The current volume contains the papers read during the International Symposium entitled “Regional Stories towards a New Perception of the Early Greek World”, held at the University of Thessaly in Volos, from 18-21 June 2015. The aim of the symposium was on one hand to present original overviews, mostly geographical, of the current data from the entire Greek World, dating from the tenth to the end of the seventh century BC, based partly on the results of the research of the members of the “ARISTEIA” project or thanks to the expertise of the invited scholars. A second aim of the symposium, was to present new evidence from important current excavation projects, thus highlighting the data published up to now. The topics of the papers were drawn from the three axis of the “ARISTEIA” research project (Settlements, Sanctuaries, Cemeteries). The regional diversities or homogeneities, the interaction between the Greek and indigenous communities, the study of the Early Greek World independently from the chronological “divide” of ca. 700 BC, the rise of the polis, were some of the suggested lines of inquiry. The symposium was also an occasion to honour an eminent scholar of the Early Iron Age, Professor Jan Bouzek.

Pindar's fragmentary Paean 8, along with the ancient Delphic verse 'eagles contribute the feathers and bees the wax', and Pausanias' account (10.5.9-13) are the main sources of the narrative concerning the first four temples in Delphi: one temple was constructed of laurel, another of feathers and beeswax, another of bronze, and the fourth of stone. This narrative has always been an enigma. According to ancient and modern scholars, some of these temples were real and some belonged to the sphere of myth. The argument is put forward here that the myth resulted from a misinterpretation of the enigmatic language of Pindar's paean and the Delphic verse. According to this analysis, the original narrative concerns three (not four) 'temples', which in reality were portable shrines. One was made of branches of oleander, another of bronze and another was sculpted in stone. They represented the 'hut' of Apollo, his abode; they were kept in the sanctum and had the form of the object that later became known as the omphalos. They were periodically burnt and buried in a pit in front of the temple during the Septērion ritual, for which Pindar composed his 8th paean. The article also attempts to clarify some important aspects of the early history of Delphi (the architectural structure of the early sanctuary and the identity of the Hyperboreans and the Lokroi).