ancient greece mediterranean ruler

Chapter 1273 Marathon Final

Someone suggested that we should start from the vicinity of the Turiyi military camp and run to the hot spring swamp. This not only has a very important commemorative significance (the Great Swamp Annihilation Battle is the foundation battle of Dionia), but also can give full play to the abilities of the Turiyi players. (The Turiyi runners who participate in the marathon are all young soldiers from the First and Second Corps. They have military training near the Turiyi military camp all year round and are fully adapted to the terrain there).

Some people also suggested that we should run from the vicinity of the port of Turiyi to the inner city of Turiyi, which is also of great commemorative significance (Davos led the mercenaries to land at the port of Turiyi and finally established it in the city of Turiyi to the Kingdom of Dionia), and is also conducive to the final award.

Some people also suggested that the starting point of the long-distance running route should be near the port of Thurii and the end point should be at the foot of Mount Amendolara. This is also of great commemorative significance. After all, King Davos led his army to land in Magna Graecia from the port of Thurii. , first established a foothold in Amendolara, and this route is conducive to the performance of all contestants.

The preparatory team led by Clotto Katax, after repeated consideration, finally adopted the third suggestion. The main reason is: this route is flat and open, and it can help all contestants to complete the race as much as possible. After all, marathon long-distance running is the first time If the competition is too difficult, many players will not be able to complete it, which is not conducive to future promotion.

Since the start of the Games, the marathon has been attracting much attention from the people of Dionia and foreign tourists, and like the boat race, it is impossible to collect tickets because the competition range is too wide, so on the day of the competition, Turiyi and People nearby, including tourists, rushed to both sides of the track and surrounded the route from Turii Port to the foot of Mount Amendolara.In order to prevent the game from being disrupted, Clotokatax even mobilized troops to maintain order in the game.

The audience was huge, and the lineup of contestants was equally huge.After the Dionysian Games preparatory team announced the creation of the marathon two years ago, a saying gradually spread in the Greek world, "Athletes who can complete the entire marathon are considered real athletes."Under the influence of such public opinion, more than 200 players signed up to participate in this project.

No qualifiers, no semi-finals, just a game to decide the outcome.

After the high-pitched start whistle blew, the athletes rushed onto the track in a swarm and slowly ran towards the finish line amid the cheers of the audience.

There was also a sea of ​​people at the end of the long-distance race. The thoughtful preparatory team set up a VIP seat on a nearby hill so that they could overlook the final stage of the race. Representative envoys from various regions and city-states in the kingdom were now sitting there one after another. Go to the VIP table.

Pelopidas found his seat, and found that the messenger from Athens was right next to him. He immediately smiled and said: "General Callistratus, congratulations, congratulations on Athens' victory in Dionia." Ahead of the Games!”

"It's only temporary." Callistratus waved his hand modestly: "The sports meeting is not over yet, so everything is hard to say. Besides, we all understand that the so-called first and second are meaningless, Dionia The sum of the points obtained by each region far exceeds the sum of all our city-states, and Dionia is just comparing each of its regions with our entire city-state."

"So what, since Dionia chooses to use this method to compare the strength of the athletic ability of various city-states, then you must be convinced if you lose." Penopidas said confidently: "What's more, Dionia In the Turui region of Asia, whether it is population, land area, or prosperity, it exceeds our city-state, so winning is a manifestation of strength."

"What you said makes sense." Callistratus seemed to respond a little perfunctorily. In fact, this is what he was thinking: Today, Athens is greatly lagging behind in terms of military strength, population, land area, and trade level. in Thurii, but at least Athens still has an advantage in sports competition.

"Listening to what you two are talking about, it seems that the first place is already guaranteed. But let me tell you, the difference between Arcadia and Athens is only two points. Maybe when the marathon is over, Arcadia can overtake it, because We have several good long-distance runners." Lycomedes suddenly interrupted.

The preparatory team arranged for the top few city-state envoys on the medal list to sit together, which is really well-intentioned.

"When it comes to long-distance runners, we in the Piocia League also have several. Among them, Pantacris won the championship in the previous 3-kilometer long-distance race. This time, they also signed up to participate in the marathon. The final champion must belong to Him!" Pelopidas said quite proudly. He had just congratulated Callistratus, but now he showed a proud look as if he wanted to grab the first place in the medal list.

"Can a 3000-meter race be compared with a marathon? That is an ultra-long distance of nearly ten miles!" Callistratus, who had been modest just now, said not to be outdone: "The reason why the Dionysian Games have This competition event is because of the glorious battle in Athens - the marathon! We have more than 15 runners who have signed up for the competition. They have been training unremittingly every day for more than a year to bring back the glory that should belong to Athens. Athens!”

"You are overthinking it, Callistratus." Lycomedes sneered: "Although the marathon did originate from Athens, can today's Athenian athletes get good rankings in this competition? I am not optimistic. Marathon long-distance running requires not only abundant physical fitness, but also a strong will to run such a long distance. Can the Athenians who are used to enjoying themselves endure such hardship? I feel very That’s a shame! But we Arcadians, who trek through the mountains every day, are better able to endure hardships and stand hard work.”

"The most hard-working people are farmers. Do you mean to say that just one farmer can win the championship in this competition?!"

……

Epamilonda watched from the side as these three most powerful figures in the Greek city-states were arguing over whether their city-state could finally win the championship in the Games. She couldn't help but sigh in her heart: Think about it. At the opening ceremony of the sports meeting, they all looked relaxed, full of curiosity and a bit of a joke mentality, and now they have completely fallen into it.Not just them, look at the envoys from other city states around them, the same is true.Although it is the first time for the Dionians to hold a sports meeting, it should be a great success just like they do other things.

Ipamilonda thought in her heart and said: "You don't have to fight. I think the marathon championship is likely to be won by a Dionysian athlete."

"Why?" Pelopidas knew that his best friend usually didn't like to talk, but he always had something to say.

Ipamironda said seriously: "Based on my understanding of the Dionia army, the Holy Kingdom of Dionia conducts long-term military training for citizens year after year, and one of the most important training items is armed forces. Long-distance running, a long-distance running training of more than 7 miles is required almost every 5 days, so the Dionysian army marches very fast in the war, and can continue to fight. Zhongdu reflects this characteristic.”

Callistratus, Pelopidas, and Lycomedes looked at each other and suddenly stopped talking.

Although what Ipamilonda said was reasonable, Callistratus and the others were still holding on to luck. After waiting for more than an hour, the contestants finally appeared in their sights, but no matter how they stared at them, With big eyes and attentive attention, no familiar figure was found among the runners at the front. On the contrary, the spectators on both sides of the track cheered thunderously, and even shouted the names of the runners in unison.

Callistratus and the others suddenly felt frustrated, because the vast majority of the Dionian audience could make such a move, and the runners running in front could only be Dionians, or even very likely. Thurii people.

Their inference was correct. The runners at the front were all from the Turiyi area, and the runner in the leading position was named Alcinis. At this moment, after running for a long time, not only did he not feel Fatigue, but more and more excited.

Compared with the immature five years ago, Alsinis now serves as the main force in the First Army, and was promoted to squad leader at the beginning of the year. He also married the daughter of a military veteran. For him, this year It was a great year, and two days later was the anniversary of his biological father's death. He decided to win the marathon championship, and then sacrifice this honor to his biological father's tomb to pay tribute to his father who died in the war before he was born. : The child has grown into an upright man. He can rest assured in the Elysee Paradise!

Today's weather is unusually cool, and the sea breeze mixed with moisture blows on his face. Listening to the audience shouting the same name as his biological father, his feet are getting bigger and faster...

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The top three places in the marathon were eventually won by athletes from Dionia, and these three athletes were all from the first and second legions of Dionia, making the Dionia Thurii region's games points surpass those of Athens in one fell swoop , won the first place in the standings.

This frustrated the expectations of Callistratus and others, and also made other city-state envoys feel relieved. After all, under the influence of Dionia's powerful national power in recent years, it is normal for them to have such thoughts: Daionia It is natural for Onia to win the first place in the Games, so why should Athens put pressure on us?

(End of this chapter)