Posted on 05/23/2022 9:58:24 AM PDT by BenLurkin
Believe it or not, but ideas of artificial intelligence and automata were alive and well over 2,000 years ago within Greek mythology. The myth of Talos (‘Τάλως’)—the first robot-like creature in mythology—is certainly a fascinating example. Its name is related to Zeus, as on the island of Crete,
Talos was not a human being but an automaton made by Zeus himself. Another version of the Greek myth attributes his creation to Hephaestus, the god of fire and iron. In other versions, Talos was the son of Cres and the god Hephaestus. Made by humans, rather than born of nature, the idea of Talos was first mentioned by Hesiod circa 700 BC.
Talos was the sun god of Crete and was supposedly constructed of bronze. A single vein, starting from his neck and running down to his ankles, carried his life-blood — liquid metal — and upon each ankle was bolted a nail to prevent the liquid metal from leaking out. Depictions of Talos on coins and within paintings vary, some portraying him with wings while others depict him without.
Talos protected Crete by travelling around the island three times a day. Taking into account that Crete is the biggest island in Greece, going around it three times a day would have been an enormous task, meaning that either Talos was a giant creature, or he had other means of transportation, such as flying, which may explain why he is sometimes depicted with wings.
Talos also had to make sure that the divine laws were being followed by all inhabitants of the island. To fulfil this duty, three times a year he would visit all the villages of the island carrying the metallic plates on which the divine laws were inscribed.
(Excerpt) Read more at ancient-origins.net ...
There's a topic around here, somewhere, with a lot of stuff about Spenser's robot character, but Googlin' turned up nothing..
I will be watching the movie tonight, thanks !
True enough, but that same history your cite claims they did everything in Egypt with stone pounders and not much else. Everybody knows that’s nonsense, but they don’t have an archaeologically acceptable answer to that. So they don’t talk about it at all.
This is one reason the nutbars & cranks fill the void - “I’m not saying it was aliens, but...” When they aren’t writing UFO books, they are probably rehashing the Kennedy assassination. He was hit by a small meteor is the current theory, probably.
No actually its from Muslim Arab history, not the standard Egyptologist boilerplate history.
Visiting Talos 4 is the only death penalty violation left in the Federation.
Excellent.
definitely one of the ancient tales that raises eyebrows when seen with modern eyes. ezekiel’s visitation as well, or the quarantine instructions for mt sinai given to moses.
RS flashback - appropriate as always. Serling managed to use many Kabbalistic stories in his Twilight Zone episodes. This story is from the Maharal in Poland. Undoubtably, he heard them while growing up in a country Jewish family (Binghamton, NY).
What is “it” that you are referring to?
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