When Elyx met the children of Itea and Amykles, a story began to unfold.

Dedicated to the power of collaboration and the boundless imagination of our students.

1st Primary School of Itea & Primary School of Amykles

ELYX: Hello, my friends. I am ELYX. 

My father’s name is ERASMUS and my mother is Europe. 

Currently, I am in Greece—specifically in Itea, Fokida—trying to discover the secrets of this land. 

My assistants are the students of the 1st Primary School of Itea. They will be my guides.

ELYX: Kids, can you tell me which is the most historic area around here?

KIDS: Delphi!

ANDREAS: In Delphi, there was the most important oracle of Ancient Greece.

EFTHYMIS-MARIOS: It was the sacred place of Apollo.

ELYX: And who was Apollo?

EFTHYMIS: He was one of the twelve gods of the ancient Greeks.

NEKTARIOS-STATHIS: He was the god of the sun and light.

EFTHYMIS-ILIAS: Of music and poetry.

ANASTASIA: Of hunters and archery.

ZAFEIRIA: He was a healer and the father of Asclepius, who was the god of Medicine.

EVI: He symbolized order and balance.

GEORGIA: He was the god of prophecy.

ELYX: Wow, he was a god with a thousand faces!

IOANNA: Exactly!

ELYX: And who were the parents of this great god?

LAMPROS-RAFAIL: His father was Zeus, the leader of the gods.

NAGIA: And his mother was Leto, the goddess of the starry night.

EVANGELIA-EVRIDIKI: Zeus’s first wife, Hera, hated Leto and would not let her give birth.

STELLA: That’s why Leto hid on Ortygia, which was a floating island drifting on the waves, making it hard for Hera to find her.

KONSTANTINA: In order for Leto to give birth, the island had to stay in a fixed position.

KATERINA: Zeus made that happen, and so Leto gave birth to Artemis and, immediately after, Apollo, under a palm tree.

ELYX: So, Artemis and Apollo are twins!

MICHALIS: Exactly! And from then on, Ortygia was named Delos.

ELYX: And what does "Delos" mean?

ELENI: In Ancient Greek, Delos means "manifest" or "revealed."

ELYX: Because Apollo was revealed there?

SEBASTIAN: Correct.

ELYX: And where is this island located?

MARIA: It is located in the Cyclades.

EVANGELIA: The islands located around the sacred island of Delos were named the Cyclades (kyklos = circle).

ELYX: And how did Apollo get from Delos to Delphi?

ANDRIANA: Hera had sent a terrifying monster, Python, to kill Leto.

GIORGOS: Apollo fought him, and after a fierce battle, he managed to kill him in Delphi.

ELYX: I see. That’s why the Temple of Apollo was built in Delphi.

SEBASTIAN: That’s right.

VALANTIS: Python was a monster, but he was dear to Hera. Therefore, Apollo had to do something to appease her.

ARDENIS: So, he established games to be held in honor of Python and named them the "Pythian Games."

GIORGOS: Also, the priestess who gave the prophecies in Delphi was called Pythia.

ELYX: How did Pythia give her prophecies?

CHRISTINA: She sat on a golden tripod covered with Python’s skin and chewed laurel leaves, which was the sacred plant of Apollo.

NIKOLAS: She also inhaled certain gases rising from the earth and entered a state of trance.

ALEXANDROS: In her daze, she would utter various incoherent words, which Apollo’s priests would write down to produce the oracle (prophecy).

FAIDRA: The oracles were always enigmatic; their meaning wasn't clear, and you could interpret them in different ways.

ELYX: Can you give me an example so I can understand what these oracles were like?

ARIS: Gladly. Once, Croesus, the King of the Lydians, was troubled about whether he should go to war against Cyrus, the King of the Persians.

DIMITRIS: He sent men to ask the Oracle of Delphi.

IRO: There, they told him that if he crossed the River Halys, which separated the two states, then a great empire would be destroyed.