Mediterranean Hegemon of Ancient Greece

Some suggested that one should run from near the Tulii barracks to Hot Springs Marsh, which would be both very commemorative (the Battle of the Everglades Annihilation was the founding battle of Dionysia) and make the most of the abilities of the Tulii runners (the Tulii runners who participated in the marathon run were young soldiers of the 1st and 2nd Corps, who had spent years doing military stretching near the Tulii barracks and were perfectly adapted to the terrain there).

It was also suggested that it should be run from the vicinity of the port of Tului, all the way to the inner city of Tului, which is also very monumental (Davos landed in the port of Tului with his mercenaries and eventually founded the Kingdom of Dionysia in the city of Tului), and also good for the final prize.

It was also suggested that the route should start near the port of Turei and finish at the foot of Amendola, which is also very commemorative, since King Davos landed his army in Greece from the port of Turei, first of all at Amendola, and the route is beneficial for all the participants.

Clotokatakos led the preparatory team to adopt the third proposal after much consideration, the main reason being that the route was flat and open, which would help all the runners to complete the race as smoothly as possible, since it was the first time that a marathon had been held and if it was too difficult, many runners would not be able to complete it, which would be detrimental to its future promotion.

The Marathon Run had been very popular with the people of Dionysia and exotic tourists since the Games began, and it, like the boat race, was too extensive to charge an entrance fee, so on the day of the race the people of Turi and its vicinity, including tourists, flocked to the sides of the course, which surrounded Turi's harbor to the bottom of the Amendolara Mountains. To prevent disruptions to the race, Crotocatacus even brought in the army to keep order.

The spectators were huge, and the lineup of competitors was equally as large. Two years after the organizers of the Ionian Games announced the creation of the marathon, a saying spread throughout the Greek world that "an athlete is only as good as his ability to run the entire marathon". As a result of this public opinion, more than 200 runners registered for the event.

There are no qualifiers, no semi-finals, just one race to determine the winner.

After the high-pitched whistle blew, the runners swarmed onto the runway and slowly ran towards the finish line amidst the cheers of the spectators.

At the finish line of the long run, which was also crowded, the thoughtful Games Preparatory Team had set up VIP seats on a nearby hill, offering a commanding view of the final leg of the race, and now the ambassadors representing the various regions and city-states of the kingdom were being seated on the VIP seats one after another.

Pelopidas found his seat, and as it turned out that right next to him was the Athenian ambassador, he immediately smiled and said, "General Callistratus, congratulations and congratulations to your Athens for gaining the lead in the Dionysian Games!"

"Just for now." Callistratus waved his hand modestly, "The Games aren't over yet, it's hard to say anything. Besides, we all understand that the so-called first and second don't mean much, and the points gained by the various regions of Deionia combined far exceeds the sum of all our city-states combined, Deionia is merely comparing one of its regions to our entire city-state."

"So what, since Deionia chose to compare the athletic prowess of each city-state in this manner, the loss must be conceded." Penopidas said in a righteous manner, "Not to mention that Deionia's Turii region, in terms of population, or land area, or prosperity, exceeds our city-states, so being able to win is a sign of strength."

"You have a point there," Callistratus looked to be responding somewhat perfunctorily, but in fact that was what he was thinking: nowadays, Athens was greatly behind Turi in terms of military strength, population, land area, and level of trade, but at least Athens still had the advantage in athletic competition.

"From what you two are saying, it sounds like 1st place is secure. But let me tell you, it's only two points between us in Arcadia and Athens, and maybe when the marathon run is over, Arcadia will be able to overtake us, since we have several capable long-distance runners." Suddenly chiming in from the sidelines was Luikomedes.

The preparatory team was really well-intentioned in arranging for the top city-state emissaries of the medal table to sit together.

"To say good long-distance runners, we also have several in the Pioxia Alliance, among them, Pantacris also won the laurels in the previous 3km long-distance race, and this time they all registered for the marathon as well, so the final champion will definitely belong to him!" Pelopidas said quite proudly, having just congratulated Callistratus, but now showing the pride of wanting to grab 1st place in the medal standings in his hands.

"Can a 3,000 meter race be compared to a marathon, that's nearly ten miles of extra distance!" Kallistratus, who had just looked modest, now said, "The reason the Dionysian Games had this event was because of the glorious Athenian meet - the Marathon! We have more than 15 runners signed up, and they have been training every day for over a year to bring back the glory that should have been Athens!"

"You're overthinking it, Callistratus." Lycomedes sneered, "While it is true that the marathon run was started because of Athens, can an Athenian runner today place well in this race? I'm not optimistic, marathon running requires not only plenty of fitness but also a strong will to run such a long distance, can the Athenians, who are used to enjoying themselves, endure such hardships? I think it's pretty bad! Rather, we Arcadians, who trek through the mountains and mountains every day, are more able to endure hardships."

"The most able to endure hardships are the farmers, you mean you can win the competition of this project by sending just one farmer?!"

......

As Epaminondas watched these three, arguably the most powerful of the native Greek city-states, arguing over whether or not their city-state would win the Games, he couldn't help but sigh inwardly: to think that at the opening ceremony of the Games, they had all looked relaxed, filled with curiosity and a hint of a joke, and now they were completely caught up in it. It wasn't just them, looking around at the other city-state emissaries, the same was true. The Deionians were hosting the Games for the first time, but just like everything else they did, it should have been equally successful.

Thinking to himself, Epamilonda said, "You don't have to fight for it, I think the winner of the marathon run will probably go to a Dionysian runner."

"Why?" Pelopidas knew that his dear friend was not usually a talker, but he was bound to hold every statement.

Epaminondas said seriously, "From what I know of the Dionysian army, the Holy Kingdom of Dionyria conducts long military training for its citizens year after year, and an important part of the training program is armed long-distance running, almost every seven days for a distance of more than five miles, so the Dionysian army marches fast in war and is able to Sustained combat, which has been evident in the multiple meeting battles in which the Dionysian army has been involved."

Callistratus, Pelopidas, and Lycomedes, you looked at me, I looked at you, and suddenly stopped talking.

Despite the fact that Epaminondas was right, Callistratus and the others still took their chances, and after more than an hour of waiting, the runners participating in the race finally appeared in their view, but let them stare and gaze at them as much as they could, there was no familiar figure among the runners at the front of the race, but instead, the spectators on both sides of the track thundered with joy and even shouted the runners' names in unison.

Calistratus and the others felt a sudden sense of frustration, as the vast majority of the Dionysian spectators were able to make such a move, and the few runners running in front could only be Dionysians, and most likely even Turians.

They were right, the front runners were all from the Turinian region, and the runner in the lead, Alcinis, was not tired, but rather excited after his long run.

Two days later, on the anniversary of his father's death, he decided to win the marathon and then to pay his respects to the grave of his father, who had died in battle before he was born. FATHER: My son has grown up to be a stand-up man, and he's completely at ease in Elysian Fields!

It was a rare cool day today, with the sea breeze catching the humidity on his face and listening to the crowd chanting his name, the same name as his biological father, as his feet got bigger and faster ......

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

The top three places in the marathon run ended up being won by Dionysian runners, and all three runners were from the Dionysian 1st and 2nd Legions, thus allowing the Dionysian Turii region to surpass Athens in the Games points and take the top spot in the standings.

This dashed the expectations of Calistratus and the others, and relieved the hearts of the other city-state ambassadors, who had been influenced by the powerful power of Deionia over the past few years, causing them to think that it was normal: it was only natural for Deionia to win first place in the Games, and why should Athens be on top of us?