Tag: Homer

Reading Explorations in the History of Machines and Mechanisms by Teun Koetsier and Marco Ceccarelli (Editors):

“Automata make their first appearance in Homer, in a form that is strikingly similar to those described in On Automaton-Making. Hephaestus is depicted creating self-moving tripods to serve the gods on Olympus (Homer Iliad 18.373-381 [16]). This passage from the Iliad is the inspiration for the later automaton, when what was once impossible and divine becomes possible through the human application of mechanics [17]. Certainly, the form of automaton seen in Heron and Philon would seem to be a conscious emulation of this passage…The most likely context for the display of the automata described in On Automaton-Making, given their size, is that of a symposium, particularly in the case of the moving automaton described in the first book, especially considering its Dionysian theme. There is also a clear parallel created between the three wheeled automata of Heron and the tripods of Hephaestus [16] when they are presented in a sympotic context.”

BLA just gave a shake of the head and told me, “You want to know why some of Heron’s automata theories and musings don’t make much sense? Because Vulcan wouldn’t let such secrets be spread so easily. The exactness of machines now is nothing compared to what the gods once allowed. And I’m not talking about divine machines here. I’m talking about man-made things. Even if made from god-made secrets.”