Did humanoid robots exist in the ancient Greece? Are the accounts of them purely fictional? Can they be the distant echoes of some events that took place at the dawn of modern humankind? We will not jump to conclusions. Instead, we will take a closer look at the ancient mythology from the point of view of historical retrospective.
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| Legends say the dragon had a pair of wings, and its body shone the color of metal |
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Legend has it that Hephaestus, the ancient Greek god of fire, metalworking and handicrafts, “forged” two dozen copper tripods, which could move about the place “on the golden wheels” as if they were self-propelled (or automatic?). The devices are said to have been used for rendering services to gods who visited Hephaestus. Could they be some kind of a remote-controlled robot or automatic means of transporting?
Hephaestus had a limp, and therefore he also “forged” two maids who were made of gold.
Those maids were “strong, sensible and could express themselves in words.” They supported Hephaestus by the hand while accompanying him during outings, waited on him, and amused him with their singing. They “were in possession of every piece of knowledge taught by the immortal gods,” according to Homer’s Iliad.
Another Greek myth says about the “copper giant” named Thalos, which was also made by Hephaestus. Zeus ordained that the giant should defend the island of Crete. Thalos had an all-metal body topped with a horned head. There was a single artery running from top to toe of his body. The artery was plugged with a “copper nail.” The copper giant patrolled the island, and kept the enemy ships at bay by throwing rocks at them. He was also a mouthpiece of Minos, a king of Crete.
Thalos began throwing “red flame” around him after the enemy invaded Crete. Thalos managed to send the enemies running. However, the sorceress Medea outsmarted the giant with the help of “false visions.” Then she took the plug out of the artery, and the giant’s black oily blood came rushing onto the ground. As a result, Thalos’s strength thinned out. Crete became extremely vulnerable to enemy attacks.
In terms of technology, the following analogies fall into place if we see the story of Thalos through the eyes of a twenty-first-century man: the “black oily blood” may be fuel or lube oil in a hydraulic system; the “false visions” may refer to a guided radar jamming designed to interfere with the robot’s program; and a “horned head” may allude to radar antennas.
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