Sparta

Sparta

of Note

No one learned to fear the power of mortals better than the Ventrue who took the name Artemis. She, along with a number of other Ventrue, had settled in the prosperous region of Greece called the Peloponnesus. The Dorian Greeks had built on this peninsula the foundations of communities that would become great cities —places such as Corinth and Argos, in Clanbook: Ventrue particular, and most important of all, Sparta. Artemis — then known by another name — settled in a small rural community of four villages, a few shoddy wooden temples and not much else.

What, then, made Artemis pause in her wanderings at this rustic crossroads that offered so little to attract a Ventrue? It was a man who had a dream for the rough-hewn folk of Sparta — a dream that would transform them into the most feared fighting machine in all Greece. His name was Lycurgus, and he was about to pass into legend. Artemis intended to feed upon the philosopher, but he drew her into conversation, discussing his dream for the Spartans. With Medon’s death still fresh in her mind (although several centuries had passed), Artemis saw the potential threat and utility of Lycurgus’ dream. She decided to follow a course that so many Ventrue after her would emulate. Rather than try to oppose or dominate the growing power of mortal institutions (and risk being run over in the process), she bought into the Spartan invigoration, following mortal makers of the future.

This Ventrue took upon herself the role of Artemis Orthia, Sparta’s patron goddess. She watched Lycurgus win over the Spartan people and install his fabled constitution. Even she was somewhat surprised when the ambitious Spartans invaded the neighboring region of Messina, enslaving the entire region. Artemis saw in the Spartans many parallels to Kindred existence.

A large serf population made progress possible for the Spartans, just as the large kine population made Kindred existence possible. Having so many serfs allowed the Spartans to devote their entire lives to perfecting the art of war. Where most Greek city-states had to spend their time farming or trading to support themselves, the Spartans could focus solely upon the challenges of self-perfection and self-defense. Unswervingly loyal, unflinchingly brave and nearly unbeatable in battle, the Spartans struck Artemis as a flawless model of the mortal potential.

Other Ventrue soon flocked to the Peloponnesus, seeking to work with Artemis to ride the Spartan war machine to power. Each settled in a different city within the region, urging the city leaders toward a conclusion most of them had already reached on their own: better to ally with Sparta than face its wrath. Thus, the Peloponnesian League — a loose alliance of city-states with Sparta at its center — came to be. The second most powerful city within the alliance was Corinth, a rich commercial community. The Ventrue Evarchus claimed this city as his domain and he, too, learned important lessons that the Ventrue would carry with them for millennia to come.

Corinth thrived on trade, particularly in its prized pottery and Peloponnesian foodstuffs. Backed by Sparta’s military might, its merchant ships traveled throughout the Aegean and expanded the league’s influence and power. Evarchus understood that money had real power over the kine. Kindred had seldom had much use for currency, but in a world where mortal institutions grew more and more expansive, money seemed to be a key to influencing the kine. Evarchus’ merchant fleets arguably made him the first truly “wealthy” Ventrue, and others would follow in his footsteps thereafter. All went well, even in the face of two Persian invasions.

Sparta, Corinth and the Ventrue Peloponnesian League continued to prosper.

The First Brujah War Athens and Sparta had fought side by side in the great war against Persia. This war was a mortal concern, one the Kindred had little to do with. In fact, Artemis tried to keep her Spartans from becoming involved at all, but she found that her influence over them indeed had a limit. Proud, brave and scornful of the barbarian Persian king, the Spartans had marched off to war and into history without their Chapter One: The Kings of the Kindred goddess’ reluctant blessing. Even though they returned victorious, she was not pleased. Nor was Evarchus, Prince of Corinth. In the wake of the war, Athens began to rise in power and rival Corinth’s position as the wealthiest trading city in Greece.

Although Athenian ability played no small role in the city-state’s meteoric rise, the citizens had a little help from a few enterprising Brujah. Long attracted to innovative thoughts and ideas, several Brujah had settled in Athens to take in its glories. While Pericles built his beautiful city as a monument to Athenian power, these Brujah Kindred sat by his side, helping when they deigned to do so, but mostly enjoying the fruits of Athenian labors. They watched quietly as the Athenians established the Delian League, a powerful military and trade alliance that stood in undoubted opposition to the Spartan-led Peloponnesian League. Meanwhile, Evarchus of Corinth saw his profits decline with each passing year — more so since the Delian League came into being. He did not have to convince the city’s rulers that Athens was the problem. They came to despise Athens just as much as the Ventrue did.

Conflict seemed inevitable. The two great alliances finally came to a head, thanks in no small part to the urgings of Evarchus and eventually Artemis. A long, terrible war ensued, lasting decades and engulfing all of Greece in a seasonal struggle. The Kindred held back from battle, preferring not to risk their unlives over mortal assets — yet. The Athenian Brujah could all but ignore the conflict, since Athens’ high walls kept the Spartans at bay and the Athenian fleets ensured continued prosperity. Besides, they found the fickle masses of the Athenian Assembly too fractured when they did try to interfere. Their influence over individual members was not enough to sway the greater body of the assembly. Artemis and Evarchus feared attacking Athens on their own without their Spartan troops behind them. Eventually, thanks to the genius of a Spartan general named Lysander, Sparta sank the Athenian navy and lay siege to the city. Athens surrendered after a deadly plague ripped through the population and Sparta had won.

Artemis and Evarchus visited the troops as they marched into the city, fully prepared to take their vengeance on the arrogant Kindred of Athens. It was not to be. The wily Cainites had fled the city, and the first “Brujah War” ended without either side spilling the other’s blood. However, it left a bitter taste in the mouths of Sparta’s Ventrue patrons. Several Brujah and Toreador called the Ventrue barbaric and powermad, while the Ventrue came to think of the Brujah as dangerous dreamers with no sense of decorum. The conflict set the pattern for things to come between the two clans.

Like all legendary ages, though, the epoch of Sparta’s glory passed shortly thereafter. In but a few short decades, Spartan hegemony fell like a house of cards to the upstart Thebans, whose city seemed remarkably free from Kindred presence. Artemis’ temple was burned, and she and her brood fled into the night. Evarchus lingered in Corinth for many more years until he finally slipped into torpor for a few centuries. Awake once more and residing in Greece, Evarchus supposedly exists in the modern nights as but an echo of his greatness during the mythic age.

The Latin Ventrue When Artemis and Lysander fled west in the fourth century B.C., they found Ventrue among the Romans already established on the Italian Peninsula.

The Ventrue had settled among the Etruscans, an ingenious and prosperous people of central Italy, centuries before. The Ventrue had existed there in quiet peace, many claiming a small Etruscan city as her own domain. Then came Collat. Ventrue history credits Collat with leading the revolution that freed Rome from its Etruscan rulers and established the first Latin state. Whether or not Collat actually started the revolution is unknown, but he certainly took advantage of it. He set himself up as the Kindred Prince of Rome and watched his city grow.

Rome’s power and sovereignty spread in fits and starts over the next few centuries, expanding to include all the former Etruscan cities and eventually most of Italy. Collat and his Ventrue brood profited from the expansion, following the soldiers into new cities and claiming domains there. It was Collat, though, who set the pattern for future Ventrue in Rome and in the world at large. Unlike many Kindred at that time, he did not rule openly or claim to be a god. The Romans were a religious, superstitious and proud people. They were more likely to stake and burn a vampire than try to coexist with him. Therefore, the Ventrue of Italy maintained a low profile, collecting favors from its citizens and governors and influencing events from behind the scenes by calling on them to repay their debts.

When war with Pyrrhus of Epirus brought Rome into direct conflict with the Greek cities of southern Italy, the Italian Ventrue came into contact with Greek Ventrue who had settled the area, including recent arrivals Artemis and Lysander. Artemis had retired to Athens’ ancient enemy Syracuse to lick her wounds and eventually escape from the world into torpor. Lysander Clanbook: Ventrue