Book excerpt
The summer solstice, longest day of the year, always marked the beginning of the annual Festival of the Sun that included Apollo’s Tournament of Skill and Endurance. This worldly event was open only to those young men having witnessed their eighteenth birthday but not yet their twenty-fifth. Most contestants were noble princes, sent to prove their worthiness; a certain right of passage.
As the Sun God’s chariot ascended farther away from the eastern horizon, the heat grew to be uncomfortable. Caenus and Golan approached the entryway to the arena, passing the enormous statue of Apollo on the way. The bronze statue, over twenty feet tall, depicted a tall, muscular man with a boyish charm about his face, appearing to have curly hair and holding taut a bow that seemed ready to launch an arrow at any second.
The Roman-style amphitheatre arena, with the capacity to seat up to ten thousand spectators, was the center of Corinthian life, hosting gladiator bouts and small chariot races, as well as dramatic theatre productions and the likes of Apollo’s Tournament. Being completely circular, the outer wall of the arena was designed with hundreds of archways, and stood one hundred feet tall at its outer most ring.
Caenus felt both wonderment and slight apprehension at the sight of it all. Until now, he had only heard the stories that had been told from tournaments past. Some tales were mythical; like the one claiming that the God of War, himself, appeared in disguise to provide aid to one of the princes he favored.
How could that be, Caenus wondered to himself walking through the tunnel and into the sun filled arena? The gods were forbidden to give aid in the tournament, were they not?
Once inside the arena, judges and tournament officials greeted Caenus. They checked him off and gave him a special headband that would, at a glance, mark him as an official contestant. Around the arena, Caenus saw other contestants training and sparring. Still others performed calisthenics and stretching exercises.
“Golan, these days are made for greatness. Greatness, I tell you.” Caenus declared, turning to his friend.
Golan responded, “Brother, I have no doubt.”
They looked up into Helios’ blinding brilliance, barely seeing the empty seats that would soon be filled with spectators in the days to come. Thinking out loud, Caenus whispered, “I will leave my mark here.”
