Chapter 2

The journey over the Aegean and Ionian Seas was smooth and enjoyable. After arriving at the port of Parallia, they went up the stream of the river Altios before disembarking. They settled at Leonidaion where all the athletes and trainers slept. They had almost a whole month of training with Cleitus who was assigned by king Philip as their trainer and guardian.

The routine started from next morning. Before breakfast, they all went out together for a mile run. After breakfast, each of them practiced the events of their own. They worked together again after lunch, practicing sword fights to build up the upper body strength, to sharpen the reaction, and to increase the level of concentration, which were all vital for any events they would compete in. It also helped them to keep in touch with army life. Their muscles hurt for the first couple of days due to the hard training, but the pain eased as they got used to the routines.

In addition to this, Hephaistion threw in three to four-mile evening runs on his own every other day. He wanted to make sure that he was ready. They all felt pretty good about themselves by the end of the training period, and Hephaistion was now fit to run ten plus miles without any effort.

It was the morning before the opening day of the Olympics. Although there would be a hecatomb; a sacrifice of 100 oxen on the third day, Alexander wanted to make his own sacrifice to Zeus. Alexander led the way with Hephaistion who pulled behind him their sacrifice, a handsome white goat . Cleitus followed them carrying a jug of water and spears, Ptolemy, Cassander, and Perdiccas each carrying a bowl of barley and wine, a knife and fruits, and a basin and honey cakes.

As soon as they arrived at the altar of Zeus, they cleansed their hands with water, and sprinkled it on the head of the goat to begin the ritual. They all took a handful of barley from the sacrificial basket, and Alexander raised his arms in the air to recite a prayer and wish while Hephaistion held the goat. Hephaistion could not help but silently murmur the prayer himself.

"Please Zeus, give me strength. Please help us to be a part of Alexander's dream."

After the prayer, they tossed the barley on the altar over a fire, then on the goat.

Alexander took a knife solemnly, which was hidden among fruits Cassander carried. He cut a small fur from the head of the goat, and threw it in the fire creating a blue flame and sparkles. Cleitus and Hephaistion lifted the goat on the altar, and Alexander swiftly slit its throat. Perdiccas gathered the blood in the basin to spread it on the top and sides of the altar. Everybody worked keenly to make the ritual a proper one. Cleitus then skinned and butchered the victim. The heart and liver were speared and roasted over the fire to be tasted by the five contestants of the Olympic games.

The remains of the goat were burned over the fire along with the fruits and honey cakes they brought as offerings. Hephaistion and Cassander rearranged the bones in order, and Alexander poured wine over the fire. The ritual was finally concluded when a brilliant flame caused by the combustion of wine flared up high in the air. After the ceremony, they all silently walked to the temple of Zeus to pay their respects.

In the center of the temple, there stood Zeus surrounded by statues of heroes and heroines. He was seated on a gigantic wooden throne twelve feet high. He carried a scepter with an eagle perched on the top in one hand, and Nike, a goddess of victory on the other hand; both made with ivory and precious metals. The sun was shining through the columns, and his sandals and robe made of gold were glittering brightly. The sight was quite magnificent and rather intimidating.

They all bowed solemnly. A moment later, Alexander sensed something moving, and raised his gaze. To his surprise, the eagle on top of the scepter shifted his head, and blinked. Alexander thought that he must be hallucinating, and looked around to see if anybody else had noticed. He met Hephaistion's wide eyes filled with surprise as well. Alexander nodded to him in silence. It seemed that they were the only witnesses of this miracle.

They left the temple with lifted spirits. Seeing the gigantic statue of Zeus gave them courage, and Alexander and Hephaistion were extremely happy to experience such a miraculous sign. Hephaistion felt his worry ease up a little.

The first day of the Olympics was just a ceremony. Judges in purple robes led the way to the Temple of Zeus followed by referees, heralds, athletes and trainers. Cleitus marched proudly in front of Alexander and his team.

The second day was the chariot races. King Philip cheered loud from the hill of Kronos. Those were the events the King won over ten years ago. The evening was filled with feasts, parade, and choral singing.

The third day was the big day for Alexander's team; the youth division under twenty years old competed in several events. Ptolemy was the first to be up. Alexander and Hephaistion watched the game seated by King Philip. There were a total of ten contestants. Ptolemy was the eighth to throw the discus.

When his turn came, Ptolemy moved calmly to his position, gripping his discus firmly under his right palm, span at full speed for a couple of turns, and then released it. The disc flew spinning high in the air, and landed farthest of all other contestants. Ptolemy looked at the spectators, spotted the King and Alexander, and grinned proudly.

The next contestant came and threw, but he could not match Ptolemy's distance. There was one more left, and he was from Athens. When the Athenians made an appearance, everybody gasped. He was way too mature, he did not look under twenty years old but more like thirty with big muscles all over his body. When he released a disc, it was obvious to all that he made a good distance. It landed just an inch further than Ptolemy's.

"Ptolemy still did excellently against that giant," King Philip commented with a kind smile.

The next event was the javelin. For this event, there were also ten contestants. An Athenian was the first and Perdiccas was the last to compete. When the Athenian athlete came to the field, it was the same. He also looked like a fully developed adult. A shadow of worry crossed King Philip's face.

He pulled his strong arm back, holding a javelin above his shoulder, ran few steps, and threw it in the air with a yell. The javelin flew far whistling in the air. It landed at the far end of the field. Alexander heard his father sigh in disappointment. He tugged Hephaistion, and whispered in his ear.

"Let's go and see how Cassander is doing. We can come back before Perdiccas' turn."

They moved to the other side of the stadium to watch pre champion matches. Cassander was doing excellently, and had already won the spot to compete for the championship. Hephaistion was relieved, as Perdiccas now did not have much of a chance of winning his event.

They moved back to the game of javelin. Perdiccas was just about to compete. To his credit, Perdiccas was fully concentrated, and threw the javelin with precision. It flew high in the air, created a big arch before landing. It was perfect, but not enough to win the event. King Philip groaned.

The final contestants in the wrestling event were brought in front of the royal audiences. King Philip's heart sank when he saw the two contestants in front of him. The Athenian's body was again so mature compared with Cassander's. Now the chance of the win for Alexander's team was quickly dissipating. Ptolemy and Perdiccas joined the spectators as well, both looking gloomy.

Cassander and the Athenian were circling around sizing each other up. The young Athenian was grinning with confidence over his physical advantages. It was obvious to everybody's eyes that the thick muscle was the favor for winning.

The Athenian made a move, and grabbed Cassander by the waist with one hand, and pulled him under his chest, securing his shoulders with another hand. Cassander tried to escape, but the opponent's grip was too tight. When everybody thought this was the end of the game, Cassander made a bold movement. He grabbed a finger of the Athenian behind his waist, and started to bend upward, making him scream in pain and easing his grip.

Cassander quickly slipped away his grip, still holding his opponent's finger. Now he twisted the Athenian's arm behind his back, increasing the pressure on the finger. The opponent fell on his knees, and Cassander pushed him further to the ground. The judge announced Cassander's win.

King Philip was so excited, he jumped up from his seat, and yelled Cassander's name. Cassander looked up at him, and smiled coolly before coming up to join the team. As he came up, he was met with astonished looks from his teammates.

"What?"

"You almost broke his finger!" Ptolemy exclaimed.

"I know. It is perfectly legal. I studied a rule," Cassander responded cockily. Everybody knew that it was allowed to break a finger of your opponent, but it did not happen very often, especially in the youth division. In the end they were happy though. At least they had a chance now. The impertinent move was so very Cassander.

TBC