Chapter 259: The Celebration Ceremony for the Completion of the Temple of Hades (III)
When the bell stopped ringing, Plesinas and the priestess came out of the crowd, they then stood on both sides of the entrance of the temple and began to sing in unison.
This time, it’s no longer just pure humming, but now with lyrics, “
Hades is just and strict,
His light shines on earth,
Our hearts are filled with enthusiasm,
As we enter your sanctuary,
Your light shines on us,
….”
“This…is this a new ode to Hades?!” The hearts of the people were filled with surprise, and the distinctive melody was so wonderful and magnificent. As the song continues, they become deeply moved by the sacredness and ideals shown in the song.
Countless people fell to their knees devoutly, singing the ode of Hades and tears streaming down their eyes…
When the song ended, some people were still unable to extricate themselves until those around them cheered, “DAVOS!!!…” Only then did they realise that at some point, the archon of Theonia and the high priest of the union – Davos, appeared on the circular altar in front of the temple and was dressed in white robes, with a white himation on his head and a torch in his hand, while Plesinas was at his side carrying a large, smooth, concave bronze mirror with another male priest.
The people’s eyes widened with curiosity, for there had been rumours of a heated debate among the statesmen about the “Sacred Flame of the Temple of Hades” because the sacred fire is not only the symbol of the Greek city-states, but also a symbol of civilization, especially the Greek city-state in the western Mediterranean were all the city-states are colonies, therefore, the sacred fire of the acropolis was not lit by just any random fire source, but was taken by the founders of the colony from the temples of their mother-states and kept until the new city was built. Once the fire is lit, it will burn from generation to generation and the memory of their homeland will be passed onto the next generation!
Therefore, the statesmen who were born in Thurii, headed by Pollux, propose to light it with the flames from Athens once more, which was strongly opposed by Antonios, Amintas and the others, and the reason for that is the old Thurii no longer exist, and the new Thurii is not a child of Athens!
As for the proposal of Cornelius of “lighting it with the fire from the Temple of Zeus in Amendolara”, but the statesmen of Thurii thought that Amendolara was not enough to represent the whole Theonia Union.
There was a heated argument between the statesmen, and finally, Davos said, “Since Theonia is a newly built city-state union, and we have no mother state, and we are the only city-state with the Temple of Hades as our patron temple in the Mediterranean. What I think is that Hades will grant us the sacred fire on the day of the temple celebration to show his favour to Theonia!”
And his words were spread all over the city on the same day, and soon all over the union. Now, no matter whether they are ordinary people, statesmen of the Senate or the distinguished guest who just learned about it, they are all watching curiously and excitedly at the unlighted torch in the hands of Davos and waiting for either a miracle or the biggest joke of Magna Graecia.
Facing the entrance of the temple, Davos knelt solemnly on the altar while holding the torch high in his hand.
Plesinas and the priest stepped back and painstakingly raised the bronze mirror and slowly turned it to adjust the angle and then focused the hot sunlight on a cluster of scrap papyrus protruding from the top of the torch…
The already known ode to Hades was once again sung by the priestesses and the sound spread to the sky…
At noon, the sun was scorching hot, however, the sweating people didn’t even realize it as their attention was focused on the motionless Davos…
Time goes by as seconds turn to minutes.
The bronze mirror shines brightly, but the torch remains the same…
“I think it’s just his arrogance saying that Hades will grant the sacred fire, and thinks that he can do anything!” Pollux sneered in a low voice. He had a lot to do with the fact that the words of Davos in the Senate Hall had been spread so widely and so quickly because he wanted to see Davos make a fool of himself at this moment, which would be a great blow to the young archon’s prestige!
Burkes patted him to kindly remind him to be quiet.
However, Pollux gave him a contempt look. Burkes was a good friend of his, but now, he is one of the strong supporters of Davos in the Senate among the Thurian statesmen. Pollux would not have wanted to associate with him again if it were not for some certain reasons.
Suddenly, he seemed to see smoke coming from the top of the torch and had thought that he had seen wrong, so he blinked his eyes hard.
Then voices of surprise can be heard from all directions.
Soon, the smoke turned into a small beating cluster of reddish-yellow flames that had quickly ignited the linen soaked in olive oil.
Flames!
“Oh, Hades!” The whole hill seemed to shake as the people who witnessed this miracle with their own eyes let out a thunderous cheering.
Even the distinguished guests looked at each other in disbelief. ‘Could it be that Theonia is truly favoured by Hades?!’
‘Davos truly has the favour of Hades?!’ The statesmen looked at him in awe, while the body of Pollux slightly trembles, as he seemed to see the imposing eyes of Hades staring at him coldly in the torch held by Davos.
Although Davos had practised it several times before and had even specially chosen a sunny day and even used the square performance to extend the ceremony to noon, he was still a bit nervous. After all, it was in front of tens of thousands of people, so if he were to mess it up, his deliberate plan and the prestige as the favoured of god would be destroyed! Fortunately, he managed to succeed with the blessing of Hades!
Davos slowly rose to his feet, then held the torch high and walked slowly, as he bathed in the cheers of the people pushing him to the top again and again…
With the accompaniment of the priests, he walked into the temple and lit each of the dark bronze braziers in front of the statue of Hades. From this day onward, the flame of the Temple of Hades will continue to burn day and night, blessing Theonia with prosperity.
Once Davos walked out of the temple, a loud salpinx rang out, accompanied by a low drumbeat, and the three legatus of the military, Kapus, Drakos and Hieronymus, and the eight senior centurions, in full military dress, each carrying three stone steles and was escorted by 40 platoon captain, and arrived at the front of the temple.
As most of the people looked at the three stone steles which were as tall as a man with confusion, the words of the high priest, with the help of the envoy, reached the ears of the people, “The establishment and development of Theonia City-State Union cannot do without the protection of Hades! Nor could it have been possible without the efforts of the citizens who had paid for it! Today, when we enjoy peace and prosperity, we shall not forget these brave men who gave their lives to defend Theonia!” Having said this, Davos fell on his knees before the stone stele with a solemn expression.
Then, the legatus of the army, senior centurion and the platoon captains and all the soldiers present have knelt on the ground in front of the stone steles.
The inscribed stone steles was no longer a cold stone in the eyes of the people, but a vivid figure with names…
“Sob….” In addition to the distinguished guests, the hill became filled with Theonians who were kneeling, and in this solemn atmosphere, there were suppressed sobs from the families of the soldiers who had died in battle.
“Our brave warriors had not died, as their spirit lives forever!”
“Our brave warriors had not died, as their spirit lives forever!!!”
. . . . . . . . . . . . .
Davos led the people to kneel on the stone stele.
At this moment, the grass and trees sympathize, and heaven and earth are in sorrow. Then a strong wind was blown at the right time and even the sun was covered by the clouds, which further convinced the people that their cries were answered.
As the people continued to pray…
The salpinx and drums were played in unison and the strategoi and the officers walked in neat steps, carrying the stone steles into the temple under the gazes of thousands of pairs of eyes.
“The Theonians paid their respects to their warriors to such an extent!” Lysias had heard that the Theonians held a triumphant return ceremony for their victorious army, and was now moved by the sight of them bringing the stone steles of the warriors that have died to the temple.
“With such a sacred act, how can the Theonian citizens not be willing to fight to the death?” The strategos and nauarh of Crotone, Askamas, look serious and no longer have the mood to ridicule the Theonians.
He and Lysias looked at each other and were thinking the same question, ‘In case of another war with Theonia happens in the future, can Crotone defeat such an enemy with high morale?’
More or less, the distinguished guests from the South Italia Alliance all felt this way, while Kanos felt happy to see the strength of Theonia.
After the sound of the drum disappeared, the sound of a harp rang…
With the melodious sound of the harp, Heracleides the Younger and Piasikos carried a stone bust to the front of the temple.
“People of Theonia, please tell me who was the one that had designed and planned the new Thurii? Who was the one that had led us to build it?” Shouted Davos.
“….Heracleides!” The answers were not in sync.
“Who designed and built the Temple of Hades?” Davos asked again.
“Heracleides!” This time, the answer is much neater.
“No matter whether it is building a new city or a temple, he always comes first and the last to leave every day, and even if he were seriously ill, he still devoted all his heart to the designing of the city that he loves and finally dedicates his life.” Davos once again asked aloud, “Who is he?”
“Heracleides!!!” A neat and powerful answer echoed.
“In view of Heracleides’ contribution to Theonia, his bust will be placed in the Hall of Sages in the Temple of Hades and be favoured by Hades, and for him to continue to contribute his talent to Elysium! And at the same time, in the years to come, as long as the people of Theonia make great contributions to the prosperity and development of Theonia, their busts will also be placed in the temple and be revered by the later generations and their souls will live with the union!” Because of the miracle of the sacred fire, it felt like Davos was possessed by Hades at this moment, and his words had naturally inspired the people.
Author’s Note: At the beginning of writing, I was not sure whether focusing sunlight with a concave copper mirror could ignite a papyrus. Later, I remember the Roman siege of Syracuse a hundred years later where Archimedes designed a lot of equipment to help defend the city. One of them was to let the soldiers stand at the top of the wall while holding hundreds of concave bronze mirrors and focusing the sunlight to ignite the sails of the Roman ships that were anchored in the bay. If the sails can be lit, then it should not be a problem to light a papyrus and in such a short distance.