Travel Back To Ancient Greece In Virtual Reality

AncientPages.com | July 5, 2023

Jan Bartek - AncientPages.com - Have you ever wanted to travel back in time and see what life was like in ancient Greece? We can do this by reading ancient history books and admiring archaeological discoveries, but virtual reality offers a different experience to see the past.



Screenshot featuring a consultation at the Oracle. Image credit: Virtual Reality Oracle Project

A team of academics led by the University of Bristol has developed a new virtual reality (VR) app which takes users on a journey back in time to ancient Greece, where they are able to experience first-hand what it was like to consult with the Greek god Zeus at the Oracle of Dodona.

The aim of the project, funded by the Arts and Humanities Research Council, is to enhance historical understanding of ancient Greek oracle consultation and to explore the role of VR technology in classrooms, museums and cultural settings. It also aims to provide insights and a richer understanding of sensory processing and brain activity in users of VR.

An oracle was a site where ancient Greek men and women asked the gods to answer questions about the past, the present and the future often writing down their questions on lead tablets – many of which have survived to the present day.

Dodona in Epirus, north western Greece, was one of the oldest oracle sites dating back to the second millennium BCE with some of the earliest accounts describing Dodona as an oracle of Zeus. It was considered second only to the more famous Oracle of Delphi in reputation and remained an important religious sanctuary until the rise of Christianity during the late Roman era.

More:
https://www.ancientpages.com/2023/07/05/travel-back-to-ancient-greece-in-virtual-reality/