Augustopoloi

[Corile]

Augustopoloi

Εν αυτό, νικά.
In this, conquer.

History

The Augustopoloi are one of the oldest aristocratic dynasties of Custodi, tracing its ancestry back to the third century A.S. With a rich merchant tradition, they became prominent in the ninth century as spearheads of Custodi's space movement. However even before their direct involvement in interstellar affairs of the Corsairs, they already financed many expeditions into space.

One of the most famous Augustopoloi operations involved shipping Custodi-produced food and other supplies off-world, to distant Corsair outposts and returning with spoils acquired from piracy or war, making enormous profits in the process. They pioneered establishment of Corsair Empire's internal supply routes and had their hand in designing some of the ships of the Corsair trade fleet.

Seven members of the Augustopoloi were elected as Archons of the Custodi throughout history, in total leading for eleven terms.

Family Members

Icarus Augustopolos _
Ikaros Avgustopulos

Occupation: Archon of the Custodi

Parents: Daedalus Augustopolos, Lydia Augustopolou
Spouse: Helen Augustopolou
Children: Dia Augustopolou, Marcus Augustopolos, Dido Augustopolou-Kyriakopoulou

Icarus, like many of the Custodi aristocrats, was born in the Heraklion district of Meletis as the only child of then-Archon Daedalus Augustopolos. Both of his parents were in a strong relationship, one that was envied and spoken about by many Custodi. From his earliest days, he took interest in arts and sciences, eventually graduating the prestigious Heraklion Academy.

After his graduation, he spent most of the time looking after the family's properties, acquiring the necessary knowledge to one day take over the family head signet from his father. Both profoundly intelligent and deeply religious, he spent his meantime between the Citadel and the libraries. He was known for spending weeks in his solitude -- a small, Spartan shack in the Golden Plains with little more than books and a small Archangels' shrine as company.

He had some of the farmhands working days on the Golden Plains bring him food and supplies while he himself was occupied by the ancient works of Greek philosophers. There he met his future wife Helen. Marriages with commoners in the Custodi society weren't that common, but neither were they frowned upon -- sometimes even admired as "marrying down" meant one had enough wealth to support both oneself and one's spouse and didn't need to rely on marriage as a form of transaction.

The couple got engaged and married just a few months after, however before long a tragedy would strike. Icarus's mother, Lydia, became ill and soon later passed away. Couldn't bear it, just a couple of days after Lydia's funeral, Daedalus left his home and didn't come back. His body was washed onto one of Manta's beaches -- he had thrown himself off the Acropolis cliffs.

Taking the Augustopolos family signet off his father's dead hand left a permanent scar on Icarus. The burden of being the head was now upon him and he had to ensure that both the house as well as the entire nation of Custodi prospered. He began expanding Augustopolos' influence and became close political allies with his uncle Aesop, who at the time was serving his first term as Archon.

Life went well and within the span of ten years Helen bore him three children - Dido, Marcus and Dia. Soon after Dia's birth however, Attica was struck by a natural disaster. Severe droughts caused the Sea level to fall, leaving ports of Manta without fish. The times had been dire -- bad weather ruined many of the crops in many parts of Attica. Dorians requested more and more food, which Custodi could hardly provide. Rumours started spreading and the upper echelons of Custodi began talking about eventual construction of an interstellar fleet.

Hearing them, Icarus committed himself to those efforts and eventually became appointed General by the Archon. He spearheaded the space efforts and thanks to him, Custodi became truly space-faring, after centuries of remaining in blindness on the surface of Crete. Recognising his contribution, the Custodi fleet would forever bear the Augustopolos family motto:

In this, conquer.

Helen Augustopolou
Eleni Vretti-Avgustopulu

Occupation: Housewife

Parents: Agathonos Vrettos, Dimitra Vretti
Spouse: Icarus Augustopolos
Children: Dia Augustopolou, Marcus Augustopolos, Dido Augustopolou-Kyriakopoulou

Dia Augustopolou
Lydia "Dia" Avgustopulu

Occupation: IDF Shipping

Parents: Icarus Augustopolos, Helen Augustopolou
Spouse: none
Children: none

Dia Augustopolou was born in 794 A.S. in the marble Custodi city in the north of Crete - Heraklion. A talented and ambitious daughter of a merchant, then General and finally Archon of the Custodi Icarus Augustopolos, she quickly impressed Corsair nobles, foreign diplomats and local politicians with her quick wit, sharp tongue and fiery temper. Following the creation of the Custodi fleet, she proved to be a capable pilot of both fighters and transport ships. Following her father's rise to the position of Archon, she was appointed General of the Custodi fleet and led operations in the Omega-49 system and the valiant, but ultimately unsuccessful defence of the Corsair Empire's protectorate of Gran Canaria.

Other notable achievements of the Custodi fleet under Dia's command include the repelling of the Rheinlander invasion of Omicron Xi, destruction of multiple Hessian and Bretonian squadrons in Omega-49, numerous skirmishes with Outcast patrols, interception of Maltese, Rheinlander, Bretonian and Libertonian transports and others.

Her first visit to Gallia occurred in 825 A.S. on board of the Archon's flying palace, the Blachernae. In the ending days of the Gallic invasion of Bretonia, when everything seemed to go the way of the royalists, Custodi established diplomatic ties with the Kingdom of Gallia and appointed Petros Katsouranis ambassador to the kingdom. He, Dia and the Archon visited New Paris. Mere weeks later, the forces of the Confederacy took over the Gallic government, putting an end to the war. The treaties, carefully negotiated with the GRN over the partition of Bretonia between Corsairs and Gallia were little more than history. In the wake of the political turmoil, Katsouranis went missing.

The turmoil in Gallia interfered directly with the politics of Custodi, too. The Augustopoloi started losing the favour gained with the Custodi aristocracy. The diplomatic game played by the Archon that led to the establishment of ties with Gallia and Kusari seemed insignificant in the wake of the dishonourable failure of the invasion. Another war would have to be fought to see the Corsair flag waving over Cambridge. The treaty of Saigon, granting Corsair people a portion of the land of the Sigma-21 planet was eventually discarded and the tiny Custodi colony of Coronia was evacuated.

Icarus I Augustopolos was voted out of office on 29th of September, 826 A.S. and retreated to a secluded villa on the outskirts of Heraklion. With first touches of grey in his hair and beard, he passed down the Augustopoloi family signet, the symbol of the head of the dynasty, to Dia. Then he retired from Corsair political and military life, opting for a quiet life in the Attican meadows. The children of the former Archon were left to their own devices.

Dia, following a significant downscaling of the Custodi fleet, stepped down from the position of General and went back to scouting, on the frontiers of Corsair space. Having met the IDF ships multiple times hauling Artifacts from Omicron Xi to Ile-de-France, she decided to try to pursue her fortune in Gallia instead of her native Crete.

Marcus Augustopolos
Markos Avgustopulos

Occupation: Entreprenour, Member of the Ecclesia

Parents: Icarus Augustopolos, Helen Augustopolou
Spouse: none
Children: none

Dido Augustopolou-Kyriakopoulou
Dido Avgustopulu-Kyriakopulu

Occupation: Jeweller

Parents: Icarus Augustopolos, Helen Augustopolou
Spouse: Illias Kyriakopoulos
Children: none

Affiliates

Aesop IV Alscionus
Isopos Alskionus

Occupation: Archon of the Custodi

Parents: Konstantinos Alscionus, Despina Augustopolou-Alscionu
Spouse: Josephine Alscionu
Children: none

Illias Kyriakopoulos
Illias Kyriakopulos

Occupation: Archaeologist, Art expert, Artifact trader

Parents: Kyriakos Kyriakopoulos, Calliope Kyriakopoulou
Spouse: Dido Augustopolou-Kyriakopoulou
Children: none

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