Mechanical Miracles: Automata in Ancient Greek Religion
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Mechanical Miracles: Automata in Ancient Greek Religion Tatiana Bur A thesis submitted in fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Philosophy Faculty of Arts, University of Sydney Supervisor: Professor Eric Csapo March, 2016 Statement of Originality This is to certify that to the best of my knowledge, the content of this thesis is my own work. This thesis has not been submitted for any degree or other purposes. I certify that the intellectual content of this thesis is the product of my own work and that all the assistance received in preparing this thesis and sources have been acknowledged. Tatiana Bur, March 2016. Table of Contents ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ....................................................................................................... 1 A NOTE TO THE READER ................................................................................................... 2 INTRODUCTION ................................................................................................................ 3 PART I: THINKING ABOUT AUTOMATION .......................................................................... 9 CHAPTER 1/ ELIMINATING THE BLOCAGE: ANCIENT AUTOMATA IN MODERN SCHOLARSHIP ................. 10 CHAPTER 2/ INVENTING AUTOMATION: AUTOMATA IN THE ANCIENT GREEK IMAGINATION ................. 24 PART II: AUTOMATA IN CONTEXT ................................................................................... 59 CHAPTER 3/ PROCESSIONAL AUTOMATA ................................................................................. 60 P1: The Snail of Demetrius of Phalerum ..................................................................... 66 P2: Nysa Pouring a Libation ........................................................................................ 72 P3: Continuous Springs of Hermes .............................................................................. 81 Coda: Miraculous Springs .............................................................................. 86 P4: Dancing Baskets .................................................................................................... 91 P5: The Automated Shrine of Dionysus ....................................................................... 99 P6: The Panathenaic Ship of Herodes Atticus ........................................................... 106 P7: Automated Wagon ............................................................................................. 115 P8: The Hippaphesis .................................................................................................. 119 CHAPTER 4/ TEMPLE AUTOMATA ........................................................................................ 127 T1: Rotating Wheels in Temples................................................................................ 133 T2: Figurines which Pour Libations on an Altar ......................................................... 137 T3: Figurines Dance on an Altar ................................................................................ 143 T4: Drinking Figurines ............................................................................................... 145 T5: Singing Birds ........................................................................................................ 155 T6: A Self-Animated Bird atop a Shrine ..................................................................... 165 T7: Trumpet Sounds on Opening of Temple Door ..................................................... 169 T8: Automated Dispensing of Sacred Water ............................................................. 171 I T9: Automatically Opening Temple Doors ................................................................ 177 T10: A Fountain Trickles by the Sun’s Rays ............................................................... 182 T11: Self-Playing Organ ............................................................................................ 185 CONCLUSION ................................................................................................................ 188 BIBLIOGRAPHY ............................................................................................................. 190 II Table of Figures Figure 1: Mulitple rotating wheels ...................................................................................................... 133 Figure 2: Single rotating wheel ........................................................................................................... 133 Figure 3: T2.a Figurines pour libations on an altar ............................................................................. 138 Figure 4: T2.b Figurines pour a libation and a serpent hisses ............................................................ 140 Figure 5: T3 Figurines dance on an altar ............................................................................................. 143 Figure 6: T4.a Figure drinks thanks to running water ......................................................................... 146 Figure 7: T4.b A little Pan offers a figurine a drink ............................................................................. 148 Figure 8: T4.c Simple drinking figurine ............................................................................................... 150 Figure 9: T4.d Figurine drinks and a dragon hisses ............................................................................. 152 Figure 10: T5.a Simple singing bird ..................................................................................................... 155 Figure 11: T5.b A bird which sings at intervals ................................................................................... 157 Figure 12: T5.c Birds sing at intervals thanks to multiple compartments .......................................... 158 Figure 13: T5.d Coordinated rotation of an owl and singing of birds ................................................. 160 Figure 14: T6 Ritual purification causes a bird to turn and sing ......................................................... 166 Figure 15: T7 Walking into a temple triggers a trumpet sound .......................................................... 169 Figure 16: T8.a A coin donation releases sacred water ...................................................................... 171 Figure 17: T8.b Bronze purification wheel releases sacred water ...................................................... 173 Figure 18: T8.c Purification wheel rotates and whistles ..................................................................... 174 Figure 19: T9.a Temple doors open automatically ............................................................................. 178 Figure 20: T9.b Alternate set up for temple doors to open automatically ......................................... 180 Figure 21: T10 Sunlight makes a fountain trickle ................................................................................ 182 Figure 22: T11 Magical Organ ............................................................................................................. 186 III Acknowledgments Eric Csapo has been the most supportive, good-spirited and knowledgeable supervisor. He is thoughtful and generous beyond imagination and I am extremely grateful for his expertise and encouragement over the past two years. I owe special thanks to Peter Wilson who read the entire thesis close to completion, offering insights which vastly improved the final product. Richard Green, though he may not know the extent of it, has been a great source of inspiration of both professional and personal sorts whether from Sydney, London or Adelaide. I am very grateful to Julia Kindt for her contagious enthusiasm from across the library, opportunities to extend myself, and for inspiring confidence since my undergraduate years. I am indebted to Tallulah Bur, Billy Kennedy and Lucian Tan who all read portions of the thesis and offered valuable comments and suggestions. I want to give thanks also to Jelle Stoop who not only read my work, but with whom I enjoyed countless, most enjoyable discussions. Thanks to my family for their unconditional love and humbling conviction in my abilities extends far beyond these past two years. For that fact alone, I feel exceedingly fortunate. In particular relation to this project, a special mention must go to my father, Christophe, who not only offered his engineering expertise on various occasions, but with whom I shared an unforgettable weekend reconstructing the mechanics of Hero’s hypagonton automaton. Last of all, I would like to thank my household, the McBurlingfoords, for offering endless support and distractions over the past year. 1 A Note to the Reader The abbreviations of ancient authors follow Liddell-Scott-Jones conventions, or Oxford Classical Dictionary as the alternative on the rare occasion. Editions of Greek and Latin texts are as they appear in the Thesaurus Linguae Graecae and Bibliotheca Teubneriana Latina respectively. In the case of Philo of Byzantium’s Pneumatics, I have prioritised Carra de Vaux’s edition. I refer to dates using BC and AD to avoid any confusion, and have opted for Latin forms of Greek names. Individual Greek words and very short phrases have been transliterated and I offer ē and ō for eta and omega respectively. Figures 3-22 have been adapted from either Schmidt or Woodcroft except figures 9 and 18 which are from Carra de Vaux and have not been modified. All translations are my own unless otherwise stated. 2 Introduction