Greece, History and Culture: An App of the Ages

Greece, History and culture is an application that works with both iPhones and iPads. The application costs $2.99 which for an app, seems like quite a hefty price. However, when compared to a textbook, this is a screaming deal and the app,Greek History seems to be just that, a pocket edition text book. Greek History is a comprehensive app which gives the history of Greece all the way back to 130000 Before Common Era (BCE). This app is great because not only does it give you the history by timeline, you can also look up information by time period, on a map, by year, by place or through people or stories. When I select the “Map” function, I am brought to what looks like a Google map with red pins dropped all over Greece. When a red pin is selected, it will tell you what was there, or what happened in that particular area. If you click through further it will give you a history of the location, or more details. If I choose to select the “Timeline” function on the bottom, the app provides a timeline from 130000 BCE through 1941 Anno Domini (AD). This is just a brief over view of what was occurring at a certain time period. The “by Year” portion allows us to enter in a specific year we are interested in finding out more about. For instance when I put in “1930AD” I get a window of “Modern Greek State Overview”. In addition, there is the “by Period” option which lets you scroll through the different periods of time Greek history is divided into. You can then choose which time period is most pertinent to your search, and dive into your information. Lastly, there is a “More” button at the bottom that will bring you to a list of even more ways to search. There are “Places”, “People”, and “Stories” searches as well. All of these options allow users to look up specifically what they are interested in that has to do with Greek history. This tool is not a book to flip through, it is an interactive device that lets people choose what they want to learn. This app is incredible user friendly and has great design incorporated. Another great thing about this app is that it does not require internet access to use, thus allowing people to learn anytime, anywhere. Not only is this app great if you are interested in learning more about Greek history in general, it will also be helpful to students learning about Greece as well as travelers interested in learning more about the culture and highlights Greece has to offer. If you are an avid traveler or international learning enthusiast, I suggest you check out Greek History on iTunes