Mediterranean Hegemon of Ancient Greece Chapter 212: Distinctive race (2)

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Because there are dozens of athletes left in the arena at this time. They are all athletes about to participate in the 100-meter race. Although the preparatory team for the sports meeting also prepared lunch for them, most of the athletes did not eat it immediately, but instead Adapt to the venue and warm up on the track.

On the side close to the royal grandstand, the staff of the Games inserted wooden poles at the two ends of the track that had been measured, and then tied them to the wooden poles with a long string and stretched them straight on the ground. Then the referees holding a long iron spoon, along the string, drew a one-hundred-meter-long straight white line on the solid mud...

"I was surprised before that there are no starting slabs or finishing pillars in this arena. How to race? Now I know that the white lines drawn in white powder are the starting line, the finishing line, and the finish line. One runway, this is very clear!"

"But, I counted them. They only traced 6 tracks with white lines. Could it be that only 6 players are 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 finish line. Several players compete at the same time~——"

"It’s okay, just a few more rounds! The key is that there are fewer players in one game, which can avoid confusion and facilitate referees to supervise. I really want to make this sports meet a success."

The person who spoke was Harpius, a middle-aged citizen from the Arcadian Union Ocomenus city-state. When he was young, he participated in various sports races many times, but was unable to Participating, but 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 the final result was affected by the neighboring player hitting him in the face when he waved his arm. He also appealed to the referee, but to no avail. Therefore, he hated some of the shortcomings of the Greek Games.

Halpius is a veteran sports game fan. After learning that the overlord of the Greek world, Dionia, was going to host the sports game, he came to watch it without hesitation and was lucky to buy the tickets for the opening ceremony. . Before entering the arena, he was prepared to challenge the Dionian Games with a critical attitude, but after the opening ceremony, his favor for the Dionian Games increased greatly: the unprecedented novelty of the opening ceremony was second. , The most important thing is that he felt the real respect for the participating athletes from the Dionian Games.

As a past person, he deeply knows the hardships of being an athlete, in addition to the usual persistent and hard training, he has to rush to the stadium alone before the start of the sports meeting, spend his own money to arrange board and lodging, and sign up in the temple in time , Accepted detailed inquiries from the priest, the tedious preparations before the start of the game, tension and irritability were unresolved, all the glory after the game went to the champion, and the other losers even if they were injured, there was no greeting...

But this time, the Dionian Games was obviously different. He had talked with the athletes of the Arcadian League before: Dionian not only provided all participating athletes with free and comfortable accommodation and food, but also required those who participated in the competition. Each city-state sends officials to take care of all the chores of the athletes, which means that the athletes can devote themselves to the game without worrying about other issues. At the opening ceremony, the Dionians arranged for the athletes to go around the stadium for a week to receive the tribute and cheers from so many spectators...

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

Therefore, Harpius, who has a good impression of the Dionian Games, certainly hopes that the Dionian Games will be able to shine even after entering the competition stage. With his experienced competitive vision, he carefully observes the layout of the arena. Soon I found some clues that were different from the previous sports games.

"I heard that the Dionian Games will not only hold the 100-meter race, but also 200 meters, 400 meters, 800 meters... After I entered this venue, I found that there were no stone pillars in the arena as a mark. , Has been wondering how they would run the long distance race (in the Greek Games, in the long distance race, the athletes ran from the starting slab to the end stone pillar, then ran back around the stone pillar, and so on, looping back and forth until the end of the race was full. Distance, similar to the current reentry run), now I understand.

Look! The Dionians used small stone bricks to build a large circle on the entire arena. Then, like now, they used lime powder to draw a runway outside the circle. The contestants ran around the entire circle, not to mention it. A few hundred meters or a few kilometers can be held easily, which is much simpler than running around a stone pillar! "

Halpius was deeply touched by the long-distance races of the previous games. With his decades of experience in the games, he was both methodical and contagious, and naturally attracted a group of spectators. Leading the discussion in earnest.

At this moment, someone shouted: "Look at it! Oh my God, the Dionians are going to cover the sky!"

The foreign audience raised their heads, and then opened their mouths with surprises: above the main arena, long strips of white cloth were slowly converging towards the center of the arena. Pieced together into a thin white cloth cover, covering the sky above the arena, blocking the direct sunlight at noon, and bringing shade to the audience.

Xenophon, who came to the Dioria Arena for the first time, was surprised like other Gentile audiences and couldn't help but ask: "How is this done?"

Davers replied calmly: "In fact, this is very simple. There are 200 wooden poles standing on the edge of the top of the arena. When the sun is exposed to the sun and there is a game, the management staff of the arena will tie a special cloth strip to the string of each wooden pole, and then rotate the pulley to push the cloth strip to the upper empty center...but , Just when we are at ease enjoying all of this, don’t forget that there are hundreds of managers at the top of the arena who are facing the scorching sun, serving us..."

"Although it sounds simple, the design is very clever!" Plato sighed sincerely: "The key is that this kind of difficulty is not willing to endure, but to try to solve the problem and strive to be the best. The spirit of the people is very rare! We Greeks are relatively rough and not very particular about life, but the Dionians are different, they have high requirements for life, so that their spirit of inquiry to do the best in their efforts permeates the whole All aspects of the kingdom...so I am full of confidence in Dionia’s hosting of the Games. Not only will it be successful, but it will surely give all Greeks a new understanding of the Games!"

"Hahaha..." Daves smiled heartily: "Good, you Plato, you can tell a lot about the little things!"

Xenophon did not speak, he looked up at the sky thoughtfully.

Just when the Gentile audience marveled at the ingenious design of the main arena, the athletes began to withdraw from the arena, which caused some audiences to wonder: "Aren't the races held anymore?"

Some spectators who are as experienced as Harpius said confidently: "No, the race is about to begin!"

As they said, the athletes came to the lounge next to the entrance of the arena. Since the Dionian ball game is held every year, the room dedicated to the players’ rest is very comfortable, but The athletes didn't want to feel this. They took off the costumes they used to enter the stadium, then put on the shorts specially provided by Dionia, and then began to apply olive oil on their bodies carefully and evenly, and after all this was done. , Everyone began to pray piously to Apollo, so that their nervousness was soothed.

After a while. A priest walked in and said loudly: "Dear players, it's time for the game, please come in!"

Siriteas, who had calmed down, heard this, and suddenly his heart began to beat faster.

Dozens of athletes returned to the field again, and the priest gathered them together. Since this was the first game of the Dionian Games, in order to ensure its smooth progress, Calcidi, the head of the jury Si personally acted as the host, but the always amiable old priest looked serious at the moment. He said in a powerful tone: "Dear players, I think after this period of practice, you should be very conscious of the rules of the Dionian Games race. I understand, but I still want to emphasize it again before the game-only the players whose names are called can participate in the game, and the rest of the players must stay away from the track and not interfere with the game; the players can only start after the referee issues the order of'start of the game'; Before the start, the feet cannot step on the starting line; after the start, the runners cannot deviate from their own track, cannot interfere with other runners, and cannot deliberately hinder or hurt...

If you violate any of the above regulations, you will be disqualified from the competition! In the event of a deliberate violation and the circumstances are extremely serious, the referee team will report the player’s situation to the games preparation team, and they will decide whether to carve the player’s appearance on the disciplinary wall of the upcoming Dionian Games Memorial Hall. A warning to the players who will participate in the Dionian Games in the future! ——Did you hear clearly? ! "

"Clear!" The players nodded in response.

At this time, Calcidis showed a slight smile, palms facing the sky, and said gently: "May Hades bless you!"

Next, a priest took the roster of athletes and said loudly: "Please pay attention to everyone, I called the player by name to participate in the first round of the competition-Siriteos! Track 1!"

Ciritheos was taken aback: He was called to the first one, so luck is too good!