Chariot Racing

I haven’t seen Poseidon yet, ” Julia whispered to Markos. “ What’s he like?” The two of them were following Hermes and Brody toward the hippodrome. That was the stadium where the chariot races would take place. Hermes had arranged to meet Poseidon there. “ We don’t see Poseidon as much as the other gods, ” Markos told Julia. “ As the god of the sea, he prefers to stay beneath the waters. Well, except when he wants to spend time with horses, that is. ” “ I didn’t even know Poseidon was the god of horses, ” Julia said. “ We didn’t learn that in class. ”

“ He created the horse out of sea foam to impress the goddess Demeter, ” Markos said. “ Oh, cool. ” Julia looked around as they entered the hippodrome. The place was deserted. “ So where’s Poseidon?” she murmured. Suddenly they heard a crack of thunder, and rain poured down on all of them. Julia ducked and covered her head with her hands. A second later the rain stopped as quickly as if someone had turned off a faucet. Standing before them was Poseidon. He had a flowing beard tangled with seaweed, and he was holding a trident.

Behind him were two teams of snorting horses. Each team was hitched to a chariot. “ Poseidon, my friend! ” Hermes greeted him . “ You’re right on time. ” “ You always deliver my messages quickly, Hermes, ” Poseidon replied with a nod. “ Of course I’m on time when you need a favor. ” “ This is the champion I told you about, ” Hermes said, gesturing at Brody. “ I’m sure he’s destined to beat Zeus’ mystery mortal. ” “ Hmm. ” Poseidon looked Brody up and down.

“ Allow me to introduce my own champion. ” A man jumped out of one of the chariots. He was very tall, with broad shoulders and curly dark hair. “ This is Drakon, ” Poseidon said. “ I thought it would be interesting for our mortal heroes to train against each other. ” “ An excellent idea! ” Hermes agreed. Julia wasn’t so sure. “ Brody isn’t ready to train against anyone yet, ” she whispered to Markos. “ First he needs to learn what he’s supposed to be doing! ” But Brody was already striding toward the chariots. “ Is this one mine?” he asked.

“ Brody, look out! ” Julia cried as a horse lunged toward him. Brody jumped away just in time to avoid a bite on the shoulder. “ Wow, this horse is pretty aggressive, ” he said. “ They don’t like standing around, ” Poseidon said. “ They’ll settle once they get moving. Won’t you, my pets?” He stepped over and stroked the nose of the horse that had tried to bite Brody. The animal nuzzled him happily. Brody climbed into the chariot . “ Giddyup! ” he called, whipping the reins up and down so they slapped the horses’ rumps.

The animals didn’t seem to like that. All four horses leaped in place. One of them reared, while another kicked at the chariot. “ Easy, boy, ” Hermes called to Brody. “ We don’t want the horses to dump you before you get started. ” Julia was growing more and more worried. “ Is this safe?” she asked Markos as both teams sprang into a gallop. “ Of course not, ” Markos said. “ It’s the most dangerous event in the Games. The crowd loves it, which is why it comes last. ”