ancient greece mediterranean ruler

Chapter 1197 Traveling in Sparta

Further forward, there are fewer and fewer thatched mud houses and more and more traditional Greek courtyards. However, their exterior walls have no gorgeous decorations and appear to be very simple. They are scattered according to the terrain and streams, and there is no trace of them at all. Feeling crowded.

Moreover, various trees, wildflowers, and grasses should be deliberately planted in front of most houses. In this spring season, birds are chirping, streams are gurgling, grass is green, flowers are in full bloom, bees and butterflies are flying, and the air is filled with The intoxicating aroma of vegetation...these houses are submerged in a patch of colorful vegetation. Perhaps this is the unique aesthetics of the Spartans, full of pastoral vitality.

"This is the city of Sparta, it's just like a village!" Tertotis, the eldest son of Leoticides and now a follower of Crotocathax, showed a disappointed look on his face.

Teltotis grew up in Dionia, and for some reason, Leoticides never told the children about Sparta, so he didn't have any special feelings for Sparta , was very repulsive after learning about his life experience, feeling that this life experience would make him look strange among the citizens of Dionia.

Clotokatax agreed to Leoticides' request and let him stay with him. In fact, he did not use him as an orderly. On the contrary, he treated him as well as he treated his own brother.Because after this period of getting along, Clotokatax felt that Tertotis and Briantes had similar personalities and ages, so when he entered Sparta this time, he specially brought Tertotis with him. He was with me out of good intentions to let him see his hometown. As a result, the young man who was used to the prosperity of Thurii obviously did not like the simple and simple Sparta.

"Hey, boy!" Olivers showed a weird smile: "When I have the opportunity, I will take you to the Lagunda Pass from Mount Taygetos to Messenia. I heard that there is an unfathomable canyon there. , the Spartans threw the newborn babies who were not strong enough into the canyon. Over the past hundred years, I don’t know how many babies’ bones have accumulated in it..."

Tertotis glared at him fiercely, turned his head away, and ignored him.

"Commander Olivers, saying such disgusting things at this time affects our mood too much." Printols said half-jokingly, half-complainingly.

"The disgusting things the Spartans did are far more than this. Fortunately, the kind Hades let us come." Olivers sighed.

Hearing this, Teltotis felt even more disgusted with Sparta in his heart,

"That should be the Acropolis of Sparta." At this time, Crotocathax asked loudly.

Following the direction of his finger, a not too high hill rose up among the low houses in front. On the hill stood several tall temples with walls made of dark red marble. As he approached Looking up from below, the temple looked majestic and majestic, but there were no walls around it, so Crotokatax was not sure.

"That can be regarded as the Acropolis of Sparta, the Temple of Athena-Chuckorok." Sekerian replied.

The acropolis of the Greek city-state is not only the center of belief and sacrifice for the people of the city-state, but also the last fortress in the face of foreign invasion. It is generally surrounded by stone walls as a protective barrier.However, since the Spartans are confident that they don’t need walls to defend the city, they don’t need to build an acropolis wall if they want to, but I’m afraid they have regretted it now... Crotocartax thought to himself, couldn’t help but Zhu asked another question that puzzled him: "Didn't the Spartans worship Zeus and Hercules? But why is Athena enshrined in their acropolis?"

Sekerian shrugged: "There is a relatively small Temple of Hercules on the top of the mountain, but the Acropolis is indeed dominated by Athena. As for why this is so? I can't answer it. Otherwise, I'll catch it another day. An old Spartan man comes to ask?"

"Spartans advocate war, and Athena is the goddess of war wisdom. I'm afraid it has something to do with this." Printors mentioned.

"Since Spartans like to fight, it may be more appropriate to worship Ares, the god of war." Olivers also interjected.

"Actually, the Spartans are very particular about strategy in war and generally do not act recklessly, which is consistent with the domain of war wisdom that Athena is good at. However, the barbaric and ferocious Ares is not popular among the Greek people, and there are few The city-state worships him, and I heard that he is highly respected among the Thracians in northern Greece..." Crotokatax couldn't help but express his speculation.

As they talked, a group of people walked around to the front of the Temple of Athena. The place was completely paved with large flat stone slabs and steps, extending up to the temple step by step. It was completely different from the bumpy dirt road before.

"Commander, do you want to go to the temple to see it?" Sekerian made an invitation gesture.

Clotokatax hesitated, then shook his head.

Crotokatax graduated from Thurii School with honors, and he knew very well that the Acropolis temple of the Greek city-state was different from that of the Kingdom of Dionia in that ordinary people were not allowed to enter the main temple casually. (Only priests who can communicate with gods can enter), so the temple gates are usually guarded by guards. However, now that the Spartan people have become prisoners, it is impossible for anyone to guard their acropolis.It's just that although he entered here as a winner, he was not prepared to blaspheme the Spartans' beliefs with an arrogant attitude.

Crotokatax didn't go up, and other generals were too embarrassed to go up.

The Temple of Athena is already in the center of the city of Sparta, walking forward on a flat stone road, surrounded by tall bronze sculptures, or magnificent buildings: open-air sports arena, a theater-like civic meeting place, several kilometers long The ten-meter colonnade-style open building-the public dining hall, the altars of various gods and heroes, and the victory column surrounded by the statues of the famous Spartan kings as the top decoration, are mainly used for citizens' daily life. A square for training and gathering during wartime...

Here, the city of Sparta finally showed a Greek hegemony that was far beyond what a village could match.Presumably, many Spartan people wandered in this area every day in the past, and there were also many Spartan citizens, old and young, who were half-naked and fighting here. It must be very lively... But now except for a team The patrolling Dionian soldiers could no longer see anyone else and looked very lonely.

Clotokatax couldn't help but ask: "General Sekerian, where did you imprison the Spartan people?"

"Some of them are imprisoned at the Spartan training ground in the southeast, mainly women and children; others are at the port, helping us load and unload supplies. Both places are heavily guarded, and it is impossible for them to escape."

Clotokatax nodded, and then he saw a bronze statue about 10 meters high standing not far ahead. The statue was a fully armed Spartan warrior, with his head held high and his eyes firm. , holding a shield in his left hand, and punching the ground with a spear in his right hand, giving people a firm and unyielding demeanor.Various wild flowers are planted around the statue. They are blooming at this season, giving the cold statue a little more life.

"This is the cemetery of King Leonidas of Sparta." Sekerian pointed at the statue, and his relaxed expression calmed down.

"The one who died at Thermopylae?!" Tagtinos asked excitedly.

"Yes, that's the hero." Sekerian responded in a deep voice.

Everyone's expressions suddenly became solemn.

The Spartan king Leonidas led 300 soldiers to garrison at Thermopylae to resist the hundreds of thousands of Persian troops. The story of them being unable to advance for a time, but eventually all of them died in battle due to betrayal by traitors has long been a household legend in Greece. Hundreds of years have passed. Still durable.The Spartans erected a special statue for people to worship this king who won great reputation for the city-state. I am afraid they also hoped that his brave and fearless spirit of sacrifice could be passed down among the citizens.

Although Crotocathax and the others were enemies, they paid their respects to the Spartan hero from the bottom of their hearts.

After a moment, everyone turned and left, and Sekerian suddenly sighed proudly: "Unfortunately... the era of Sparta is about to pass! Maybe the story of our Dionian hero will be spread among the Greek people in the future! "

"There must be quite a few of these stories about you Sekerian," Olivers quipped.

"I think this day is not far away!" Clotokatax immediately took over the conversation and encouraged everyone.

Under the guidance of Sekerian, everyone strode towards a majestic building not far away that was also made of red marble and looked heavy and solemn. This was the Assembly Hall, the highest center of power in Sparta.It was the seat of the Council of Elders and the five censors, but now it will become the place where Clotocathus and the generals discussed how to deal with Sparta.

......................................................

Hundreds of years ago, a group of Dorians who came south from the north of Greece occupied the Eurotas River plain and established many villages. They were called "Lasiedemonians", and this land was called "Lago" by them. Nia".

As time went by, one of the villages arose and won the right to rule over four nearby villages, thus uniting to establish a town, known as "Sparta", and having its own king.

Soon after, they began to wage war against other Lacedaemonian villages, but during the same period, several towns also sprang up elsewhere in Lagoria, and Sparta was not strong enough to complete the war against the entire region. Its conquest caused other villages to unite to fight against it.

　Thanks to Zheng Ma Guying and Logging in mj is a painful thing for the reward!Your support is the greatest motivation for my writing!
　　
　
(End of this chapter)