Chapter 1264
The bronze basin on the altar had been filled with olive oil. When the torch came into contact with it, it immediately ignited into flames, emitting heat waves in all directions.
Amid the cheers of the audience, Márquez seemed to see familiar faces through the hot flames. They were all smiling at him, shouting loudly and forcefully, "Yes, Captain!" Then, under his lead, they shouted the name of Hades and charged toward the fleeing enemies …
Two streams of hot tears rolled down Márquez's cheeks.
With the help of the two teenagers, Márquez walked to the exit of the arena. Only then did his mood recover, and he quickly thanked the two teenagers.
However, he heard one of the teenagers wave his hand and say, "Uncle, you're welcome! My name is Cristos, and Cloto Catax is my father. "
The other teenager then said, "I … I'm Enon, and Adoris is my father!"
"Commander?! … Captain?! " Márquez was stunned. It was as if God's will had once again brought his thoughts back to that bloody battle. Overwhelmed with emotions, he hugged the two teenagers and cried loudly …
… …
At this time, in the arena, the head of the referee team, Calsidis, walked through the team of athletes and came to the front of the altar. Facing the scrutinizing gazes of the athletes, he solemnly said in a loud voice, "In the name of the gods, I, Calsidis, as a referee of this Games, am willing to swear to you, in front of thousands of spectators, that I will always treat every athlete fairly in the Games, strictly manage every event according to the rules of the Games, and handle every dispute seriously and responsibly … If I violate this oath, please punish me!"
As soon as he finished speaking, the entire referee team of more than 200 priests also began to swear in unison. The voices of more than 200 people gathered together could basically be heard by the spectators in the nearby stands.
Many spectators from the Greek city-states were stunned after hearing the oath. Although the Diónia Games had an oath like the previous Greek Games, there were obvious differences. First of all, whether it was the Olympia Games, the Pythian Games, the Corinth Games, or the Nemean Games, they all swore in front of one god. How could they swear to the gods like this? It seemed like child's play. If something really went wrong, which god would punish them?
Secondly, in the previous Games, it was the athletes who swore. As the referees, the priests did not need to swear, because they were the spokespersons of the gods in the world and were respected. How could they cheat in the Games? In fact, the priests were bribed by the athletes and even the city-states to publicly tamper with the results of the Games. However, the Diónia Games were made by the priests first, which showed the importance the Kingdom of Diónia attached to the Games, as well as its determination to rectify cheating in the Games.
Thirdly, in the previous Games, the athletes swore to the statue of the gods in the temple under the guidance of the priests, which was relatively private to the spectators. This time, however, the oath was made in the middle of the arena, and the oath clearly mentioned that the spectators outside the arena would be the witness. This was more pleasing to the people. After all, the punishment of the gods was illusory, but the anger of the people could be expressed directly.
In any case, the new oath of the Diónia Games successfully aroused a heated discussion among the spectators.
At this time, the Turís athlete representative once again led all the athletes to solemnly swear with a similar oath. The powerful sound wave formed by thousands of people spread throughout the venue, causing an even greater sensation.
Amidst the heated discussion among the spectators, the opening ceremony of the Diónia Games finally came to an end. The teams of judges and athletes began to leave the arena in order.
In this regard, most of the audience felt that it was not enough. Even the most picky representatives of Olympia, Delphi, and Corinth had to admit that the opening ceremony of their games was too short, not lively enough, and too private. Compared to the opening ceremony of the Dionysian Games, the opening ceremony of their games was too short, not lively enough, and too private. The opening ceremony of the Dionysian Games attracted the attention of the shallow audience.
"Your Majesty, just like what you said in the invitation letter, the opening ceremony of this Games is indeed grand and novel. It's an eye-opener for me. I feel like I haven't seen enough!" Plato praised sincerely.
Xenophon wanted to refute but did not say anything in the end.
The Devers laughed and said, "The opening ceremony has been going on for a few hours. It's already noon. According to the customs of the people of Diónia, it's time for lunch. It doesn't matter if you haven't seen enough, the best is yet to come. Let's have lunch and continue to watch the later games. "
On the first day of the Diónia Games, there was not only the opening ceremony, but also the 100-meter race.
This was the suggestion of the Devers. He was going to use this combination to clearly tell those who were doubtful about the success of the Diónia Games that the Diónia Games not only had a good opening ceremony, but the games were also very exciting! So as to stimulate the enthusiasm of all the people in Turís to watch the Games.
During lunch, Xenophon raised the doubt in his heart, "Devers, when I entered the arena, I saw the notice you posted on the wall at the entrance. In addition to this opening ceremony, there will be a 100-meter preliminary race next. Does this refer to the 100-meter race? Did the Diónia Games also change the distance of the traditional Greek running games? "
When the Kingdom of Diónia was first founded, the weights and measures implemented were very different from those of other Greek city-states. As the country grew stronger and trade with other city-states became more frequent, the weights and measures of Diónia were gradually accepted by foreign merchants because they were more systematic, more detailed and easier to operate. When the Greek Union was established and Diónia became the overlord of Greece, in these few years, the weights and measures of Diónia had gradually replaced the more chaotic traditional weights and measures of the Greek city-states … So Xenophon and Plato were familiar with the concept of "meter".
Devers took a sip of the cold syrup and explained unhurriedly, "According to the research of the Diónia School, the distance that we humans can sprint with all our strength is about 100 meters. As the distance gradually increases, endurance will replace explosive force, so the 100-meter race is to test the speed limit that we adults can reach when sprinting with all our strength."
"In that case, the shortest distance of the previous running games (about 192 meters) is … a test to show the physical endurance of the athletes after sprinting with all their strength?" Plato said thoughtfully.
"That's right." Devers nodded and responded, "The 200-meter race of the Diónia Games and the shortest distance of the previous games are all for this purpose, while the 400-meter and 800-meter races are more focused on endurance —"
"What about the marathon?" Xenophon interrupted him and asked, "Is it to completely test the speed endurance of adults? Devers, how did you come up with the idea of using it as a race? "
Although Xenophon and Plato were not interested in the current Athens government, they were both people of Athens after all, and they were equally proud of the glorious history of Athens. Devers knew this very well, so he said solemnly, "The Battle of the Marathon is of great significance to all Greeks. Holding a race in its name will undoubtedly make the Greek people, and even the people of the entire Mediterranean Sea, cherish that distant history for a long time.
In terms of competition itself, the marathon is not only a test of the athletes' maximum endurance, but also their willpower. Not to mention winning the championship, it's not easy to persist to the end of the race. "
"Yes, even the Fleet-Footed Pheidippides, who was in high spirits after winning the battle and ran the whole distance without stopping, died of exhaustion in the end. It can be seen that the marathon is a very dangerous event!" Xenophon said with a somewhat solemn expression.
"But even so, there are still many people from Athens who have signed up for this event. They obviously want to bring the glory of the marathon champion back to Athens," said Plato.
"Then they will face the competition of the best long-distance runners in Diónia." Devers smiled and said seriously, "However, you don't have to worry too much. We have taken the danger of this race into account, so we have specially arranged medical personnel along the entire route of the marathon. Once they find any abnormalities, they will immediately rescue them. Moreover, we have also made special rules for this race. The athletes who participate in this race must act according to their abilities. If their physical condition is not good, they are allowed to withdraw halfway through the race … "
… …
While Devers and his two friends were chatting about the sports games in the royal stands, the spectators were not idle either. The people of Diónia had been watching ball games all year round and were very experienced. Since they knew that they would be staying in the arena for the whole day today, most of them had brought lunch in advance. At this moment, they were already eating in their seats with their families.
Although the foreign spectators did not have the habit of eating lunch, they had been cheering and applauding non-stop all morning, which had consumed a lot of energy. When they saw the Diónia spectators next to them munching on their food, they all felt hungry. At this moment, many hawkers appeared in the aisle between the spectators in time to sell bread, salted fish, cured meat, dried fruits, milk … They were quickly sold out.
The spectators ate while excitedly talking about the opening ceremony just now, while curiously watching the scene in the field and guessing how the next race would be carried out.
Comments