MYRTIS

                

          

 In 430 BC, an 11-year-old girl from Athens, called Myrtis, a victim of the great plague in Athens, could not imagine that after 2500 years, she would be part of the global effort  in the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic.

 

Myrtis with her wisdom and her 2500 years of experience, is being used to impart knowledge and to strengthen the global resolve against the plague that is threatening the world, today.

 

The ancient girl’s remains were discovered in 1994-95 in a mass grave, during the construction works at the metro station of Kerameikos, in Athens.

 

Her face, which was painstakingly recreated by the team of professor Manolis Papagrigorakis appear in an animated video calling to all of us to fully respect the new sanitation and distancing rules and to take special care of our loved ones so that we can all be together tomorrow.

In the video, which was created after a  joint initiative of Papagrigorakis  and the United Nations, the 11-year-old Greek girl who lived so long ago quotes the Secretary-General of the United Nations, Antonio  Gutierrez, and agrees with him that the whole humanity, united together, will again win the fight against today’s common enemy.

 

The little girl who used to play at the foothills of the Acropolis of Athens, no dought admiring the Parthenon  as we do today, began her second journey around the world in the Acropolis Museum.

 

Her collaboration with the United Nations began during that same year. The United Nations named Myrtis a “Friend Millennium Development Goals”, along with international personalities like Kofi Annan, the President of Ireland Mary Robinson, and the activist Bianca Jagger.

 

In this capacity, Myrtis sent a widely translated message to the leaders of the world asking them to save the lives of millions of children who are dying of diseases such as the one that killed her, diseases that can now be prevented, even cured.

 

The Athenian girl continues her impressive journey around the world today.  She has become an exhibition, a postage stamp, an image on a coin and a painting. 

 

Her story which is taught in schools in Greece and abroad, has now been told to thousands of students across the world. She has even served as a theme for scientific conferences.  The tiny, ancient Greek girl has inspired thousands of people carrying her timeless message warnings about  the ravages of war, poverty and child mortality.