Mythodea

Iris and the Soul of the World

by

Sophia D. Vassilacos

Extracts from Mythodea were presented at the Barbican Children's library on June 26, 2004.

Narrator: Aria Sandis
Music: Elena Konstantinou

'No sooner had Iris drank the magic potion that she found herself in a dreamscape surrounded by creatures unlike any she had ever seen before. Forgetting all about the Sun and the story he was going to tell her, she watched captivated the wonder of the sea. It was a world like a caress, colourful and iridescent, where light and darkness alternated in harmony. An infinite enchantment, alive with sounds as yet unheard and silences reminiscent of faraway notes dancing in the wind. Iris felt so exhilarated and free, that she started to dance among the seashells and the sea horses, the dolphins and the whales, the cuttlefish, the squids and the tiny little shrimps. Soon, every creature alive in the sea joined in the dance, and, all at once, a grand celebration was well under way.

The notes of the Moon glided downwards from the sky to accompany the mermaids and the dolphins who led the singing. Light-bearing seashells lit up the most exotic band: mullet playing the flute, monkish playing the harp, plaice playing the violin, octopus playing the piano,bass playing the cello and crabs along with lobsters banging away on the drums.

At first the water creatures, still shy in the presence of the little girl, limited themselves to a classical repertoire, with the "Sonata of the moonshine of the sea" as the grand finale. After a while however, they became bolder and began to improvise, trying their hand at waltzes, a bit of jazz and even the occasional rock n' roll tune since, after all, they loved twirling in the embrace of the sea.

For three whole days and three whole nights they danced and sang and made merry, dressed in costumes made of multi-coloured seaweeds, embroidered with sea flowers and sand crystals. And the more they laughed, the more their costumes sparkled and glittered and lit up the sky where even their faraway friends, the stars, lost their stern expression as guardians of the heavily world and began swaying with a twinkle.'

Extract from the story Mythodea by Sophia D. Vassilacos
Translation by Nina Reizi
Illustrations by George Manginis
Music by Elena Konstantinou

Sophia D. Vassilacos syudied French Literature at the University of Athens and Museum and Gallery Management at City University, London. Her book of two stories, The Journey of the Star and The Story of an Iris that fell in love with a Cypress Tree, has already gone through two editions on Greece; it inspired an exhibition and an educational programme at the Hellenic Children's Museum, Athens, in 1997.

George Manginis studied Archeology at the University of Athens and Islamic and Chinese art at the School of Oriental and African Studies, London. He has publsihed articles on Prehistoric and Byzantine Archaeology, Museum Studies and Collecting; he illustrated the two editions of Sophia D. Vassilacos' earlier stories.

For further information on Mythodea  please contact sophiapel@yahoo.com

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