Myrtis the 2,500 Year Old Athenian Girl Finds a New Home
[The reconstructed 'Myrtis' has called for world leaders to end the spread of disease as part of the UN Millenium Development Goals agreement.] 'Myrtis' has attracted thousands of people across Greece to see her, has appealed to the world leaders to end the spread of disease and now she earns herself a place amongst historic artefacts in the National Archaeological Museum in Athens. All this, and her name isn't actually Myrtis.
It was the name that was given to her by scientists who uncovered her remains, as well as over 150 other skeletons, from an archaeological dig of a 'plague grave' at Kerameikos Cemetery dating back between 426-430BC, as reported by ana-mpa. Myrtis' resurrection some 2,500 years after her death from Typhoid - a plague which wiped out a third of the Athenian state including Pericles during the Peloponnesian War - has proved useful to researchers who took samples from her teeth to understand more about the microbe which led to the deaths of so many. Other interesting facial reconstructions include that of King Tutankhamun, the Egyptian boy king.
On a website dedicated to the young Athenian girl, she writes: "My death was inevitable. In the 5th century BC we had neither the knowledge nor the means to fight deadly illnesses. However, you, the people of the 21st century, have no excuse. You possess all the necessary means and resources to save the lives of millions of people. To save the lives of millions of children like me who are dying of preventable and curable diseases. "2,500 years after my death, I hope that my message will engage and inspire more people to work and make the Millennium Development Goals a reality. Listen to me. I know what I’m saying. Never forget that I’m much older and therefore much wiser than you.”