Mediterranean Hegemon of Ancient Greece

In order to gain favor with the Magara, the Corinthians also proposed that "the taxes collected when merchants from other city-states transported goods through the isthmus be divided equally between the two city-states, and that Magara merchants be given preference in the use of the trolling path and a discount on the fees charged to them".... ... (The tractor-trail is a famous infrastructural project built by the Corinthians 200 years ago, it is a stone paved road on the Isthmus of Corinth with two parallel grooves in the middle. (The cargo of the big ship in Mili was first loaded onto the small ship, then the small ship was lifted onto the car in the tractor, transported to the bay on the other side of the isthmus, and then the ship's cargo was moved to another big ship, thus greatly shortening the voyage and saving time)

The sincerity shown by the Corinthians gradually moved Megara to start negotiations on an alliance, but in today's Greece, you can't just create an alliance, you have to get the consent of the Greek Union.

The Greek senator of Corinth, who was in the Greek Parliament, was afraid that the foolishness of the Council of Corinth at the Games would anger King Dionysia and lead him to disagree with the proposal to "establish the Isthmian League of Corinth".

While the Corinthian General Creonian regretted his decision, Megalgadius, standing at the entrance to the stadium, heard the thunder of joy inside and was eager to try his luck as it was their turn to enter the arena.

The Dionysian official in front of the entrance saw the Corinthian athletes walk past the royal stands and shouted, "Enter the delegation of Cretan athletes!"

The Dionysian soldiers blocking the way immediately gave way, and the impatient Cretan athletes immediately followed the sign-holding teenager forward, passing the Dionysian official in charge of the orderly entrance, who, as before, gave the same friendly encouragement: "Cretan warriors, hold your heads high to the enthusiastic cheers of the spectators!"

As soon as the McGargides stepped into the arena, the earth-shaking cheers immediately came from all directions, just like the wind howling on the sea under harsh conditions, the towering spectator stand around them is the huge waves that whipped up, so in the center of the storm how they are not thrilled, no wonder the Dionysian officials called them warriors, because it really takes courage to dare to be in such an environment. Even Megakides, who had been determined during the Cretan Trials, was feeling nervous at the moment, after all, the momentum and scale of the Hades Main Arena was far from being comparable to the previous Trials, not to mention that there would be very few spectators from Cretan origin to be seen here.

Rather, the more nervy Siraitios didn't seem to be too affected, he kept looking around and exclaimed from time to time, "Wow, looks like the rumors are true, some of the spectators really are women!"

"Look! The young woman over there very close to us, with the white hat on her head, looks very nice!"

"The woman in the purple dress should be of noble birth!"

......

Silitaios' words gradually dissolved the inhibitions of his teammates, and they began to follow Silitaios' example of smiling and waving to the audience, all the while tasting each other.

Nearly approaching the royal stand, Megalkides also jokingly whispered, "Silitaios look, the Princess Dionysia you want to marry is up there!"

Silitaios, however, suddenly stopped talking and became solemn, and when he reached the front of the royal stand, he stopped and curtsied respectfully towards the royal stand.

It wasn't that there hadn't been a salute to the royal stand among the delegations that had entered before, but it was all Dionysian athletes, and it was a chest thumping salute, as the vast majority of them were serving citizens of the Dionysian army, and King Davos was their supreme commander. And now it was an athlete from a Greek city-state who was giving the traditional Greek salute of respect to the Dionysian royal family, surprising not only the spectators, but also Davos and his family.

"Your Majesty, it seems that your games have already been recognized by some of the athletes before they even officially begin," Plato said with a smile.

"I see these athletes approve of the hefty prize money," Xenophon snickered.

Davos, however, replied with emotion, "Since the establishment of the Olympian Games, the four major races have not only swept the Greek world for hundreds of years, but have also become widely popular among the other races of the Mediterranean, who unfortunately have been unable to join them, and now Deionian has provided an opportunity for races outside of Greece to participate in such a grand event, as well as allowing the The best Greek athletes showcase their superb athletic skills to the entire Mediterranean, and I think - I'm afraid that's the very reason why the Greek athlete just now identified with the Dionysian Games!"

"I'm afraid there's more to the establishment of the Dionysian Games than that," Plato intoned, "I remember that in the letters of invitation sent to the various city-states, Dionysia solemnly mentioned that 'the Dionysian Games will follow the fine traditions of the great Greek competitions, requiring the participating nations to cease all acts of war during the Games and to maintain a peaceful environment for competition...' ...'. Look at the athletes on the field, they're not just from Greece, but encompass most of the city-states and countries of the Mediterranean, what does this request from Dionysia mean?!"

Plato intensified his tone and said excitedly, "It means that Dionysia is going to extend the peace of Greece to the whole Mediterranean! What great courage this is! If it can be achieved, it will be a great achievement like never before!"

"Plato, you're overly excited," Xenophon said in a flat tone, "Have there been fewer war clashes during the Games over the decades! Not to mention the fact that the Dionysian Games were the first time they were held, and to extend this Greek tradition to the entire Mediterranean? Just saying, it's going to take a lot to make it happen ...... huh ......"

Davos looked calm, but spoke forcefully, "Dionysian has always kept his promises, and since he has dared to say this, he naturally has the determination to fulfill them! If any of the participating city-states or races violate this request set forth in the letter, even if the road is far away, Dionysia will send an army to punish them, to ensure the prestige of the Dionysian Games!"

Looking at Davos' deep gaze, Xenophon's heart faltered and he said with a Judas-like hardness, "Extending peace to the Mediterranean ...... is a very good wish indeed, but don't you forget Persia!"

"Yeah, and Persia ......", Davos heard, and instead of showing embarrassment on his face, he gave a thoughtful sigh.

The Deionian crowd cheered even louder at the delegation of Cretan athletes since Silitaios' salute.

Silitaios looked a little proud of himself and said to his teammates, "You see, the crowd is cheering for me!"

McGonagides trails off, he thinks the reason the guy just saluted was purely to stand out!

..................................................................

After the entrance of the delegation of Cretan athletes, delegations of athletes from Crotone, Downies, Thebes, Egypt ...... entered the stadium one after another, the enthusiasm of the spectators was always high, cheers continued to be heard, the entrance ceremony lasted for an hour, finally 79 delegations, nearly 3,000 athletes all stood in the center of the stadium.

They had all despised the idea of Dionysia hosting the Games, believing deep down that "Dionysia, an unorthodox Greek state with no heritage, could not possibly succeed", but they also turned pale at the sight of the huge number of athletes in the stadium, which was several times larger than any previous Games, meaning that the influence of the Dionysian Games was much greater than they had thought.

At this moment, the red flag was raised on the hosting platform again, and the host's majestic voice echoed in the stadium: "Respected athletes, esteemed guests, we all know that in ancient times Prometheus stole the sacred fire from Olympus to come down to earth, and from then on, we human beings began to break away from barbarism and ignorance, and gradually became prosperous and civilized, and fire became a sacred object revered by all families and cities.

Even if people had to go far away from their hometown, they would take a flame with them to the temple of their mother country and try their best to make sure that the flame would not stop burning on the way to their new home. ...... Only then, they would believe that their new home was blessed by the gods and the mother country. It is only here that the civilization of the city continues to be passed on. This is the very reason why the Greek city-state priests are spread all over the Mediterranean like stars in the sky, still closely linked together!

Today, the Dionysian Games will also be held in a sacred ceremony! Hades will lead the gods to bless the Games with fairness and justice, to bless the athletes with excellent results, and to punish any hostile acts that disrupt the Games! ......

Now please remain silent and wait at ease for the heroes of the Dionysian Kingdom to bring the Holy Fire to the arena!"

When the Olympian representatives heard this, they were first stunned and then outraged: Dionysia had promised in her invitation letter that the Games would never be aimed at pleasing Hades, but the upcoming ritual of bringing in the sacred fire from the main temple of Hades was a disguised use of the Games to make a sacrifice for Hades, a deception!