Chapter 1265
Because there were dozens of athletes left on the field, all of whom were going to participate in the 100m sprint. Although the organizing team had prepared lunch for them, most of the athletes didn't eat right away. Instead, they warmed up and adapted to the field on the track.
On the side near the royal stand, the staff of the games inserted wooden poles at the two ends of the track that had been measured. Then, they tied long ropes to the poles and straightened them out on the ground. Then, the referees used the iron ladles on the poles to draw straight white lines that were hundreds of meters long on the solid ground along the ropes …
"I thought it was strange that there were neither starting slabs nor finishing pillars in the stadium. How could the race be held? Now I know that the white lines drawn with white powder are the starting line, the finishing line, and the running tracks. It's very clear! "
"But, I counted. They only drew six running tracks with white lines. Are they only going to let six athletes participate in the race at a time? I remember that in other games, there were more than a dozen finishing pillars, and more than a dozen athletes competed at the same time … "
"That's not a big deal. Just run a few more rounds! The key is that there are fewer athletes this time, which can avoid confusion and make it easier for the referees to supervise. It seems that the people of Diónia have seriously studied the shortcomings of other games, and they really want to do a good job in this games. "
The speaker was a middle-aged citizen from the city of Oconus in the Arcadia Union, Halpius. He had participated in many running competitions in various games when he was young. Later, he could not participate because of his old age, but he was keen to watch the games. His biggest regret was not being able to win the championship. There was once when he was very close to winning the championship, but because a competitor next to him swung his arm and hit him in the face, his final result was affected. He had also appealed to the referee, but to no avail. Therefore, he deeply hated some of the Greek Games' shortcomings.
Halpius was a veteran sports fan. When he learned that Diónia, the hegemon of the Greek world, was going to hold a sports game, he came to watch without hesitation. He was lucky enough to buy a ticket for the opening ceremony. Before entering the arena, he was very critical of the Diónia Games, but after the opening ceremony, he had a much better impression of the Diónia Games. The unprecedented novelty of the opening ceremony was secondary, and more importantly, he felt that the Diónia Games respected the athletes.
As someone who had been through it, he knew the hardships of being an athlete. In addition to the hard training, he had to go to the stadium alone before the games began, pay for his own accommodation, sign up at the temple in time, and be questioned by the priest. The tedious preparation, nervousness, and irritation before the start of the games were all given to the champions. After the games, no one would care about the other injuries of the losers …
But this time, the Diónia Games were obviously different. He had talked to the athletes of the Arcadia Union before: Diónia not only provided all the athletes with free and comfortable accommodation and food, but also required the participating city-states to send officials to take care of all the chores of the athletes. This meant that the athletes could devote themselves to the games and did not have to worry about other problems. At the opening ceremony, the Diónia Games arranged for the athletes to circle the stadium and receive the greetings and cheers of so many spectators …
Halpius regretted that he was born a few years earlier and did not enjoy such a special honor.
Therefore, Halpius, who had a good impression of the Diónia Games, certainly hoped that the Diónia Games could also be outstanding after entering the competition stage. With his experienced competitive vision, he carefully observed the layout of the stadium and soon found some clues that were different from the previous games.
"I heard that the Diónia Games will not only hold a 100-meter race, but also a 200-meter, 400-meter, and 800-meter race … After I entered the stadium, I found that there were no stone pillars in the stadium, so I have been wondering how they will carry out a long-distance race. (In the Greek Games, in a long-distance race, the athletes will run from the starting stone slab to the finishing stone pillar, then run around the stone pillar and back again. This cycle will repeat until they have run the full distance, similar to the current shuttle run.) Now I understand.
Look! The Diónia Games built a large circle with small stone bricks. Then, just like now, they drew tracks with lime powder outside the circle. The athletes will run around the entire circle. Not to mention a few hundred meters, they can even run a few thousand meters easily. This is much easier than running around the stone pillars! "
Halpius had a deep understanding of the long-distance race in the previous games. With his decades of experience in the games, his explanation was both logical and infectious. Naturally, it attracted a group of spectators. With him as the leader, they discussed seriously.
At this moment, someone shouted, "Look up! Oh my god, the Diónia Games are going to cover the sky! "
The foreign spectators looked up one after another. Then, all of them opened their mouths wide in surprise. In the sky above the main arena, long strips of white cloth were slowly gathering toward the center of the stadium, piecing together to form a thin white cloth cover. It covered the sky above the arena, blocking the noon sun and bringing shade to the spectators.
Xenophon, who had come to the Diónia Arena for the first time, was as surprised as the other foreign spectators. He could not help but ask, "How is this done?"
Devers replied calmly, "Actually, it's very simple. There are 200 wooden poles erected at the edge of the top of the arena. Each wooden pole is connected to a wooden pole on the opposite side of the center of the circle with pulleys and ropes. When it's sunny and there's a competition, the management of the arena will tie special strips of cloth to the ropes of each wooden pole. Then, they will turn the pulleys and push the strips of cloth to the center of the sky … However, while we're enjoying all of this, don't forget that there are hundreds of management personnel at the top of the arena serving us under the scorching sun …"
"Although it sounds very simple, the design is very ingenious!" Plato, who was at the side, sighed sincerely. "The key is that this kind of spirit is not willing to endure when encountering difficulties, but to try their best to solve the difficulties and strive to do their best is very rare! We Greeks are relatively careless and not very particular about life, but the people of Diónia are different. They have very high requirements for life, so their spirit of striving to do their best permeates all aspects of the kingdom … So, I'm full of confidence in Diónia's sports games. It will not only be a success, but it will also give all Greeks a new understanding of sports games! "
"Hahaha …" Devers laughed heartily. "Well done, Plato. You can even make such a big point out of such a small matter!"
Xenophon did not speak. He looked up into the sky, deep in thought.
Just as the foreign spectators were marveling at the ingenious design of the main arena, the athletes began to leave the field. This caused some spectators to be puzzled. "Is the race not going to be held?"
Some spectators who were as experienced as Halpius said with certainty, "No, the race is going to start soon!"
Just as they said, the athletes came to the lounge next to the entrance of the arena. As the Diónia games were held every year, the lounge specially for the players to rest in was decorated very comfortably. However, the athletes were not in the mood to care about such things. They took off the fancy clothes they wore for the entrance ceremony and put on the shorts specially provided by Diónia. Then, they began to carefully and evenly apply olive oil on their bodies. After all this was done, everyone began to pray to Apollo devoutly to soothe their nervous hearts.
After a while. A priest walked in and said loudly, "Contestants, it's time for the competition. Please enter the arena!"
Cyrithaus, who had already calmed down, heard this, and his heart began to beat faster again.
Dozens of athletes returned to the field again, and the priest gathered them together. As this was the first race of the Diónia games, Calsidis, who was in charge of the referees, personally presided over the competition in order to ensure that it went smoothly. The old priest, who had always been amiable, looked very serious at the moment. He said in a forceful tone, "Contestants, I think after this period of practice, you should be very familiar with the rules of the Diónia games. However, before the competition starts, only the contestants whose names are called can participate in the race. The other contestants must stay away from the track and not interfere with the race. The contestants can only start after the referee gives the order to start the race. Before the race starts, the contestants cannot step on the starting line. After the race starts, the contestants cannot deviate from their track, interfere with other contestants, or deliberately obstruct or injure others …
If any of these rules are violated, the contestants will be disqualified from the competition! If the contestants deliberately violate the rules and the circumstances are extremely serious, the referees will report the contestant's situation to the organizing team of the games. They will decide whether to carve the contestant's appearance on the disciplinary wall of the Diónia games' museum that will be built soon. This will serve as a warning to the contestants who will participate in the Diónia games in the future! Did you hear that?! "
"Yes!" The contestants nodded in response.
Only then did Calsidis reveal a smile. He raised his palms to the sky and said gently, "May Hades bless you!"
Then, a priest took the athlete's name list and said loudly, "Attention, everyone. The contestant whose name I called will participate in the first round of the race — Cyrithaus! Track 1! "
Cyritius was stunned. 'I'm the first one to be called, isn't my luck a little too good?'
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