Chapter 614: Experience in Thurii (III)

Chapter 614: Experience in Thurii (III)

One is located near the southern part of Thurii and was named the Apollo Arena, a name decided upon by the merchants of Thurii’s southern area who donated money. For the grand tournament, the teams from the city-states of Thurii, including Sicily, would play their group matches in this arena.

On the other hand, they built the Lycaon Arena to the north of the port of Thurii, where they would hold the group matches between the Messapi and Peuceti regions.

Then the Thurii Arena between the city of Thurii and the Temple of Hera was renamed the Persephone Arena. And the Persephone Arena is where they would hold the group matches between the predominant Greek city-states such as Thurii, Amendolara, Heraclea, Elea and so on.

Finally, the Asinu-Amara Arena. At the start, as it was where the teams from the various places of Lucania and Bruttii played the group matches, the two ethnic groups had a dispute over the issue of which of the two gods’ names would come first when naming it. In the end, King Davos proposed that whichever ethnic group donated the most money would have their god’s name come first when naming this arena. And as soon they counted the donations, the result was the Lucanians won and thus decided the arena’s name.

Seeing this building, the Samnite’s members became excited.

After all, it was only after the South Italian War did the more than 10,000 captive Samnites take up Rugby and Football. And the one to teach them was the Theonian soldiers supervising them while they worked on road construction, building houses and other labours. Afterwards, the soldiers grouped them and organised a competition for them to play against each other, both to make them interested in Theonia’s culture and drain their excess energy to reduce their resistance and hostility.

And after getting released, these Samnites began spreading these two sports in the Samnite mountains. However, up to now, the Samnite area had no formal arena, so they could only compete on the somewhat flat grassland.

That is why the Samnite players were excited after seeing the arena where they would compete for the first time was so magnificent. Unfortunately, the young man didn’t give them more time to ogle at it as he led them into a branch road leading towards a wide field enclosed by poles and ropes, with numerous tents and several shops and stalls. Inside, you could see muscular men moving around, buying things, practising passing and catching, with some simply using the open space for a small practice match. And amid the bustling scenery, you could feel a bit of tension before a battle: This place is the camp where the Samnites would stay.

With countless tourists coming to Thurii in September, together with dozens of teams having as few as 50 people and as many as hundreds participating that could add up to thousands of people, the city of Thurii simply can’t provide so many accommodations. Thus after referencing the practice of the Olympic Games and combining the characteristics of the kingdom of Theonia, the city hall of Thurii placed campsites near the four arenas. Then they grouped those in the same group stage and gave them tents for accommodation, which is convenient for management as it would prevent the participating teams from scattering. After all, just having to organise them to play in the court would consume a lot of energy and easily disrupt the city’s order.

The young man walked towards the camp’s entrance and explained the situation to the guards. And after Garni showed Kesima’s letter, the guard finally allowed the Samnites to enter.

Seeing the Samnites in all short-sleeved red tunics coming, the other people in the camp knew that another team had moved in and had just arrived before the celebration*. Thus they curiously came forward to ask. (Since the distance between Abellinum and Thurii was far and Garni had walked throughout the way, they actually became the last team to arrive in Thurii.)

After learning they were from the Samnite region, the other people were all surprised, with some even muttering in an odd tone, “Can the Samnites even play rugby?”

Which angered Tatoni, Moni and the others that they would have cursed if they hadn’t considered that they had just arrived. Ultimately, they made up their minds that they would make the other teams taste their strength on the field!

The young man, on the other hand, ran around arranging tents for the Samnites to live in and borrowed dozens of Rugby uniforms, protective gear and shoes for them. Afterwards, he took them to dinner in advance and then had them take a hot spring bath at dusk…

The young man’s conscientiousness had made these Samnites regard him as their own in just a day…

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

Because the assassins sent by Syracuse almost assassinated the king of Theonia ten years ago, the people participating in the festivities panicked, resulting in countless people getting injured and killed from getting trampled. Since then, Theonia gradually improved the festivities’ guidelines to ensure the safety of the city and its people.

On September 9, during Hades’ Day, the inner city will be heavily guarded. Besides the important ministers, statesmen, and invited dignitaries from allied city-states, the kingdom of Theonia will invite civil servants that performed excellently, army soldiers and officers who showed bravery and made contributions to the war, as well as scholars and craftsmen who made innovations in the Akademia and equipment…and allow them to bring their families, totalling to about 10,000 people, into the Nike Square within the inner city to watch the festivities taking place and the worship at the Temple of Hades. And since they were all citizens, the vast majority had military training, so just blowing the salpinx once an accident occurred would immediately turn them into legionaries that would prevent the situation from expanding.

What’s more, the city hall of Thurii had recently built Temples and Altars of Hades outside the southern area of Thurii, in the delta, near the people, in the east, northwest, and the three outer part of the cities just outside the inner city of Thurii, where there would also be grand performances, hymns of the saints, and experienced priests presiding over the nearby arena and theatre…so the people who live nearby don’t have to travel far just to participate and enjoy.

On this day, the majestic and heavy bells of the Temple of Hades rang out from all corners of Thurii, and the light and distant hymn resonated throughout the Sybarite plains as the people of the kingdom of Theonia celebrated Hades’ Day.

Then the joy brought by the festivities became even higher on the second day as the Rugby Grand Tournament of the kingdom of Theonia began.

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

Early the following morning, an official of Thurii invited Garni. After getting through the crowded west gate of Thurii, Garni passed through one district after another and finally arrived in a district in the western part of the inner city with mostly large and gorgeous houses, most of which were the residences of statesmen and important officials.

As he walked through the main road between the two hills, the noisy crowd gradually became quieter as the left hill was the kingdom’s holy Temple of Hades, and on the right hill was the residence of the great king Davos.

Garni glanced towards the hill on the right and then moved his gaze down the hill. He knew that the whole hill was guarded by the king’s personal guards, making it impossible for anyone to enter the hill without invitation. And at the foot of the hill was a magnificent building, square in shape, supported by dozens of massive pillars, which made it look solemn, like a temple, but it was the royal palace of Theonia. Garni’s reason for coming to Thurii this time was that he was invited to the palace again by king Davos.

After further following the flow of people, one can see the Grand Senate Hall.

And after entering the wide Nike Square, the people space themselves apart, which made Garni feel much more relaxed. As he had come here a few years ago, Garni knew that the most important building here, apart from the towering stone pillars in the centre of the square and the goddess of victory, Nike, at the top, was the Royale Fountain of Thurii on the west side of the square and in front of the Grand Senate Hall.

Back then, the officer accompanying Garni excitedly told him about Hades ‘resurrecting’ the fountain, which resulted in the statesmen and the people responding to Hades’ prophecy and electing Davos as the king of Theonia. In the end, King Davos lived up to their expectations, defeated the powerful Syracuse, and created Theonia’s current glory…

This widely spread miracle made Garni pay close attention to the fountain of Thurii. Back then, even though an ordinary stone wall enclosed the fountain and there was nothing special about it, Garni still felt awe seeing it.

But the young man who welcomed them this time had said, ‘A few years ago, the Senate specially invited a famous Greek sculptor to redesign and build the fountain of Thurii, which couldn’t be compared to the previous one. And now, it has become one of the holy places for many young men who were determined to learn sculpting in the kingdom of Theonia to come to observe and learn.’

Unfortunately, even though Garni wanted to go and see it again, he couldn’t find time these two days.

And around Nike square were massive buildings: The library, city hall, court, ministry of Military…

After passing through Nike square, Garni stepped onto the inner city’s main road, which was so wide that it could accommodate the wagons passing side by side. Moreover, the road’s surface was exceptionally smooth as this was where the victorious soldiers would march during the Triumphant Return.

After walking several districts and passing through the first Arc de Triomphe, Garni reached the eastern part of the inner city.

Although there are also houses in the east, the houses here are more humble compared to the luxurious houses in the west and the high-end houses in the centre. Since there weren’t enough citizens back when they first built the new city of Thurii, the city has numerous vacant spaces. At first, they used the western district for the residence of some newly registered freemen and civil servants to provide the new city with sufficient labour.

But now, the eastern part has become the most vibrant area of the inner city, with river and port docks, markets, theatres, gyms, baths*, inns and restaurants. (With the popularity of the Hot Spring Baths, bathing habits have taken root in the hearts of the people that the Theonians are no longer content with just bathing in the hot spring bath where they couldn’t wash every day. Thus they began to build baths in various cities.)

And with the completion of the Great Stone Bridge of Thurii* that spans the Crati River and connects the central area of Thurii with the southern part, the trade between the two sides became more frequent. And since the bridge’s north end was located on the eastern bank of the inner city, the eastern district became more prosperous. (Its official name was the Heracleides’ Bridge, in recognition of the achievements of the statesman and the Minister of Constructions, Heracleides the younger.)