VOA科学技术2023--App Shows How Ancient Greek Buildings Looked Thousand Years Ago

App Shows How Ancient Greek Buildings Looked Thousand Years Ago

If you visit the Acropolis in Athens, Greece, you will see the rocky grounds high above the city that include the famous ruins of the Parthenon.

However, if you use a new app from Greece's culture ministry¹, you can see what the building and grounds looked like more than 2,000 years ago.

The app lets visitors see the famous place in its true glory, with the bright colors and details it had in the past. Archaeologists and other historians² worked to create digital images showing how the Acropolis looked when it was new.

In the app, the Parthenon, for example, has its famous marble sculptures that are now at the British Museum in London. The app lets visitors see the sculptures where they used to be near the Parthenon. Greece wants Britain to return the sculptures.

Experts say the app, called Chronos, is an example of how Artificial³ intelligence, or AI, technology is being used to tell the stories of the past.

The technology that expands what people can see is called augmented⁴ reality or AR. Companies such as Meta and Apple are making big investments⁵ in apps and hardware⁶ that can bring the technology to more people.

Maria Engberg recently wrote a book about the subject. She said most people will first experience augmented reality through their phones at places like the Acropolis.

She said travelers will see the technology when they take tours. They will be able to see photos and videos as they walk around historic⁷ places. Engberg is a professor at Malmo University in Sweden.

"I think we will see really interesting customer experiences in the next few years as more content from museums and archives becomes digitized," she said.

The government and other groups are making investments in AR as more visitors come to Greece following the end of the COVID-19 pandemic. Visitors to Greece in the first half of 2023 increased by over 20 percent compared to 2022, bringing over $10 billion to the Greek economy.

Microsoft worked with the Greek culture ministry to create a digital tour of Olympia, the home of the first Olympic Games. Lina Mendoni leads the agency⁸. Earlier this year, she said the new technology lets "real visitors and virtual⁹ visitors anywhere around the world share historical knowledge."

Cosmote is the Greek telecommunications company that worked on the Chronos app. Panayiotis Gabrielides of Cosmote said advanced smart phones and faster communications networks will permit visitors to "download even higher-quality content." He said more guides and features will be available soon.

But for now, visitors can use Chronos to see how the Parthenon and other parts of the Acropolis once looked.

Words in This Story

app –n. (application) a computer program that does a specific task often especially designed for a smart phone

glory –n. a praiseworthy condition or state

archaeologist –n. a scientist who studies the lives of ancient people

marble –n. a kind of stone often used to decorate public buildings

augmented reality –n. technology that adds to people's senses of what reality is

hardware –n. (industry specific) the physical electronic devices¹⁰ that use software

content –n. media such as writing, sound and pictures

digitized –adj. something in electronic form that can be used by computers

virtual –adj. existing on computers but not in the physical world

1 ministry   

n.(政府的)部；牧师

参考例句：

• They sent a deputation to the ministry to complain.他们派了一个代表团到部里投诉。
• We probed the Air Ministry statements.我们调查了空军部的记录。

2 historians   

n.历史学家，史学工作者( historian的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Historians seem to have confused the chronology of these events. 历史学家好像把这些事件发生的年代顺序搞混了。
• Historians have concurred with each other in this view. 历史学家在这个观点上已取得一致意见。

3 artificial   

adj.人工的，人造的，人为的；做作的，假装的

参考例句：

• The new dam will form a large artificial lake behind it.新筑的水坝将会在后面形成一个人工湖。
• We don't use any artificial flavourings in our products.我们的产品不使用任何人工调味剂。

4 Augmented   

adj.增音的 动词augment的过去式和过去分词形式

参考例句：

• 'scientists won't be replaced," he claims, "but they will be augmented." 他宣称：“科学家不会被取代；相反，他们会被拓展。” 来自英汉非文学 - 科学史
• The impact of the report was augmented by its timing. 由于发表的时间选得好，这篇报导的影响更大了。

5 investments   

n.投资( investment的名词复数 )；投资额；（时间、精力的）投入；值得买的东西

参考例句：

• With the markets being so volatile, investments are at great risk. 由于市场那么变化不定，投资冒着很大的风险。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• All their money was tied up in long-term investments. 他们所有的钱都搁死在长线投资上了。 来自《简明英汉词典》

6 hardware   

n.重型武器；五金器具；硬件

参考例句：

• He bought a pot and other hardware at the store. 他从商店买了一个壶和其他金属制品。
• That family has carried on a hardware business for five generations.那家已经经营五金生意五代了。

7 historic   

adj.历史上著名的，具有历史意义的

参考例句：

• This is a historic occasion.这是具有重大历史意义的时刻。
• We are living in a great historic era.我们正处在一个伟大的历史时代。

8 agency   

n.经办；代理；代理处

参考例句：

• This disease is spread through the agency of insects.这种疾病是通过昆虫媒介传播的。
• He spoke in the person of Xinhua News Agency.他代表新华社讲话。

9 virtual   

adj.实质上的，事实上的，实际上的

参考例句：

• This reply is a virtual acceptance of our offer.这一回答实质上是接受了我们的建议。
• At that time the East India Company was the virtual ruler of Bengal.那时东印度公司是孟加拉的实际统治者。

10 devices   

n.设备；装置( device的名词复数 )；花招；（为实现某种目的的）计划；手段

参考例句：

• electrical labour-saving devices around the home 节省劳力的各种家用电器
• modern labour-saving devices such as washing machines and dishwashers 诸如洗衣机和洗碗机之类的现代化省力设备