Chapter 260
Herpes stood beside the bed and shook his head at Devers with a solemn expression.
Devers walked to the bedside with heavy steps and stared at the skinny old man.
Heraclid did not react to the arrival of the Devers.
The Devers held his right hand, which was only skin and bones and was still covered with dust. The Devers did not mind it at all and said in a deep and sincere voice, "Heracrid, thank you for your contribution to Diónia! Your name will be forever remembered by the people of Diónia! … "
Devers's words seemed to have worked. Heracrid slowly closed his eyes, and his breathing gradually disappeared …
Herpes hurried over and pressed his head against Li Du's chest. He listened carefully and reached out his hand to feel Li Du's breath. Finally, he shook his head and said softly, "He went …"
Soon, the courtyard, which was filled to the brim with people, was filled with cries. All the architects, craftsmen, engravers, slaves … all fell into grief.
The Devers murmured in a low voice, "Elysium welcomes you. Hades will shelter you. You will be a guest of Hades. You will build a splendid palace for his residence. Whether it is on earth or in heaven, the great name of Hades will be sung …"
Little Heraclid, who was crying beside him, listened to the Devers' eulogy. He wiped away his tears and thanked the Archon.
The Devers patted him on the shoulder to comfort him and said, "The inauguration ceremony of the Hades Holy Temple will be held the day after tomorrow. I need you to find the best sculptor to make a bust of your father in two days. He will be the first person to enter the Holy Temple for the people to worship."
This was a glorious event! Little Heracrid immediately stopped crying out of excitement. After thinking for a while, he turned around and said a few words to another grieving man.
The man came over and bowed respectfully to the Devers. At the same time, he said excitedly, "Mr. Devers, it's an honor for my teacher to receive such respect from you! It is also the glory of all architects and craftsmen! I'll immediately look for the best sculptor. I'll definitely complete the sculpture within two days! "
"Piasikos, I've heard Heraclid mention you many times." Devers nodded and encouraged him, "Heraclide is gone. As his most outstanding disciple, not only do you have to continue to pass on his skills, but you also have to delve into new construction techniques and bring out more outstanding students! Amendolara, Neutum, Grumentum, Crimissa, Asprustum, and so on. In the future, there will be more cities waiting for you to redesign them and make them as clean, functional, and beautiful as Turií. I hope that when you grow old, you can also enter the Virtuous Temple like your teacher! … "
The Devers's words caused Piascos's heart to surge with emotion.
… …
On the way back to the city, the Devers called for Plesinas and listened to his arrangements for the inauguration ceremony of the Temple of Hades.
Finally, Plesinas said, "All the celebrations now, including your lighting of the Sacred Fire, have been rehearsed many times to ensure that there will be no major mistakes. There's only one problem that needs to be solved. We still lack a priest to manage the temple. "
According to the tradition of the aristocratic era, the consul had the right to worship, so he also served as the high priest. Now, with the power and prestige of the Devers, not to mention the fact that he was Hades's "favored one," it had always been reasonable for him to serve as the high priest. However, the choice of the priest who presided over the daily affairs of the temple was difficult for the Senate.
As one of the 12 main gods of Greece, although Hades was also worshipped, because of his death and dark characteristics, almost no city had built a special temple for him. Therefore, he did not have a public priest. There was once a Turií senator who proposed to invite the believers of the Eleusis Ritual, which was once popular in Athens, but it was opposed by everyone. This was because the Eleusis Ritual worshipped Persephone, the wife of Pluto, and Demeter, the goddess of fertility, not Hades himself. However, it was not appropriate to let the priests of other gods take over, so the Senate had been arguing about it. Of course, this also had to do with the Devers's refusal to take a stand.
At this time, the Devers did not seem to realize that he was the culprit of this problem. He did not directly respond to Plesinas's words, but looked at the Senate senator in front of him with great interest. From an enemy when they first met, to a political helper who cooperated well with him, Plesinas's loyalty and unique talent made him admire him very much. "Plesinas, you have done a good job in presiding over the construction of the Temple of Hades. What do you plan to do next?"
Plesinas was excited, thinking that the Devers were going to reward him according to his contributions. He immediately said, "I want to run for the Supreme Supervisor next year!"
The Devers nodded his head. Because he was walking with only a team of guards behind him, when the Turís saw him, they saluted him respectfully. Of course, he also nodded to the people from time to time. He took the opportunity to say, "The woman who saluted just now is from Lucaria, and she should believe in Asenu. This one is from Thrace, and the gods they believe in the most should be Dionysus and Ares. As for that one … You see, the citizens of Diónia come from all over the Mediterranean Sea, and they believe in hundreds and thousands of gods. In the future, as the territory of Diónia continues to expand, the number of races that become citizens of Diónia will also increase, and the number of gods in the Diónia Alliance will also increase. Although the strong military power of Diónia protects the lives of the citizens, and the advanced and elegant culture will increase the citizens' sense of belonging, here … "The Devers pointed to his head and said solemnly," It is chaotic! Once Diónia encounters a major disaster, I'm afraid it will be difficult for the people to unite and overcome the difficulties together. In that case, all our efforts will be in vain! "
Since ancient times, the Greeks had always believed in polytheism, so they rarely cared about the beliefs of other races. Plesinas didn't expect that the Devers would make this religious issue sound so serious, and he wondered what the Devers' intention was.
"Have you heard of the Jews?" The Devers suddenly asked.
"I think … I think someone said that they were a race that was good at business in Persia …" Plesinas tried hard to recall. The Jews at this time were not like the Jews under the peaceful rule of the Roman Empire hundreds of years later. They could freely do business and settle everywhere, and thus frequently had conflicts with the Greeks. Because at this time, the Western Mediterranean Sea was controlled by two races that were good at business — the Greeks and the Carthage. The Jews had no foothold in the Western Mediterranean Sea at all, so they were less known.
"The Jews are not only good at business, they are also a monotheistic religion, and only believe in one god."
"One and only god?!" Plesinas couldn't believe his ears. Among the many kingdoms, city-states, and races in the Mediterranean Sea, there was actually a race that only believed in one god.
"Yes, the Jews only believe in one god!" The Devers gave him an affirmative answer and said seriously, "The Jews are a weak race. They first lived in Egypt and were enslaved by the Egyptian Pharaoh. Their life was difficult until a Jewish hero, Moses, appeared and led the Jews to escape from Egypt after many hardships. After decades of wandering and bloody killings, they finally seized the land of Canaan and established their own country. But the good times didn't last long. The Assyrians of Mesopotamia destroyed the Jewish Kingdom and sent all the Jews to Babylon as slaves. It wasn't until King Cyrus of Persia destroyed Assyria that the Jews were released.
They returned to their homeland and rebuilt their country and religion. During the hundreds of years of turmoil in Asia, many other races that once lived with the Jews had perished. But the Jews endured hardships and survived tenaciously. Why? " The Devers paused and gave Plesinas time to think, then said in a deep voice, "Because their faith is firm and they worship one and only god, so they always remain united. In the face of other more brilliant races and civilizations, they didn't lose themselves and forget the roots of their race!"
Plesinas thought about what the Devers said. He understood what the Devers wanted to express, and said hesitantly, "Sir, the Greeks believe in many gods, and the people of Diónia believe in even more gods. This is a tradition that has been passed down and rooted in our blood! If … if we force them to believe in one god, I'm afraid … I'm afraid there will be big trouble! "
Seeing the worried look on Plesinas' face, the Devers smiled and said, "Of course I won't make such a stupid proposal, but we can take the initiative to guide the people to believe in Hades, so that the people of Diónia from all places and races can be as close to each other as possible. Am I right?"
"Sir, even if we build the Temple of Hades, the habits of the Greeks won't change easily. They pray to Poseidon when they go out to sea, Hermes when they do business, and Demeter when they are farmers … The Greeks are very realistic. If they need anything, they will pray to the gods. It's impossible to only pray to Hades! "Plesinas shook his head and said.
Comments