The bronze basin on the altar had been filled with olive oil, and when the torch came into contact with it, it immediately ignited a raging flame and radiated heat waves in all directions.

In the cheers of the audience, Max seemed to see the familiar faces through the scorching firelight, and they smiled at him one by one, shouting loudly and powerfully: "Yes, captain!" Then under his leadership, shout the name of Hades and slay the fleeing enemy......

Two lines of hot tears rolled down Max's cheeks.

With the support of the two teenagers, Max walked to the exit of the arena, and his mood recovered, and he hurriedly thanked the two teenagers.

But I heard a young man wave his hand and say, "Uncle, no thanks!" My name is Christop and Klotocatax is my father. ”

Another teenager then said, "I...... My name is Enon, and Adores is my father! ”

"Your Excellency, Commander?! …… Captain?! ......" Maxton was stunned, as if there was providence in the dark, and once again brought his mind back to the bloody battle. Emotions were churning sharply, and he hugged the two teenagers and cried loudly......

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At this time, in the arena, the head of the referee team, Calcidis, passed through the athletes' procession and came to the front of the altar, facing the eyes of the athletes, he solemnly said in a loud voice: "The gods are above, I, Calcidis, as a referee of this Games, I am willing to swear to you in front of thousands of spectators, always treat every athlete fairly and fairly in the Games, preside over every competition in strict accordance with the rules of the Games, and handle every dispute seriously and responsibly...... If you break your oath, please punish you! ”

As soon as his words fell, more than 200 priests of the entire jury began to take the oath in unison, and the voices of more than 200 people gathered made the audience in the nearby stands basically audible.

Many spectators from the Greek city-states were stunned after listening to the oath, although the Dionian Games had the same oath as the previous Greek Games, but there were obvious differences: first, whether it was the Olympian Games, the Pythian Games, the Corinthian Games, the Nemean Games...... They all swear in the face of a main god, how can they swear to the gods like now, this seems to be a bit of a child's play, when something really goes wrong, which god will come down to punish the gods?

Secondly, in all the games, the athletes swore an oath, and the priests who were the referees did not need to swear, because they were the spokesmen of the gods in the world, and they were respected, so how could they cheat in the games, but in fact, the priests were bribed by the athletes and even the city-states to openly tamper with the results of the games. However, the priests took the lead in taking the oath of the Dionian Games, which shows the importance that the Dionian Kingdom attaches to the Games and its determination to rectify cheating in the Games.

Thirdly, in the past, the athletes swore an oath to the idol in the temple and under the guidance of the priests, which was relatively private compared to the spectators. This time, however, the oath was taken in the middle of the arena, and the oath clearly mentioned that "the spectators outside the stadium should be witnessed", which was more pleasing to the people, after all, the punishment of the gods was ethereal, but the anger of the people could be expressed directly.

In any case, the innovative way of taking the oath at the Dionian Games succeeded in sparking a lively discussion among the audience.

At this time, the athletes' representative of Turiyi once again led all the athletes to solemnly swear together with a similar oath, and the powerful sound formed by thousands of people spread throughout the venue, causing an even greater sensation.

Amid the heated discussion of the audience, the opening ceremony of the Dionian Games finally ended, and the teams of judges and athletes began to exit in order.

Even the most discerning representatives of Olympia, Delphi and Corinth, although they considered their city-state's Games more sacred, had to admit that their Games Opening Ceremony was too short, not lively enough, and too private, far less than the opening ceremony of the Dionian Games to attract the attention of the more knowledgeable spectators.

"Your Majesty, just like you said in your invitation letter before, the opening ceremony of this sports meeting is indeed magnificent and novel, which has opened my eyes and I feel as if I haven't seen enough!" Plato praised from the bottom of his heart.

Xenophon tried to refute it, but he didn't.

Davers laughed, "This opening ceremony has been going on for several hours, and now it's noon, and according to the Dionian custom, it's time for lunch. It doesn't matter if you haven't seen enough, the good-looking ones are still behind, so let's have lunch and continue to watch the next game. ”

The first day of the Dionian Games was not just about the opening ceremony, it was followed by a 100-meter race.

This is Davers's proposal, and he intends to use this combination to clearly tell those who are full of doubts about whether the Dionian Games can be successful: the Dioonia Games not only have a good opening ceremony, but also the competition is also exciting! "This will spark the enthusiasm of all the local and foreign people in Turii to watch the Games.

While eating lunch, Xenophon raised the doubts in his heart: "Davers, when I entered the arena, I saw the notice you posted on the wall at the entrance, in addition to this opening ceremony, there will be a 100-meter qualifier next, does this 100-meter mean 100 meters?" Did you Dionian change the distance of the running race in the traditional Greek Games? ”

The weights and measures implemented by the Dionian kingdom at the beginning of the founding were very different from other Greek city-states, with the strength of the country and the increasingly frequent trade exchanges with other city-states, Dionysian weights and measures were gradually accepted by foreign merchants because of their more systematic, more refined and easier to operate, and when the Greek alliance was established, Dionysa became the overlord of the whole Greece, in the past few years, Dionysian weights and measures have gradually replaced the traditional weights and measures of the Greek city-states...... Therefore, Xenophon and Plato were familiar with the concept of "rice".

Davers took a sip of cold slurry water and explained unhurriedly: "After the research of the Dionian Academy, it has been proved that the distance that we humans can sprint with all our strength is about 100 meters, and as the distance gradually increases, endurance will replace explosive power, so the 100-meter race is to test the speed limit that we adults can achieve in the case of full sprint." ”

In this way, the shortest distance of the previous Games running race (about 192 meters) was ...... A test of physical endurance that shows an athlete sprinting at full strength to maintain such a high speed? Plato was thoughtful.

"That's right." Davers nodded in response, "The 200-meter race at the Dionian Games and the shortest running race in previous games are all for this purpose, while the 400-meter and 800-meter races are more focused on endurance tests-"

"And what about the marathon?" Xenophon interrupted him and asked, "Is it for a complete test of adult speed endurance?" Davers, how did you come up with the idea to use it as a competition event? ”

Although Xenophon and Plato were not interested in the current Athenian government, they were both Athenians after all, and they were equally proud of the glorious history of Athens, and Davers knew this, so he solemnly said: "The Battle of the Marathon is of great significance to all Greeks, and the race in its name will undoubtedly make the Greek people, and indeed the entire Mediterranean people, remember that long gone history."

As far as the competition itself is concerned, marathon running is not only a test of the maximum endurance of the runners, but also a test of their willpower, let alone winning the championship, it is not easy to persevere to run the whole course. ”

"Yes, even the Scud Fidipitz ran the whole course without stopping under the spirit of winning the battle, but in the end he was exhausted, which shows that the marathon is a very dangerous event!" Xenophon said with a somewhat solemn face.

"But even so, there are still quite a few Athenians who sign up for the event, and they obviously want to bring back the glory of the marathon champion to Athens." Plato said.

"Then they will face competition from the best long-distance runners in Dionia." Dafus smiled and said seriously: "However, don't worry too much, we have taken into account the danger of this race, and specially equipped medical personnel along the entire marathon, once an abnormality is found, rescue will be carried out immediately." In addition, we have made special rules for this competition, and players participating in this competition must do what they can, and if they are not in good physical condition, they will be allowed to withdraw from the competition halfway......"

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While Davers and his two friends were chatting about the Games in the royal stands, the spectators were not idle. The Dionians, who had been watching ball games for many years, were very experienced, and knowing that they would be in the arena for the day, most of them had brought lunch beforehand, and were already eating with their families in their seats.

Although the Gentile audience was not in the habit of eating lunch, the morning was full of cheers and applause, and the consumption was also very large, and the Dionian audience next to them was all munching on their food, and they all felt hungry. At this moment, many hawkers appeared in the passage between the auditoriums in time, selling them bread, salted fish, cured meat, dried fruits, and syrup...... It sold out quickly.

While eating, the audience excitedly talked about the opening ceremony just now, and at the same time watched the scene in the stadium curiously, guessing how the next game should be played.