A photorealistic image depicting a modern-day Byzantine empire with Byzantine architecture, statues, and monuments. The image showcases a modern-day hippodrome with a gold and blue color scheme, creating a gorgeous and elegant atmosphere. The lighting in the image is cinematic, creating a full-body effect with hyper-realistic details and intricate volumetric light and shadow. The image is a digital painting with smooth and sharp focus, giving it a highly detailed and realistic appearance. The background is ultra-detailed and bright, with fluorescent and glowing elements. The image is rendered using Octane.