ancient greece mediterranean ruler

Chapter 260 The strange temple of Hades
When Davos bowed and saluted respectfully to the bust of Heraclid, the people all saluted and wished them well, hoping that they would have such a blessing when they died.

As the statue of the god was carried into the temple, it was already afternoon. Although the people were a little tired, the unprecedented and novel rituals held one after another kept them in high spirits.

To this day, the last and most important thing left is to visit the temple and pray.

Under the command of Davos, the soldiers maintained order, and the people consciously abided by the order, entering the temple one by one...

After going through the previous ceremony, Canios's perception of Hades has been greatly improved. Now he is eager to enter the temple and find out.

Follow the flow of people up the entrance steps and step onto the base of the temple. You will see a statue of a god on both sides of the main entrance of the temple: on the left is a handsome young man, holding a harp, playing with heart; on the right is a beautiful woman, holding a harp. Twisting clothes.With a smile on his face, he looked at the young man tenderly.

The two milky white marble statues have smooth and lifelike lines.The affectionate gaze between the two creates a beautiful mood.

Canios' eyes wandered back and forth in front of the two statues until someone exclaimed: "Is this the hero Orpheus and his beautiful wife Eurydice?!"

After Kanios was reminded, he took a closer look and found that it was true, because their names were engraved on the base of the statue.

Orpheus is the son of Apollo, the sun god, and Calliopa, the goddess of literature and art. He is a hero in ancient Greek legends. He is unrivaled in singing and playing the lyre.His wife Eurydice was bitten by a poisonous snake and died. Orpheus, who loved her deeply, ventured into the underworld and impressed Hades and Queen Persephone with his beautiful singing, allowing him to take Eurydice away. But before she leaves the underworld, she cannot look at Eurydice, otherwise she will remain in the underworld forever.Orpheus strictly kept his promise and trekked hard with his wife. He was about to walk out of hell, but accidentally glanced at his wife, causing Eurydice to be recaptured back to hell. Orpheus fell into regret and died of depression. .

But at this moment, what the two statues show is not sadness and resentment, but happiness and warmth.

Affected by this emotion, Kanios entered the temple with a peaceful mind. What caught his eyes were the three stone tablets that had been carried into the temple before.

This is the Hall of Valor, and Kanios saw the letters engraved on the eaves.

The Hall of Heroes is just a side hall of the temple. It is not too large and has colorful paintings on the four walls.Kanios looked at it carefully, and the main drawings on it were: the magnificent war scenes of former mercenaries crossing the ocean, saving people, fighting barbarians, building new cities, and creating alliances...

Even Kanios, an outsider, couldn't help but sigh at the hardships of starting a business in Dionia. However, he did not worship devoutly like the people of Dionia. Instead, he walked to the brazier and bowed, and then walked through the side door. come out.

On the right is another side hall, which must be the shrine of the sages mentioned by the people just now, and it seems that many people have already stopped inside.

Kanios went straight forward, crossed the middle door, and entered the main hall of the temple.

This hall is more than 20 meters high. As soon as people enter, they immediately realize how small they are.In front of the main hall stands a bronze statue more than ten meters high. Its huge figure also gives people a strong sense of oppression. Fortunately, this statue of Hades does not show the ferocious and ferocious face in the legend. Instead, it has a kind face and a kind face. He is a kind and kind elder, and there is another statue of God nestled next to him - the beautiful Queen Perpephone. She holds her husband's arm and faces all living beings with a smile.Pluto, the most feared of the main Greek gods, is now in harmony with Queen Qinse, which makes people suddenly feel close to each other.

Looking at the ground again, it is a carefully selected marble splicing with bright stripes, as smooth as a mirror; the four walls are still colorfully painted, with dense forests, green mountains, green grasslands, various rare and exotic animals, immortal couples and angels, and Human beings are also laughing and joking, enjoying themselves, and living together in perfect harmony... It makes people linger after watching it, and the sunlight shines in from the patio in the middle of the temple and the windows on both sides, complementing the bright colors in the temple, and even more The hall seemed magnificent and magnificent, as if they were in a fairyland, which made many people in Dionysia look intoxicated and murmured in their mouths: "Elysee?! This is the Elysee Paradise!!..." They knelt down in front of the holy fire for a long time. Reluctant to get up.

The soldiers who maintained order had no choice but to urge them repeatedly.

Witnessing this scene, Kanios had to sigh: The Dionians' bold and ingenious design turned hell into a paradise, and the evil god into a good god!In such a warm place, why don’t you worry that no people come to pay homage?
Kanios walked out of the temple and couldn't help but reflect on the beautiful scene inside the temple.

"The temple over there is too scary! Many people are afraid to go in!"

"No way?! It's quite nice in here! If the soldiers hadn't urged me, I'd still want to stay in there!"

"Over there... over there is completely different from this side, you can go and see if you don't believe me!"

……

The voices of the people reached Canios's ears, and he was stunned: There is another temple?No, there is only one here. Could it be that... this is impossible? ! …

Many people were as shocked as Kanios.It is normal to be surprised. After all, the temples of ancient Greek city-states have been dedicated to one main god since ancient times. The appearance of the statue of Perpephone, Queen of the Underworld, in the temple here is already a bold breakthrough. Fortunately, people regard the Queen of Hades as a subordinate of Pluto, so they are not too surprised!But they never expected that the designers would take a bolder approach and even divide a temple into two parts - one temple for two gods!No wonder the Temple of Hades is twice as long as an ordinary temple!
Driven by strong doubts and curiosity, Kanios quickly passed through the corridor outside the temple supported by more than a dozen huge Doric stone pillars and arrived at the other side of the temple.

Sure enough, there was another entrance to the temple, which was also full of people.

There are also two stone sculptures on both sides of the main entrance, but they are black. They are the ferryman of the Yellow Spring River, Kerong, and the three-headed dog Cerparos, the guardian of the gate of hell. Their ferocious appearance made Kanios feel chilled. .

Entering the entrance is a side hall with the letters "Prison of the Wicked" engraved on it. In the center is a ferocious statue of Thanatos, the god of death holding a sharp sword. Black letters are engraved on both sides: "Traitors will go to this prison! Murderers will go to this prison!" Those who commit rape will go to this prison! Those who rape will go to this prison!..."

There is a bloody skull painted at the end of each sentence, which makes people feel chilly.The four walls are painted with all kinds of terrifying scenes of ghosts torturing souls, which is even more horrifying.

Kanios staggered out, and the horrific sight made him hesitate: Should he still go in?

At this time, he saw the word "confession room" engraved on the side hall on the right, and a series of eye-catching characters next to it: "If you correct your mistakes, God will forgive you!"

Canios composed himself and continued to move forward. He passed through the confessional and entered the main hall.

This is a black world.The black marble floor, black walls, no patio, and no windows, so there is no sunlight. Only the burning brazier in front of the statue brings some light to the temple, but it does not add much warmth to the temple. Instead, the flickering flames add to the A haze is imprinted on everyone's face.

There is not only one statue of God directly in front of him. The statue of Hades, which is more than ten meters high, is no longer surrounded by the beautiful and gentle Queen of Hades. He is wearing a black robe, holding a double fork, with a majestic face, and his striking eyes seem to be able to see people. of good and evil.

In front of him there were three eight-meter-high statues of gods, namely Minos, Rhadamantus and Aiagos, the three judges of hell. They all had stern faces, one was holding a scroll, and the other was shouting. The one in the middle Then he held up a scale, with weights on one side of the tray and a bright red heart on the other side. This was the only red color in the entire temple, but it made all the believers in the temple look nervous and dripping with cold sweat, because It is so eye-catching, as if asking: How is your conscience? !
Kanios walked out of the temple in a daze, and the fresh air could not make him feel relaxed: this was simply a test for the soul!

Kanios walked down the hill and couldn't help but look back at this magnificent temple.

People coming out from one side of the temple were smiling and happy; people coming out from the other side were solemn and thoughtful.Heaven and hell are extremely opposite, but they are perfectly accommodated in a temple. The genius of the Dionians built this strange temple. I don’t know what impact it will have on the Dionians in the future. !
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At dusk, the hustle and bustle of Thurii City has not dissipated. People on the streets are still talking about the temple celebrations during the day with great interest, including of course the famous Christoya restaurant.

Canios munched bread and drank mutton soup while listening to their conversation.

Only then did he know that the peculiar design of the Temple of Hades was originally suggested by the consul Davos, and even every unprecedented ceremony in the celebration was also derived from his arrangements, which made him even more curious: Dionia What kind of person is the Archon?

During the celebration, Kanios only saw Davos in front of the temple from a distance. He looked very young, but his bearing was extraordinary.Kanios couldn't help but feel a little frustrated when he thought that he had not yet been received by the Dionian authority.

"Can I sit here?" A person came across the wooden table and asked politely.

Kanios nodded.

"A big plate of tripe!" the man shouted loudly. Not long after he sat down, the steaming food was served. He quickly scooped a big spoonful of sauce into the clay pot on the table with a wooden spoon and put it in On the plate, there was a sauce brewed from shellfish from the sea. It tasted very strange and Kanios couldn't get used to it, but the man opposite used tripe as a dipping sauce and ate it with gusto.

"Well, this is still delicious! I haven't eaten it for a few months and I think about it every day, but I'm so greedy!" The man looked intoxicated, which made Kanios smile.

The man glanced at Kanios and said: "Did you know that when the Greek mercenaries were in Persia, Davos was just an ordinary soldier at first. It was with this tripe that he conquered the mouths of other soldiers. He attracted everyone's attention and later became the leader of the mercenaries."

Note: The idea of ​​two gods in one temple was not the original creation of Davos. Hundreds of years later in history, Hadrian, one of the five wise emperors of Rome, designed and presided over the construction of the Temple of Venus. On one side of the temple Dedicated to the goddess Venus and the other to the goddess Rome (i.e. the deified Rome) the ruins of this temple are located just in front of the Colosseum in Rome.

　Thanks to Li Shibin for the tip!Your support is my biggest motivation for writing! !

　　
　
(End of this chapter)