Being built along a river was the usual practice for most cities in this era, after all, the availability of water often played a critical role in determining whether an area was livable.
Continuing along the dirt road toward the city, the flow of people gradually increased.
There were residents from nearby towns and villages coming to buy daily necessities, and also a few small trading caravans present. Not far away, fully armored guards stood at the city gate, checking the identity of every person entering the city. Judging by their attitudes, they hardly justified the fine equipment they wore.
"With trading caravans and currency... Indeed, with the emergence of cities, the expansion of material exchanges, and the popularization of private ownership, commerce was bound to develop."
"And craftsmanship... being able to forge armor that nearly covers the whole body. Although the technology still seemed rudimentary, and it wasn't even local Turingen craftsmanship, this still proved that Athens' casting level had reached close to that of 13th or 14th-century Europe—even considering this is a transcendent world likely influenced by transcendent powers, it's quite incredible."
Walking on the main road, moving through the sparse crowd, Laine silently observed this unfamiliar era.
Turingen was just a remote city in the Northern Lands, many of its aspects couldn't represent the peak of the era. However, one could assess the general by observing the particular; from the living conditions here, many hidden aspects revealed themselves in corners and edges.
Like the silver coin in Laine's hand, it appeared to be just a currency for transactions, mass-produced, without much technological content. Yet, from the fineness, silver content, purity, and luster, one could discern the molding level of Athens in this era—remember, in the original historical trajectory, from Ancient Greece to early Ancient Rome, people mostly used manual methods for coin making.
The craftsmen melted metal materials and poured them into pre-prepared molds, then waited for them to cool and solidify. This method, though simple, was very unstable, leading to a significant inconsistency in the quality and shape of the coins.
Coins with patterns and inscriptions were technologies of the Roman Empire, even declining during the Middle Ages and only resurging during the Renaissance. At that time, craftsmen used molds with patterns and inscriptions and standardized standards, making the coins' appearance more exquisite and consistent.
They also adopted some special alloy formulas to improve the coins' hardness and durability.
The silver coin in Laine's hands was just like that. Errors hard to discern by the naked eye, patterns comprised of olive branches, snakes, and spindles—this era's Athens silently showcased its national strength and skill to the world in these subtle ways.
Laine believed that not every nation of this age could achieve this. But even if this was the contemporary peak of craftsmanship, it was still astonishing.
"This rate of development... isn't it a bit fast?
I thought transcendent powers would significantly inhibit the development of the humanities, after all, this is a world where the powerful can extend their lifespan, where born nobility holds significant conservative power, a world where traditionalist forces are expected to easily overpower the reformists—but from what I recall, it seems like modern Athens is about to start the 'Alchemical Revolution'..."
"But then again, it's hard to say, especially since this world has gods... and there's also a situation where changes often happen much quicker than theoretically predicted."
With a distant expression, walking on the dirt road, Laine looked back toward the southwest. However, it was obvious that he could not see through the earth, hence he couldn't see the Olympus that supported The East's sky.
"As long as there are external enemies, or sufficient threats, everything will be allowed. Chaos is a ladder to ascend; if the existence of transcendent beings makes class solidification more severe during peaceful times, it equally accelerates the pace of fluidity during chaotic times."
Does Athens have enemies?
There's no definitive answer, after all, Samer was just a farmer from a remote town, whose ancestors up to three generations were slaves, who obtained freedom only due to the expansion into new cities in the Northern Lands.
But one didn't need to think much to know, human history is a history of wars, so Athens couldn't possibly be without enemies. Especially in today's world, the rise and fall of city-states and kingdoms equally represent the variance in how much faith the gods acquire... Vaguely, Laine suddenly gained more insight into some of the later mythical stories.
He shook his head slightly, pressed down his straw hat, and walked towards the city gate; this was not something he needed to consider now.
Following the flow of people and paying the city entry fee as others did, Laine seamlessly blended into Turingen City.
Nobody cared about his appearance that clearly didn't match the local attire—at least the city gate guards didn't care about that. They simply took the silver coin without speaking and then ignored Laine.
"Huh, at least in this regard, it seems people of every era are much the same."
Merging with the crowd, Laine recalled the memories he had browsed earlier and compared them with the real city.
The position he entered the city was through the west gate—thanks to the layout borrowed from the City of Eryxis, the birthplace of the faith of the Goddess of Agriculture in the Mortal Realm, now most cities' eastern and southern districts are inhabited by the secularly noble and wealthy, while the western and northern districts are quite the opposite.
Thus, most of the pedestrians coming this way were on foot, barely any traces of carriages to be seen.