On the third day began the competitions of the men, and the first of these to be taken were the foot races. The reason for this is obvious. A foot race did not interfere with any other competitions, but it might itself be interfered with by others. A wrestler might wrench an ankle; a boxer might receive some blow that would seriously damage his chances as a runner.
The short race (Footnote: Called the Stadium.) was the first run. Here the distance was two hundred yards or thereabouts. Eubulus had at one time intended to compete, and would in all probability have won it, for he was known to have for a short distance an unrivalled speed. But his trainer had persuaded him to stand out. The two adverse experiences through which he had passed had not, to all appearance, left any traces behind. Still it was possible that they had told upon him in some way which would show itself only when the reserve of strength was called upon. There was a certain disappointment in the crowd of spectators when his well-known figure was missed in the line of starters, but it was generally recognized that his action in reserving all his energies [273] for the great effort of the long race was judicious. (Footnote: We call it “the long race,” but it does not seem long as judged by the practice of modern pedestrianism. It is true that there are different opinions about the distance traversed, but the commonly accepted notion is that this distance was seven stadia, equal to 1,358 yards, not quite four-fifths of a mile. A present-day runner would look upon this distance as neither one thing nor the other. In the representations of long-race runners which have come down to us the attitude with the arms pressed close to the sides is that which pedestrians running a long distance would assume.)
When that important event came on, it was seen that the reputation of Eubulus had had the effect of diminishing the number of competitors. We have seen how Dromeus disappeared; others retired for the more creditable reason that they were manifestly outpaced by the young Corinthian, that it was only by the merest accident they could hope to beat him, and that such an accident was not worth waiting for. The consequence was that the starters were not numerous enough to make it necessary to have more heats than one.
An admirable start was effected, Eubulus being, if anything, a little later than his competitors in springing from the line. This he did by the trainer’s instruction. With a well-grounded confidence in his favourite pupil’s superiority to his rivals, the man had said, “Don’t [274] give them a chance to complain; you will soon have it all your own way.” And have it his own way he certainly did. The race, in fact, was a surprise, to his most confident backers, and nearly went to the extent of revolutionising the pedestrian art in Corinth. Eubulus “sprinted,” to use the technical term of foot-racing, from the beginning. To the astonishment and even dismay of his friends he started at full speed, and to the astonishment of his enemies he kept up this speed with but the slightest slackening, if any, to the end. Whether any demonstration of the adverse party had been intended can never be known. This amazing performance took the whole assembly by storm. There was a dead silence as he shot in front of the rank of runners, took at once a manifest lead, and increased it every second. “Making the pace” was a dodge known on the stadia of antiquity as it is on the modern running path, but this competitors plodding on in the stolid way which was no dodge. It was ludicrous to see the other was a second nature to them, while this latter-day Achilles sprang lightly forward. One could hardly think that they and he were engaged in the same contest. Of the issue, there could, of course, be no doubt. Sheer astonishment kept the assembly silent till the end was reached; but [275] when Eubulus came in at least a hundred yards aheadhe accomplished the distance, it may be said, in 3 min. 36 sec.there went up such a shout as had never before been heard on the Isthmus.
THE LONG FOOT RACE.
The rest of the contests that took place that day need not be described. The wrestlers, the boxers, the competitors in that most arduous of all the competitions, the Pancratium, received perhaps less attention than usual. The victory of Eubulus had taken off the edge, so to speak, of the popular interest. Still there was a sufficiency of applause, and the meeting, as a whole, might be safely pronounced to be a success. But the great sensation of the day was yet to come. When at the close of the competitions a herald proclaimed the names of the successful competitors, and announced as “Victor in the Long Race, Eubulus, son of Eumenes,” and one of the spectators stepped forth from the crowd that stood round, and said, “I object to Eubulus, reputed son of Eumenes,” with an emphasis on the word “reputed,” there ensued, as may be easily supposed, a prodigious tumult.
THE CASKET
[276] THE judges at once adjourned the inquiry to the private room provided for them in one of the buildings that adjoined the course, and began by calling on the objector for a prima facie justification of the course which he had taken. By common repute, they said, Eubulus is the son of Eumenes, for many years a well known and generally respected inhabitant of Corinth. His name is so entered in more than one public document. He contended in this name, and was so described in a boys’ competition, and no objection was taken. The objector answered this appeal in what seemed to be a perfectly straightforward fashion. He had first hand evidence, he said, of the truth of what he alleged, and this he was ready to produce on the spot. If the judges would wait for something less than a single “water,” (Footnote: The term occupied by the water running through a measuring glass. So many glasses were allowed to a speaker in the courts of justice, and the time may be taken as roughly equal to half an hour or something less.) he would bring the witness [277] before them. The witness was a woman, and he had not been able to bring her within the sacred precincts as long as the Games were actually in progress. The brief adjournment was, of course, granted. The time had barely expired when the objector reappeared, bringing with him a middle-aged woman of respectable appearance, and, indeed, well known in the city by name and repute. She followed the occupation of a sick nurse, and was well thought of for skill and, what was perhaps less common in those days, not to speak of later times, for honesty. Her testimony was perfectly clear and to the point. Something more than twenty-one years before she had been summoned to attend what had been described to her as a case of serious illness. The messenger who brought the summons had taken her to a house in Corinth which she knew as one let from time to time to temporary residents in the city. It was large and well furnished, and the rent demanded for the use of it amounted, she knew, to a considerable sum of money. The patient had expired before she reached the place, apparently in consequence of the rupture of a blood vessel. She was a young and beautiful woman. All the belongings of the bedchamber betokened refinement and wealth. On the fingers of the deceased [278] were several richly jewelled rings. By the side of the bed sat a man of middle age, considerably older, she thought, than the dead woman. He seemed to be stupefied with grief, and took no notice of her presence. After a while, however, he seemed to rouse himself, and struck a hand-bell which stood on a table by his side. A young man dressed as a slave appeared in answer to the summons. A conversation carried on in a low voice followed. When this was concluded, the master left the room and the young slave then delivered the message, with which, as it seemed, he had been entrusted. The purport of it was this. Would the nurse wait for some time, possibly three or four hours, till he had made his arrangements? A change had been made necessary on the sudden death of his wife. She would be fully recompensed for any trouble that she might have to take or any inconvenience to which she might be subjected. He was instructed meanwhile to offer her anything in the way of food or drink that she might want. He was also to introduce her to a child for whom her good offices would be asked, but in what way and to what extent it was not at present in his power to say. The slave then conducted her to an adjoining chamber, also richly furnished, where there was a boy child, apparently three [279] or four months old, asleep in a cradle, in the charge, as it seemed, of an elderly woman. After the lapse of about four hours, the young slave reappeared and conducted her back to the chamber to which she had been first brought. The dead body had been removed, and the husband, as she supposed him to be, was collected and calm. He asked her whether she knew Eumenes of Sicyon, putting the question, for so it struck her, as if he were quite confident of receiving an answer in the affirmative. As a matter of fact she did know him well. He then went on, “I wish you to take the child whom you have seen in the next room to Eumenes and his wife; he is, I know, recently married. Hand them this casket, this letter and this bag of gold. Here are ten gold pieces for your own trouble. I have set free those two slavesthey are mother and songiving them enough to keep them from want for the future. For myself I shall wait here till you return with an acknowledgment from Eumenes and his wife that they have accepted the charge which I have asked them to undertake.”