Chapter 57 The Completion Ceremony of the Temple of Hades (3)

The bells stopped, and Plessinas led the saints out of the crowd, stood on either side of the temple entrance, and began to sing in unison.

This time, it's not just pure singing, but lyrics: "

Hades is just and stern,

Your light shines upon the earth,

We are full of enthusiasm,

come to your temple,

Your light shines on us,

 …”

"Is this... is this a new Hades carol?!" The people were full of surprise, a different melody, but so beautiful and magnificent. As the singing continued, they were completely moved by the holiness and ideals that the song represented.

Countless people kneeled on the ground reverently, reciting the Hades hymn in their mouths, and tears of excitement flowed from their eyes...

When the singing ended, some people couldn't leave for a long time, until the people around them cheered: "Davers!!!..." They realized that they didn't know when the consul of Dionia, the high priest of the alliance, Davos, was wearing a white robe, With a white scarf on his head and a torch in his hand, he appeared on a circular altar in front of the temple, with Plessinas beside him and another male priest carrying a large, smooth concave surface. Bronze mirror.

The people opened their eyes curiously, because there were rumors before that the elders of the Senate had had a heated discussion on the "Hades Temple Sacred Fire". Because the holy fire is not only the spiritual connection of the Greek city-states, but also represents the inheritance of civilization, especially these Greek city-states in the Western Mediterranean. They are all colonial cities. It was the colonial builders who took away a little fire from the temple in the mother country and kept it until the new city built the temple, and then used the fire to ignite the holy fire, burning it from generation to generation to show the memory of the homeland and the inheritance of the fire!

Therefore, the elders born in Turui, headed by Polyxis, proposed to introduce fire again from Athens, which was strongly opposed by Antonios, Amyntas and others, on the grounds that the old Turiel no longer existed, and the new Turii is not a sub-state of Athens!

As for Cornerus' proposal to "ignite the fire from the temple of Zeus in Amendolara", it was also opposed. The Turii elders believed that the small town of Amendolara was not enough to represent the entire Dionysian League.

Several parties quarreled fiercely, and finally Davos said: "Since Dionia is a new city-state alliance, there is no mother state, and the Temple of Hades is almost the only city-state guardian temple in the Mediterranean. Then I think, there is Hades showed his favor to Dionysus by giving us the holy fire on the day of the temple celebration!"

The words were spread all over the city that day, and soon throughout the entire league. Now, whether it is the common people, the elders of the senate, or the distinguished guests who have just received the news, they are all curiously and excitedly watching the unlit torch in the hands of the high priest, waiting for a miracle to happen, or looking forward to the biggest joke in Great Greece. .

Facing the entrance of the temple, Davos half-knelt on the altar with a solemn expression, holding the torch high in his hand.

Plessinas and the priest took a few steps back, raised the bronze mirror with difficulty, turned it slowly, adjusted the angle, and focused the hot sunlight on a cluster of papyrus sticking out from the top of the torch...

The well-known ode to Hades was sung again from the mouths of the saints, and the sound spread to the sky...

The noon sun scorched everyone, and the sweaty people were unaware, and their attention was always on the motionless Davos...

Time passed in a minute and a second.

The bronze mirror is dazzling, and the torch remains the same...

"What did Hades give to the Holy Fire? I think he is arrogant. Do you really think he can do anything!" , So quickly, he has contributed a lot from it, and he hopes to see Davos making a fool of himself at this moment, which will make the prestige of this young consul take a big blow!

Burkes touched him with his hand, kindly reminding him to keep quiet.

Pollux rolled his eyes. Burkes was his former good friend, and now he is one of the most powerful supporters of Davos among the Turii senators in the Senate.

If it weren't for some reason, Polyxis didn't want to be with him again.

Suddenly, he saw that the top of the torch seemed to emit blue smoke. He thought he had seen it wrong, and blinked hard.

One after another, exclamations have come from all directions.

Soon, the green smoke turned into a small cluster of throbbing red-yellow flames, which quickly ignited the sackcloth soaked in olive oil.

Fire, blazing!

"Oh, Hades!!!" The people who witnessed this miracle cheered like a landslide and tsunami, and the whole hill seemed to be shaking.

Even the VIPs looked at each other in disbelief: Could it be that Dionia was really favored by Hades? !

Did Davos really get Hades' favor? ! The elders looked at Davos in awe, while Polyxis' body was trembling slightly. He seemed to see Hades' majestic eyes staring directly at him in the torch held high by Davos.

Davos secretly breathed a sigh of relief. Although he had practiced several times before, and even chose a sunny day, he used the plaza to perform and continued the lighting ceremony until noon, but he was still a little uneasy in his heart. After all, this was in front of tens of thousands of people. , If he messes up, his well-thought-out plan and the prestige of the favored one will be destroyed in one fell swoop! Fortunately, Hades bless, he made it!

Davos stood up slowly, held the torch high, and walked slowly for a week, enjoying the cheers of the people with a solemn expression, like the waves in a storm, pushing him to the top again and again...

Then, accompanied by the priests, he stepped into the temple and lit the dark black bronze braziers in front of the statue of Hades one by one. From then on, the holy fire of the temple of Hades will continue day and night to bless Dionia's prosperity.

When Davos walked out of the temple, a loud bugle sounded, accompanied by a low drum beat, three legion commanders, Kapus, Drax, and Hieronymus, headed, plus eight captains, all in uniform, They carried three stone tablets respectively and came to the front of the temple under the escort of 40 squad leaders.

When most of the people looked at the three stone monuments one person tall in confusion, the words of the high priest were sent to the ears of the people with the help of the messenger: "The establishment and development of the Dionysian city-state alliance, It is inseparable from the blessing of Hades! It is also inseparable from the efforts of citizens! Today, when we enjoy peace and prosperity, please don't forget the warriors who gave their lives to defend Dionia! Their names are all Inscribed on these three steles, Hades applauded their loyalty and bravery to the Alliance, allowing their souls to enter the temple, transform into heroic spirits, continue to defend Dionia, and accept the descendants of the Dionians and their descendants Let’s pay homage and worship!” After speaking, Davos knelt down in front of the stone tablet with a solemn expression.

Immediately afterwards, the legion commander, the brigade commander, the sub-commander, and all the soldiers present were half-kneeling to the ground in front of the stele, with a solemn expression.

In the eyes of the public, the stele engraved with handwriting is no longer a cold stone, but a vivid figure with a name and a surname...

"Uuuuu..." In addition to the distinguished guests, the mountains and plains were all kneeling Dionian people. In this solemn atmosphere, there were even uncontrollable cries. Those cries were the family members of the soldiers who died in battle. .

"Warriors don't die, heroic spirits live forever!"

"Warriors don't die, heroic spirits live forever!!!"

...

Davos led the people to kowtow to the stele.

At this moment, the grass and trees are affectionate, and the heaven and the earth are in sympathy. A strong wind blows at the right time, and even the sun is blocked by the clouds, which makes the people believe that their calls have been answered.

For a time, the prayers of the people continued for a long time...

The bugle and the war drum were played in unison, and the generals and team officers took a neat step, carrying the stone tablet into the temple under the watchful eyes of thousands of pairs of eyes.

"The Dionysians respect warriors to such an extent!" Lycias had heard that Dionia held a triumphal ceremony for the army returning from victory, and now he saw them present the stele of the dead When you enter the temple, you can't help but be moved.

"With such a sacred move, how could the citizens of Dionia not be willing to fight to the death!" Crotone Admiral Askamas, who was on the side, was no longer in the mood to ridicule, and his face was serious.

He and Lycias looked at each other, thinking the same question: In the event of another war with Dionia in the future, would Crotone be able to defeat such a high-spirited Dionian?

VIPs from the South-Italian Alliance have more or less such feelings, and for Elia's Kanios, Dionia's strength is exactly what he is happy to see.

After the drum trumpet disappeared, the harp sounded again...

In the melodious sound of the piano, little Heraclid and Piasix carried a bust to the temple.

"The people of Dionia, please tell me, who designed the new city of Turii? Who led us to build it?" Davos asked loudly.

"...It's Heraclid." The answer was intermittent.

"Who designed and built the Temple of Hades?" Davos asked again.

"Heraklid!" This time the answer was much neater.

"Whether it is building a new city or a temple, who is always the first to come and the last to leave every day, who is seriously ill, and who still has to devote all his energy to his love for the city's architecture, and finally dedicate his life? Davos asked again loudly: "Who is he?!"

"Heraklid!!!" A neat and powerful answer echoed through the hills.

"In view of the contribution of Heraclid, the master architect, to Dionia, his statue will be placed in the pantheon of the temple, and he will be favored by Hades, and continue to use his talents to contribute to the Elysee! At the same time, in the years to come, as long as the people of Dionia have made great contributions to the prosperity and development of Dionia, their statues will also be stationed in the temple and will be admired by future generations. The soul and the alliance are the same. Survive!" Because of the miracle of the Holy Fire, Davos was like Hades possessed at the moment, and his words could naturally inspire the people even more.

Note: I was a little unsure when I first wrote about the plot of whether holding a concave bronze mirror to focus sunlight could ignite the papyrus. Later, I remembered the Roman siege of Syracuse a hundred years later. Archimedes designed a lot of equipment to help defend the city. One of them was to let the soldiers stand at the head of the city, holding hundreds of concave bronze mirrors to focus the sunlight. Set the sails of the Roman warships moored in the bay on fire. The sails are all lit, the papyrus should be easier, and it's too close.