ancient greece mediterranean ruler

Chapter 1254 VIPs at the opening ceremony

Iphicrates looked in the direction of his finger, and then showed a sympathetic look on his face: "He must be Thurii who just arrived yesterday, so we didn't see him in the hotel. Speaking of which, he is quite pitiful. Yes, his son who was seriously injured in the Greek war died of illness last year, and they Spartans are all idiots with well-developed limbs and simple minds. They can't defeat the cunning Pileas in the new Spartan government. and the Helots supported by Messelia and Arcadia (some of the Spartan Helots once immigrated to the Tegea territory to which Mandinia belonged, so as Arcadia The alliance leader has good relations with Mantinia), so he, who is almost 80 years old, continues to attend the New Spartan Assembly..."

"If it weren't for his constant running around, we would have almost forgotten the Spartans." Callistratus sighed: "What a respectable old man!"

Agesilaus didn't know that there were two acquaintances talking about him not far away. The reason why he arrived yesterday was because he had been ill before and had just recovered, so he rushed to Turi regardless of the doctor's dissuasion. Oh, how could he give up such a good opportunity to meet King Davos to gain some benefits for the Spartans.In order to satisfy his long-standing wish, before he died, he took a stroll around Dionia, which he had been deliberately trying to deal with for decades.

Yesterday, it was already dusk when the passenger ship arrived at the port of Turiyi. After getting ashore, exhausted, he got on the carriage sent by the Turiyi City Hall to the port to pick up and drop off distinguished guests. He fell asleep after getting on the carriage and did not appreciate it. Landscape of the city of Thurii.

This morning, when he was led into the main arena of Hades by the guide, even though he had seen countless big scenes in his life, he was still shocked by this huge building.He looked up, as if a frog at the bottom of a well could only see a small circular patch of sky above the tall building, but the boiling sound of the gradually filling auditorium made him feel insignificant.

He has participated in all four major sports games in Greece. He has also led troops to intervene in the sports games several times, but this is the first time he has seen such a large and imposing competition venue. He is carefully looking at this special venue. At that moment, a voice came from the side: "Agesilaus, nice to see you!"

Agesilaus looked back and saw that it was Pelopidas, the current military governor of Boeotia, and standing next to him was also an acquaintance who impressed Agesilaus deeply - Ipamirondas.

Pelopidas was smiling, and Ipamelonda nodded to him, although her face was calm.

However, Agesilaus's face twitched a few times, and he said coldly with a sullen face: "I'm not happy to see you!" After saying that, he turned around and ignored the two of them.

It is not surprising that Agesilaus had such a reaction, because in recent years he has been regretting that Sparta should not have launched the Theban War, otherwise it would not be in such a bad situation today.And it was the two Thebans in front of him who had led Thebes to fight fiercely with Sparta for many years and also defeated the Spartan army in the Battle of Leuctra. How could he give them a good look?

Agesilaus's response made Pelopidas slightly embarrassed. He smiled self-deprecatingly, shrugged at Ipamilonda, and said loudly on purpose: "I didn't expect that we are all in the same alliance now. He still thinks about the past." It’s a grudge.”

"Compare the current situation of the Thebans and Spartans. It's strange that he can see so clearly." Ipamelonda said softly and understandingly.

Before the Theban War, Sparta was the overlord of Greece and had garrisons in many city-states in Central Greece, including Thebes. The Thebes government officials went to meet the Spartan garrison generals and knelt like slaves meeting their masters. Not to mention the general public.

Unexpectedly, after more than 20 years, the real Spartans have been reduced to the point of extinction, but Thebes, with the strong support of Dionia, not only completely integrated the entire Pioxia area, but also vigorously developed the Spartans. Oropus and the port in the Gulf of Corinth facilitated the sea trade with Dionia, which greatly improved the shortcomings of the Pioxia region, making it the second largest power in the Greek Union (the first largest power It is the holy kingdom of Dionia. After Athens disbanded the maritime alliance and lost those sub-states, it lagged behind the Pioxia Alliance in terms of land area and number of citizens, but its population and business development were still higher than that of Pioxia. , but because the relationship between Thebes and Dionia is closer, most Greek people think that Piotia is stronger than Athens), which greatly enhances the right to speak in the alliance, and also makes the Thebes in the Greek mainland status rose sharply.

Hedong in 30 years and west of Hexi in 30 years. Today, the status of Sparta and Thebes is completely reversed.

"Indeed!" Pelopidas laughed heartily.

Agesilaus in the front row felt harsh when he heard the laughter, but he could only pretend not to hear it.

"Sit down quickly, don't block the audience behind." Epamironda reminded him. He felt that it was completely unnecessary for Agesilaus to take a small revenge on his friend.He is an indifferent person by nature. Since the establishment of the New Greek League and the unification of Thebes in the Boeotian region, he has voluntarily resigned from all positions. If it were not for this time, Dionia's invitation letter to the Boeotian League specifically stated Ipamilonda was appointed to attend, but he was probably still living in seclusion at home.

After Pelopidas sat down, he looked around with interest, and then said excitedly: "The invitation letter from Dionia to us said that they will hold a unique sports meeting. I see this arena It’s very different, at least none of the Greek city-states, including Thebes, have the ability to build it!”

"Yes!" Ipamilonda also sighed: "Do you remember that time when we were young and watched the sports meeting in Corinth, only to see the Dionysian players being expelled? Who among us would have thought of that at that time? Dionia, who was humiliated by the audience, became the overlord of the entire Greece just over 20 years later, and invited the entire Mediterranean city-states and countries to participate in the games it hosted!"

"What you said reminded me." Pelopidas said half-jokingly and half-seriously: "I heard that even after Dionia became the leader of the Greek League, Dionia has participated in various sports games in the past few years. Alien athletes will still be discriminated against by the Greek people, so King Dioria decided to hold this games out of anger, allowing all races in the Mediterranean to participate. This is the magnanimity of a big country! Unlike our Greek city-states, which are stubborn, conservative and petty. !”

"Do the Greek city-states you are talking about also include our Thebes and Boeotian alliance?" Ipamelonda asked lightly.

Pelopidas did not respond, pointed to the side not far away, and said gloatingly: "Look, General Cleonian of Corinth is there! I wonder what kind of mood he would have sitting in this arena. , are you worried that the Dionysian Games will surpass the Corinthian Games and become the most popular sports meeting among the Greek people?!"

"Not only Corinth will be worried, I think Ellis and Delphi will also be worried. Look, aren't their envoys sitting there!" A voice came from beside them.

Ipamelonda immediately stood up: "Lycomedes, good morning!"

"Good morning, Pelopidas and Ipamelonda! I'm glad to be sitting with you!" Lycomedes raised the ticket in his hand and pointed to the number on the stone bench, sighing. Said: "When I came to Thurii, what amazed me most was not the hugeness and prosperity of this city, but that there are so many people here, but they can be managed in such an orderly manner! Now it seems that this I'm afraid it's because the officials of Dionia are very serious and meticulous in the governance of the country~
Think about it, even the entrance to the arena (each entrance is numbered, corresponding to the number written on the ticket), the stone stairs (there are wooden railings on the side of the stone stairs to prevent falling), and the seats are all carefully and thoughtfully designed, so that so many There will be no confusion when spectators enter the arena.It can be seen that their meticulous management has penetrated into all aspects of people's lives..."

"Yeah, think about the previous sports games where there were no conflicts due to spectators competing for seats. Those of us who are the mother country should not only feel ashamed, but also humbly learn from Dionia!" Peropi Das said seriously, and then made a polite gesture of invitation: "Lycomedes, please sit down quickly!"

After the Greek war, the one that benefited most among the Greek city-states was not Thebes, but Mandinia. Not only did they obtain the fertile land of the original Tegea, but they also established the city with the strong support of Dionia. Formed the Arcadian Alliance, with Mantinea as the main body, and became a major force in Greece.

Pelopidas once envied Ipamelonda in private, "In order to establish the Boeotian Alliance, we in Thebes fought hard with Sparta for many years and sacrificed many people... and Mandinus Just because Asia was lucky enough to follow Dionia in the Greek war, and finally achieved this goal easily, Apollo is really partial!"

However, Pelopidas, who was lively and cheerful on the outside but very proud on the inside, showed sincere respect for Lycomedes, because he not only proposed "the establishment of the Arcadian Union" for the first time, but also worked tirelessly for many years. Running, and therefore served as the Speaker of the Arcadian Alliance for five consecutive years (the highest position in the Arcadian Alliance Parliament can only be held by Mantinians).

"I just heard you say that Dionia is going to hold a unique sports meeting..."

(End of this chapter)