Interactive maps have become invaluable tools in the realm of culture and tourism, offering engaging and immersive experiences for visitors. These maps leverage technology to provide users with dynamic and customizable navigation through cultural sites, landmarks, and attractions. With interactive features such as zooming, panning, and 360-degree views, users can explore destinations in a virtual setting, gaining a comprehensive understanding of the cultural significance and historical context.
Athens to Eleusis through the Sacred Way
In the interactive map of ARVIP, the monuments of the Acropolis and its surroundings, points of interest on both sides of the Sacred Way, and up to Eleusis, as well as the Athenian schools of Philosophy, are depicted. The interactive map allows both free exploration of landmarks, if users desire, and the tracking of thematic paths of special interest. Thematic paths include exploring the Acropolis and significant points around it, the route of the candidates for the Eleusinian Mysteries from the the City Eleusinion to the Telesterion, as well as the famous Athenian schools of philosophy during the later Roman period. Navigating the map is enriched with illustrations of the points of interest, texts, archival documents, and three-dimensional virtual tours.
Acropolis: Experiencing the Invisible
The route titled “Acropolis: Experiencing the Invisible” focuses on highlighting the monuments of the sacred rock and their connection based on their use, characteristics, and historical context. Although the monuments of the Acropolis are among the most famous worldwide, visitors often limit themselves to very basic, well-known information that functions fragmentarily. This route, which roughly follows the path an ancient visitor would take in his ascent from the bustling marketplace towards the Parthenon, aims to reveal the role of the hill’s monuments in constructing the historical, social, and mythological narrative of the Acropolis. The myths, history, and everyday practices that have left their mark on the surviving monuments, whether they are splendid buildings or natural spaces like caves, are interconnectedly revealed to the visitor, stimulating their imagination. Thus, the visitor is mentally transported to the period of the monuments’ heyday, discovers their connection to traditions and the daily life of ancient Athens, and gains a comprehensive understanding of their interconnection.
In the Footsteps of Philosophers
The route titled “In the Footsteps of Philosophers” consists of a tour of Athens focusing on the locations where some of the most significant philosophers of antiquity acted. It is a timeless approach, starting from the 5th century BCE with Socrates and ending in the 2nd century CE with Herodes Atticus, in which the geographical distribution of the selected monuments defines the narrative thread. The route includes both famous landmarks, such as Plato’s Academy, and lesser-known archaeological sites, such as the Roman villas found on the northern slope of the Acropolis, identified as residences of sophists who taught classical philosophy to young people of the time. The goal is to familiarize the visitor with the dispersion and integration of philosophical schools in the city throughout antiquity, acquaint them with the places where great philosophers acted, and provide an overall understanding of the role of ancient philosophy in the everyday life and social and intellectual life of ancient Athens. The chronological range adopted allows for the highlighting of the broad dissemination of philosophical thought in society, which, combined with rhetoric, formed the core of “Greco-Roman education,” a tradition that was transferred to the West and left its brilliant legacy in human thought to this day.
The Eleusinian Mysteries
The route titled “The Eleusinian Mysteries” focuses on the journey of the ancient initiates from Athens to Eleusis during the Great Mysteries. The visitor, as another initiate, is introduced to the myth and the procession route of the Mysteries, gaining a experiential experience connected to the most significant mystical worship of the ancient world, from the 6th century BCE to the end of antiquity. It is a phenomenon that has aroused curiosity and imagination for centuries, as the Mysteries were protected by an oath of silence and their content remains unknown. This specific route aims to acquaint the visitor with the key landmarks of this religious phenomenon and to discover the material remains behind which the myth and secrets of the Eleusinian rites are hidden. The visitor has the opportunity to become familiar with the procession route and the most important monuments of the Eleusinian sanctuary, to explore the myths and legends of its well-hidden secrets, and to perceive overall one of the most unique examples of ancient Greek spiritual, religious, social, and artistic creation and practice.