Just a few days before Christmas, this episode of “Wander Words” took its listeners on a journey to a different Athens: a dark, mysterious, whispering city shaped by myths and urban legends.
Drawing on the Christmas tradition of elves and invisible beings—creatures believed, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, to be born from the sounds of water, air, and fire—the program unfolded stories hidden beneath our feet: haunted houses, underground passages, enchanted lakes, and unexplained phenomena that marked interwar Athens and continue to linger in the city’s collective memory.
The guest of the program was the writer and journalist Kostas Stoforos, who spoke about how urban legends come into being, where they intersect with historical truth, and why cities need their stories in order to endure over time.
A broadcast that became a walk through the city’s memory—where myths are not lies, but another way of telling the truth.
Produced and presented by Katerina Batzaki