
Aristocrates then called up ten witnesses, all of whom were the liberated slaves of Pollux. Some had just been released, some had become preparatory citizens, and some had even become official citizens. These witnesses initially did not want to appear in the court but were forced to appear because it’s one of the duties as citizens of the union.
After swearing oath of not lying to Hades, Aristocrates asked each of them a question. And as he questioned them, Pollux tried to interrupt several times, causing Tritodemos to reprimand him.
However, seeing that Pollux was now in a bad situation and that they were afraid of getting charged with perjury, they all confessed the truth.
With that, the audience around the wooden platform heard that:
First of all, the land owned by these witnesses is located in the fertile Sybaris Plain, which is already enviable. It must be noted that when the union was first established, there were more people and less land, so to keep the land from being unused, the freemen and liberated slaves were allowed to rent the lands. Later on, renting the land in the Sybaris Plain began to become harder to the point that even being a preparatory citizen was not enough to be allowed to rent it. So how could the slaves that Pollux had freed rent such good land? This has become a huge problem.
Secondly, after these witnesses had paid the union their taxes, they had to pay Pollux 40% of the land income as well;
Thirdly, even those witnesses who had become official citizens had to give 5% of their land income every year. So why do these now citizens still took the initiative to give him money? Because Pollux bribed some people from the Ministry of Agriculture to distribute more lands to these people who had become official citizens. Since their allocated land is often in a relatively remote place, it was not easily found. As a result, these people would take the initiative to pay Pollux’ household because they were afraid that the Ministry of Agriculture would take back their land every time they conduct their annual land inspection.
After Aristocrates finished his questioning, Pollux could feel the anger of the people. So he hurriedly said in a loud voice, “They are all lying! They are all lying! I haven’t done any of these at all. Someone is framing me up because he is afraid that I would shake the people’s faith in him!”