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Irish Times
17-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Irish Times
Why Greeks are in pole position when it comes to artificial intelligence
In late May, two British women who were visiting Corfu for a 'pole dancing festival' were filmed in action on the terrace of the historic Palace of St Michael and St George, built as the administrative headquarters during the British protectorate of the Ionian Islands 1814-1864. Today, the building houses Greece's only Museum of Asian Art and the Municipal Art Gallery. It is frequently used for concerts and exhibitions. When the video of the dancing went viral, residents and cultural institutions objected to what they described as an offence to the cultural heritage, a nationwide concern about the protection and proper use of monuments. The Greek ministry of culture said the dancing was in breach of laws protecting historic sites, and the women and the cameraman were put on trial two days later. Despite apologising for their behaviour, in which they said they were misled by the operator of the video, they were given a suspended six-month sentenceand fined. The incident in Corfu is not isolated. READ MORE The chief focus for disputed use of archaeological and historical sites is, predictably, the Acropolis in Athens, the archetypal symbol of Greek classical culture. Last month, the Athens prosecutor ordered an investigation into an event in which unauthorised illuminated drones formed a giant rotating Adidas shoe on top of the Parthenon temple in the night sky. The event was condemned by politicians as 'an offensive commercialisation of the core of our cultural heritage', but it is not only commercial interests which have provoked objections. Earlier in the year the ministry of culture refused permission for the leading Greek film-maker, Yorgos Lanthimos , who has been nominated five times for Oscar awards, to film on the Acropolis. In 2017 the Central Archaeological Council rejected a request from fashion house Gucci to hold a show for its 2018 couture collection on the Acropolis. The rejection stated that, as a world heritage symbol, the Acropolis was not an appropriate site for a commercial activity. The director of the Acropolis Museum said the site would be 'degraded' if used as a 'backdrop' for a 'fashion runway', but this view was disputed by the head of the Greek Tourism Confederation, who argued that the Gucci event was sufficiently high-profile and would have showcased the Acropolis. On a somewhat different level from pole dancing and commercial activity, the Acropolis was last year at the centre of a dispute about the use of 'Sophia', a humanoid artificial intelligence (AI) robot, which (or should that be 'who'?) appeared, dressed in classical Greek costume, as part of a technology conference. The robot allegedly speaks 20 languages, has given television interviews (including Good Morning Britain with Piers Morgan) and is a citizen of Saudi Arabia . The newspaper Athens Voice described Sophia as 'an innovation ambassador for the United Nations development programme'. In 2017 she held a conversation with the deputy secretary-general of the United Nations. Described as 'the most advanced humanoid artificial intelligence robot' with 'an IQ higher than Einstein', Sophia was conceived (if that is the correct term) in Hong Kong on St Valentine's Day 2016 and is said to merge the attributes of the ancient Egyptian queen Nefertiti, Audrey Hepburn and the inventor's wife. What a claim. No one seems to have disputed Sophia's right to appear in Greek costume or in the environs of classical Athens. But her existence highlights the Greek capacity for AI invention, since Greek scientists have made equally impressive strides in robot and AI technology. Last year the Blueprint for Greece's AI Transformation was launched, aiming to incorporate AI know-how into the public service. At the same time, Greece hosted the World Robot Olympiad. A reconstruction of Antikythera Mechanism in Athens. Photograph: Louisa Gouliamaki/Getty This is nothing new to the Greek mind. Homer imagined automata in the Iliad, and it would be a gross impertinence on the part of modern science to suggest that its current use of AI was in some way an advance on the Antikythera Mechanism, described as 'the oldest known example of an analogue computer', probably built in the second century BC. Ironically, Sophia was anticipated as a Greek miracle 60 years ago when Lawrence Durrell, in his novel Nunquam (1970), imagined a robot, Iolanthe, which was based on Pat, a speaking computer he had seen in Edinburgh in 1962. If Durrell were alive today, he would laugh at the idea that Sophia, a 21st-century robot, using the Greek name for 'wisdom', could appear on the Acropolis – where, in the 1960s, his own Iolanthe had made love, fictionally. Whether AI can develop a robot that could accomplish pole dancing while conversing with an official of the United Nations is yet to be seen.
Yahoo
16-06-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Ancient Greek inscriptions point to the ‘Sanctuary of Odysseus'
Archeologists have been exploring the historical origins behind Homer's The Odyssey for decades, if not centuries. As is the case for many of the world's poetic epics, at least some evidence suggests that the long-suffering protagonist was partially based on an actual individual. Even if The Odyssey's hero Odysseus never actually existed, excavation sites indicate people turned to him as a source of inspiration for thousands of years—even going so far as to sometimes worship him. The newest finds to shed light on both Odysseus and his followers come from his home island of Ithaca, at what's known as the Agios Athanasios–School of Homer. An announcement on June 9 from the Greek Ministry of Culture cites the discovery of a rare underground spring cistern dating to the 14th–13th centuries BCE, during the Mycenaean palatial period. According to archeologists, the settlement at the School of Homer likely functioned as a hub for supervising surrounding ports and lands while protecting the area's rich water resources. It's just one of a network of 7 to 8 sites dotting northwest Ithaca that appear to collectively define the major urban center described by Homer in The Odyssey. While archeologists still can't definitively point to Odysseus' existence, additional discoveries in the form of two late Hellenistic inscriptions illustrate the mythological figure's importance, which eventually contributed to his local veneration. The first is ΟΔΥCCEOC, the Greek genitive (i.e. possessive or attributive) case of Odysseus which suggests a writer referring to the location as the hero's palace or temple. The second iteration, ΟΔΥCCEI, is found on a dedicatory inscription possibly created by a visiting pilgrim. These correspond to a similar etching discovered at Ithaca's nearby Polis Bay cave site during the 1930s that reads 'ΕΥΧΗΝ ΟΔΥCCΕΙ,' or 'Thanks, Odysseus.' Combined with multiple ritual artifacts and a small bronze bust of the Homeric hero, it's clear the area remained a major 'sanctuary' dedicated to the legendary figure for centuries. 'The complex is characterized by robust structures on terraces, incorporating impressive elements of carved architecture, as well as niches for votive offerings or inscriptions, which testify to the intensive cultic use,' explained the Greek Ministry of Culture. Interestingly, even more recent finds at the School of Homer appear to predate the Odyssean pilgrimage site by thousands of years. The famous ruins' previously oldest artifacts dated back to the Bronze Age Mycenaean period around the 14th and 13th centuries BCE. Now, flint tools and pottery shards indicate that the earliest known human activity at the stone complex is traceable all the way to the Final Neolithic period (late 5th to 4th millennium BCE). Taken altogether, it appears that the site's importance and cultural significance extended back into the annals of time—even further than the mythical, ill-fated voyage of Odysseus.
