House of Classical Greek Ideas
In a nutshell
This project aims to create the House of Classical Greek Ideas, an innovative exhibition on Greek ideas and ancient Greek philosophy, the greatest cultural achievement of ancient Greeks and a worldwide cultural legacy. This project is a collaboration of the Greek Ministry of Culture and Sports and NCSR Demokritos.
The ambitious project will take advantage of cutting-edge technologies, such as artificial intelligence, in the development of the interactive exhibits concerning ancient Greek ideas. The visitors will explore the ideas through interactive video walls, digital projections, augmented reality applications and applications that use artificial intelligence as part of the interaction. The exhibition will target different types of visitors such as tourists and school students.
The develοpment of the interactive exhibits will employ an innovative method of showcasing ideas, with the aim to display abstract ideas and values in an attractive and accessible way for non-academic visitors.
Mission
Ancient Greek ideas are the legacy and probably the most important cultural achievement of ancient Greeks. They have been a key factor in shaping Western thought and society, with a significant impact over the centuries. However, ideas, due to their abstract nature, are usually absent from museums.
The purpose of this project is to bring ideas – and especially ancient Greek ideas – to the forefront, addressing the challenges of their abstract nature, presenting them for the first time to the general public through a digital “exhibition of ideas”.
Venue and Location
The venue for the House of Classical Greek Ideas will be the building of the Athens Conservatoire, the oldest educational institution for the performing arts in modern Greece, founded as a non-profit organisation in 1871. The Athens Conservatoire’s premium location at the heart of Athens and its iconic “Βauhaus” building, make it a unique hub for cultural events.
The Athens Conservatoire is adjacent to the archaeological site of Aristotle’s Lyceum, one of the three oldest gymnasia in ancient Athens. This site is one of the most important places in the history of the human spirit. The monumental intellectual construct of Aristotle and his School summarized coherently all the philosophical and scientific inquiries of the ancient world.
The location is advantageously situated in the center of Athens, amidst emblematic museums and monuments. The Athens Conservatoire is a short walking distance from the Byzantine and Christian Museum, The Museum of Cycladic Art, Benaki Museum, the National Garden of Athens, the Panathenaic Stadium and Zappeion Megaron.
Goals of the project
- Development of artificial intelligence and other innovative technologies for museums and culture in general
- Ιnnovation in the exhibition of abstract ideas through interactive installations
- Development of two pilot exhibitions
- Evaluation of the methodology of “ideas exhibition” and evaluation of pilot exhibitions
We plan to
Create an ontology concerning philosophical ideas: it will comprise of data on philosophical ideas and ancient Greek philosophers, philosophical arguments and concepts, correlated across space and time.
Create a semantic index: it will be used to illustrate philosophical ideas, their connections to other concepts, past or present, their relevance to modern issues and links to works of Art and Artefacts embodying ideas.
Create digital agents to engage in dialogue with visitors: For example, visitors will be able to engage in dialogue/debate with a machine that responds like an ancient philosopher (i.e. Aristotle).
Partners
Greek Ministry of Culture and Sports
Project Funding
The project has a duration of 30 months and is funded by the Operational Programme Competitiveness, Entrepreneurship and Innovation 2014-2020 (EPAnEK) with a total budget of 2.223.321,77 euros.
Project duration: 01/09/2019 – 28/02/2022
The project is co-financed by the European Union (ERDF – European Regional Development Fund).