Chapter 317

After Amun left, Aesop lived a comfortable life in miduli. He was good friends with Thales, the famous sage, and often went to the temple square to chat with people. He was old and had nothing else to do. He liked to tell stories. He has been to all parts of the Tianshu mainland and has experienced too many things. It is also quite wonderful to briefly talk about his life experience.

Many young people and children especially like to hear Aesop tell stories. Gradually, Aesop, who tells stories in the temple square, has become a scenic spot in miduli. Aesop tells people about his experiences and legends all over the world. The protagonist of the story is not himself. When looking back on his experience, he often mentions Amun. From eju to Duke plain, including the original Tianshu continent, Amun left many legends.

A young man who walked out of the mountains became a legend in the world. This kind of experience fascinated other young people in the world. People can't help but think that Aesop's former coachman was also called Amun, which may be the name given by the old man, symbolizing the memory of the past. At this time, no one realized that the God Amun had lived in miduli.

Aesop's story unconsciously affected many people, and even some young people began to worship Amun, which aroused the dissatisfaction of others, especially the priests of mituli. When communicating with people in the temple square, it is inevitable to be asked about gods and beliefs. In the cities of Heaton, the atmosphere of conversation is quite open.

It has been noted that Aesop, though rich, never went to the temple to offer sacrifices to the gods, nor did he take part in the city-state ceremonies. Then someone asked him, "Aesop, do you believe in gods or not?" Aesop replied, "I have my God in my heart." Then someone asked, "why don't you sacrifice in the temple?" Aesop asked, "don't you understand where my God is after listening to my story?"

The wise man understood, of course, that Aesop did not directly say anything disrespectful to the gods, but the God in his heart was not in the temple on the square. Therefore, some people deliberately alienated him, but some people were willing to listen to his stories. Aesop's eloquence was excellent. His stories were interesting and reasonable, and his opinions seemed endless.

Finally one day, a young man came out of the temple and came to Aesop. Aesop even knew him. He had seen him in his shop. He was a passer-by who had asked the price by pointing to the statue. Amon had reminded Aesop that he was Hermes, who had come to the world.

Hermes said to Aesop, "old man, can I make a request to you?"

Aesop nodded with a smile, "young man, please speak."

Hermes: "this is the temple square of miduli. The patron saint of this city-state is Hermes. When people ask you whether you believe in gods, should you give Hermes enough respect?"

Aesop replied with a smile, "I didn't answer. I don't believe in the existence of the gods of Hermes or Olympus. Young man, when I see you, I believe they exist. But the "faith" that people ask is not belief, but the true belief and follow in the heart. It is precisely because in the temple square, in the eyes of the gods, I can't deceive myself. I have not denied people's belief in Hermes, nor answered my belief directly. I have already respected the gods

Hermes looked at Aesop and said, "can't you make a request? When people ask you again, you answer them that you believe in gods. Although you have your God in mind, can't you sacrifice to Hermes in the temple like others? Even if you don't contribute your belongings, you just attend the ceremony. In that case, you will be more popular. "

Instead of answering Hermes' question directly, Aesop told him a story about "the wolf is coming".

There was a kid who was herding sheep on the mountain. He was bored and yelled at the wolf. The adults at the foot of the mountain rushed up to fight the wolf but found that he was cheated. After a few days, the child yelled at the wolf again. People rushed up the mountain and found that they were cheated. After a few days, the wolf really came, the child yelled that there was a wolf, but no one went up the mountain to save him.

The story was short, and a few words were finished. Then Aesop looked at Hermes with a smile and asked, "is the wolf here?"

Without saying a word, Hermes went back to the temple with a straight face, and there was nothing he could do with Aesop. In fact, he asked Aesop to pretend to believe in him, but Aesop asked him what the meaning of this false belief and sacrifice was? If the world is like this, sooner or later they will lose their true faith and the gods on the altar will no longer exist. Aesop made it clear that Hermes, as a God, could no longer entangle himself with him.

Another time later, Aesop told a group of young people in the square about the creation of Salem in the DUK plain. The high priest of the temple of miduli came over. All saluted, and Aesop rose up to salute and said, "my Lord, what can I do for you?"

The high priest said, "I have heard the voice of the messengers of the gods, saying that you are the most eloquent man in the city of medulli. Why not use this talent to praise the gods? You have told so many stories, but I have not heard your praise of the gods. The guardian God of our city symbolizes the glory of the city. Why don't you tell us more about his legend

Aesop spread out his hands: "you know, my Lord, I left here at a very young age and returned to my hometown when I was old. I told you what I saw all over the world, but I didn't hear much about Hermes."The high priest said with a kind smile, "it doesn't matter. You can tell so many wonderful legends with your mouth. Why don't you use the name of Hermes and the gods? It's just a little skill, and it's what the gods expect. "

Aesop also said with a smile, "I will tell you a story about the gods."

One day Zeus, the father of the gods, had a fancy to choose the most beautiful bird in the world as the king of birds. Crows know that their appearance is ugly, so while the birds in the water to wash, secretly pick up their most beautiful feathers on the water and put them on their bodies. When Zeus came, birds lined up to greet each other, but found that crows are the most beautiful. The birds get angry and take back their feathers one after another, and the crow is still a crow.

When Aesop's story was finished, the high priest shook his head, said nothing more, and went into the temple. Soon after, the city-state of miduli was conquered by Macedonian Kingdom and under the rule of the kingdom of Macedonian, but the original city-state temple and the civil assembly were retained to deal with the internal affairs of the city-state.

With the coming of the annual Delphi Oracle ceremony on the hitton Peninsula, the city-state of miduli attached great importance to the ceremony. Merchants paid a large amount of taxes as a gift to Delphi temples, among which Aesop paid the most money. It was not Aesop who believed in the gods of Olympus, but because it was a city-state decree, merchants had to pay the tax. Aesop is now the richest businessman in the city of miduli.

The taxes for the gifts were collected, and envoys were sent to Delphi to be dedicated to the temples. According to the Convention, the priests of the temple will gather nobles and representatives of citizens to select envoys, and sacrifice to the guardian God in the temple of the city-state. According to the law of the kingdom of Macedonian, it is necessary to sacrifice Zeus, the father of the gods, before sacrificing the city's Guardian God.

At this time, Hermes sent down the oracle and appointed Aesop, the most eloquent city-state of mituli, to Delphi, and the wise messenger decided which God and temple the city's gold should be given to, which God he thought was worthy of offering.

Delphi is the holy land of Olympus God. It has many temples, large and small. Besides the twelve main gods, those ancient gods also have temples here. A long time ago, the most important temple here was the temple of Themis, but now the main one is the Apollo temple, which is also the most magnificent of the Delphi temples.

In the near future, the kingdom of Macedonian will build a more magnificent main temple in Delphi, breaking the historical tradition, no longer offering a single God, but taking Zeus, the father of the gods, as the main sacrifice, accompanied by the Olympus Gods.

This year's Delphi Oracle will still be issued by Apollo temple. Aesop should bring the most gold to Apollo temple. The rest of the shrines, large and small, should be stained with rain and dew to show respect for the gods and not to offend anyone. Because the priests of Delphi are in a sense a whole of interests, symbolizing the theocratic status on the hitton peninsula. One God should not be valued while others should be ignored, otherwise the whole Delphi priesthood would be offended.

However, the status of gods in the world is different, and the city states will inevitably have some snobbery. Generally speaking, they will sacrifice to each temple, but they will decide how much to distribute according to the interests of the city-state. A wise messenger knows how to make the most of the limited gifts. This time, Aesop was appointed as the messenger by the Oracle, and Aesop was given the right to make his own decisions.

Aesop led the city-state mission of miduli and brought a large amount of gold to Delphi. He stayed in Delphi for more than ten days. Every day, he went to the gates of the temples to see the sacrificial crowd and the priests' line, but he did not offer the gold. Just the day before the ceremony, on the way to an ancient temple in the middle of the mountain, a rolling rock blocked half of the mountain road, which was in disrepair for a long time.

The stone was so big that people had to walk around when they passed. Aesop sat not far away and watched. After dusk, he finally stood up. At this time, a priestess came from the foot of the mountain. This woman had great strength. She took a long time to remove the stone, and then found gravel to fill up the pit on the road. By this time it was dark, Aesop watched her enter the temple of Themis.

The next day Aesop came to the temple of Themis with a plate full of gold. He found the priestess and said, "this is my gift to the temple on behalf of the city of medulli. It is enough to rebuild the mountain road leading to here."

The priestess frowned and said, "good and generous man, you should first offer it to the gods."

Aesop said with a smile, "it is dedicated to the temple where the gods are located, but the people who use it are the priests in the temple."

The priestess added, "but that road leads not only to this temple."

Aesop put the gold on the altar and saluted the priestess, "but I only see you."

The next day, Delphi Oracle ceremony was officially held. As the city's envoy, Aesop also attended the ceremony and offered sacrifices to the gods. The so-called sacrifice has two meanings: one is to perform the ceremony according to the ceremony; the other is to offer a gift to the temple. Aesop only attended the ceremony and did not give gold.

It was in this year's Delphi oracle that Apollo sent down the Oracle, claiming that among the messengers of the city states, someone who desecrated or offended the gods would be punished by the gods. The Delphi priests will send messengers to find out the man and make formal charges against him. When the priest announced the news, there was an uproar in the ceremony, and people were talking about who was the messenger who was going to be punished for blasphemy?After the ceremony, Aesop set out to return to miduli. The plate of gold he offered to the priestess was only a small part of the gift, and most of the other gold was brought back intact. This action naturally angered Delphi's priests. The entourage in the mission was also very upset, but Aesop was given the right to make decisions, and they were not easy to interfere.

The gold given to the gods was brought back to the city-state, which had never happened in the history of mituli. People were worried when they heard the news. Aesop had offended the gods and the priests of Delphi, the holy land, at the same time. It might bring disaster to the city. Aesop was questioned by the aristocratic Council and the representatives of the citizens in the city-state temple, asking him to explain his behavior.

Aesop explained, "I did not violate the oracle. It was in this temple that the Oracle gave me the right to choose and give gold to the gods and temples that I thought were worth offering. I've already answered that I have my God, and I don't want to name him here. I was faithful to my duty. As an emissary of mituli, I arrived in Delphi and found only one priest who really needed the sacrifice in ten days. As for the rest of the gold, I took it back to the city. It was raised by the merchants of miduli, and since it has not been offered, it should be returned to the merchants. "

People's emotions were boiling. Even those who took out the gold felt frightened and angry when they found that the gold they had given was returned by Aesop. In their view, this is tantamount to losing the chance to pray to the gods, or the gods refused them. All these are caused by Aesop. They curse Aesop one after another, and jointly Sue Aesop to the city court, demanding that Aesop be severely punished!

Some bystanders think that Aesop brought gold back because of greed and selfishness, and that the gold returned to merchants was to buy people's hearts, because Aesop himself was the one who paid the most money.

Aesop pleaded, "you accuse me in the name of faith, but you don't know the cost of defending faith. The Oracle here gives me the right to choose, and the choice I make is in accordance with my belief. Your accusation is the price I pay. The Oracle has made this arrangement, but it is you who accuse me. "

Just at this time, the emissary sent by Delphi, the holy land, came to mituli. He saw this scene and decided that the blasphemer mentioned in Delphi's oracle was Aesop, and he filed a complaint against him in public. In this case, Aesop no matter how to defend, he was sent to the city court for trial.

The trial has its own procedure. The messenger from Delphi is named Antonio. The Delphic oracle did not name Aesop. Antonio wanted to accuse him and prove to the world that Aesop was the man.

So Antonio investigated Aesop's many past events in miduli and made formal charges against him - preaching new gods, poisoning and corrupting the younger generation.

If this crime is convicted, combined with the performance in the canon of esodelphi, it is certain that Aesop will become the one who blasphemes and offends the gods in the oracle. The judge who presided over the trial was a friend of Thales, who allowed Aesop to defend himself before making a judgment.

Aesop did not explain what he had done, but told a story in court about a wolf and a sheep. The wolf was upstream and the sheep was downstream. They drank water in the same river, but the wolf accused the sheep of polluting the water it drank. No matter what the sheep explained, the wolf ate the sheep. Because its purpose is not to discuss with the sheep who soiled their water, but to eat the sheep.

Some were puzzled, others were enraged by Aesop's attitude, accusing him of contempt of court. But the judge understood Aesop's meaning, frowned and asked, "are you no longer defending yourself?"

Aesop nodded. "I have defended myself and have not violated the oracle."

The judge said with some regret: "you have not violated the oracle of the guardian God. The guardian God gives you the right to choose, and you have made your own choice. But your choice infuriates people, and there is a price to be paid. If you do not violate the Oracle, it does not mean that you are innocent. I will convict you. "

Thales suggested in public: "according to the city-state law, Aesop can choose to apologize to the gods and pay a sum of money to the city to atone for himself. His actions did not violate the real interests of the people here. If there is, please stand up, otherwise, the court should give Aesop the opportunity to choose. "

The judge asked, "merchants of miduli, Aesop brought back the gold you paid, but he did not covet it for himself or deprive you of the right to sacrifice to the gods. The messenger of Delphi is here. You can offer your gold to this messenger and bring it back to the holy land. If anyone thinks I'm not right, stand up. "

When no one came forward, the judge said to Aesop, "I'll give you a choice. You can give a sum of money to the temple for atonement."

Aesop laughed. "Well, I'll give you thirty silver coins."

All the people were stunned. Aesop, the richest businessman in miduli, paid only 30 silver coins in order to atone for himself! The judge frowned and asked, "why is there so little money?"

Aesop laughed, "because it's only worth so much!"

**(to be continued. If you like this work, you are welcome to start（ qidian.com ）Your support is my biggest motivation to vote for recommendation and monthly tickets. )

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