In 430 BC, 11-year-old ancient Athenian girl Myrtis fell victim to the great plague of Athens.
She could not have imagined in her young life that she would be brought to life as part of a global effort against the COVID-19 pandemic.
The face of the young girl was recruited by Professor Manolis Papagrigorakis and his team, and she is the star of an animation urging people to listen to experts, respect hygiene rules and take special care of their loved ones and more vulnerable groups so that they don’t meet the same fate as her.
The video is thanks to the joint efforts of Professor Papagrigorakis and the United Nations. Young Myrtis quotes the Secretary General of the United Nations, Antonio Guterres, and agrees with him that the whole of humanity will win the fight against our common enemy.
READ MORE: Ancient Athenian teenager’s face reconstructed for public display
When alive, Myrtis played at the foothills of the Acropolis and her face was reconstructed in 2010 at the Acropolis Museum, her second home. She has already been used in UN campaigns and, as a “Friend of the Millennium Development Goals”, has been used to drive home numerous humanitarian messages related to disease and children dying from it.
Postage stamps with her face has been issued, coins, paintings, school books and now, an animation.
