When Penelope Delta wrote "The Tale Without a Name," she might have thought she was writing a book for children. Certainly, her book is read and loved by Greek children more than any other. Yet, here we are, adults reading her "Tale," and it still holds the same charm. The poetry, the satire, the coarse—but never depressing—visionary quality, all in a fairy-tale world that has a reflection in truth, give the "Tale" a beauty and liveliness that will never cease to move us.
The problem of succession posed, in its way, by decay, and through a crisis the rebirth with the participation of all, is the recycling motion that promotes life and history further. And because Delta felt deeply Greek, her "Tale" is an ode to Greece.
No character in "The Tale" is solely good or solely evil. That is why, in many points, the progression of the myth heads towards the good thanks to the flaws of the characters, and not thanks to their advantages. I have exploited these elements, with the freedom that the theatricality of a text for the stage requires.
I sincerely thank Mrs. Mela and Mrs. Mavrogordatou, daughters of P. Delta, who gave me permission to adapt the "Tale" and approved its theatrical form.
