ancient greece mediterranean ruler

Chapter 1262 A Different Race ([-])
Because there were dozens of athletes left in the stadium at this time, and they were all athletes who were about to participate in the [-]-meter race. Although the sports meeting preparation team also prepared lunch for them, most of the athletes did not eat it immediately, but adapted on the track. Field and warm up.

On the side near the royal stand, the staff of the sports meeting inserted wooden poles at both ends of the measured track, then tied them to the wooden poles with long thin ropes, stretched them on the ground, and then the referees Holding an iron spoon with a long pole, he traced straight white lines hundreds of meters long on the solid mud along the string...

"I used to find it strange that there is neither a starting stone nor a finishing stone pillar in this stadium. How can a race be conducted? Now I know that those white lines drawn with white powder are the starting line, the finishing line and the runways. , this is very clear!”

"But, I counted, and they only traced 6 runways with white lines. Could it be that only 6 athletes were allowed to participate in the competition at a time? I remember that in other sports games, there were more than a dozen stone pillars at the end and more than a dozen athletes. Play the game at the same time~——"

"It's nothing, just play a few more rounds! The key is that there are fewer players in one game, which can avoid confusion and facilitate the referee's supervision. It seems that the Dionians have carefully considered the shortcomings of other sports games and really want to Make this sports meet a success."

The man who spoke was Harpius, a middle-aged citizen from the city-state of Okomenus in the Arcadian Union. He had participated in many running competitions in various sports games when he was young. Later, he was unable to participate because of his age, but he And keen to watch the game.His biggest regret is that he failed to win the championship. Once he was very close to the championship, but a nearby player hit him in the face while swinging his arm, which affected his final result. He also appealed to the referee, but to no avail. Therefore, he deeply detested some of the shortcomings of the Greek Games.

Harpius is a senior sports fan. After learning that Dionia, the overlord of the Greek world, was going to hold a sports meeting, he rushed to watch it without hesitation and was lucky enough to buy tickets for the opening ceremony.Before entering the arena, he was prepared to criticize the Dionysian Games with a critical attitude, but after the opening ceremony, his favorable impression of the Dionysian Games greatly increased: the unprecedented novelty of the opening ceremony was also the second , the most important thing is that he felt the real respect of the Dionia Games for the participating athletes.

As a person who has experienced it, he is deeply aware of the hardships of being an athlete. In addition to the unremitting and hard training, he also has to rush to the stadium alone before the start of the sports meeting, arrange food and accommodation at his own expense, sign up at the temple in time, and accept the priest. Detailed inquiries, tedious preparations before the start of the game, no one to relieve tension and annoyance, all glory after the game belongs to the champion, and no one greets other losers even if they are injured...

But this time the Dionia Games were obviously different. He had talked with athletes from the Arcadia League before: Dionia not only provided free and comfortable accommodation and food to all participating athletes, but also required participating city-states to send Officials are responsible for solving all chores for athletes, which means that athletes can devote themselves to the game without having to worry about other problems.At the opening ceremony, the Dionysians arranged for the athletes to go around the stadium to accept the salute and cheers of so many spectators...

Harpius regretted that he had been born a few years earlier and did not enjoy such an honor.

Therefore, Harpius, who has a good impression of the Dionia Games, of course hopes that the Dionia Games will also be brilliant after entering the competition stage, and carefully observes the layout of the arena with his experienced competitive eyes, and soon finds that There are some clues that are different from previous sports games.

"I heard before that the Dionysian Games will not only hold a 200-meter race, but also 400 meters, 800 meters, and [-] meters... After I entered the venue, I found that there were no stone pillars as markers in the venue. I wonder how they will compete in long-distance races (in Greek games, when competing in long-distance races, athletes run from the starting stone slab to the end stone pillar, then run around the stone pillar and back again, and so on until they have completed the distance, similar to on the current switchback run), now I understand.

Look!The Dionysians built the entire arena into a large circle with small stone bricks, and then drew runways with lime powder outside the entire circle as they do now. The contestants ran around the entire large circle, let alone It can be easily held over hundreds or thousands of meters, which is much easier than running around stone pillars! "

Harpius was deeply impressed by the long-distance racing methods in previous sports games. With his decades of experience in sports games, his words were both organized and contagious, which naturally attracted a group of spectators. Led by him, The discussion was carried out seriously.

At this time, someone shouted: "Look up! Oh my god, the Dionians are going to cover the sky!"

The foreign spectators raised their heads one after another, and then opened their mouths wide, showing signs of surprise: above the main arena, long white cloth strips were slowly converging towards the center of the arena, pieced together into a A thin white cloth cover covered the sky above the arena, blocking the direct sunlight at noon and bringing shade to the audience.

Xenophon, who came to the Diolian Arena for the first time, was as surprised as the other foreign spectators and couldn't help but ask: "How is this done?"

Davers replied calmly: "Actually, it's very simple. There are 200 wooden poles erected on the edge of the top of the arena, and each wooden pole is connected to the wooden poles on the opposite side of the center of the arena. On days when the sun is shining and there are competitions, the management personnel of the arena will tie special cloth strips on the thin ropes of each wooden pole, and then turn the pulley to push the cloth strips to converge towards the center of the sky... However, just in While we are enjoying all this with peace of mind, don’t forget that there are hundreds of managers at the top of the arena, serving us under the scorching sun..."

"Although it sounds very simple, the design is very clever!" Plato on the side sighed sincerely: "The key is that when encountering difficulties, you are not willing to endure them, but try your best to solve them and do your best. The spirit is very It’s so rare! We Greeks are relatively careless and not very particular about our lives, but the Dionians are different. They have very high requirements for life, which makes their spirit of inquiry that strives to do the best permeate into all aspects of the entire kingdom. ...So I am full of confidence in Dionia hosting the Games. Not only will it be successful, but it will definitely give all Greeks a new understanding of sports!”

"Hahaha..." Davos smiled heartily: "What a Plato, you can tell a big truth about every little thing!"

Xenophon said nothing. He looked up at the sky, thoughtfully.

Just as the foreign spectators marveled at the ingenious design of the main arena, the athletes began to withdraw from the venue, which caused some spectators to wonder: "Is the running competition not going to be held?"

And some experienced spectators like Harpius said firmly: "No, the race is about to start!"

As they said, the athletes came to the lounge next to the entrance of the arena. Since the Dionia game is held every year, the room dedicated to the players' rest is very comfortably decorated, but the athletes have no intention of Feeling this, they took off the costumes they had used for the entrance ceremony before, and then put on the shorts specially provided by Dionia, and then began to carefully apply olive oil evenly on their bodies. After all this was done, everyone They all began to pray devoutly to Apollo to soothe their nervousness.

after awhile.A priest walked in and said loudly: "Dear contestants, it's time for the competition. Please come in!"

Silitaos, who had already calmed down, heard this, and his heart suddenly started beating faster again.

Dozens of athletes returned to the field again, and the priest gathered them together. Since this was the first game of the Dionysian Games, in order to ensure that it could proceed smoothly, Chalcides, as the head of the referee team, personally served as The host, the always amiable old priest, looked serious at this moment. He said in a strong tone: "Dear contestants, I think you should have a very good understanding of the rules of the Dionysian Games after practicing for a period of time. But I still have to emphasize it again before the competition - only the players whose names are called can participate in the competition, and the other players must stay away from the track and must not interfere with the competition; players can start after the referee issues the command of 'race start'; before starting, Feet cannot cross the starting line; after starting, runners cannot deviate from their own track, cannot interfere with other runners, and cannot deliberately obstruct or harm...

Anyone who violates any of the above rules will be disqualified from the competition!If the violation is intentional and the circumstances are extremely serious, the referee team will report the player's situation to the Games Preparatory Team, who will decide whether the player's appearance should be engraved on the disciplinary wall of the upcoming Dionia Games Memorial Hall as a A warning to future contestants participating in the Dionysian Games! ——Have you all heard clearly? ! "

"Clear!" The players nodded in response.

Only then did Chalcides show a smile, raise his palms to the sky, and say gently: "May Hades bless you!"

Then, a priest took the roster of athletes and said loudly: "Please pay attention, the player whose name I called will participate in the first round of the competition-Silitaeos! Runway No. 1!"

Silitaos was stunned: He was the first one to be called. This must be great luck!
(End of this chapter)