Mediterranean Hegemon of Ancient Greece Chapter 1253: Hades Main Arena

"I bet you're just hoping to catch the eye of a princess of Daionia, so you can become the King of Daonia's son-in-law," his teammate grunted in annoyance.

Siritheos didn't deny it. Instead, he whispered earnestly, "Too bad that according to what I've heard, the princesses of the Daunian Royal Family are already married. My chance is gone! Still, it wouldn't be so bad to catch the eye of a minister's daughter in Daionia. I'm telling you guys, you should put some effort in too—try to earn a place in the Kingdom of Daunia!"

Although past Greek athletic games forbade women from attending as spectators, anecdotes of men being chosen as husbands through these events still occasionally surfaced and became celebrated tales. For instance, the former tyrant of Athens, Peisistratus, once had his daughter attend the games in disguise to pick an ideal husband. Siritheos, being handsome, tall, and well-proportioned, genuinely stood a good chance of winning the favor of Daionia's women.

The others nearby were somewhat swayed by his words, momentarily sinking into their own fantasies.

"Looks like you're planning to put on a good show in tomorrow's competition." Megakides placed his food tray on the table and sat opposite Siritheos.

"Putting on a good show is a given, but I'm not confident about advancing," Siritheos said. Despite the discouraging words, his expression remained calm. "I took a good look around the training rooms these past few days. The traditional running powerhouses—Athens, Thebes, Corinth, and Elis—have sent very strong athletes this time. Fortunately, Daionia has completely changed the format of the races. Since no one is quite used to it yet, I still have a bit of a chance.

"Besides, even if I get eliminated in the 100-meter sprint, I still have the 200-meter and 400-meter races. The more times I show my face on the field, the greater my chances of catching the eye of the noble ladies of Daionia."

Megakides felt somewhat dissatisfied with Siritheos's attitude toward the competition—focusing not on giving his all to win, but on how to win the hearts of Daionia's women. However, since Siritheos was a noble, Megakides didn't dare criticize him and simply buried his head in his food.

"I heard from the arena administrators that Daionia will hold a grand ceremony tomorrow. It will be completely different from any past athletic opening. I really can't wait to see it!" Siritheos's remark left Megakides stunned for a moment. He thought about it—indeed, since Daionia could provide the athletes with such comfortable lodging and lavish meals, what kind of surprises would they bring to all the athletes and city-state representatives during tomorrow's ceremony?!

...

Hades Main Arena was the first stadium built since the founding of Daionia. Situated slightly east of the center of the Inner District in Thurii, it was the venue for the final matches of the kingdom's annual Rugby championship and football finals. To meet the needs of a growing number of spectators, it had undergone several large-scale renovations and expansions. The most recent took place over the two years after King Davos announced the hosting of the athletic games. Today, its architectural structure and appearance were vastly different from when it was first built decades ago.

The entire venue was nearly a massive circle, standing roughly 42 meters tall and covering over 15,000 square meters. It could ordinarily accommodate nearly 60,000 spectators. Not only was it a holy land of competition in the hearts of players and fans, but it was also one of the architectural marvels of the Thurii Region.

In the early dawn of July 2, 365 BC (the 29th year of the Kingdom of Daunia), bustling crowds converged on Hades Main Arena from all directions. At the same time, 69 of the arena's entrances opened simultaneously. Only one entrance remained temporarily closed—the passage reserved for members of the royal family.

Ticket inspectors and the Patrol Unit took their respective positions. Thurii city hall had even submitted a request to the Ministry of Military Affairs, deploying four Reserve Brigades from the Thurii Military Camp in advance to help maintain order outside the arena.

Guided by volunteers and guides, tens of thousands of spectators trickled like tiny streams toward each entrance. Many spectators from all over Greece handed their tickets to the inspectors with a bit of apprehension. In the past, they had never had to pay to watch athletic games held on the Greek Mainland. This was their first time buying a ticket, and they felt both a sense of novelty and a bit of nervousness: would such a strange slip of paper actually work?

But for the Daionia spectators, buying a ticket to watch a match was the most natural thing in the world. They had been doing this for decades. Every year, Thurii and other regions of the kingdom brought in considerable revenue for City Hall just from ticket sales. Moreover, the tickets for these athletic games were made by the Christoya Chamber of Commerce from a newly developed thick paper with a fine texture and a bluish tint, making them virtually impossible to counterfeit. Just writing down the events, locations, dates, and seat numbers on all the tickets had taken dozens of the chamber's scribes nearly a month.

The ticket inspector's main job was to verify the ticket's authenticity and check if any information on it had been altered. After confirming everything was correct, he would smile and invite the spectator inside.

After passing through the entrance, the spectators still had to reach the floor designated on their ticket and hand it to the inspector at that level's entrance before they could enter the seating area. (Hades Main Arena had a total of four floors, each with a different ticket price. The first floor was primarily provided to the kingdom's Senators, ministers, VIPs, and citizens or heroes who had made outstanding contributions to the kingdom; the fourth floor had no seats and was standing-room only, making it the cheapest.)

"Getting into the spectator seating is such a hassle!" Iphicrates found his seat according to the number on his tag and immediately started complaining the moment he sat down. "I thought we Athenians were calculating enough, but I never expected Theonians to be even stingier. Charging admission to watch athletic games—it's simply unheard of!"

Callistratus, who sat next to him, actually spoke a few fair words on behalf of Daionia. "This is understandable. They provided free lodging and lavish meals for all the delegations and athletes. That must have cost a considerable amount, so trying to earn some back through ticket sales makes sense. I asked the ticket seller when I came in earlier—the ticket prices aren't high. The cheapest is only three drachmas, and the most expensive is just 10 drachmas. (The tickets for the various delegations were gifted by Thurii city hall, requiring no payment). Even the poor should be able to afford that."

"Cheap it may be, but look at how many people can sit here! Just from one event, Daionia will easily pull in hundreds of thousands, maybe even over a million drachmas. And consider how many events they will hold throughout the entire Olympic Games... Daionia can make a massive fortune just by hosting an athletic meet!" Iphicrates counted on his fingers, estimating Daionia's revenue from the games.

"What, are you tempted?" Callistratus said playfully. "Want to propose a motion in the Council that we should learn from Daionia and start charging admission for the future Panathenaic Games?"

Iphicrates actually thought about it carefully before shaking his head. "I'm afraid that wouldn't work. First off, the Panathenaic Game has no tradition of charging fees; the citizens would never accept it. Not to mention our arenas are open-air. Restricting the populace from freely going in and out would be very difficult."

"Building such a massive and structurally complex arena in Athens would overwhelm us in terms of funds and manpower alone, not to mention the construction technology it requires, which we likely lack right now."

Callistratus swept a prudent gaze across the entire venue and finally couldn't help but sigh. "Even if we did build an arena like this, the number of spectators it can hold far exceeds the number of citizens in Athens (the number of citizens in Athen generally hovered around 4,000 to 5,000 people). It would probably take a very long time to turn a profit. That's why such colossal architecture and this method of collecting fees... can only be implemented by a major power with abundant national strength and a massive population like Daionia!"

Iphicrates fell silent. He had harbored grievances against Daionia before. As the adopted son of the former King of Macedonia, Amyntas, he had wanted to lead troops to the rescue during the Macedonian rebellion four years ago. However, he was dissuaded by the Ten Generals of Athens and forced to first seek help from Daionia, the leader of the Greek League. As a result, by the time Daionia dispatched troops, his sworn brother Alexander had already died in battle. Furthermore, after quelling the rebellion, Daionia did not allow Macedonia to join the Hellenic League; instead, they formed a separate alliance with Macedonia... Iphicrates believed that Theonians were harboring selfish motives.

Neither he nor Callistratus had ever been to Thurii before. Coming here this time as members of the Athenian delegation, they genuinely witnessed the immense strength and prosperity of Daionia—something Athens couldn't possibly compare to. Any ulterior motives hidden in their hearts were largely dispelled. At this moment, however, he still spoke with some defiance, "The key is whether Daionia can run the games well. Otherwise, it doesn't matter how well the arena is built!"

Callistratus somewhat understood his colleague's mindset. In the period following the end of the Greek War, he had shared that same unwillingness to concede. But as Daionia's hegemonic position on the Greek Mainland grew increasingly secure, and more and more city-states of Ionia (the islands on the Aegean Sea) joined the Greek League, Athens's path to maritime expansion was completely sealed off. Yet, because they had become allies with Daionia, Athens's commercial trade channels had greatly expanded, the domestic market was far more prosperous, commercial taxes had clearly increased, and the treasury was full. The citizens also enjoyed this peaceful comfort more. The situation had changed, and Callistratus had entirely abandoned any thoughts of opposing Daionia.

He did not continue the conversation on this topic. Instead, he pointed to the side and said in surprise, "Look, Agesilaus is here too! I thought he wasn't coming to participate in these games."