More that 400 athletes participated in the mountain race ‘”In the footsteps of Deucalion” at Delphi.

This is a non-profit race which is organized for a 4th consecutive year in at Delphi and combines sports, the myth of Deucalion, the region’s history and beautiful landscapes.

Before starting, the priestess lit the flame which was carried by Nikos Dimitriadis , husband and coach of Olympic champion Athanasia Tsoumeleka, while the athletes took the oath of Delphic Maxims.

The routes alternated between paths and forest dirt roads that contain some difficult or technical pass.

This year mountain race was held also to support the candidacy of Delphi for European Capital of Culture 2021 and the VISION OF HOPE Bone Marrow Donor Bank.

Deucalion was the son of Prometheus married to Pyrrha, daughter of Pandora. They were born in the time of the Bronze Race of Man and were the first king and queen of Northern Greece–the regions of Opountian Lokris, Malis, Phthiotis and the Thessalian lands.

The race, though, was very corrupt and Zeus angered by their impiety sent a Great Deluge to destroy them. Only Deucalion and Pyrrha survived, because they had been warned by Prometheus. So, they mounted a chest and sailed to the dry peaks of Mount Parnassos waiting the disaster to end.

Then Deucalion and Pyrrha consulted the Delphic oracle to ask how they could repopulate the earth and were told to cast the bones of their mother over their shoulders. What they did to answer the riddle was to cast stones–the bones of Mother Earth and men and women emerged.