Lyra Belacqua facts for kids

Lyra Belacqua, also known as Lyra Silvertongue, is the main hero of Philip Pullman's His Dark Materials book series. In these stories, Lyra is a young girl who lives in a world much like our own, but also different. She grew up in a special place called Jordan College in Oxford. Lyra soon finds herself in a huge war between her father, Lord Asriel, and a powerful being called The Authority. Lyra also plays a big part in The Book of Dust series.

Lyra's Story and Personality

Lyra Belacqua is about eleven years old when her adventures begin. She is the daughter of Lord Asriel and Marisa Coulter. Lyra was raised at Jordan College, where the teachers and staff looked after her. She believed her parents had died and that Lord Asriel was her uncle. Later, she learned the truth from List of His Dark Materials characters#John Faa, the leader of the Gyptians (a group of boat-dwelling people).

Lyra loves to spend time with other children. They often play games, sometimes even pretend fights. Her best friend is a kitchen boy named Roger Parslow. Roger disappears early in the first book, Northern Lights. Finding Roger and other missing children becomes Lyra's main goal.

Lyra has wavy dirty-blonde hair and pale-blue eyes. She is thin and small for her age. Lyra is a bit wild and acts like a tomboy. She doesn't care much about her looks or staying clean, which can annoy the adults around her. She doesn't get much formal schooling. However, Lyra is very smart. She is especially good at making up believable lies on the spot. At first, she uses this skill to avoid trouble or to trick other kids. Later, she uses it to save her own life and the lives of others.

For example, Lyra tricks Iofur Raknison. He is the king of the panserbjørne, which are armored bears from Svalbard. Lyra tells him she can become his dæmon if he beats Iorek Byrnison in a fight. Her friend Iorek Byrnison, another armored bear, thought tricking a panserbjørn was impossible for a human. Because of her success, Iorek calls her "Silvertongue." This is the name she uses in the book The Secret Commonwealth.

Pantalaimon, Lyra's Dæmon

Lyra's dæmon is named Pantalaimon, but she calls him "Pan." In Lyra's world, everyone has a dæmon. A dæmon is a part of a person's soul that takes the form of an animal. For children, dæmons can change into any animal they want. Pan first appears as a dark brown moth. His name means "all-compassionate" in Greek.

Pan changes into many animals throughout the books. He can be a dragon, an eagle, or a wildcat. His favorite forms are a snow-white ermine, a moth, and a mouse. When Lyra grows up, Pantalaimon finds his final form. He becomes a beautiful pine marten with red-gold fur and a cream-white patch on his throat. This happens after Will Parry touches him.

Pantalaimon is usually careful and sensible. He is a good balance to Lyra, who is often impulsive and takes risks.

Lyra and Pantalaimon must separate when she enters the Land of the Dead. This causes them both extreme pain. Pantalaimon even avoids Lyra for a while afterward. But surviving this separation gives them a special ability. They can move far away from each other. Usually, only witches and shamans in her world can do this.

Lyra's Important Role

In the first book, Northern Lights, a witch named Serafina Pekkala speaks of a prophecy. This prophecy says a girl is "destined to bring about the end of destiny" itself. The witches' prophecy also says this girl will pick the "correct" cloud-pine branch. Lyra does exactly that.

It turns out that Lyra's destiny is to be like a second Eve. She must face temptation, which is shown by Mary Malone. With the help of Will Parry, Lyra helps to fix the balance of the Dust (a special kind of energy) in the different universes. This makes the universes work together in peace.

To keep the universes safe and stop dangerous creatures called Spectres from appearing, Lyra and Will must close all the windows between worlds. They do this with the help of angels. Since their dæmons cannot live long outside their own worlds, Lyra and Will must say goodbye forever. Even so, they decide to meet in spirit. They agree to sit on the same bench each year at noon on Midsummer's Day. They do this in the Botanic Gardens in their separate Oxfords. This way, they can feel close to each other. Lyra also fulfills her destiny to "bring an end to death." She does this by leading the ghosts out of the world of the dead.

In a later part of The Amber Spyglass, Lyra is 18 years old. She is studying the alethiometer (a rare device that tells the truth) with Pantalaimon. She gets excited when she starts to see a pattern in its readings. The author, Philip Pullman, tells us that this discovery is the "second thing she said to Will next day in the Botanic Garden." This means the next day was Midsummer's Day, when they would sit on their special bench.

Letters from Lyra in the book Once Upon a Time in the North show she is still studying in her twenties. She is working on a big research paper for a master's degree in Economic History. The paper is about trade in the Arctic region. In her first letter, Lyra also says she is still studying the alethiometer. Once she finishes her studies, she will be able to read the alethiometer with deep knowledge and certainty.

Lyra in Other Media

Lyra's story has been brought to life in many ways:

• In 1999, Jo Wyatt voiced Lyra for an audio version of the books.
• In a 2003 BBC radio show, child actress Lulu Popplewell played Lyra.
• The National Theatre in London put on a long play based on the novels. Anna Maxwell Martin played Lyra in 2003, and Elaine Symons played her in 2004.
• In the 2007 film The Golden Compass, Lyra was played by Dakota Blue Richards. The singer Kate Bush wrote a song called "Lyra" for the movie.
• Dafne Keen plays Lyra in the BBC television show based on the books.