The City States of Greece

The commoners of Athens rejoice. A Super Bowl has been awarded and the citizens have returned to work, confident that their wise and powerful nobles will protect them from the Japanese to the North. Surely with the combined mental prowess of our Prinkipas and house Megakyrios we will glean all that can reasonably be determined from this Japanese scout. In the marketplace citizens whisper to one another about who the eventual princess may be...
 
RP

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Agamemnon Megakyrios knew the day would one day come, he knew deep within his heart of hearts that the Japanese, that strange people from the North would come to Athens. Ah but it is an opportunity, to find out more about these strange people and begin the work to ensure the prosperity of Athens, and all its daughter cities to come.

Sitting in the Megalis with the Prinkipas Agamemnon spoke

"Greak Prinkipas, indeed you are correct in graciously accepting this diplomatic visitation into our city and meeting with the Shogun Tokugawa, but I must ask that this event is one appropriate to the guest and that as such I, as your senior advisor and also as the vicarious head of the military in addition to your other aides in government sit in a state banquet in addition to the entire diplomatic delegation attached to the japanese scouting expedition.

In doing this you ensure the greatest possible level of hospitality for our guests and make this visitation by the leader of Japan of the highest solemnity. This not only would ensure that the impression on him is favourable and fitting his status, but also it would ensure that there is more ample opportunity to assess these arrivals as it pleases Your Grace."

The Prinkipas Acknowledged that he would think over this proposal, and so Agamemnon departed to the city to ensure he kept in touch with the common folk. There he saw joy at the reprieve from tithing for the next five years, but he also saw the poverty of so many people, the beggars huddling in corners pleading for food, the street urchins wandering around the streets in their rags. The City of Athens was rejoicing at its reprieve, but at the same time the city was not yet sustained at more than a subsistence level, and there was no business or wealth to speak of. The people rejoiced now for a burden on their strained existence was lifted, and their jubilation ran long into the night, but Agamemnon sighed for he knew that Athens faced a long road ahead before Athens became the beacon of light it was destined to become.
I am sorry, Agamemnon Jehoshua Megakyrios, but I must leave someone behind to govern the polis in my absence.
 
RP
The Patriots fans walk home in disappointment. They are frustrated at their players' inability to catch passes or stop the opponent. Their frustration was felt in all of their other activities. Even then, they realized that the nobles were trying to monopolize the ability to send out settlers and keep down the poor. Perhaps riots await???
 
:popcorn: RP :popcorn:

These were difficult times indeed for the common man. No entry into the nobility, Japanese threatening the northern border, and the Giants of house Megakyrios had narrowly defeated the Patriots of the good Prinkipas. Is that why the king refused to let lord Agamemnon participate in the talks with the Japanese? Will there be a falling out among the noble houses?

To try to forget their many troubles at the end of the long days of toil, the common folk would gather around a common fire and listen to tales and myths of olden days and faraway adventure. One of the most popular tales was on the lips of many in the fields and the marketplace. People were calling it the Aaronyssey...

Part II: Adrift (Part I can be found in http://forums.civfanatics.com/showpost.php?p=11236375&postcount=198)

Spoiler :


Never before had I considered the vastness of the great sea. For day after day it was nothing but a little disk of blue surrounding me. By day the disk was lit with an unimaginable brilliance, and the deeper blue produced by a passing cloud became the most desirable color in existence. By night the blue was replaced by a lustrous silver. At dusk and dawn could be seen all of the colors of the perla that I had known and loved since birth. But regardless of the color, the disk remained unchanged: day, after day, after day.

Food became an issue very quickly as I was a full blooded and growing young man, but I was more or less successful in this regard. My net that I used to collect the osteos was also handy for other uses as well. I could not really capture any ichthys with it, but there were small kalmari in great numbers that I came across on a couple of occasions. They were so numerous and apparently interested in one another, I probably could have captured a dozen with my bare hands. As it was, the bottom of my boat was filled with dozens of the creatures, each roughly the size of the palm of my hand. I ate them raw, wet and wriggling. If only I had managed to preserve one or two shells of the osteos, I could have fashioned a hook, and used some of my net to create a line, along with the less appealing kalmari as bait. However, between the two instances of kalmari, and one rather fortunate collision with an exocoetus that flew into my little skiff with me, I was not near to starvation, even after a week at sea.

The far greater problem was water, fresh water. On my second day at sea I was blessed with a shower that drenched my hair and slaked my thirst and filled the bottom of my little skiff. The water at the bottom of the skiff was drinkable for another day, but slowly it dwindled, and more and more salt-water came in and mixed with it, to the point that I had to stop drinking. Another danger I had never considered was the sun itself. I had thought that no amount of sun could damage my skin but I was wrong. After two days with no protection my back and shoulders began to burn rather shockingly. For the next three days I spent most of the day hanging over the side, trying desperately to derive some shade from my skiff, and preserving my skin in the water. By the sixth day at sea my strength began to fail me. The lack of water began driving me mad, and my muscles failed in their duty and would sometimes cramp intolerably. Consequently I could not hang over the side of my little boat, nor row. I simply laid in my little skiff, adrift with no plan in mind, continually recalling a phrase my father used to utter so often “surrounded by water with nothing to drink”.

It was during the sixth day that the visions began. Thoughts of my mother and father, Haepha and even Astree, and many other extended family and friends from my lost home of Atalantia were never far from my mind by day or night. But at some point on the sixth day they came to me as never before, as if they were in my boat with me in corporeal form. On several occasions I would reach out to touch them, failing to understand why I could not. Words cannot express the heartache I felt by not being able to embrace the visions. I began to understand that if I closed my eyes I could see them even better; that they existed on the other side of some now recognizable border. They spoke of a darker place, and a river they had crossed. I began to feel as though my little skiff might cross this river as well.

However, I began to take greater notice of other presences as well around this time. Sometimes it seemed that there was a greater intelligence to the sea than I had previously imagined. The second occurrence of kalmari seemed to have almost been herded toward my craft, and on the night that the flying fish jumped into my boat I swore that I saw some lithe female-like form beneath the surface, chasing exocoetus up into the air. On the sixth night I began to notice voices in the water, in opposition to the characters of my friends and family in my boat. These voices were calling for me to hold fast, to open my eyes once more, to inhale and exhale again. I could no longer lift my head to look over the side of my skiff, as my muscles would no longer respond correctly, but I could feel appendages touching my craft, and I perceived a motion that slowly gained in speed. I asked these phantasms repeatedly who or what they were, and what purpose they had for me. All I could perceive from their responses was a name or a sound: Neriedes.

On the seventh and final day of my time in the skiff, one of the most vocal of the nymph-like creatures climbed over the rim of my craft and introduced herself as Calypso. She managed to convince me through various tricks and charms that a long and significant destiny awaited me on this side of the dark river that separates this life and the next. Her charms were of a distinctly feminine nature, and I was shocked to learn that some deep unknown supply of vitality remained at the base of my mortal coil. In fact, so effective were Calypso’s methods that I actually found myself sitting up in the middle of the seventh day, in an effort to reach out to touch this strange phantasmagoric creature. At this very moment of my rising a great rendering crack occurred above my head, and a blinding flash lit the strangely darkened midday sky. The heavens opened and blessed rain began to fall so thick that I could hardly breath. The water soaked into my briny skin, through my eyes and ears and nose and mouth. For several minutes I was awash in happiness, becoming drunk on the blessed fresh water, and enraptured by the visage and motions of Calypso.

Every bit as suddenly as the storm began, the clouds parted, rays of sunlight exploded through, and Calypso winked and dashed from the front of my craft without a word. Before my feelings of immense disappointment and betrayal could even fully form, I found my eyes staring at a great sea craft that was boring down directly upon me, flying out of the curtain of the storm…



...to be continued.
 


~The Prinkipas Visits Japan~


Turn Report:
Spoiler :
T25- Prinkipas Prota Tambien Fotismenos leaves for Japan. He is escorted by the Japanese scout, and a small battalion of the city guard.

T27- We have discovered pottery!



T30- Our warrior unit met a new civilization, the Indians!



T32- Prinkipas Prota Tambien Fotismenos arrives at a river, and sails up stream to Kyoto





Status:
  • Standard of Living - Average
  • Literacy Rate - Average
  • Culture Strength - Average

The day the Prinkipas left was a sad day, many of the people watched their aging leader leave with heavy hearts. Even though they no longer saw him has the visionary they once did, they still had a love for the founder of their city. Under him they had created a city from the sands of the desert, and he even brought them from the depths of poverty. Now he would be leaving for years to go visit the foreign Japanese. Before he left he asked for the scouts to elaborate on the Japanese culture, and learning more about these strange people was a comfort to the populace. In the Prinkipas absence the Megalis ruled over the city, and the people grew to like him. Recently however, the heir to the Fotismenos line came of age. Would he now take control of the city?

In addition, we have met yet another civilization, the Indians. A unit of theirs was spotted by the warrior unit outside the Japanese capital. The warrior unit quickly sent word back to Athens. When the messenger arrived he descretley made his way through the city, and came before the Megalis. He bent on one knee and said:
We have met a strange race up north, just outside the Japanese borders. They were spotted by a sentry around dawn two fortnights ago. Unlike the Japanese, who shied away, they came forward. Through pictures drawn on the banks of the river they communicated to us news of a strange land, divided into strict social castes, and ruled by awesome and powerful deities. After a day or two of talks they departed for Tokyo, and three days later passed back, this time going in the direction of Athens. I was quickly dispatched to bring news of these occurrences.

Though the man had tried to slip in quietly, rumors spread quickly in Athens, and soon the lowest serf was aware of the new people.

Issues:
  • Will Megalis Agamemnon Jehoshua Megakyrios continue to rule, or will Ainous Tambien Fotismenos take control of the city?
  • What will we do about the Indians?
  • What are the scouts new orders?

Athens City Screen:
Spoiler :


Strategic Map:
Spoiler :


Property Map:
Spoiler :


Tech Tree:
Spoiler :


Ethnic Groups:
Spoiler :
Updates:
  • More info on Athenians
  • More info on Japanese
  • New ethnic group: Warsawians
  • New ethnic group: Indians

The Athenians
The Athenian people are said to be the blessed descendants of the Goddess of Wisdom, Athena. According to the ancient ledgends, Athena gave the people the name of Athens, and the symbol they still use, the Owl of Wisdom. The Athenean language is still ancient Greek, with a few new words thrown in. The Athenian religion is what is considered pagan, but Athena is still the major figure in the Athenian religion. The average city dweller makes an adaquate income, while spending most of his days working. Oral tradition is strong in Athens, and many stories are past from generation to generation over the campfire.. Athenian women, starting at the age of 10, are taught domestic chores they will be expected to preform for the rest of their lives. The food of Athens is the best in the known world, and it focuses on wheat and the fish that can be found in deeper waters. Athenian chefs have managed to find a variety of "spices," some even coming from the desert to the west of the city. One of the favorite dishes of the people is Palla, a cooked fish with desert cinnamon and much salt put on top. It is inexpensive and very good. Recently the Athenians created a game by the name of War-Ball. War-Ball is a game where players take a woven grass ball and try to run it to the other end of the field. The only rules are that players cannot go out of bounds, and that they cannot destroy the ball. The game is very brutal and players regularly die from intense internal bleeding, and snapped necks, nevertheless the people love it. There are only two major teams, the Giants (who represent the city) and the Patriots (who represent the country).

The Japanese
The Japanese are an honor oriented, sea fairing folk. They devote their lives to their craft and are highly skilled in whatever they do. At the top of their social hierarchy is their Shogun, leader of the army; then the Emperor, a spiritual leader; then the Daimyos, the lords and captains of units; and finally the peasants. In Japan the warriors are well respected, and hold a high place of honor. The local cuisine is mostly casseroles made from berries and herbs found in the wild and fish, the staple food of the empire. The Japanese speak a fast language, and it is still true to the Japanese of ancient times. The Japanese have little time for hobbies, but their most enjoyed past time is creating balls of polished mud, Dodorangos.

Warsawians
The people of Warsaw are an off mixture of races. Aspects of Japanese and Greek culture can be seen in them. Other then their mixed origin, little is known about them.

Indians
The only knowledge of them is that they live in a far off land, dominated by social and economic castes, and great and powerful deities.

Notes:
-Will calculate Standard of Living, Literacy Rate, and Culture Strength in the begging of a session.
-Added on to the rules about changing location.
-I will not spend the treasury on queued orders, so only make orders for the treasury if the gold is on hand. I decided this incase the players should change their minds based upon events that happen between sessions.
 
Don't worry. Sessions will often be two or three times longer than this one. I just had to stop because Tambien is at Kyoto.
 
Public Speech

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People of Athens, as interim ruler of the city in the Prinkipas' absence, and with the vicarious authority to govern in his name while he advances our interests in Japan, I hereby order the scout division, to explore to our west, heading towards the green lands and marshes around the western river, and then onwards into lands beyond. Knowledge is power, and for our great nation it is best by the great gods to know all that is possible about our surrounds, and perhaps even find the realm of the fabled god-kings of the indians that the reports from the diplomatic mission tell us about, so we may treat with them and glorify our nation.

On other matters, the relieving from tithes that our Prinkipas set in place has now come and passed all too quickly, it was but a brief thing. However the people still suffer under burdens, for our land and city is still undeveloped. Therefore I will initiate a 20 year relieving of tithes to the state out of concern for the wellbeing of our people in these trying times. In addition to this I have decided to cut the Public Improvement Tax during my regency over the city, the money is serving no purpose at this present time other than going into a coffer for an indeterminate future use, and as the people are suffering in the present time I see no need why they should pay this burdensome tax until the economic situation makes taxes less troublesome on the common folk of the empire. Fortunately a worker troupe will begin its training once the nearly completed monument is finished to help in regards to resolving that issue and improving the lot of the everyday athenian citizen.

One last thing, I order the transfer of government labour to the second wheat in order to hasten production and increase food supply for the people. The Prinkipas may have been interested in gold production from the ocean, or it could simply of been an error in his allocations, but it is in the long term interests of the city to focus on necessity.

As to these measures I shall of course send a letter to our Prinkipas, I am but the sole sitting member of hte Megalis and appointed regent of the city in the Prinkipas' absence, I am dutybound to inform the Prinkipas of all actions taken while I am in charge. In regards to those actions, which have been taken out of paternal care and affection for my fellow athenians at this time, I also must say that I shall of course defer to the will of the Prinkipas should he oppose these measures for he is an authority above me and constitutionally he has the power to veto my actions as sole sitting member of the Megalis and as regent.

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OOC:

City Orders

:Scout goes west from the river area (grassland) to the northwest into teh unknown, standard ruin favouring, barbarian avoiding protocols apply
:Cutting the Public Improvements Tax for the duration of my regency
:Relieving the tithe thing (the thing Tambien previously relieved) for 20 turns.
:transfer citizen from sea tile, to second wheat tile

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~Oh Dot80, Warsaw is the capital of poland and as such its people should be the Poles, you can use traditional slavic archetypes for them I suppose.
 
~Oh Dot80, Warsaw is the capital of poland and as such its people should be the Poles, you can use traditional slavic archetypes for them I suppose.

I started out that way but then I decided I would rather make city states hybrids of the local cultures.
 
Why are we working the sea tile, and not the wheat tile? We could speed up both the production and the growth of the city that way
 
ooc: answer: to spite you :p

*Not really but thats the only plausible reason
 
The Athenaiad

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Chapter III

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The years proceeding the discovery of the Japanese are amongs the most interesting in the history of early Athens. What is known is that the Prinkipas Prota Fotismenos was invited to travel to Japan by the Shogun of that nation and that he then proceeded to travel up the river leading to Kyoto (which was at that time unnamed) to engage in a state visit to Japan. This journey itself was not uneventful as the expedition encountered a group of indian explorers outside of Japans territory. This contact brought to Athens knowledge of the caste system of india and its rigid stratification of people based on profession. They also brought word of god-kings and strange practices which intrigued the greek people, who of course were stunned that not only was there yet another civilisation to rival Greece, but that their customs were so strange and alien. Either way the encounter was brief and the Prinkipas soon entered into secret negotiations with the Japanese Shogun.

Back in Athens during this time due to the extensive time required to travel to Kyoto the Prinkipas appointed Agamemnon Megakyrios as regent of the city, apparently over objections to rule Kyoto in his absence. The beginning of his regency was calm as the people continued as they had for years, although the end of the brief tithing reprieve of the Prinkipas once again burdened the people. In response to the unchanged condition of the people the Regent, who was the sole sitting member of the Megalis at this time, authorised the abolishment of a tax until such time as the Prinkipas returned and announced a second tithing reprieve lasting four time the duration of the Prinkipas' measure.

Other matters also took the regents attention as the scouting corps was completed and ordered to explore the west. In addition the monument to Athena, a pet project of both Fotismenoi and Megakyrioi was nearing completion bringing hope that Hellas would once again rise to become a cultural beacon to the world, restoring Hellenic civilisation to its rightful place as father and mother of all that is civilised.

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Spoiler :


~An image of the monument to Athena in the main square of Athens, this monument begun in the reign of Prota Fotismenoi has been carefully preserved through the ages and still stands to this day.
 
The common people stand in awe of the beautiful monument of the goddess Athena. Suddenly the dusty town seems a bit more civilized.
 
ooc: the common people stand in awe of the almost completed monument to Athena. It still has five turns till completion.
 
Why are we working the sea tile, and not the wheat tile? We could speed up both the production and the growth of the city that way

Says the man who wants to build the Colossus... :rolleyes:
 
Yeah, at the moment, our expenses are not that great, so we can afford to work a tile which would give us +1 growth and +1 hammer, even if it cost us 1 commerce/turn
 
OOC: I don't know why we are working that sea tile... I was under the impression we WERE working the wheat... :confused:

IC:

I, Ainos Tambien Fotismenos, do report to you, regent, my fathers words from a courier he sent to me.

"Agamemnon Jehoshua Megakyrios-

I am glad you have brought a reprieve from the tithe once again to my fair city. Please announce my blessings for all of your actions, and announce my happiness that the people of Athens have risen above the 'poor' ranking.

Prota Tambien Fotismenos
 
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