The Statue of Zeus, a Wonder of the Ancient World, attracted travelers from across the globe. Once radiant in ivory and gold, the awe-inspiring colossus was lost to time — and left to the imagination.

Using Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Extended Reality (XR), Ancient Olympia: Common Grounds resurrects this marvel of antiquity and recreates the UNESCO World Heritage Site’s rich history. This multifaceted digital and physical experience enables a global audience to explore the birthplace of modern democracy and witness the Ancient Games as they existed 2,000 years ago.

Common Grounds also provides a model for cultural institutions to rethink how they reach new audiences. Fostering accessibility and inclusivity, the AI-driven translation serves 20+ languages and users can contribute personal impressions through audio and text. Consumers are eager for more engaging and participatory forms of storytelling; Common Grounds blends tradition with technology, bringing the past to life for new generations.

Ancient Olympia: Common Grounds was born out of a chance encounter when Microsoft President, Brad Smith met Kyriakos Mitsotakis, Greece’s Prime Minister, they discovered a shared passion to preserve history. Common Grounds exemplifies Microsoft's AI For Cultural Heritage program, which seeks new ways to maintain the languages we speak, places we live, and artifacts we treasure.

Common Grounds is more than a multifaceted digital and physical experience. It represents an innovative approach to historical and cultural conservation while breaking new ground for public-private partnerships as the first of its kind for both Greece and Microsoft. Beginning development in February 2020 and launching November 2021, Common Grounds combined pioneering design with painstaking archeological research to preserve Ancient Olympia and make it accessible to everyone.

The team first modeled the site through AI-powered photogrammetry. Under the guidance of the Hellenic Ministry of Culture and Sports, archaeologists and historians then ensured the accuracy of these renderings and their contextual significance. Today, the government and people of Greece have a novel way to safeguard this important history against the tests of time.

By design, Common Grounds uses scale to promote accessibility — democratizing access to the site itself while reflecting the Ancient Olympic values of global community and cultural appreciation. Users can tour 27 of Olympia’s monuments onsite or at home via an extensive web platform and AR-enabled app. Weaving together all of the virtual and physical touchpoints, Common Grounds comes to life in an exhibit at the Athens Olympic Museum that includes a multisensory journey back to 173 CE (powered by Microsoft’s HoloLens2) and an interactive app for deeper immersion.

Common Grounds employs a universal design language across platforms to embody the collaboration’s core mission: illuminate what humanity once achieved in order to remind us what we’re still capable of today.