Ancient Inventions

by Peter James and Nick Thorpe

This book may be the greatest discovery my dear husband has made since he found that "Los Zefiros" best-of at She Said Boom! a while ago. It is the kind of book that can change your life. It is the kind of book that introduces you to a new hero - Heron of Alexandria - and describes in detail the wonderful things he did, and makes you want to devote the rest of your days to replicating them exactly. See what I mean:

"Some of Heron's devices bear an uncanny resemblance to Hephaistos's self-propelled tripods. These were stands on wheels that ran around the theater as if by their own volition. In fact they were powered by gravity. A large weight connected by ropes and pulleys to the wheels rested on top of a container of grain. As the grain flowed through a hole in the bottom of its container into a recess below, the weight sank, drawing the ropes taut and turning the wheels of the automaton. The device was like a combination windup toy and giant egg timer, and the genius of Heron's design was the successful combination of the two elements.

"The moving stand was merely the basic element in some of Heron's more complex arrangements. He designed variations that could trace circular, rectangular and figure-eight paths or even change direction and go into reverse- all managed by systems of weights and pulleys within the stands that altered the position of the wheels or lowered extra sets of wheels during their progress. The stands not only moved to and fro without human assistance, they could also carry mechanical puppets, powered, like the movement of the entire device, by falling weights. One of Heron's most complex designs was a miniature theatre on wheels that rolled itself into place in front of the audience before putting on a show. Doors opened and closed, tiny altars lit up and mechanical figures revolved and moved about. At the end of the performance the whole device rolled off again.

"Heron also designed stationary automatic theatres, which allowed for even more complex puppet movements as no power of gearings was needed to shift the thing about. Instead of grain, sand was used as the timer; slower-running, it allowed a longer performance.

"One miniature theatre was programmed to enact an entire play called the Nauplius, a tale of tragedy and revenge set in the aftermath of the Trojan War. The son of King Nauplius has been falsely accused of treason by his comrade-in-arms Ajax and stoned to death. Nauplius plots revenge with the aid of the goddess Athena. When the curtain lifted, mechanical figures of nymphs were seen at work. repairing the ship of Ajax with hammers and saws. 'There is a great noise,' wrote Heron, 'as of the sound of actual working.' After a while doors closed and opened again on the second scene, the launching of the ship at sea. The third scene opened with an empty sea, and then the Greek fleet was seen sailing past in a line, while dolphins leaped in and out of the water; the calm sea became stormy and the ships drew in their sails. The door closed and opened again, and the ships had gone; the whole stage was lit up by a raised beacon carried by Nauplius to lure the Greeks to their death on the rocks, while the goddess Athena stood by approvingly. In the final scene the audience saw a shipwrecked boat. Ajax struggled in the water as Athena ascended into heaven. Thunder crashed as she hurled a bolt of lightning directly onto the swimming Ajax, who disappeared beneath the waves. Nauplius's revenge was complete.

"Heron recounted his special effects with some relish, going on to explain in detail how each movement, from the leaping dolphins to the hammering nymphs, was produced by hidden mechanisms. The whole device was powered by weights."

Sigh.