Mediterranean Hegemon of Ancient Greece Chapter 1256: Little Prince

Moved by the "grand and unique sports games" mentioned in Davos's letter, the two of them had made the journey.

To show his respect for them, Davos had invited them to the exclusive royal viewing stand.

As soon as they entered, they were captivated by the band marching into the arena.

"What is this music called? It has a wonderful melody," Xenophon asked curiously. Like many spectators from the Daunian Allied States, he was captivated by the brisk, powerful rhythm.

Before Davos could answer, Plato chimed in. "The

Xenophon looked surprised. "I had no idea you possessed such talent, Davos!"

In private conversation, Xenophon still used the familiar address from their old days in Persia, which Davos never minded. "It was merely a bit of inspiration from the great Hades," the king said modestly. "The credit for bringing it to life belongs entirely to the musicians of the Royal Palace."

"The piece is beautiful! But how did you gather so many different instruments and musicians to play such a harmonious, graceful melody instead of creating a chaotic din?!"

Xenophon wasn't the only one astonished; nearly all the Greeks in the stands shared his amazement. Traditional Greek music was mostly played on a single instrument. On the rare occasions there was an ensemble, it involved only a handful of instruments and musicians. A band of this scale playing together with so many instruments—some of foreign origin that the Greeks couldn't even identify—completely upended their understanding of music. They all wondered the same thing: how did the Theonians control such a massive orchestra to produce such a grand, resonant, and richly layered melody?

"Of course. He was once a musical poet of Syracuse..." Xenophon hesitated, letting his words trail off.

Philosanus was highly innovative in the structure and melody of musical poetry, earning him considerable fame across the Greek Mainland. He had even presented his works at mainland games. After joining Daionia, he achieved even greater breakthroughs in his craft. However, because some of his verses praised Hades and King Davos, he had drawn public condemnation from the priests of major sanctuaries and fallen out of favor with the elite of the mainland Greek city-states. Still, many Greek scholars privately treasured his poems, carefully studying his improvements in meter and rhyme.

"Philosanus teaches at the Institute of Literature in the Daonian College," Plato said. "Besides teaching students how to write poetry, he also studies how to blend different instruments into harmonious melodies. I've personally watched him organize his students to perform music exactly like this. Look—that old man standing at the very front of the band is Philosanus!"

Plato was intimately familiar with Philosanus because, after being exiled by the people of Athens during the Greek War, he had fled to Thurii with his students. Accepting Davos's invitation, he had briefly served as a teacher at the Theonia Akademia. Outside of his classes, he had earnestly interviewed other teachers and students to study the institution's operational mechanisms, hoping to glean insights to improve the curriculum at his own Academy.

By this time, the band had circled the arena and formed ranks in the center of the field near the royal viewing stand. The music played on.

"I see." Though Xenophon also kept a treasured collection of Philosanus's poetry, he had never met the man in person. Staring intently at the old man at the front of the band, who was constantly pointing and gesturing with a wooden baton, realization dawned on him. "To make such a massive band play a harmonious melody, you need a commander. Just like an army commander, he deploys the troops and dictates who strikes first and who follows, maximizing the soldiers' strength to secure victory..."

Xenophon lived up to his reputation as the versatile scholar-warrior who had penned

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Though Olympia had not sent priests to participate in the training and selection for the referee panel of the Theonian Rugby Games, because Daionia promised that the games would not involve exclusive sacrifices to Hades, Olympia still accepted the invitation. They dispatched a priest as their representative to watch the games.

Peisias, the priest from Olympia, sat in the VIP section with a critical and guarded attitude. While the other dignitaries marveled at the grandeur and lively atmosphere of the Hades Main Arena and were moved by the band's performance, he scoffed at the spectacle. To the Greeks, the games were an expression of reverence for the gods and a pure love of sport; all this sensationalist pageantry was utterly pointless!

Just then, he heard the announcer's shout: "Next, please welcome the referee delegation of the games into the arena!"

He immediately perked up.

The band transitioned from the

Accompanied by the serene and solemn melody, over 200 priests in pure white robes marched into the arena in a loose column. Leading them was a young boy from the Thurii School, who wore a grave expression as he held a Wooden Placard aloft bearing the words "Referee Delegation."

Right behind the boy walked an amiable old priest with a beaming smile. The moment he looked toward the stands, the Daionian spectators erupted in excitement. "It's Chief Priest Cardias!!!"

Ten years ago, Cardias had been transferred back to the Thurii Region to serve as the chief priest following his outstanding missionary work in the Roman Region. In recent years, as Praxinas's age advanced and his energy waned, he had handed control of all Temple of Hades affairs in the Thurii Region over to Cardias. Praxinas had even recommended him as his successor. With Davos's approval, Cardias was slated to be promoted to Scepter Priest at the end of the year.

Now, serving as the head referee for the entire delegation, he walked at the front of the procession.

As the referee procession advanced, the Daionian spectators began to loudly sing hymns to various gods, recognizing more and more priests from different temples on the field.

The Greek spectators, meanwhile, were astonished to spot quite a few priests whose physical features were distinctly non-Greek. Listening to the hymns sung by the Daionian fans nearby, they learned that some of these foreigners belonged to the Temple of Hades, while others represented foreign shrines—like the Temple of Savoni of the Samnites, the Temple of Mahara of the Bruttii, the Temple of Baal Hammon of Carthage, and the Temple of Diana in Rome...

Although Olympia had received prior notice from Daionia that "priests from various temples would form the referee panel," seeing so many priests of different gods and races marching quietly and submissively in the same procession made Peisias draw a sharp breath. A sudden, unsettling sense of isolation crept over him:

Just then, he heard a Daionian Senator beside him exclaim in surprise, "That boy holding the placard... isn't that His Majesty Davos's grandson, Christod?"

"Not just 'isn't that'—it is him! My youngest son is in his class. When he wasn't selected to participate in the opening ceremony, he came home and cried his eyes out."

...

The animated chatter among the Daionian officials in the VIP section naturally drew the attention of the Greek city-state envoys. Now that Daionia was the undisputed hegemon of the Greek World, these envoys had naturally made it their business to study the Daunian Royal Family in detail. Hades Davos Christod—grandson of Daionia's King Davos and son of Crown Prince Crotokatax. Under the royal family's system of primogeniture, he was highly likely to be the king after next.

During Daionia's early years, when royal family members of Cynthia and Crotokatax's generation attended the Thurii Inner District school (located at the easternmost edge of the Crati River delta, right next to the Theonia Akademia), Thurii's population was relatively small. The children of citizens from both the inner and outer districts all attended that same school, meaning most of the city's populace knew the royal family by sight. But by the time Christod reached school age, Thurii City's population had exploded and the royal family's prestige was absolute. Not only was it exceedingly difficult for children from the outer districts to gain admission to the Inner District school, but Christod also attended classes under the constant protection of palace guards. Thus, it was completely normal that the vast majority of the Daionian spectators had failed to recognize him when he first marched onto the field today.

Now that his identity was revealed and the eyes of thousands of spectators were locked onto him, young Christod couldn't help but feel nervous. Fortunately, Chalcides, walking right behind him, had been gently comforting him the whole time. "Don't be afraid, child! The crowd means no harm. On the contrary, they are overjoyed to see the Hades royal family flourishing with a worthy successor. Listen, they're cheering for you! You should give them a smile to show your gratitude!"

Christod's temperament favored his father's. Furthermore, having been kept by his grandmother's side and meticulously educated from a very young age, he had excellent manners and carried himself with proper decorum. So, despite the lingering anxiety in his chest, he gripped the Wooden Placard tightly, turned toward the stands, and managed to squeeze out a smile.

The crowd's cheers grew even louder.

Soon, he reached the front of the exclusive royal viewing stand. He could clearly see his entire family standing at the railing: his kind grandparents, his gentle father, his strict mother, his warm-hearted eldest aunt Cynthia, his rather reclusive second uncle Apox, his childish youngest uncle, and his beautiful youngest aunt... All of them were waving and smiling down at him.