EP 50: Delos, Island of the Gods

2,500 years ago Delos was the most sacred island in Greece. As the birthplace of Apollo and Artemis, it was destined to become both the holiest of sanctuaries and a wealthy trading center.  

Its downside was that it was also the region’s largest slave market. Amidst all the temples and sanctimony, traders became immensely rich by selling slaves captured by roving pirates. That wealth became, in the end, the island’s ruin.

If you love this podcast, you'll also enjoy Garner's audible novel about the gods, Homo Divinitas, now available on Amazon.com and Audible.com. And find us at patrickgarnerbooks.com and on Youtube!

Transcript

EPISODE 50: DELOS, THE ISLAND OF GODS

THERE'S AN OLD GREEK SAYING, HAPPY IS THE HEART THAT SAILS INTO DELOS.

SOME YEARS AGO WHILE VISITING GREECE, I TOOK A CATAMARAN FROM MYKONOS INTO DELOS, WHICH IS A SMALL ISLAND IN THE CENTER OF THE AEGEAN SEA. 

MORE THAN 2,100 YEARS AGO IT WAS THE MOST IMPORTANT OF THE CYCLADIC ISLANDS. ITS POPULATION WAS IN THE THOUSANDS.

TODAY ITS RESIDENTS NUMBER NO MORE THAN A HANDFUL & NONE ARE PERMANENT. ONLY CARETAKERS & ARCHEOLOGISTS ARE ALLOWED TO STAY OVERNIGHT. 

ITS FORMER GLORY IS LOST. A VISITOR IS GREETED BY RUINS UPON RUINS, STONES, SHARDS & BROKEN COLUMNS.

I WAS ACCOMPANIED BY FRIENDS WHO WERE ARTISTS. ONE WAS A GREEK WOMAN, THE ONLY ONE AMONG US WHO HAD BEEN TO DELOS BEFORE.

AS WE MOTORED INTO THE ANCIENT SACRED HARBOR, KATIA SAID OVER THE SOUND OF WAVES & WIND, HAPPY IS THE HEART!

THEN SHE  WARNED US, "WEAR HATS. THERE'S NO COVER. AND IT'S ALWAYS HOT —"

A JAPANESE ARTIST ASKED, "WHAT'S SO SPECIAL ABOUT THIS PLACE?"

KATIA LAUGHED & SAID, "THIS IS THE ISLAND OF THE GODS! WHATEVER YOU DO, SAY NOTHING INSULTING ABOUT APOLLO — & ONLY PRAISE HIS SISTER, ARTEMIS!"

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THIS IS EPISODE 50 OF GARNER'S GREEK MYTHOLOGY. WE HAVE LISTENERS FROM 169 COUNTRIES ... SO WELCOME TO EVERYONE, WHEREVER YOU ARE.

I'M YOUR HOST, MYTHOLOGIST PATRICK GARNER. 

I AM ALSO THE AUTHOR OF THE NAXOS QUARTET, WHICH IS FOUR NOVELS ABOUT GREEK GODS IN THE CONTEMPORARY WORLD. 

THE BOOKS INCLUDE THE WINNOWING, CYCLADIC GIRLS, HOMO DIVINITAS, AND ALL THAT LASTS. YOU CAN LEARN MORE ABOUT THEM AT MY WEBSITE PATRICKGARNERBOOKS.COM.

TO ADD THEM TO YOUR BOOKSHELF, GO TO AMAZON.COM.

AND YES, I'M ACTIVELY LOOKING FOR YOUR SUPPORT. COMMERCIAL SPONSORS WANT TO BE PART OF THIS PODCAST. BUT I DON'T WANT THEM HERE.

INSTEAD, I KNOW THAT THOSE OF YOU LISTENING WILL ALSO BE FASCINATED BY NEW, COMPELLING STORIES ABOUT MYTHOLOGY. 

MY NOVELS ARE ALL ABOUT YOUR FAVORITE GREEK GODS. DO YOU REALLY THINK THEY ONLY LIVED IN THE PAST?

SUPPORT THIS PODCAST BY BUYING A COPY! BETTER YET, BUY ALL FOUR!

HOWEVER, IF YOU ARE SIMPLY NOT A READER, I INVITE YOU TO LISTEN TO MY NOVEL HOMO DIVINITAS. IT’S PART OF THE NAXOS QUARTET, & IS AVAILABLE ON AMAZON.COM OR AUDIBLE. COM. 

YOUR SUPPORT — AS A LISTENER OR READER — WILL NOT ONLY KEEP THIS PODCAST GOING, IT WILL KEEP IT AD-FREE.

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NOW, LET'S TAKE A TIME MACHINE BACKWARDS. WE'LL DIAL IN ABOUT 450 B.C. THAT'S ALMOST 2,500 YEARS AGO.

AT THAT TIME, GREECE WAS THE MEDITERRANEAN'S DOMINANT POWER. AND DELOS WAS ITS SACRED EPICENTER. 

YOU'LL RECALL FROM OUR PREVIOUS EPISODES ABOUT APOLLO AND HIS SISTER ARTEMIS THAT THEY WERE TWINS BORN ON DELOS.

THEIR MOTHER WAS LETO, A LOVELY TITAn, WHO WAS ONE OF ZEUS' MANY UNWILLING LOVERS. WHEN HERA, ZEUS' WIFE, DISCOVERED THE GIRL WAS PREGNANT, SHE HOUNDED HER FROM PLACE TO PLACE FOR MONTHS.

AT THE LAST MOMENT ZEUS INTERVENED AND FOUND LETO SHELTER ON DELOS FOR THE DELIVERY. 

THE SEA-GOD POSEIDON WAS ALSO INVOLVED IN THE SEACH. HE TURNED OUT TO BE A GOOD CHOICE OF WINGMAN BECAUSE OF THE ISLAND’S ODD GEOGRAPHY.

YOU SEE, THE GREEKS BELIEVED THAT DELOS FLOATED ABOUT THE SEA, UNANCHORED, BLOWN BY THE WIND & CARRIED HERE & THERE ON THE WAVES.

THE VERY NAME, DELOS, MEANS IN GREEK, 'APPEARED FROM AMIDST THE WAVES.'

ZEUS PROMISED ITS FEW RESIDENTS THAT IF LETO COULD GIVE BIRTH THERE, POSEIDON WOULD TIE THE ISLAND TO THE SEA BOTTOM WITH DIAMOND CHAINS.

IN ADDITION, LETO HERSELF PROMISED THAT THE ISLAND WOULD PROSPER BEYOND ANYONE'S IMAGINATION. 

NOW, AS WE STEP OUT OF OUR TIME MACHINE AND INTO THE PAST, WE OBSERVE THAT DELOS IS, IN ALL REALITY, A BOOM TOWN.

A QUICK GLANCE AROUND CONFIRMS THAT THE ISLAND IS ALIVE WITH COUNTLESS MERCHANTS, TRADERS, PRIESTS & THE USUAL BUREAUCRATS. 

ITS RESIDENTS COME FROM AS FAR AWAY AS ATHENS, EGYPT, PERSIA & MACEDONIA. THE ISLAND IS SMALL, BUT AS COSMOPOLITAN AS ANY MAJOR CITY.

AND AS WE QUICKLY LEARN, THERE’S A DARK SIDE: DELOS IS ALSO A VAST MARKETPLACE FOR THE SLAVE TRADE.

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WE CAREFULLY STEP INTO THE HOT SUN. OUR ROBES FALL TO OUR ANKLES & OUR BRIMMED HATS ARE A WELCOME PROTECTION.

AS WE LOOK ABOUT, WE'RE OVERWHELMED BY THE NUMBER OF PEOPLE IN THE NARROW STREETS. MUSIC STREAMS FROM DOZENS OF TEMPLES.

INCENSE WAFTS FROM THE MARBLE BUILDINGS THAT LINE THE PASSAGEWAYS. STATUES OF THE GREAT GODS STAND AT THE ENTRANCES.

MARBLE LIONS LINE A ROAD THAT LEADS TO THE SEA. VEILED WOMEN CARRY POTS OF WATER FROM THE MANY CISTERNS. 

PRIESTESSES, IN THE SERVICE OF ALMOST EVERY KNOWN GOD, STAND BEFORE THE GLEAMING TEMPLES, CHANTING HYMNS.

RAMS & SHEEP ARE LINED UP FOR SACRIFICE. TRULY, WE THINK, DELOS IS APTLY NAMED THE ISLAND OF THE GODS.

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AND WHAT HAPPENED TO LETO, WHO ENDED UP ON THIS ISLAND YEARS BEFORE? ZEUS & POSEIDON ENSURED THAT SHE WAS SAFE.

AS HER CONTRACTIONS BEGAN, SHE PREPARED HERSELF BENEATH A DATE PALM WHICH GREW ON THE EDGE OF A SHALLOW LAKE.

SHE WAS SURROUNDED BY OTHER GODDESSES WHO TRIED TO HELP. AFTER AN UNIMAGINABLE NINE DAYS OF LABOR, APOLLO WAS BORN & SHORTLY AFTER, HIS SISTER, ARTEMIS.

APOLLO, WHO BECAME KNOWN AS 'FAR-SHOOTER,' IMMEDIATELY BEGAN PRACTICING WITH A BOW & STRUMMING HIS LYRE.

ARTEMIS, KNOWN AS 'STRAIGHT-SHOOTER,' DID LIKEWISE, PICKING UP A BOW & SENDING ARROWS OFF INTO THE SEA.

WITH THEIR BIRTH, THE ISLAND BECAME ONE OF THE MOST SACRED PLACES IN GREECE. BECAUSE APOLLO WAS OFTEN CALLED THE SUN-GOD, THE GREEKS WHISPERED THAT IT WAS "BATHED IN THE LIGHT OF ZEUS' SON, APOLLO."

AND AS WE CAN SEE WHILE WE STAND BESIDE OUR TIME MACHINE, THE PROSPERITY THAT LETO PROMISED HAS BECOME A REALITY.

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NOW, AS WE GAZE OVER THE BUILDINGS & CRISS-CROSSING STREETS, WE SEE A SHALLOW LAKE BESIDE A WHITE TEMPLE.

AT THE EDGE OF THE LAKE THERE'S A SINGLE DATE PALM. WE KNOW INSTANTLY: IT'S LETO'S PALM, THE ONE SHE LEANED AGAINST WHILE GIVING BIRTH.

BESIDE THE LAKE IS THE LARGEST OF THE ISLAND'S TEMPLES. ITS WHITE MARBLE IS SO BRIGHT THAT WE'RE FORCED TO SQUINT AS WE LOOK AT IT.

A MASSIVE STATUE OF A GOD STANDS ATOP A COLUMN AT THE TEMPLE'S ENTRANCE, CRADLING A LYRE IN HIS ARMS. IT'S APOLLO, WHO LOOKS OUT OVER THE SACRED HARBOR.

BESIDE APOLLO'S TEMPLE IS A MORE MODEST ONE. IT'S A SANCTUARY DEDICATED TO LETO. INSIDE IS A WOODEN STATUE OF HER, COVERED IN A COLORFUL ROBE.

ARTEMIS TOO HAS A TEMPLE ON DELOS. LIKE HER BROTHER'S, IT LOOKS OVER THE SACRED HARBOR. ITS FLUTED COLUMNS RISE GRACEFULLY TOWARD THE SUN.

WE BOW BRIEFLY IN RESPECT. AFTER ALL, IT IS THESE THREE DIVINITIES WHO HAVE BLESSED THIS SUN-DRENCHED ISLE & BROUGHT IT IMMENSE GLORY.

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POWER & PRESTIGE ACCRUED TO ANY CITY THAT CONTROLLED THE ISLAND. WE KNOW FROM MULTIPLE CHRONICLES THAT ATHENS DID SO. THEN AN UNUSUAL THING HAPPENED.

IN 540 B.C. THE ATHENIANS DECIDED TO “PURIFY” THE ISLAND IN APOLLO’S HONOR. THEY REMOVED ALL BURIALS WITHIN SIGHT OF HIS TEMPLE, AND REINTERRED THEM ON THE NEARBY ISLAND OF RHENEA.

THEN 115 YEARS LATER, A SECOND PURIFICATION OCCURRED ... THIS TIME ALL BURIALS ON THE ISLAND WERE REMOVED, WITH THE EXCEPTION OF SEVEN TOMBS ASSOCIATED WITH APOLLO’S SON, ANIOS.

FINALLY, FROM THAT DATE FORWARD NO DEATHS OR BIRTHS WERE ALLOWED ON DELOS.

WE KNOW OF NOWHERE ELSE IN GREECE WHERE THIS CURIOUS PRACTICE OCCURRED.

WHY DID THE ATHENIANS GO TO THIS TROUBLE? WHILE EXPLANATIONS VARY, THE MOST POPULAR WAS THAT GREEKS BELIEVED APOLLO TO BE OFFENDED BY DEATH.

AND BECAUSE WOMEN SOMETIMES DIED DURING CHILDBIRTH, GREEKS COULD NOT RISK ALLOWING THEM TO DELIVER ON DELOS.

AS A CONSEQUENCE, THE ANCIENT CYCLE OF BIRTH & DEATH WAS DISRUPTED ON THE ISLAND. A SIMILAR DISRUPTION IS FEATURED IN MY NOVEL THE WINNOWING, WHICH IS SET IN CONTEMPORARY AMERICA. 

THE STORY CENTERS ON SCIENTISTS WORKING TO ELIMINATE DEATH ALTOGETHER. IT’S A BEST SELLER & GENUINE PAGE-TURNER!

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IN 478 B.C. THE ATHENIANS FOUNDED A LEAGUE OF CITIES, ALL CLUSTERED AROUND THE EDGE OF THE MEDITERRANEAN.

MEMBER CITIES PAID A TITHE TO ATHENS TO ENSURE THAT THEY WERE BOTH PROTECTED FROM WARRING NEIGHBORS & THAT THEY COULD TRADE WITH THE VAST ATHENIAN EMPIRE.

THE LEAGUE'S TREASURY WAS BASED ON DELOS. LEVIES FROM HUNDREDS OF CITIES WERE STORED IN ITS GLEAMING TREASURY BUILDING.

ALTHOUGH APOLLO COULD BE AFFRONTED BY BIRTH & DEATH, HE APPARENTLY ENCOURAGED TRADE & THE AMASSING OF WEALTH.

CONSEQUENTLY — & AS A FULFILLMENT OF LETO'S PROMISE — THE ISLAND BECAME NOT ONLY FAMOUS, BUT INCREASINGLY RICH.

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WITH THE NEWFOUND WEALTH CAME NEW CONSTRUCTION. ALONG THE SACRED ROAD — WHICH RAN BESIDE THE SACRED LAKE — TEMPLES WERE PACKED SIDE BY SIDE FOR ALMOST A HALF MILE.

AS WE STAND ON A SMALL HILLOCK AT THE EDGE OF THE CITY, WE MARVEL AT THE GRANDEUR, AT THE MAGNIFICENCE BELOW US.

AN ARCHAIC TEMPLE HONORS HERA, ZEUS' WIFE WHO — IRONICALLY — HAD FORCED LETO TO HIDE FROM HER AT THIS VERY PLACE.

ZEUS IS HONORED WITH HIS OWN GRAND TEMPLE. IN ADDITION, A SECOND STRUCTURE IN HIS NAME HAS BEEN ERECTED ON MT. KYNTHOS, THE HIGHEST SPOT ON THE ISLAND.

A MULTI-COLUMNED TEMPLE FOR HERMES OVERLOOKS THE HARBOR. DIONYSUS TOO IS WORSHIPPED IN A TEMPLE ALONG THE SACRED ROAD.

THE GODDESS TYCHE, WHO I FEATURED IN EPISODE 49, HAS AN IMPORTANT TEMPLE.  APHRODITE  IS HARDLY NEGLECTED AS HER TEMPLE TOO STANDS NEARBY.

HERACLES, THE HEROIC SON OF ZEUS, IS RICHLY HONORED AS WELL. MIDWAY UP MT. KYNTHOS, IS A CAVE DEDICATED TO APOLLO & HERACLES. 

MASSIVE SLABS OF GRANITE THAT MAY DATE BACK TO THE MYCENAEAN ERA MAKE UP ITS ROOF. AND AT ITS ENTRANCE IS A ROUND SACRIFICIAL ALTAR.

A VISITOR WHO STANDS AT ITS ENTRANCE LOOKS OUT OVER THE HARBOR. EVEN TODAY A RAW ENERGY SEEMS TO EMANATE FROM ITS ANCIENT STONES.

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THE GREEKS HARDLY CONFINED TEMPLES ON DELOS TO JUST THE OLYMPIC GODS. FOR INSTANCE, ASKLEPIOS, APOLLO’S SON AND THE FAMOUS HEALER & PHYSICIAN, IS HONORED WITH A SANCTUARY, 

EVEN NAXOS AND ATHENS HAVE TEMPLES THAT COULD BE ACCESSED BY THEIR CITIZENS. 

WE KNOW TOO AS VISITORS FROM A LATER TIME THAT, OVER THE CENTURIES, TEMPLES TO FOREIGN GODS BEGAN TO SPRING UP, A SIGN OF THE INCREASINGLY COSMOPOLITAN NATURE OF ITS INHABITANTS.

EGYPT PLAYED AN UNUSUAL & CRITICAL ROLE IN THESE NEW SANCTUARIES. A REMARKABLE TEMPLE TO ISIS — A GODDESS WHO WAS AT TIMES ASSOCIATED WITH ARTEMIS — AROSE ON THE ISLAND'S SHORE.

ANUBIS, THE DOG-HEADED EGYPTIAN GOD, ALSO HAD A SANCTUARY, AS DID SERAPIS, A GOD WHOSE CULT WAS ENCOURAGED BY PTOLEMY, A PHARAOH IN THE 3rd CENTURY B.C.

AND AS A FURTHER INDICATION OF THE GREEK'S GROWING ACCEPTANCE OF OTHER RELIGIONS, THERE WAS A SYNAGOGUE, AS WELL AS A SANCTUARY TO SYRIAN GODS SUCH AS DAGAN & BAAL

AS WITH ANY GREEK CITY, DELOS SPORTED A GYMNASIUM. THERE WAS A SMALL THEATER DISTRICT WITH AN OUTDOOR AMPHITHEATER FOR PERFORMANCES.

AND SOMEWHAT UNUSUALLY FOR AN ISOLATED ISLAND, DELOS HAD A HIPPODROME. HIPPO WAS THE GREEK WORD FOR HORSE. IT WAS A PLACE WHERE HORSES & CHARIOTS WERE RACED. 

BY THE LAST CENTURY B.C., DELOS HAD UP TO 30,000 RESIDENTS. THEY, LIKE ALL GREEKS, APPRECIATED TRAGEDY & COMEDY — & THE EXCITEMENT OF HORSE RACING!

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I MENTIONED EARLIER IN THIS EPISODE THAT DELOS WAS A MARKETPLACE FOR THE SALE OF SLAVES.

UP TO 10,000 SLAVES WERE SOLD EVERY DAY ON DELOS. HISTORIANS HAVE CONCLUDED THAT THE ISLAND BECAME THE WORLD'S LARGEST SLAVE MARKET.

Many of the slaves WERE purchased from pirates, who terrorized shipping in the eastern Mediterranean. 

THERE'S THE OLD SAYING, “WHAT GOES AROUND COMES AROUND.” AND Ironically, Delos itself became aN UNWITTING victim OF SLAVERY. 

During a war with Rome IN 88 B.C., KING Mithradates VI of PontuS, A CITY IN PRESENT DAY Turkey, sacked Delos.

The slave TRADERS THERE — THAT IS, THOSE WHO SURVIVED THE ATTACK — became slaves THEMSELVES.

APOLLO DID NOTHING TO INTERVENE. NOR DID THE OTHER GODS MOVE TO PREVENT THE DESTRUCTION. THE ISLAND NEVER FULLY RECOVERED.

TWENTY YEARS LATER, THE ISLAND WAS AGAIN RAIDED BY PIRATES WHO DESTROYED WHAT WAS LEFT. 

AFTER THAT, DELOS — STRIPPED OF ITS WEALTH & LEFT IN RUINS — BECAME UNINHABITED. THE ROMANS, WHO CONTROLLED THE REGION, MADE NO ATTEMPT TO REBUILD.

THE ISLAND OF THE GODS WAS SUDDENLY, & FOREVER AFTER, AN ABANDONED ISLE FULL OF BROKEN COLUMNS, SHARDS & ONLY DIM HINTS OF ITS FORMER GLORY.

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TODAY GREECE HAS ERECTED A MODERN MUSEUM THAT CONTAINS NUMEROUS ARTIFACTS.

ARCHEOLOGICAL WORK CONTINUES SPORADICALLY ... WEATHER PERMITTING.

MY OWN IMPRESSION AFTER SPENDING HOURS ON DELOS WAS ONE OF IMMENSE SADNESS MIXED WITH AN OVERWHELMING SENSE OF AWE.

THE GREEK REGION CONTAINS THOUSANDS OF ARCHEOLOGICAL SITES. BUT DELOS, EXPOSED AS IT IS TO THE SUN & SALT WIND, IS A RAW EXAMPLE OF HOW THE SACRED CAN BE UPENDED IN A HEARTBEAT & HOW GREAT GLORY CAN END IN RUIN.

PERHAPS MOST FASCINATING, THE MANY GODS HONORED ON THE ISLAND TURNED AWAY AT THE MOMENT OF ATTACK. WHY?

HAD THEY ALREADY LOST INTEREST IN THE ANCIENT FORMS OF WORSHIP? HAD THE DELIANS GONE TOO FAR WITH THEIR EXPLOITATION, WITH THEIR SLAVE TRADE?

WE'LL NEVER KNOW. ALL THAT IS CERTAIN IS THAT WHEN THE MARAUDING SHIPS SAILED INTO THE SACRED HARBOR, THE ISLAND SAT HELPLESS, EXPOSED TO THE FURY OF THE SWORDS & SPEARS ... 

OF THE RAIDERS WHO PLUNDERED THE ISLAND’S WEALTH.

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DELOS IS ALSO FEATURED PROMINENTLY IN MY NOVEL CYCLADIC GIRLS, WHICH IS PART OF THE NAXOS QUARTET. 

IN THIS STORY, THE OLYMPIC GODS RE-ENTER THE MODERN WORLD AFTER A RETREAT ON DELOS OF 1,600 YEARS.

ONCE AGAIN YOU’LL BE MESMERIZED BY THEIR POWER AND THEIR SHORTCOMINGS.

THEY CONTINUE TO MANEUVER & SCHEME. THEY'RE TRICKSTERS & TRAITORS. NONE OF THEM TRUST EACH OTHER. THEY APPEAR & DISAPPEAR AT WILL. IN SHORT, THEY’VE RETURNED!

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JOIN ME ... FOR THE NEXT EPISODE OF GARNER'S GREEK MYTHOLOGY. 

AND VISIT Patrick-Garner-Books-dot-com. THE WEBSITE IS ALL ABOUT THIS PODCAST ... & ABOUT MY NOVELS, & EVEN ABOUT MY ARTWORK — SOME OF WHICH INCLUDE THE OLYMPIANS.

THE BOOKS ARE AVAILABLE ON AMAZON. THEIR THEME IS THAT THE GREEK GODS NEVER LEFT. AS I SAY, THEY'RE HERE, NOW.

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BY THE WAY, IF YOU HAVE YOUNGSTERS IN YOUR LIFE, THERE'S A NEW CHILDREN'S BOOK YOU HAVE TO GET.

IT'S CALLED READ-ALOUD STORIES FOR YOUNG LISTENERS, BY D.K. GARNER. THERE ARE NO GREEK GODS, BUT ANIMALS — ALWAYS PART OF GREEK LIFE — PLAY AN IMPORTANT ROLE IN THESE CHARMING STORIES. 

THEY TALK WITH THE CHILDREN AT THE MOMENT A LITTLE HELP IS NEEDED, STORIES ARE BETWEEN TWO AND NINE MINUTES LONG.

SEE PATRICKGARNERBOOKS.COM FOR MORE INFORMATION.  AND THANKS FOR LISTENING ... THIS IS YOUR HOST, PATRICK GARNER.