ancient greece mediterranean ruler

Chapter 615 The opening ceremony of the Dionia Rugby Finals ([-])

Of course, the most lively place is near the center of the East District. The former Dionia Arena and now the Hades Main Arena serve as the venue for the opening ceremony of the annual Dionia Kingdom Rugby Finals. Countless people are attending People are coming here from all the districts in the inner city.

The official who led the way accelerated the pace with Garni, and finally squeezed into the south entrance of the arena. The place was already bustling with activity. Not only was there a long queue at the entrance, but the famous food street opposite was also crowded with people. Like weaving.People not only go to various stalls to buy food and snacks to satisfy their appetites while watching the game, but they also go into shops to purchase squeaky snare drums and piccolos as well as statues of their favorite players to cheer for them.

Every stall owner and businessman's voice was hoarse due to non-stop bargaining with customers, but they couldn't help being happy in their hearts. They wished that such a competition could be held from the beginning of the year to the end of the year so that they could make a lot of money every day. The bowl is full.

Between the entrance of the arena and the food street stands a large bronze statue: Hades, the patron saint of Dionia, stretches his left hand forward, his right hand stretches back, holding a rugby in his hand, making a throwing posture, and stepping with his left foot. Take a step forward, lift your right foot slightly, and place your entire body weight between your feet.He has black hair shawls, serious demeanor, and a robe tied around his waist to block the mystery between his legs. The texture of his clothes is clear and does not affect the bulging of his muscles. The strong muscles all over his body are relaxed and varied, showing a kind of The sense of movement at the start of the race...

The Hades in the temple is solemn and solemn, but the one outside the arena, although it is more than three meters high and has a thick foundation stone of five meters, is equally majestic, but it shows a people-friendly attitude, making the people yearn for it. It has increased the people's love for rugby and made it one of the places where believers usually worship.

Next to the entrance, there is a row of wooden houses, and the image of Tino, the goddess of luck, is painted on the roof of each wooden house. There are also many people gathered here, and it is very loud.

"I'll throw ten drachmas and buy Thurii to beat Kopsa!"

"I said brother, you see that Turui's team is too strong. Of course, they will beat Kopsa. The odds are too low. It's not worth your ten drachmas to earn two opor at most. It's not as good as Bet on the second opening game, Udiay vs Ugentum, the odds on both sides are relatively high, you bet right and earn more.”

"I don't care about winning money, I'm from Turii, win or lose, I support Turii's team to win!"

"Hey, hello! I don't know much about the level of rugby in the cities in the Mesapee area. Can you tell me which team is better between Ugentum and Oudi?"

"You've asked the right person. I know the Mesapee region very well! Let me tell you, Udiay used to be the center of the Mesapee city-state alliance, and now it is also a large city in the region with a large population. And Milon, you You know, the former General Crotone is now a senator of the Senate. He won many Greek Games championships when he was young. He previously served as the administrator of Oudière for four years. In addition to suppressing the riots in Oudière, In addition, it also vigorously promotes rugby and football, so Oudier's rugby was developed relatively early in the Mesapei area.

And Ugentum is just a small seaside town. Because it is closer to Thurii, rugby started earlier, but as far as I know, the teams from the two cities have played against each other four times, and Udiay won all the games..."

"Then I will throw five drachmas to defeat Udiay and defeat Ugentum!"

……

These noisy sounds rushed to Gairni who was passing through this area. He only felt that his eardrums were swollen, rubbed his ears, and knew in his heart: This is the Dionysian buying a kind of currency issued by the kingdom called " "Tino's Favor" paper ticket, once the buyer accurately guesses the outcome of the game, he will get some monetary rewards, but if he guesses wrong, the money bet will be wasted.This form is actually similar to the dice game played by the Samnites after a banquet (in fact, it was also popular in various Greek city-states).

What made Gharni sigh was that when he first came to watch a game at Tuliyi Arena, this kind of game had just begun. At that time, there was only one wooden house and there were only a few buyers. But a few years later, look at this There are so many people, I am afraid that this kind of game has become popular in cities in Dionia.

Although there was a long queue at the entrance of the arena, Garni did not stay for a moment. The public official who led him took him to another entrance, passed the guard's interrogation, and directly entered the VIP channel.The seats in the arena are partitioned, and after entering from the VIP passage on the south side, it is not far from the rostrum of the arena.

He was arranged to sit in an area not far from the rostrum, where some spectators were already sitting.

Gharni's seat is closer to the stadium, and when he turns his head to the left, he can clearly see the large area behind the rostrum that is covered with white curtains and blocks the sun. Gharni, who has been here once, knows that it is Dionysius. The place where the king and queen of Asia and the elders of the Senate watched the game was just as empty as the arena in front of them.

Just as Gairni was looking at his surroundings, someone next to him asked curiously: "Where are you from?"

This is an old Greek man with dark skin, several scars on his rough face, and a simple and sinister appearance. He looks more like a farmer, but he is wearing expensive purple Burton.

Galni did not answer directly, but asked slightly warily: "Where are you from?"

"I am from Tyndareus, and my name is Cyclops." The man answered frankly.

Garni knew that the status of the people who could be invited to sit in this area was extraordinary, even if the person in front of him looked ordinary. Unfortunately, Garni knew very little about other areas except the area around Samona. , he did not hide it, and regardless of the embarrassment it would make the other party, he asked directly: "Um...where is Tyndareus?"

Cyclops was stunned for a moment, but Gairni's blunt Greek and his un-Greek appearance made him understand, so he said seriously: "Our Tyndares is a Greek city-state on the island of Sicily. , next to Messina, very close to the territory of the Kingdom of Dionia. We, Tyndares, have a friendly relationship with Dionia, and are invited by Dionia every year to participate in this grand and lively celebration!" Xi Crops said proudly, with an expression of pride.

But in fact, when Syracuse was defeated, Dionysius was killed, Messina was captured, and the city-states on the eastern coast of Sicily changed their political forms... When a series of great changes spread to Tyndares, this The small city-state supported by Dionysius was suddenly terrified. They hurriedly led by the consul to form a huge envoy group, and rushed to Thurii with a large amount of gold and silver. Express surrender and alliance to King Daves.Unexpectedly, King Davos not only did not speak ill, but also expressed extreme sympathy for the tragic situation of the Messenians in Sparta, and also publicly promised that Dionia would not invade Tyndaris.

The people of Tyndares were immediately overjoyed, because all the Greeks knew that King Dionia promised a thousand pieces of gold.Although Tyndares ultimately failed to form an alliance with Dionia, the two sides quickly signed a friendship agreement.Although the Tyndares later learned of the agreement between Dionia and Carthage on the division of power in Sicily, they still had deep gratitude and respect for Dionia.What's more, every important celebration of Dionia will send a friendly invitation to Tyndares, so how can the people of Tyndares, a small city-state that was recently established and very inconspicuous on the island of Sicily, not treat Dionia as a southern city? The overlord of Italy has an extremely favorable impression.

“However, we Tyndares were invited, as were other Greek city-states in Sicily, Syracuse, Gela, Camanlina, Agrigento, Economus, and even The towns of the Sikelians were also invited, and most of them sent envoys to attend this event——" When Sicrops said this, he paused for a moment, because he thought of Sicily. Syracuse, the largest city-state and a supporter of Tyndares when he founded the city, did not send anyone to participate in the Hades celebration this year (nor in previous years), so that several small affiliated states around the city-state also No one was sent to Turiyi. This regretful thought only flashed through his mind, and was quickly forgotten by him. Now Dionia is Tyndaris's biggest support, Syracuse Zha has become a thing of the past.

Cyclops pointed his right hand and pointed around: "The people sitting here are all guests from Sicily, only you seem a little... um... unfamiliar, so I will ask curiously."

Cecrops was speaking politely. Anyone with disheveled hair, shirtless legs, and no shoes would know that Guerni was a "barbarian". Even the native Sicilian people here knew that he was a "barbarian". Its clothes are also similar to those of the Greeks, so other people around are very curious, but they didn't come to ask.Only people like the Tyndaris, who were oppressed by the Spartans in the past and were small and weak, would try their best to make friends with any force.

Sicily!Mentioning this place name, Garni had an impression. After all, the Samnite people owe their current situation to Syracuse. Syracuse was the overlord of Sicily at the time, but now listen to what the other party said. Only then did Garni realize that the hundreds of people around him were from various city-states in Sicily. Only then did he realize that Dionia not only occupies a huge land in southern Italy, but also on the rumored to be rich Sicily. Possessing great strength, compared with Dionia, Abenirum's strength is too insignificant!
Note: Tino is the ancient Greek goddess of luck.

　Thanks to yyaJy2304, book friend 20180718223314859, and book friend 20180823135554348 for their rewards!Your support is my biggest motivation for writing! !

　　
　
(End of this chapter)