4 ELEMENTS

Project logo
Improve the foreign language learning and intercultural competences of adults through e-learning

The project

FOUR ELEMENTS is an initiative called to raise awareness and appreciation of the importance of culture and heritage as well as to train educators working with adult learners who want to improve their skills and competences necessary in today’s EU labour market.

The project will take advantage of the potential of the common European cultural values associated to the 4 elements earth, water, air and fire) to empower adults to improve their digital, foreign language and intercultural competences.

The partnership expects to develop and deliver innovative teaching materials presented in a culturally accessible E-book consisting of European legends and stories – giving visibility to the underlying common EU values and principles, especially adapted to learners with special needs.

To achieved such objectives, partners will develop:

An interactive map: a collection of legends and stories related to earth, water, air and fire, in different EU countries.

Digital Books with national legends and stories related to the four elements.

Methodological recommendations for adult educators.

To find more information, access the Four Elements platform here.

Digital books

The nations of Europe all have rich cultures of myth and folklore which give the different regions their particular individual flavour. Here we have grouped traditional stories from Belgium, Estonia, France, Greece, Italy, Slovenia and Spain according to the four elements: earth, air, wind and fire.

They are specially adapted to adult learners and can be used to develop language or ICT skills among your students while enhancing intercultural understanding.

Alongside the stories, this digital book contains interactive exercises and is in Easy Read format. All the material in it can be downloaded and printed. Teachers and trainers will find tips and suggestions for how to use it on the Recommendations section of this site.

European partnership

Four Elements is an Erasmus+ KA204 project designed to highlight the importance of culture and heritage at European Union level. It aims to train educators working with adult learners to enable them to acquire the skills and competences, including linguistic and digital skills and competences, required in the European labour market.

The project is coordinated by : CVO EduKempen (Belgium). The partnership also includes DomSpain Consulting (Spain), The Central Library of Võru County (Estonia), Les Apprimeurs (France), Istituto dei Sordi di Torino (Italy), Slovenian Third Age University (Slovenia), MyArtist (Greece).

Erasmus+ project

Erasmus logo The European Commission's support for the production of this publication does not constitute an endorsement of the contents, which reflects the views only of the authors, and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein.

The Ljubljana Dragon and the Argonauts

MYTH

Main element: Fire

Language of the original: Slovenian

Date of origin: 5th-6th century AD

Origin of the legend: The Greek historian Zosimus was the first to establish the connection between Emona (now Ljubljana) and the Argonauts (5th–6th century AD).

To find more information about the legend, access the Four Elements platform here.

Many folktales describe a dragon that can be defeated with a trick or by using force. A similar thing happened to the Postojna dragon.

Once upon a time Jason, a famous Greek hero, was travelling together with the Argonauts, a group of his men, on a quest for the golden-fleeced sheep, which was guarded by a huge and terrible dragon, somewhere on the coast of the Black Sea. Jason won the battle with the dragon, psychologically helped by Medea, his sweetheart, who loved him dearly. They wanted to flee together, but the king, Medea’s father, would not let them go. By mistake their ship, the Argo (“fast ship”), named after its builder, sailed into the Danube river instead of sailing into the Aegean Sea, towards Greece.

It was too late to change course, so the ship sailed up the Danube, the Sava and the Ljubljanica river. There, suddenly, a terrible storm broke out. Jason, who was very strong, leaned against a cliff along the Ljubljanica river, thus anchoring the light ship. The print of his fist can still be seen in the cliff called Jason’s fist. On the bank of the Ljubljanica river where the Argonauts had to stop, they built a settlement called Emona. But that was not easy since there was marshy land nearby guarded by another dragon, a huge monster. Jason and the dragon fought, and Jason again was the winner. So, Emona was built and the dragon was adopted as the symbol and coat of arms of Ljubljana later on. Emona was later renamed Ljubljana. There are many sights in Ljubljana recalling Emona.

Ljubljanski zmaj in argonavti

MIT

Element: Ogenj

Jezik izvirnika: slovenščina

Datum nastanka: 5. – 6. stoletje

Avtor: The Greek historian Zosimus was the first to establish the connection between Emona (now Ljubljana) and the Argonauts (5th–6th century AD).

Več o legendi lahko preberete tej povezavi.

Nekoč je živel Jazon, slaven grški junak, ki se je skupaj s svojimi možmi Argonavti odpravil iskat zlato runo, to pa je nekje na obali Črnega morja varoval velik in strašen zmaj. Jazon je premagal zmaja ob psihološki podpori Medeje, njegove ljubice, ki ga je imela neznansko rada. Skupaj sta narčtovala pobeg, a ju kralj, Medejin oče, ni pustil oditi. Po pomoti je ladja Argo (hitra ladja), imenovana po možu, ki jo je zgradil, zaplula v Donavo in ne v Egejsko morje.

Tedaj je bilo že prepozno, da bi spremenili smer potovanja in zapluli so po Donavi, Savi in Ljubljanici, od koder ni bilo več moč pluti dalje, kajti nenadoma se je utrgal oblak in močni Jazon se je uprl v skalo vzdolž Ljubljanice, da bi tako zasidral ladjo. Še danes je tam moč videti odtis njegove pesti in ta kraj se še danes imenuje Jazonova pest. Na bregu Ljubljanice so se Argonauti morali ustaviti. Želeli so zgraditi naselje Emona. Toda to ni bilo preprosto, kajti v bližini je bilo močvirnato področje, ki ga je varoval zmaj, velika pošast. Jazon in zmaj sta se spopadla. Jazon je zmagal v bitki. Tako so Argonavti zgradili Emono, zmaj pa je postal simbol in grb Ljubljane.

Kunaver, D. (1998). Slovene Folk Tales. Ljubljana. Samozaložba.

Kropej Telban, M., Sulič, N. and Batagelj, V. (2012). Supernatural beings from Slovenian myth and folktales. Ljubljana: Založba ZRC: Inštitut za slovensko narodopisje ZRC SAZU.