Athenian Arrow

Chapter XXIII

"Today will be a consequential day for the city of Athens. Symposiums will scatter across the city in celebration! We will need to pray to Dionysus to bless us with more wine!" Nikolas exclaims excitedly with the thought of the city most definitely emptying bottles with no other wine left to spare. 

With Alexi accepting the role to become the new leader of Athens, Nikolas saw this as a huge advantage. Alexi had a significant amount of followers given his status, and the skills he possessed with both mind and body, Sparta was no match for Alexi's power.

Today is the day Alexi would stand on a theatre stage and accept his new title as Nikolas crowns him the new Athenian leader. The Greeks traditionally crowned people as a reward for triumph. They dressed their leaders and military personnel in crowns made of wool, flowers, and ivy leaves. Nikolas made sure there was enough time for the crown to be perfectly crafted.

With Alexi's popularity, Nikolas is the most certain that the Athenian people will respond with cheers and fill the streets with music while spilling alcohol as some may be too drunk to hold their glasses upright. Many houses will host symposiums where the citizens may freely dance, sing and drink as much as they please. 

It had been a week since Alexi last saw Andreas in Sparta. The next morning, Nikolas sent a messenger to inform Alexi to meet with him and talk about the preparations for his announcement. They picked a week from that day in order to arrange and organize the flowers for decorations, Nikolas' speech, and putting up flyers with the date, time and the crowning of a new leader to inform the Athenian civilians of the event.

Athens had theatre buildings which were called a Theatron. The Theatron's were large, open-air structures constructed on the slopes of hills. Alexi and Nikolas were currently in the Skene which was a large rectangular building made out of permanent stone. Some were also made with wooden planks. The structure was used as a backstage so actors could change their costumes and masks while also serving as painted backdrops. There would often be three doors. One coming from the left side of the stage, one coming from the right, and one in the middle of the backdrop. There would also be stairs on either side of the stage. This made everything more accessible for the actors when entering or leaving a scene depending on where they stood on stage. The seating area was built onto a hill to create a natural viewing space that was made out of stone or marble.

Nikolas thought a Theatron was the perfect place to announce the new leader since the theatres were built on a large scale to accommodate a large number of people in the audience with acoustics that could be heard throughout the theatre, including the very top row of seats.

"It is almost time my boy, I will go on stage and perform an introduction. Wait for my cue," Nikolas smiled.

Although Alexi agreed to lead Athens in his name due to Andreas' trust in him, he realized that this was the start of a new change. The stage would help his promise to the people that he would serve his Athenian people and his Athenian people only. But he wasn't so sure if he was ready for that change yet.

"Please greet our Athenian leader Nikolas to the stage!" An actor on stage announced as he introduced Nikolas to the stage. Alexi failed to notice the actor speaking prior to introducing Nikolas as he was second-guessing his decision.

Nikolas smiles at the Athenian one last time before walking through the door as the large crowd welcomes him with applause. The first row seats were reserved for priests and public officials who expressed their greetings as well.

Nikolas smiles at the warm welcome, waiting patiently for the applause to fizzle out. "My Athenian people, I feel so blessed to be in your presence once again," Nikolas said truthfully. Once the crowd quieted down, he wanted the people to know how truly blessed he was to be standing in front of them for a final time. Becoming a leader was one of his biggest accomplishments. He refuses to say it's the best because the humble side of him wants him to say his wife and children were his greatest accomplishments.