Derek Gatopoulos and Theodora Tongas, The Associated Press
Published on Sunday, October 8, 2023 at 9:43 PM EDT
Last updated on Sunday, October 8, 2023 at 9:45 PM EDT
ATHENS, Greece (AP) – Tourists visiting the Acropolis this holiday season will be able to witness the resolution of one of the world’s most heated debates over cultural heritage.
All you need is your smartphone.
Visitors can now pinch and zoom on ancient Greek ruins to see a digital overlay of what it once looked like. These include a collection of marble sculptures that were removed from the Parthenon more than 200 years ago and are now on display at the British Museum in London. Greece demands its return.
For now, an app backed by Greece’s Ministry of Culture allows visitors to point their phones at the Parthenon, which archaeologists believe looks as it did 2,500 years ago and is now stored in London. The sculpture reappears on the monument.
There are also other features that are less well known. Many of the sculptures on the Acropolis are painted in striking colors. The statue of the goddess Athena in the main chamber of the Parthenon also stood above a shallow pool of water.
“It’s really impressive…I’ve never seen this kind of technology before at a dentist,” said Shriya Parsotam Chitnavis, a tourist from London, after checking the app on the top of Greece’s Acropolis hill on a hot afternoon. “Only.” The most popular ruins.
“I didn’t know much about[the Acropolis]so it took some convincing to come here. Seeing this in color made it even more interesting,” she said. “I’m more of a visual person, so I really liked this interactive feature.”
Virtual restorations could work anywhere, potentially saving some visitors from having to walk up a crowded hill and wait long hours to see an iconic monument up close. It could also help the country’s campaign to turn Greek cities into year-round tourist destinations.
Tourism, vital to Greece’s economy, has rebounded since the COVID-19 pandemic, even as wildfires drove away tourists from Rhodes this summer and affected other regions. He is getting back on track. According to the Bank of Greece, the number of visitors to Japan from January to July was 16.2 million, an increase of 21.9% from the previous year. Sales rose more than 20% to 10.3 billion euros ($10.8 billion).
The app, called Chronos after the mythical Titan king and the Greek word for “time,” uses augmented reality to place an ancient impression of a location on your screen, making it easier to follow as you walk around. Match the real world scenery.
AR will reach consumers after long wait times and will impact a wide range of professional and leisure activities.
Medical surgeries, military training, specialized machine repair, retail stores and live event experiences are all on the horizon for big tech companies betting on a lucrative future in immersive services. Tech giants like Meta and Apple are focusing on creating VR headsets that cost thousands of dollars.
Maria Engberg, co-author of Reality Media, a book on augmented reality and virtual reality, said mobile phones will remain the primary AR delivery platform to consumers for some time because of their high prices.
She says services for travelers will soon offer a better integrated experience, allowing for more sharing options on tours and overlays of archived photos and videos.
“AR and VR are lagging behind other types of things that we consume digitally, such as games and movies,” said Associate Professor of Computer Science and Media Technology at Malmö University in Sweden. Enberg says.
“I think we’re going to see some very interesting customer experiences over the next few years as museum and archive content becomes more digital,” she said.
Greece’s Ministry of Culture and National Tourism Authority are slow to make the switch to technology, but are eager to do so. The popular video game “Assassin’s Creed Odyssey,” which allows players to roam around ancient Athens, was used to lure young travelers from China to Greece in a state-sponsored photo contest.
Two years ago, Microsoft partnered with the Ministry of Culture to launch an immersive digital tour of ancient Olympia, the birthplace of the Olympic Games in southern Greece.
Culture Minister Lina Mendoni said the innovation will complement recently installed ramps and non-slip walkways and improve access to Greece’s ancient monuments.
“Accessibility extends to the digital space as well,” Mendoni said at a preview event for the Kronos app in May. “Real and virtual visitors can share historical knowledge no matter where they are in the world.”
Designers of the free app, developed by Greek communications provider Cosmote, say they want to build on existing features such as Clio, a virtual guide powered by artificial intelligence.
“As technology and networks advance, improving bandwidth and reducing latency, mobile devices will be able to download even higher quality content,” said Panayotis, a senior communications company official involved in the project.・Mr. Gabrielides said.
The virtual reconstruction using Kronos also covers three other monuments on the Acropolis, the adjacent Roman Theater and part of the Acropolis Museum, built at the base of the rock.
___ AP Photographer Petros Giannakouris in Athens contributed.
