in this interactive experience in the virtual world of the Athenian Agora the visitor is called upon to embark on a journey to the Athens of 132 AD, early in spring. His ‘host’ is an eminent Athenian of that era, Herod – the man who later will fund the construction of the celebrated Herodeion. The spectators assume the role of the traveller who, filled with curiosity, arrives in Athens, a famous provincial city in the vast Roman Empire. It is Emperor Hadrian’s favourite city, and he is on a visit here once more during this period, contemplating great projects: he will inaugurate the Temple of Olympian Zeus and formally announce the new Pan-Hellenic institutions he intends to establish in order to restore Hellenism to its former glory. Accompanied by one of Herod’s slaves, the visitor observes, but also participates in the ‘action’, in a series of episodes on the streets and in the stoas of the Agora. He will meet politicians, military men, scientists, entrepreneurs, simple labourers, all of which, each in his own way, reveal a view of Athenian life during that period and the benefits the city reaped due to the emperor’s special affection.