📖Glossary

Products & naming explanation

1. Sybil:

   • Technical Description: Sybil is a sophisticated oracle module capable of decentralized data fetching from numerous embedded price data feeds for both crypto and traditional financial assets. It aggregates results, caches them based on data feed settings, and signs the data feed messages with a DKG permissionless wallet, ensuring the integrity and verifiability of the data across various blockchain platforms. Additionally, Sybil offers an HTTP gateway for end-user applications and supports the creation of custom data feeds tailored to specific dApp needs.

   • Name Origin: The term "Sybil" originates from ancient Greek and Roman mythology, where the Sybils were oracles or prophetesses known for their divination and wisdom. The Sybil product acts as a digital oracle, providing insights and data, much like the Sybils of antiquity provided prophecies.

2. Pythia:

   • Technical Description: Pythia stands as an automated data delivery module that allows subscriptions based on time or volatility conditions, fetching data from Sybil for delivery to various blockchain platforms. It includes features like random number generation and supports pure automation, minimizing payload. Pythia operates on a pay-per-use model, charging for each transaction plus a small fee in the native coin of the destination chain.

   • Name Origin: "Pythia" is derived from the title given to the Oracle of Delphi in ancient Greece, known for her role as the mouthpiece of the deity Apollo and her cryptic predictions. The Pythia module, similarly, delivers valuable data (modern-day "prophecies") to decentralized applications across various blockchains.

3. Apollo:

   • Technical Description: Apollo serves as a request-based data delivery module, allowing EVM contracts to request specific data. The Apollo contract on ICP analyzes these requests, fetches the required data through Sybil (or generates randomness), and delivers it to the requesting contract using the fulfillData method. It operates on a subscription-based model, charging per request.

   • Name Origin: "Apollo" is named after the Greek god of prophecy, healing, the sun, and more, and he's famously associated with the Oracle of Delphi. The Apollo module, acting upon request much like the god would in myths, delivers data and responds to calls, embodying the spirit of divine insight and guidance.

4. Hephaestus:

   • Technical Description: Hephaestus is an innovative preprocessor for data feeding, accepting Rust code functions as algorithms for data preprocessing post-fetch (from Sybil) and prior to delivery. It automates the deployment of this code to smart contracts, making them instantly available for use by Apollo or Pythia.

   • Name Origin: Named after the Greek god of blacksmiths, crafting, and fire, "Hephaestus" reflects the module's ability to craft and mold data feeds — similar to how the god forged powerful and intricate artifacts for the gods of Olympus.

5. Hermes:

   • Technical Description: Hermes facilitates seamless cross-chain messaging, optimizing gas costs on more expensive chains, and can be used for delivering events/data. It acts as a bridge, ensuring efficient communication between various blockchain platforms.

   • Name Origin: "Hermes," the Greek god of messengers, commerce, and travelers, is a fitting namesake for this module, signifying its role in fast and reliable transmission of messages and data across different "realms" — in this case, blockchains.

Each product, deeply entrenched in technology, carries a name steeped in mythological significance, emphasizing its unique role in the modern-day digital pantheon of decentralized applications.