Maximus is one of the thousands of Greeks living in America. His grandparents settled there many years ago, but they never forgot their favorite homeland in Greece.

They had spoken to Maximus about it so many times that Maximus dreamed of the day he would see it closely. So when his parents announced that they would go on holiday to Greece this summer, Maximus was really excited.

He was very happy to visit this legendary part of the earth for which he had heard so many things. At school his teachers had spoken many times about the 12 Gods of Olympus, the battles of Troy, the journey of Ulysess, Heracless and his 12 labors, the wise men and philosophers, the mathematicians and the astronomers, the drama poets, the generals and the brave warriors.

But now he was already in this magical country and he, his sister and his parents were ready to board the bus that would take them along with other tourists to the Delphi Oracle.

-Dad, what is the Delphi Oracle? Maximus asked his father as he anxiously waited for their destination.

-Maxim, Father said, the Delphi Oracle is the most sacred place of all parts of ancient Greece

It is said that Zeus, the leader of the Gods, left two eagles, one to the East and the other to the West, and that they met above the point of Delphi, so they thought it was the navel of the Earth, that is, the center land. It was then that the Greeks built a beautiful temple dedicated to the god Apollo, the god of light, art and oracle.

Inside this temple they created the great oracle of Delphi.

Pythia, the priestess and fortune teller of the temple, sitting on her tripod, chewing laurel leaves and covered with a cloud of smoke, looked to the future and answered the questions of the people who came to seek her advice.

Her answers were often ambiguous and somewhat confused, but the ancient Greeks believed her oracles were sacred.

The bus continued to travel and Maximus and his sister enjoyed the trip to Delphi.

After about two hours journey Maximus and his family arrived in Delphi and began touring with other tourists in the area.

But the sun was burning and Maximus was already feeling dizzy. He was following them with difficulty. His mother called him out to catch them as his family had already started moving away and heading with the rest of the tourists to the neighboring ancient theater that existed in the area.

-Mother, Maximus said, I am very tired, the heat and the sun are staring at me. Do I mind sitting here waiting for you, in the shade of this olive tree?

- Okay Maxim, the mother said. If you're tired you may wait for as here. Soon we will get back to you.

Maximus greeted his parents as he watched them move away to the ancient theater. He took the bottle with the water he had in his backpack and sat at the roots of an olive tree, where its dense shade made the heat a little more bearable. He ran out of water and began to look around him more carefully.

Next to it was the center of the ancient temple, which was surrounded by tall columns forming a huge circle. He began to imagine that somewhere there would be the famous Pythia, which, lost in the smoke of incense, would take its place.

Maximus closed his eyes trying to imagine the image of Pythia. And then, in the utter silence of the noon, he suddenly heard a whisper and thought he saw with his eye a fleeting motion behind the pillars.

He felt a wave of cool air passing through the hot atmosphere. He stopped breathing while trying to hear the slightest sound, but all he could hear was the loud sound of his own heart now beating like crazy. He then approached the pillars, where he seemed to see this faint motion.

-Is anyone there?

Maximus shouted sharply.So sharp that he was startled by his own voice.

Maximus raised his head to the top's of the temple columns because he noticed that the sunlight began to intensify until it became so blinding that it forced Maximus to cover his eyes with his hand so as not to blind him.

-Open your eyes Maximus, suddenly he heard a deep voice speak to him.

Maximus opened his eyes in terror and what he saw made him freeze.

Behind the columns of the temple began to emerge one by one seven old men with long hair and beards, dressed in robes like those worn by the ancient Greeks.

Who are you?Maximus asked in a voice that was trembling with astonishment.

- Don't be scared Maximus, one of the men on a long stick replied.You know us ... you've seen us many times in your school books. We are The Seven Wise Men of Antiquity and you must have heard a lot about us.

The 7 men started getting introduced to Maximus one by one

-I'm Thalis Milisios, said the first.

- My name is Solon the Athenian

-I am Vias the Prinius.

-Cleovoulos from Rhodes, I m very glad to meet Maximus.

-I am Periandros the Corinthian.

- And I, Chilon the Lacedaemonius

-And I'm Pytakos of Mytilene. It may seem strange to see us in front of you. Normally the ancient Greeks could not meet with the modern ones, but this time we had to make an exception, because we need you Maximus.

-Me? Maximus asked in amazement. What can such a wise person need a child? And how did you get here? I don't understand what's going on...

Then Solon the Athenian approached Maximus and said to him:

-For many centuries we have kept in this temple all the wisdom of our world. With this wisdom we have been raising our children for thousands of years and passed it on from generation to generation.

But as time goes on, people forget what they have been taught and are becoming worse, tougher, more selfish, more warlike, full of envy and often full of hatred, greedy and liars. The world is spoiling, rotting, and those of us who see it destroyed feel that we cannot simply watch its destruction without doing anything.

So we decided to come back to the surface and spread this ancient wisdom, the knowledge of right and wrong, the good and the bad, the path that leads to virtue, and that if we all follow, our world will become one much nicer world.

Then Chile the Lacedaemonian approached Maximus holding an all-gold disc with a pile of parchments carefully placed on it. Hilon left the disc in front of Maximus' feet.

-Open the parchment one by one and read loudly, Pitakos told him

Maximus knelt down, took the first parchment underneath, wrapped it, and read aloud:RESPECT THE GODS

- Keep reading the other parchments. Don't stop, Solon told him.

Maximus unwrapped the next and read it aloud again:

“obey the law”:to obey the laws.

He then began to read all the parchments in turn without stopping for a minute.