Mediterranean Hegemon of Ancient Greece

Although young, McGargides was more determined, not someone who could be easily persuaded, but at the moment he was also a little hesitant.

At this moment, a shout came from behind him, "McGargides, we should go back!"

The shouting was from an official of the Cretan delegation, the leader of their archery team, and it is interesting to note that in the past, in the various games held on Greek soil, the athletes had mostly travelled to the participating sites on their own, and very few city-states had formed special delegations to participate. But this time when Dionysia extended the invitation, it was in the letter that he requested that each participating city-state and region must have an official to lead the athletes to form a delegation and participate as a group, so as to make it easier to manage.

At the same time, Dionysia would make a medal list based on the number of prizes won by each region and city-state's delegation, which would be posted at the entrance and exit of each arena and updated every day, and at the end of the games, Dionysia would reward the top three regions and city-states with a generous medal total.

The Cretan nobles, who had not always been interested in Greek affairs, signed up to join the delegation of athletes to Turei, and the number of applicants was so great that a running race was held to select the officials who would lead the team.

These selected officials did not perform their duties well at first, looking out for themselves, not taking care of the athletes' daily food and living, and even attending training themselves when they arrived at the training ground, sometimes clashing with the athletes ...... However, whether at the training ground, or at the athletes' hotel, there were athletes and officials from other regions and city-states everywhere, competition was everywhere, and under pressure the Cretan officials gradually completed their identity change and began to devote themselves to the athletes.

The Cretan leader who was shouting was also from the home state of Megakides, and he was from the noble family, but in the beginning he did not pay much attention to the commoner Megakides.

According to the rules of the Games, in the interests of fairness, the bows and arrows that would be provided by the Games during the competition, the set they used in training, were of significantly better quality than McGakides' own bows and arrows, and the more he used them now, the more he was comfortable with them and hated to take a set home. But he knew: a beautifully crafted, top-quality bow and arrow like this was definitely expensive, and not something he could afford unless he could win the championship and receive that generous reward.

"May Hades bless you and give you a good place in the tournament!" The target announcer smiled and gave him his blessing.

"Thanks!" McGargides' heart warmed, since he had arrived in Turi, all the Daimonians he had met had been friendly to him, which made him feel affectionate, and even caused him to develop a slight fondness for Hades, the patron saint of the Daimonian kingdom, which is why he responded, "May Hades bless you with peace in your life!"

By the time he got back to the Cretan runners, Flax, the leader of the team, had gotten a little impatient and said, "We need to get back to the hotel! I just heard from the management here that the Tullii City Hall is going to impose a curfew on the entire city starting this evening to ensure the smooth convening of tomorrow's games, so to avoid trouble, we need to get back to our hotel!"

At his urging, the Cretan competitors quickly packed up their packages, exited the archery range, and hurried eastward.

The archery range, though newly built to host the archery competitions for the Games, did not cost as much money or time as the swimming pool or the racecourse, for archery was an open-air competition and only required the building of walls around the range and the placement of stepped wooden benches behind the competitors that could be used for spectators to sit and watch. It was built on the west side of Turei, next to the Turei Barracks, which was supposed to be a bit remote from the city, but every day the roads around it were crowded with traffic and people often entered the archery range to watch the training.

However, when the Crete Archery Team set out on their return journey, they clearly felt that there were fewer pedestrians on the road, and they frequently encountered patrols after entering the outer city, for which they were delayed for quite some time. By the time they got back to the Sportsman's Inn, it was dark and the lobby of the hotel was lit with candles.

Already drenched in sweat, Megakides and the others didn't go to dinner right away, but went to the hotel's bathhouse. The Sportsman's Inn in the West-West End, built next to the Ramallah-Severnes Arena, consisted of four large six-story buildings, and in the middle of these buildings was the following The bathhouse.

When they first checked in and entered the bath for the 1st time, they had been confused by the tedious procedure, but now they were completely comfortable with it and enjoying themselves.

By the time Megakides came out of the bath, he felt refreshed and exhausted, even the soreness in his arms had disappeared without a trace.

If only there had been such a bath in Herakleion! ...... McGargides had this thought in mind, but then he thought to himself: if that were the case, there'd be a lot of people going to the baths, and the cost wouldn't be cheap, unlike here where it's all free! Hey, what a happy Dionysian!

This envy continued until they entered the restaurant.

On one side of the restaurant were neatly arranged rows of tables, each with a large, wide-mouthed earthenware jar containing hot food: chicken stew, egg custard, roast beef, fried fish, roast leg of lamb, haggis soup, honey bread, sweet wheat porridge ...... and even wine, beer and juice slurry.

The dinners at the inn were always so rich and tasty, and they were free to eat and drink as they pleased, with no restrictions, and the waiters added to them as the dishes in the crockery were finished.

When they walked into the restaurant for the first time and heard the waiter say that they could eat and drink for free, they thought they were mistaken until they were sure it was true and some of them started to eat and drink so much that their stomachs got so full that they had to call the doctor urgently.

Some other contestants had speculated that this was a welcome dinner, which is why it was so special, and that they would not be so generous in the future.

Who knows, every breakfast and dinner after that (the athletes' restaurant doesn't serve lunch, but allows athletes to take a little breakfast out of the restaurant for lunchtime training) made all the athletes' jaws drop in shock, almost suspecting they were in the Elysian Fields that the Dionyans often talk about.

"Dionysia is mighty rich! It must be nice to be a citizen of this kingdom! I'm so lucky to be able to attend this sporting event! ...... "Having seen the prosperity of the great city of Turey and the benefits it offers its athletes, the athletes recalled the hardships they had experienced at other Games and found the Dionysian Games even more valuable, especially since they had heard from the waiters at the Athletes' Hotel that In fact, the athletes who come to Tullii every year for the rugby and football finals enjoy the same treatment, so they are even more sure that Dionysia is a haven for athletes.

Dionysia has captured the hearts of almost all of the athletes before the games have even taken place, and what Tullye has done has been well worth it, as one of the objectives of Devers in hosting the games has been achieved.

Athletes were constantly entering the restaurant, and by the time McGargides was carrying a wooden tray full of the food he wanted to eat, the restaurant was nearly full.

"Here, McGargides!" Someone waved to him.

Megakides was busy walking over, "You're back early, Silitaios."

Silitaios, also a young nobleman from the city of Heraklion in Crete, signed up to run in this sporting event, and after 20 days of being together, the two men from the same city-state had become friends.

"Didn't train much today, just tried to run a few times in that ...... shorts they provide and felt fine, starting, swinging, stepping and sprinting unaffected." As soon as Ciritaios finished, another Cretan runner next to him immediately complained, "I feel very affected, the fabric rubs against my thighs when I run! Historically, the Games have been a fruit body participation, but Deionia had to change the tradition and make everyone wear this thing, which is blasphemy!"

Siraitios glanced at him, "Since you're not happy with this sporting event, you can quit not competing well."

The man na na said, "The competition starts tomorrow, it's not good to quit ...... at this time."

"Come on, I think you ah, you can't let go of the free food and comfortable service here." Cirithaeus directly revealed his thoughts, and then said half jokingly, half seriously, "Deionia is now the overlord of the entire Greek world, much more powerful than Sparta back then, even Olympia and Delphi have to show their submission to it, not to mention wearing shorts, even if we were to let everyone race in Bolton, I don't think any city-state would dare to oppose it openly!

And, when you think about it, Dionysian women are allowed to watch the game, and supposedly there will be a Dionysian princess and princess sitting in the audience at tomorrow's stadium ceremony, so it's understandable that we should be allowed to play in shorts."