The ancient Olympics was originally a festival, or celebration in honor of Zeus. According to records, the first Olympics is traditionally dated to 776 BC, which featured the games such as chariot racing, javelin throwing, marksmanship, wrestling, and of course, the footrace. The games were held every four years, or every Olympiad, which became a unit of time in historical chronologies.
The Games became a political tool used by many Greek city-states to assert dominance over their rivals. Politicians would announce their alliances during the games, and in times of war, priests would offer sacrifices to the gods for victory. The Games were also used to help spread Hellenistic culture throughout the Mediterranean. The ancient Olympics only had very few events compared to modern-day Olympics, and before, only Greek men were allowed to participate.
It was first held in Olympia, Greece. This area is found in the Peloponnese region of the south, which is dedicated place for worshipping Zeus and, occasionally, Hera, since an ancient judge named her as the owner of the land of Peloponnese.
However, according to the myths, the first-ever Olympic event was held waaaay before 776 BC, and it was during the time when the Dactyls raced towards the summit of Mt. Olympus - the first-ever Olympic footrace.
The Dactyls, from the Greek word daktuloi, means 'fingers'. They are the archaic mythical race of male beings associated with the first creation of men in Greek mythology. In the story, it was said that the Dactyl, Herakles, instigated the first Olympic game with his other four 'finger' brothers. Herakles was the 'thumb'; his brothers were Aeonius (forefinger), Epimedes (middle finger), Iasus (ring finger) and Idas (little finger).
Whoever arrives first to the summit is the one who is favored by Zeus the most and be crowned with laurels. And most of all, He will grant them any single request.
Kairo would've never thought that he'll be a witness to one of his father's Greek stories.
"Oh my gods." He massaged his temple, "I'm in Ancient Greece, just in time for the first ever Olympics."
Pandora looked at him worriedly. "What are you saying?"
"And you're Pandora? The Pandora – Pandora?" He pointed a finger at her.
"Yes, I am Pando-"
"And you have the jar?" He immediately followed up before she could even finish her sentence.
"Jar? Wh – what are you talking about?" She moved away from him rather defensively.
However, these actions failed to register in Kairo's mind because everything was just so crazy he could not keep up with the jarring phenomenon he is currently facing. 'I'm in Ancient Greece wtf!' So, he dismissed the idea that Pandora has already been given the jar of plagues and decided to just deal with her later.
Pandora, on the other hand, has no idea why this strange young man before her knows about the jar – which only her and her husband, the Titan, Epimetheus, had knowledge of. The jar was a gift from the Gods of Olympus, though Pandora can't understand why it is a gift when she's forbidden to ever open it.
"This explains everything from a while ago…." Kairo muttered.
It explained the old man from the alley's reactions when he suddenly turned up there with his funeral outfit. The Greeks would never have known about trousers and long sleeves and leather shoes!
It also explained the silly old woman's over-reaction when she first saw a coin minted with Washington's face. This era is waaaay before 600 BC where the Drachma system was invented in Greece. They only know barter this time!
Most importantly, it explained why the woman before him has a giant, glowing figure. She's the Pandora! The first woman created by Zeus! And she's an immortal!
All of this, however, does not explain even in the slightest bit, his biggest question: 'WHY AM I HERE?!'
Why did he end up here, in Ancient Greece, of all places? And who was that who was trying to shoot him an arrow earlier? How is this even possible? These questions were buzzing in his head and he can't really find a logical answer or explanation to them.
"Okay, first thing's first." Kairo huffed. "Why did you ask why I can see you?"
Pandora shifted her feet and looked down while saying, "It's because I'm a being apart from these mortals around me. I can only be seen by someone who is divine, or have a little bit of divinity in them. My husband and I, we're immortals."
'So, does that make me someone who is 'divine or have a little bit of divinity in them'? What kind of bull crap is this?' Kairo thought to himself.
"When you say divine….do you mean, the gods?" He asked and her eyes widened.
"Yes….so are – are you – one of them?" Now she really looked nervous.
Somehow, that caught him off guard. If she can only be seen by those people with divinity in them, why can he see him? So he's divine?
"I honestly don't know about that. I just got here." He just answered her honestly.
"I already told you who I am. Now, can you tell me who you are?"
"I'm Kai –" Kairo stopped short. Because he realized he can't just recklessly reveal himself here. He might be mistaken as someone dangerous if he tells them his first name, especially with the etymology it carries.
His complete name is Kairo Julius Andreas. Since this is ancient Greek, he can just eliminate his last name and choose between 'Kairo' and 'Julius' as his given name in this world. He decided to use 'Julius' instead of 'Kairo' because that one might prove to be nasty.
The ancient Greeks have two words for 'time' – these are 'kronos' and 'kairos'. The former refers to 'chronological or sequential time', while the latter refers to 'the right time'. Kairo came from the Greek word 'kairos', which in other words, translates to 'the critical or opportune moment'.
And for Kairo, this is not the 'kairos' to reveal such a name because he might be associated by these Greeks to Cronus, or the 'evil' God of Time, who was thrashed by Zeus, the god ultimately worshiped in Olympia. In his mind, he was afraid that the Zeus stans here might murder him for such a petty reason.
He cleared his throat. "I'm Julius."
"Nice meeting you, Jul –"
"PANDORA!" Suddenly, a man, no – another giant over eight feet tall, entered the house and banged the door shut after calling out the woman's name.
"Yes, my dear." She hurried to her husband's side. Just then, the big man's eyes finally caught his.
"Who is that young man over there?" He looked pissed at something else and his intimidating tone made Kairo wonder how Pandora can put up with him. Although he can't remember his name, Kairo is sure that this man is a Titan. He's the brother of Prometheus, and Pandora was gifted to him as his wife.
"This young man is Julius. And he can see us both! Isn't that wonderful!" She replied excitedly.
"Good, good. This man shall be in our service, then. Littlefinger is injured, and I bet for him to win this race in exchange of Zeus releasing my brother from the rocks! You, young man, will be his substitute! Haha!" Before he can process anything, Kairo was lifted effortlessly through the collar by the Titan, and took him outside for his race briefing.
'You've gotta be kidding me.' He whined internally.