Chronos uses augmented reality to produce digital overlays to show how the Acropolis looked centuries ago. AP
Chronos uses augmented reality to produce digital overlays to show how the Acropolis looked centuries ago. AP
Chronos uses augmented reality to produce digital overlays to show how the Acropolis looked centuries ago. AP
Chronos uses augmented reality to produce digital overlays to show how the Acropolis looked centuries ago. AP

App shows how Athenian Acropolis would have looked 2,500 years ago


Razmig Bedirian
  • English
  • Arabic

An app is giving visitors to the Acropolis a peek at what the ancient Greek site would have looked like in its prime.

The app, named Chronos after the Greek word for time and the leader of the mythological Titans, has been developed by Greek telecoms provider Cosmote and supported by the country’s Culture Ministry. It uses augmented reality to superimpose a digital image that shows how the site may have looked 2,500 years ago.

The technology provides interesting insights into the history of the Acropolis and its ancient buildings. The app works on the famous Parthenon temple, the adjacent Roman theatre and parts of the Acropolis Museum.

A tablet shows a digitally overlayed virtual reconstruction of the ancient Parthenon temple at the Acropolis Hill in Athens. AP
A tablet shows a digitally overlayed virtual reconstruction of the ancient Parthenon temple at the Acropolis Hill in Athens. AP

With the app, Parthenon’s collection of marble sculptures, removed two centuries ago and on display at London’s British Museum, reprise their places along the edifice. Greece has urged the British Museum to return the sculptures.

Chronos also manifests the sculptures with their vibrant paints that have long flaked off. The statue of the goddess Athena, meanwhile, is shown in the main chamber of the Parthenon standing over a shallow pool of water.

"That's really impressive ... the only time I've seen that kind of technology before is at the dentist," said Shriya Parsotam Chitnavis, a tourist from London.

“I didn't know much about the [Acropolis], and I had to be convinced to come up here. Seeing this has made it more interesting – seeing it in colour,” she said. “I'm more of a visual person, so this being interactive really helped me appreciate it.”

With the app, the Parthenon’s collection of marble sculptures, removed two centuries ago and on display at London’s British Museum, reprise their places along the edifice. AP
With the app, the Parthenon’s collection of marble sculptures, removed two centuries ago and on display at London’s British Museum, reprise their places along the edifice. AP

While Chronos is best experienced at the Acropolis, it also works away from the site.

“Accessibility is extending to the digital space,” Lina Mendoni, the culture minister of Greece, said at a preview launch event for the Chronos app in May. “Real visitors and virtual visitors anywhere around the world can share historical knowledge.”

Designers said they will continue building on the free app, which boasts features such as an artificial intelligence-powered virtual guide.

“As technologies and networks advance, with better bandwidth and lower latencies, mobile devices will be able to download even higher-quality content,” Panayiotis Gabrielides, a senior official at Cosmote, said.

With additional reporting from agencies

Labour dispute

The insured employee may still file an ILOE claim even if a labour dispute is ongoing post termination, but the insurer may suspend or reject payment, until the courts resolve the dispute, especially if the reason for termination is contested. The outcome of the labour court proceedings can directly affect eligibility.


- Abdullah Ishnaneh, Partner, BSA Law 

PULITZER PRIZE 2020 WINNERS

JOURNALISM 

Public Service
Anchorage Daily News in collaboration with ProPublica

Breaking News Reporting
Staff of The Courier-Journal, Louisville, Ky.

Investigative Reporting
Brian M. Rosenthal of The New York Times

Explanatory Reporting
Staff of The Washington Post

Local Reporting  
Staff of The Baltimore Sun

National Reporting
T. Christian Miller, Megan Rose and Robert Faturechi of ProPublica

and    

Dominic Gates, Steve Miletich, Mike Baker and Lewis Kamb of The Seattle Times

International Reporting
Staff of The New York Times

Feature Writing
Ben Taub of The New Yorker

Commentary
Nikole Hannah-Jones of The New York Times

Criticism
Christopher Knight of the Los Angeles Times

Editorial Writing
Jeffery Gerritt of the Palestine (Tx.) Herald-Press

Editorial Cartooning
Barry Blitt, contributor, The New Yorker

Breaking News Photography
Photography Staff of Reuters

Feature Photography
Channi Anand, Mukhtar Khan and Dar Yasin of the Associated Press

Audio Reporting
Staff of This American Life with Molly O’Toole of the Los Angeles Times and Emily Green, freelancer, Vice News for “The Out Crowd”

LETTERS AND DRAMA

Fiction
"The Nickel Boys" by Colson Whitehead (Doubleday)

Drama
"A Strange Loop" by Michael R. Jackson

History
"Sweet Taste of Liberty: A True Story of Slavery and Restitution in America" by W. Caleb McDaniel (Oxford University Press)

Biography
"Sontag: Her Life and Work" by Benjamin Moser (Ecco/HarperCollins)

Poetry
"The Tradition" by Jericho Brown (Copper Canyon Press)

General Nonfiction
"The Undying: Pain, Vulnerability, Mortality, Medicine, Art, Time, Dreams, Data, Exhaustion, Cancer, and Care" by Anne Boyer (Farrar, Straus and Giroux)

and

"The End of the Myth: From the Frontier to the Border Wall in the Mind of America" by Greg Grandin (Metropolitan Books)

Music
"The Central Park Five" by Anthony Davis, premiered by Long Beach Opera on June 15, 2019

Special Citation
Ida B. Wells

 

The Buckingham Murders

Starring: Kareena Kapoor Khan, Ash Tandon, Prabhleen Sandhu

Director: Hansal Mehta

Rating: 4 / 5

The Sand Castle

Director: Matty Brown

Stars: Nadine Labaki, Ziad Bakri, Zain Al Rafeea, Riman Al Rafeea

Rating: 2.5/5

Trump v Khan

2016: Feud begins after Khan criticised Trump’s proposed Muslim travel ban to US

2017: Trump criticises Khan’s ‘no reason to be alarmed’ response to London Bridge terror attacks

2019: Trump calls Khan a “stone cold loser” before first state visit

2019: Trump tweets about “Khan’s Londonistan”, calling him “a national disgrace”

2022:  Khan’s office attributes rise in Islamophobic abuse against the major to hostility stoked during Trump’s presidency

July 2025 During a golfing trip to Scotland, Trump calls Khan “a nasty person”

Sept 2025 Trump blames Khan for London’s “stabbings and the dirt and the filth”.

Dec 2025 Trump suggests migrants got Khan elected, calls him a “horrible, vicious, disgusting mayor”

Ticket prices
  • Golden circle - Dh995
  • Floor Standing - Dh495
  • Lower Bowl Platinum - Dh95
  • Lower Bowl premium - Dh795
  • Lower Bowl Plus - Dh695
  • Lower Bowl Standard- Dh595
  • Upper Bowl Premium - Dh395
  • Upper Bowl standard - Dh295
Company%20Profile
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ECompany%20name%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ENamara%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EStarted%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EJune%202022%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFounder%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EMohammed%20Alnamara%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EBased%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EDubai%20%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ESector%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EMicrofinance%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ECurrent%20number%20of%20staff%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E16%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EInvestment%20stage%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ESeries%20A%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EInvestors%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EFamily%20offices%0D%3Cbr%3E%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Benefits of first-time home buyers' scheme
  • Priority access to new homes from participating developers
  • Discounts on sales price of off-plan units
  • Flexible payment plans from developers
  • Mortgages with better interest rates, faster approval times and reduced fees
  • DLD registration fee can be paid through banks or credit cards at zero interest rates
Updated: October 08, 2023, 11:15 AM