Mediterranean Hegemon of Ancient Greece Chapter 1244: Preparation for the Games (1)

Axicus greeted the guards at the door of the wooden cabin and gently pushed it open. A foul stench hit him, but he merely sniffed the air, showing no sign of discomfort.

Inside, Avia was equally unaffected by the smell. Wearing clothes specially tailored for the animal handlers, she had her thick hair gathered and tied firmly at the back of her head. With a fat black cat in one arm and her other hand gripping the railing, she watched the pen with a slightly nervous expression.

"Avia... Avia..." She was too focused to react, even when Axicus called her name softly a few times. Instead, the black cat twisted around, fixed its large eyes on Axicus at the door, and meowed twice.

Only then did Avia notice him waving. She walked over, looking slightly displeased, and murmured a complaint. "Why did you talk to my brother-in-law for so long? Nana the antelope is about to give birth!"

Axicus smoothly told a small lie, swapping the name of the person who had actually asked for his help. "Lord Hylos's son, Peicestas, just sent someone to find me. He said he and his cousin brought some guests to the zoo and have been stuck in a long line outside. It's hot and crowded, and he's worried the children won't be able to handle it, so he wants to come in early."

The trick worked perfectly. Avia immediately said, "Ah, Peicestas is here? Hurry up and let them in! I'll go right—" She paused, glancing back at the enclosure with reluctance, and changed her mind. "Once Nana gives birth, I'll go see him right away."

Because Davos frequently invited certain families to the royal residence for private banquets—including Henipolis's family, Aristiras and Asuna's family, Bagulas and Andrea's family, and Hylos's family—Avia was quite familiar with Hylos's children.

"Then I'll go take care of them first," Axicus said, turning to leave.

Just then, the trainer's voice rang out from the enclosure. "Princess, Nana has given birth!"

...

While Sosicles and his brother took their guests on a tour of the zoo, an administrative meeting of the kingdom's ministers was underway in the main hall of the Royal Palace, located in the Inner District.

Once Martius, commander of the Palace Guard, confirmed that the Minister of State and the department heads had arrived on time and taken their customary seats, he reported to Davos, who was resting in the side hall. Accompanied by the Palace Secretary, Henipolis, Davos stepped through the side door with calm, steady strides and ascended the throne.

The ministers immediately stood and bowed respectfully in greeting.

"Have a seat," Davos said, waving his hand with a smile. The ministers sat back down. He looked across the officials, speaking slowly but with a deep, clear voice. "Gentlemen, this is the last regular administrative meeting of the month. Next month, Thurii will host the games, so our main focus today will be discussing matters related to the event."

He shifted his gaze to Crotokatax, who was seated at the lower right. "Consul, you are the primary person in charge of organizing these games. Give us a detailed briefing on the preparations."

"Yes, Your Majesty!" Crotokatax, who had served as the kingdom's Consul for over four years, stood unhurriedly. "My lords," he announced in a resonant voice, "it has been two years and one month since His Majesty declared in June of the year before last that we would host these games. Our preparations are essentially complete, and I will now present a specific report on our progress."

Over the past two years, Crotokatax had poured more than half his energy into organizing the games. Having personally handled most of the details, he knew the situation inside out, completely eliminating the need for a prepared speech. He cleared his throat lightly, organized his thoughts, and declared, "In accordance with His Majesty's suggestion, the games held in Thurii will not only feature the six traditional major events—running, wrestling, boxing, chariot racing, horse racing, and the pentathlon (which includes running, the long jump, the discus, the javelin, and wrestling)—but we have also added archery, the shot put, the high jump, the pole vault, the marathon, and swimming—"

"I understand the others, but what is this marathon?" asked Bagulas, the newly appointed Minister of State. (In early March, Hermon had cited his old age and requested to resign as Minister of State. Davos approved the request. With the support of the Lucanian senators led by Hermon, the Senate elected Bagulas, the Administrative Officer of the Roman Region, to succeed him. Davos endorsed the result, and Bagulas officially assumed the office last month.)

Even though Crotokatax had already explained this several times at previous meetings, he patiently clarified it for Bagulas. "I believe everyone knows the legendary story of what happened a century ago after the Athenian army defeated the Persians at Marathon: the soldier Pheidippides ran nonstop all the way from Marathon back to Athen to announce the good news to the citizens, only to collapse and die shortly after. To commemorate this historical event, His Majesty specifically suggested we establish this competition. The marathon is a special long-distance race, and its distance is exactly the span from Marathon to Athen—a total of 84 li."

"Eighty-four li?!" Bagulas exclaimed. "Who can run such a long distance? Even if they manage to finish, they'll probably drop dead from exhaustion!"

"We've run specific tests. As long as they don't sprint, it is entirely possible to finish," Crotokatax answered earnestly. "So far, we have ten athletes signed up for this event from within our kingdom alone."

"Oh, as long as it can be done, that's fine," Bagulas said, nodding in understanding.

"Your Majesty, I've had a question I've wanted to ask for a while," Oliphus, the Minister of Military Affairs, couldn't help but interject. (The year before last, Alexis had also resigned as Minister of Military Affairs due to old age. Davos had originally drafted several candidates to replace him—Leotychides, Matonis, Lizarus, and Oliphus. However, the other three had refused to leave their field commands, so Oliphus, who had the least chance of being selected, ultimately became the Minister of Military Affairs.)

"Speak," Davos said.

"The marathon is nothing more than an ultra-long-distance footrace. Why must it commemorate the Athenians' Battle of Marathon? Why not name it after one of our own kingdom's famous battles? For instance, the First Legion's long-distance raid against the Roman forces in Volsci, or our army's landing on Peleus Beach five years ago and the subsequent long-range surprise attack on Larissa... Wouldn't it be better to name it after those?" Oliphus tactfully offered.

"That is absolutely out of the question!" Davos rejected the idea without hesitation. "Both the Romans and the people of Thessaly are now citizens of the kingdom. Naming the race after those battles would disrespect them and cause negative repercussions. In contrast, Marathon was a battle where the Greeks fought back against the Persians. Not only does it avoid those concerns, but it also demonstrates our respect for the people of the Greek Mainland—especially the Athenians. It will help strengthen the Greek Mainland's recognition of us, or at the very least, encourage them to participate more enthusiastically in these games."

"His Majesty is right. In the reply we received from Athens, five Athenian athletes have already signed up to participate in the marathon," Crotokatax chimed in.

His doubts dispelled, Oliphus nodded. "I have no further objections."

"Everyone, to save time, please hold your questions until the Consul finishes his report so he can answer them all at once," Davos reminded them calmly.

The grand hall immediately fell quiet, and Crotokatax continued. "...the marathon, swimming, fast boat rowing, sailing, and the military quadrathlon (which includes armored running, javelin throwing, horseback riding, and swimming)—there are fifteen major events in total. Currently, the venues and necessary equipment for all events are fully prepared. Every region in the kingdom, as well as the invited city-states, with the exception of Persia, have promised to send athletes. Based on their replies, the total number of participants stands at 1,982, with more than fifty athletes competing in every single event...

"According to the preliminary schedule, the games will last for fifteen days. Therefore, we plan to vacate all the inns around the arenas in the Thurii Region, as well as the rooms in the Kingdom Guest House in the Inner District, to provide free room and board for the athletes and officials sent by the various regions and city-states. This will ensure that all participating athletes can compete in peak condition." (Originally, to accommodate the kingdom's annual Rugby championship finals and football finals, Thurii city hall had set up temporary athlete camps near the various arenas. Later, inns managed by City Hall were gradually built on those camp grounds. These inns accommodated the players participating in the two ball games every year while also serving everyday travelers. As a result, the rooms were frequently fully booked, earning a considerable profit for Thurii city hall.)

"At the same time, we have reached an agreement with the carriage association of Thurii. During the games, they will be responsible for transporting the athletes to the competition venues to prevent tardiness.

"The referee team, spearheaded by the Temple of Hades and composed of priests from various temples, has been in training for several months and has essentially mastered the judging standards for all events. I believe the entire team of referees will be able to rule fairly on any issues that arise during the competitions and prevent cheating and other ugly incidents.

"Lord Stesichodas has provided us with tremendous help. During the games, the Medical Department will dispatch highly experienced medical teams to each venue to treat any injured athletes or spectators." (Herpus had already retired due to old age, and Stesichodas had taken over as the Minister of Medical Affairs.)