Chapter 1062
The sculpting of the statue was the most important part of the construction of the temple, and the design of the statue was even more important. But because the believers were very satisfied with the two statues of Hades in the original temple, the design was not changed this time. But because the new temple was bound to be taller and more spacious than the original, the original statue would look too small in the new temple, so new statues had to be sculpted.
Because the new temple was being rebuilt on the old site, the craftsmen built a temporary warehouse not far away to store the statues and other things in the original temple. The preliminary carving of the new statue was also in this warehouse.
Miliktos was the main person in charge of the sculpting of the statue. He was also a famous sculptor in the kingdom. The bronze statue of Hades holding a rugby ball outside the main arena of the inner city of Turín was made by him.
Although the statue was tall and heavy, its core material was wood. Of course, the wood used for the statue had to be hard and dense, so it was usually used for ships, preferably cedar that was hundreds of years old. With the original statue as a model, it only took Miliktos only two months to carve three wooden statues (two statues of Hades and one statue of Persephone), which were more delicate and vivid than the original statue.
Next, he handed over the work to his assistants, which was to paste the skin of the statue. Due to the whiteness and rarity of the ivory, it had become the first choice for the skin of the statue in the past hundred years. The carvers would tear the complete ivory into thin pieces and stick them on the surface of the statue bit by bit. It was a job that required a lot of patience to make sure that there was no gap between the pieces.
Each statue was extremely huge, and a person could only finish gluing one finger in a day. However, there were hundreds of sculptors working on this task at the same time, so the progress was quite fast.
While pasting the skin on the statue, the carvers and craftsmen were also working on two other tasks. One was to burn the sand into stained glass, which was then made into star-shaped ornaments. Each piece was like a sparkling gemstone, which would be inlaid on the wall behind the statue as the background of the starry sky. The other task was to make gold foil. The goldsmiths would forge thin sheets of gold and then paste them on the ivory skin of the statue. These would become the golden clothes and crown worn by the statue, which added to the grace and splendor of Hades. As for the statue in the Temple of Hades, it was covered with silver foil and painted with dark green lacquer to match the atmosphere of the entire temple.
In addition, they had to make gold and silver seats for the statue. Although not all of them were made of gold and silver, the gold and silver consumed after the completion of the statue was not a small amount. When the Diónia Alliance was first established, they did not dare to make such extravagant statues. Now, the consumption of these precious metals was only a few days' output from the mines of Iberia and Sardinia.
Miliktos did not participate in the rest of the process of making the statue. He was focused on a more important task – making the triangular fascia for the temple.
Under the eaves of the two entrances of the temple, there was a triangular area called the triangular fascia. The triangular fascia was inlaid with stone slabs and decorated with reliefs, usually the content of which came from Greek mythology. But in the design of the temple, the result of the Senate's discussion was that one of the triangular fascia would be carved with the relief of the masses during the celebration of Hades, and the other would be carved with the royal family of Diónia – the king, two queens, and five children. (Originally, the Devers proposed to include Adoris and Cynthia, because they were also their family, but the Senate expressed strong opposition. They believed that after the temple was built for thousands of years for future generations to worship, the people of the kingdom and future generations would understand that the royal family of Diónia was the descendant of Hades when they saw the relief, but the adopted children were not. If they rashly carved it, they were afraid that it would lead to the wrath of Hades.)
With the great prestige of King Dyvers and his royal family, if the relief sculpture was not well carved, even if the benevolent king didn't say anything, the people's spit would drown him to death. Therefore, Miliktos was extremely cautious. He specially asked King Dyvers to spare some of his precious time to bring along his family to be his models. They had to pose according to his requirements. He spent several days drawing a sketch on a wooden board and gave it to Dyvers to review. After Dyvers was satisfied, he took the drawing to the construction site and carved it according to the sketch.
The triangular fascia of the royal family of Diónia was: Devers wearing a crown and smiling, sitting on a throne in the center; two concubines wearing gorgeous robes, intimately putting their hands on the Devers' shoulders, standing on both sides; five children surrounded them with happy expressions, and Crotocatax happened to be in the center of the five children.
If there was a careful viewer, he would find that the composition of the king and the concubines was almost identical to the composition of Hades and the Queen of Hades in the Temple of Hades (just with the addition of a concubine). This was a hint from the Scepter Priest Plaisinus, which made it contain a deeper meaning.
Miliktos held an iron chisel in one hand and a small hammer in the other, concentrating on the carving. This was already the third relief sculpture. He was not satisfied with the first two and destroyed them, but because of his experience with the first two, he did not need to compare them with the original drawings. The whole design was already familiar to him, so he did not hesitate every time he struck, and the strength was just right.
Just as he was immersed in his creation, a clear female voice came from behind him, "No! No! The sculpture is too … Hmm, my eyebrows are not so thin, and the bridge of my nose should be higher … "
Miliktos was pulled out of the world he was immersed in. He was a little annoyed. He suddenly turned around and wanted to yell at the intruder who disturbed his work, but when he saw the two beautiful girls standing behind him, his anger subsided. He immediately stood up and said in a friendly tone, "Your Highness Princess Eunice, I'm very sorry for disturbing you. Your Royal Highness Olivia! Welcome! "
"We're here to worship God Hades, and to see how our relief sculpture is doing." Eunice took a few steps forward, pointed at the relief sculpture, and said bluntly, "But after seeing it, I'm a little disappointed. This should be me, but I don't feel like me. You've carved it too softly."
"Your Royal Highness, although sculptures come from reality, they are usually beautified. What's more, this relief sculpture is to be seen by the people of the kingdom in the future. I believe they all want to see a beautiful and virtuous princess … "Miliktos tried to persuade Eunice. The reason he was so patient was because he had met the princess not only in the drawing room, but also in the drawing room. The princess was famous in Turií for her boyish personality. In order to keep her in check, Queen Cristoia had introduced her to some business affairs at the age of sixteen. As a result, the decisive and shrewish girl had become her mother's right-hand woman before she had even turned eighteen. In order to expand his carving workshop in other towns in the kingdom, Miliktos had taken a loan from Cristoia's bank. He had personally dealt with Eunice a few times, so he knew her better.
Eunice raised her eyebrows, "Are you saying that I'm not beautiful and virtuous?!"
Miliktos' heart tightened, knowing that he had said the wrong thing. He hurriedly tried to explain.
But Eunice's expression changed again, and she said seriously, "You're right. I'm not as delicate and virtuous as other girls, but I don't need to change because that's not me! Just like her in your relief sculpture, she doesn't look like me at all. Since you're carving my family, I hope you can carve my true appearance. I don't want any beautification! "
"… Sister." Olivia could feel the tension in the air, and she gently pulled Eunice.
"Stop it!" Eunice pushed her sister's hand away, and looked straight at Miliktos, and asked, "Do you think I'm right?"
"… Your Royal Highness, you're right … I'll change it again …" Miliktos actually gave in, which made the assistants who were hiding in the corner open their mouths in shock.
At that moment, Miliktos suddenly looked behind Eunice and shouted, "Lord Scepter Priest!"
"Oh, Miliktos." The white-robed Plesinas saw the plea for help in the sculptor's eyes. He gently waved his hand, and then walked in front of Eunice, "Your Royal Highnesses, sorry to keep you waiting. The temporary shrine has been cleaned up, and the braziers, lamps, and other things for worship have been prepared. We can begin now."
Eunice looked at Miliktos, and her eyes flickered. She softly said, "Just now, I came to admire this sculpture with my sister. Master Miliktos carved it very well, and I even had a conversation with him. He also promised me that the next time I come to admire this sculpture, it will be even better. Is that so? Master Miliktos? "
"Yes, Your Royal Highness," Miliktos replied helplessly.
Plesinas looked at the sculpture, and then looked at Miliktos. Of course, he was experienced enough to feel that there was something fishy about this, but he tactfully did not probe further. Instead, he immediately led the two princesses and the palace guards to the temporary shrine.
When they were completely gone, the assistants stood up and complained, "Even if she's a princess, she can't interfere with teacher's creation!"
"So she's the famous naughty princess of Turií! How can she get married in the future if she's so unruly? "
… …
"Shut up, all of you! Do you want to die? Get to work! "Miliktos roared, and suddenly there was silence.
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