Chapter 521 522. Pilgrimage and Sightseeing
Piraeus Port is an important hub for communication between Athens and the outside world.
The air here is full of odors: the smell of sailors' sweat, the stench of feces, the aroma of bread and snapper in the oven, and the intoxicating aroma of wine, all mixed together. at.
Soldiers dressed in blue and white uniforms lined up neatly, shuttled up and down the densely packed warships in the harbor, while carts loaded with grain used pulleys to unload bags of grain from Egypt. Get off and be sent to the pier with a white flag.
“Wow.” Fubai, wearing new shoes, followed behind Lan En and looked around at this prosperous port. “There are so many people here!”
"Indeed." Lan En was looking around freshly from the front.
Athens in ancient Greece, who has studied history wouldn’t want to come and have fun?
And according to statistics, there are thirty to forty thousand citizens in this city-state alone, and there are countless slaves and foreigners.
The number of citizens alone is much larger than the population of Temeria's capital in the magical world.
"But why are you so shocked?" Suddenly, Lan En turned his head and looked at Fu Bai in confusion. "Aren't you from Athens?"
The little girl immediately turned on her face and said, "I'm only twelve years old, and I've been living in Kefalonia for several years. What do you expect me to remember?"
So Lan En wants to have sex for free. Plans for a local guide fell through.
Fu Bai, a local, can only learn about his hometown by following a foreigner.
The city of Athens is a sea of red tile roofs, and the Acropolis is like a marble island. Together with its breathtakingly magnificent temples and monuments, it has become a towering presence above the sea.
The Parthenon shimmers: the silver-white stone carvings and glossy paint in the temple radiate a dazzling light under the sunlight. The statue of Athena made of red copper is solemn and proud. She holds a spear and stands like a sentinel, and the luster on her body can be said to be as blazing as a flame.
Lan En looked at the huge bronze statue of Athena whose head could be seen standing on the edge of the port.
Although he had already seen the huge Zeus on Kefalonia, the statue of this size still made him twitch inadvertently.
One finger of this statue is almost the size of an adult, which means it is basically fifty meters long!
It is a body type that can be used in special photography movies even when moving around.
The [Spiritual Vision] in his mind was also slightly inspired by Lan En's emotion.
The two people, one large and one small, went deeper into the city, and they got to know the city better.
At various intersections in Athens, or in places where people gather, there will be several three to four meter high statues of warriors wearing armor and drawing swords, or statues of wise men in robes holding pens.
You can obviously see different kinds of people on the street.
One type is a person who lives a comfortable and leisurely life, strolls in the bustling market all day long, and speaks in an orderly manner. These are the noble citizens of Athens.
The other type is a slave who does light or heavy work and rarely has time to stop. There are also foreigners who sell goods and provide services.
Not even two hundred meters away, they already saw at least two groups of people arguing with each other.
Most of their debate topics revolved around thinking about life and the will of the gods. The most popular topic was whether the gods existed.
Lively discussions and debates allow people to deepen their thinking.
There were many obvious foreigners and slaves watching the fun, but they could only listen for a short time at most, and then the depth of the discussion exceeded their understanding and common sense, and they became unable to listen. .
The surrounding Athenians were still holding clay wine glasses or bunches of fruits with contented faces, and easily followed the rhythm of the debater's thinking.
There is even some sharp sarcasm or appreciation from time to time.
This kind of stimulation of thoughts colliding with each other and seeking understanding or assimilation, for the Athenians, even exceeded the pleasure brought by the love between men and women.
Lan can easily understand these debates. His good educational foundation and extra memory can even give him a sense of overlooking these topics.
But this is only for the topic itself, not for the human spirit of inquiry. Lan En is very clear on this point.
This rational, pure desire to explore and desire for knowledge makes Lan En feel very comfortable. Among humans in the magical world, it is estimated that only the rumored Oxenfurt University may have this kind of atmosphere?
Lan En wasn't so sure.
After all, even at Arethusa College, the sorceress apprentices there will focus more on future palace struggles.
Power is more attractive to them than knowledge. It has even become a trend.
But just when Lan En was feeling refreshed and walking forward briskly, Fu Bai behind him suddenly slowed down.
Lan En turned around without knowing why, only to see Fu Bai twisting his face and looking towards the market next to the road.
Under a simply erected linen awning, a small, thin, dirty child was taking something out of a fish basket when the stall owner wasn't paying attention.
This is not a high-end market. It is estimated that the fish baskets only contain sardines that the poor can afford.
With the little boy's silent movements, a sardine with shiny scales was being successfully stolen by him.
Lan En looked down and saw that Fu Bai's palms were clenching unconsciously, as if silently cheering the little boy up.
But just when the sardines were about to come out of the fish basket, the fish that was not dead shook its tail.
The wicker fish basket made a soft 'pop' sound.
The owner of the stall immediately drew his attention away from the debate next to him and discovered the little thing with dirty hands and feet.
He seemed to be used to it, so he put a rough linen handkerchief on his hand and pulled the sardine out of the boy's hand.
Because the speed was too fast, the fin cut the boy's palm open and blood flowed out.
Immediately afterwards, the vendor who threw the sardines back grabbed the frightened boy who was trying to escape and slapped him mercilessly.
The thin and small boy was instantly slapped to the ground. The vendors around him burst into laughter, and the fishmonger hung his handkerchief around his neck again.
Seeing that the fishmonger did not take any further action, the little boy thanked him and quickly ran away.
Under normal circumstances, the street vendor will beat the thief until he can't get out of bed or vomits blood.
"Let's go, Lan En." Both of them were watching this farce, but it was Fubo who first tugged on Lan En's clothes and asked him to continue walking.
The surrounding vendors and passers-by were accustomed to returning their attention to the wonderful debates of the Athenians.
Children, thieves, being caught, being beaten. All are common things in life.
Lan En obeyed Fu Bai's slight strength and left.
Except for the fact that there are statues everywhere that require a lot of manpower and material resources, these scenes are in line with Lan En’s knowledge established when studying history.
Athens was a dynamic and progressive civilization, but at the same time, it was also a civilization built on slaves.
The "noble", "supreme" and "I serve you, not the other way around" citizens claimed in Pericles's speech only refer to the few more than 30,000 people in this city.
Lane continued to walk on the cobblestone roads and sandy roads in Athens, but after looking away from this point, he still knew clearly in his heart: Socrates, Pericles, and Alec are now living in this city. Sibiades and other figures who can be included in history books and textbooks.
But he no longer views this city with a mentality similar to that of a 'pilgrimage'.
It’s touristy at best.
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(End of this chapter)