Gods and Robots

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Gods and Robots Page 30

by Adrienne Mayor


  Aristides (historian), 183

  Aristides of Thebes, 98

  Aristophanes, 81; Cocalus, 89; Daedalus, 91

  Aristotle, 67, 145, 183; on Archytas, 190, 192; on automata, 93–94, 152; on blood, 27, 35; on hope, 176; mechanical knowledge of, 122; observations on living beings, 27, 43, 58, 93, 122, 228n3; on slaves, 152, 241n39

  armor, 32, 130–32, 130, 132, 133, 134. See also exoskeleton

  Arnobius, 108

  Arsinoe II, queen of Egypt, 100, 197, 199

  Artemis, 36

  Artificial Intelligence (AI): ancient Greek precursors of, 11, 150, 214; anthropomorphizing of, 11; black box technology and, 3; capabilities of, 215–17; culture of, 218; defined, 219; ethical issues concerning, 93, 107, 144, 215–17; Hephaestus’s Golden Maidens as, 150; learning as issue in, 215–17; sexual uses of, 107; Talos as, 11; Tay experiment in, 215; warnings about, 215, 216

  artificial life: ancient conceptions of, 1–2, 4–5, 22–23; defined, 219; forms of, 3–4

  artificial moral agents (AMAs), 30. See also ethics and morality

  Asilomar AI Principles, 144, 178

  Asimov, Isaac, 144, 177–78

  Asoka, King, 203–8, 211

  Athena (Minerva): Athenians’ veneration of, 93, 124; and creation of humans, 106, 112, 113; Demetrios’s musical statue of, 187; in Heron’s Theater, 202; and manufacture of animal statues, 97; and manufacture of horse statues, Plate 9, 139, 141; in modern science fiction, 153; and Pandora, 156, 158, 162–63, 163, 164, 170–71; Phidias’s sculpture of, for Parthenon, 124, 170–71, 191

  Athena (modern miniature robot), 216

  Athenaeus, 71, 109, 198, 199

  Athens, 90, 92, 93, 124, 170–72, 175, 192–93

  athletes, 25, 47; realistic paintings and sculptures of, Plate 7, 97, 98, 99

  automata: ancient conceptions of, 1–3, 95–96, 153–54, 211–15, 223n2; ancient examples of, 23, 145, 180–212, 214; Apega, 194–95; in China, 207–8, 231n19; Chinese tale about, 118, 121; controllability of, 29–30, 65–66, 206, 215; Daedalus’s moving statues, 90–95; defined, 220; desire of, to become human, 29; early uses of term, 145; economic motivations for creating, 152–53, 241n39; emotional responses to, 102–3; functions of, 180; guardians of Buddha, 203–11; historical, 179–212; in India, 203–11; Nysa, 198–99; Philo of Byzantium’s works, 199–200; philosophical questions raised by, 4, 211; slaves compared to, 93; Talos, 7–8, 22–23; terminology concerning, 3–4, 223n1. See also biotechne; robots

  autonomy, 108, 111, 122–23, 157, 160

  Ayrton, Michael, 86–88, 98

  Baghdad Batteries, 189–90

  Banu Musa brothers, 201

  Bentham, Jeremy, 138

  Berlin Painter, 148; hydria with Apollo, 146, 147

  Berryman, Sylvia, 22, 95, 153, 211, 224–25nn23–24, 233n21

  biotechne (life through craft): ancient conceptions of, 1, 23, 28, 154, 179, 213–15; black box technology and, 3; defined, 220; and extension of human capacities, 59–70; for extension of life, 33–34, 36; and human creation, 114–24; persistence of stories about, 217; vulnerabilities of, 51. See also automata

  birds, metallic/mechanical, 127–28, 190–91, 200, 214. See also eagle, mechanical; Eagle of Zeus

  black box technology, 3, 96, 150, 220

  blacksmiths, and their tools, Plate 3, Plate 4, 25, 135, 136, 139, 164–65, 243n21. See also Hephaestus

  Blade Runner (film), 11, 29, 45, 108, 123, 160

  Blade Runner 2049 (film), 2, 11, 29, 108, 121, 123, 160

  Blakely, Sandra, 24

  blood: bloodletting and circulation of, 27–28; bull’s, 35; transfusions of, 34. See also ichor

  Bonfante, Larissa, 115

  Bosak-Schroeder, Clara, 22, 223n2

  bots. See robots

  bovine thrombin, 35

  Boxer of Quirinal (detail), Plate 7, 99

  Brazen Bull of Phalaris, 182–87, 185

  bronze: connotations of, in ancient culture, 23–24; technology of producing, 20, 23–26, 86–88, 121–22

  Bronze Bull of Phalaris. See Brazen Bull of Phalaris

  Bronze Bulls of King Aeetes (Khalkotauroi), 63, 65, 138

  Bronze Ram of Syracuse, Plate 6, 86, 87

  Buddha, 203–5, 208–9, 209

  Buddhism, 102, 110–11, 203–10, 204

  Bulfinch, Thomas, The Age of Fable, 31

  bulls: Hephaestus’s making of, 9, 65, 138, 186; Perilaus’s making of, 182–87, 185; of Rhodes, 186

  bull’s blood, 35

  Burdunellus, 184

  Byron, George Gordon, Lord, 125

  Cabeiroi, 138

  Cadmus, 230n10

  Caesar, Julius, 196

  Caligula, 183

  Callistratus, 95

  Callixenus of Rhodes, 197–98

  Calypso, 45–46, 54

  Camarini, 48

  Čapek, Karel, 153

  Carafa, Giovanni, Duke of Noia, 116

  Cassander, King, 192

  Castor and Pollux, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 43–44

  catapults, 195

  Cauldron, Medea’s Golden. See Medea

  Cayley, George, 84

  Cecrops, 101

  Censorinus, Aemilius, 184

  Cephalus, 142

  Chaluchasu (Talos), 17, 18, 19

  China: creation of lifelike automata in, 118, 121; flying machines in, 83–84; mechanical innovations in, 201, 203, 207–8, 248n44; quest for immortality in, 49

  Chiron, 43, 51–52

  Cicero, 95, 184

  Circe, 36

  clapper toy, 192

  Clarke, Arthur C., 3, 24

  Claudian, 101–2

  Cleisophus of Selymbria, 109

  Cleoetas, 191

  Cleopatra, 197

  cloning, 41, 227n12

  Cocalus, King, 75, 85–86, 88, 182

  Cohen, Signe, 111, 206

  coins: with Nabis’s image, 194; with Talos’s image, 12, 13

  Colossi of Memnon, 187–89, 188

  Colossus of Rhodes, 10, 24, 186

  control, of automata and robots, 29–30, 65–66, 206, 215

  Cook, A. B., 24

  cow, artificial, 70–72

  Craddock, Paul, 189–90

  Cratinus, Thracian Women, 91

  Crete, 7–9, 12, 17, 19–20, 72

  Criminal’s Leap, 181

  Cronus, 142

  Crowder, Ray, 216

  Ctesias, 48

  Ctesibius, 199

  Ctesicles, 109

  C-3PO, 21

  cuirass, 131–32, 132, 133, 134

  cyborgs: defined, 220; military use of, 66; Talos, 27, 28

  Dactyloi, 142

  daedala (moving statues/technological wonders), 69, 90, 94, 158

  Daedalus: animal replicas made by, 67, 70–72, 73, 86, 185; architecture ascribed to, 85–86; as artificer, 1, 2, 69, 103; in Athens, 90, 92, 124; in Crete, 5, 70–75, 90; Hephaestus confused/compared with, 19, 91–92, 103–4; historical existence of, 69–70; honeycomb made by, 86–88; inventions of, 90; Labyrinth designed by, 5, 72, 75; legacy of, 125; locations of, 69; Medea linked to, 79; modern re-creations of works by, 86–88, 88; moving statues of, 90–95; Prometheus confused/compared with, 103–4; sails invented by, 75, 84; in Sardinia, 85–86; in Sicily, 85–89, 182; Socrates’s references to, 92–93; waterworks created by, 88–89; wings constructed by, 75–81, 76–79, 181

  Daedalus 88 (aircraft), 84

  D’Angour, Armand, 96

  Daoxuan, 208

  DARPA, Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, 32

  Dawn. See Eos

  Death. See Thanatos

  death, naturalness of, 59. See also immortality

  De Grey, Aubrey, 57, 59

  Deimachus, 207

  Demeter, 148

  Demetrius of Alopece, 98

  Demetrius of Phaleron, 192–93

  Demochares, 192–93

  Democritus, 93–94

  Descartes, René, 123

  Deucalion’s Flood, 105, 107
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  deus ex machina technology, 196–97

  Dian Cecht, 68

  Dinocrates of Rhodes, 100

  Dio Cassius, 95

  Diodorus Siculus, 19, 71, 95, 183–84

  Dionysia, 191–93

  Dionysius (Greek ambassador), 207

  Dionysius of Syracuse, 195

  Dionysius Skytobrachion (“Leather-Arm”), 68

  Dionysus, 34, 198

  Dioscuri. See Castor and Pollux

  Diosophos Painter, amphora with Zeus and Pandora, Plate 13, 162–63, 163

  Dippel, Johann, 125

  Disney, 52

  diving bells, 81–82

  Dolly (cloned sheep), 41, 227n12

  dolphin, mechanical, 191

  Dove (Archytas), 128, 190–91, 192, 246n23

  dragon-teeth army, 9, 65, 230n10

  drone-like automata, 7, 127

  drugs. See pharmaka; under military

  eagle, mechanical, 191

  Eagle of Zeus, 63, 64, 127–28, 138

  Earnshaw’s theorem, 101

  Egypt and Egyptians, 6, 20, 35, 52, 67, 69, 85–86, 91, 100–101, 151, 187–89, 192, 197–98. See also Alexandria

  18 Bronzemen (film), 209

  electricity, 31, 125, 169, 189–90

  elephants, 66–67, 71

  Eleusinian Mysteries, 148

  Elpis (Hope), 173–77, 173, 174, 244n39. See also hope

  emotions: elicited by lifelike automata, 102–3; in Greek vase paintings, 166; learning and, 216–17; projected onto automata, 11; of Talos, 11–12, 15; of viewers of ancient art, 97–98, 102–3. See also empathy; Uncanny Valley

  empathy, 11–12, 15, 216–17

  Enkidu, 47, 51

  Eos (Dawn), 53–57, 54–56, 188

  Epeius, 97, 139, 239n13

  Epimetheus, 61, 156, 158–61, 159, 172, 176, 215, 216

  Erichtho, 125, 126

  Eros/Cupid, 101, 161

  ethics and morality: AI, 93, 107, 144, 215–17; automata and, 29–30; cloning and, 41–42; military applications of human enhancements, 62; robots, 93, 107, 144; sexual uses of robots and AI, 107; technological hubris and, 126

  Ethiopia, 48

  Etruscans: and Daedalus, 78–79; and Medea, 38–39, 79; and Pandora, 161, 173–74; and Prometheus/Prumathe, Plate 10, Plate 11, 114–16, 115, 117, 118, 119, 120, 125, 162; and Sardinia, 20; and Sethlans/Hephaestus’s horse, Plate 8, 138–41, 140; and Talos/Chaluchasu, 17, 18, 19; and Tithonus, 55

  Etule, 139, 140, 239n13

  Euripides: Daedalus’s statues as subject in tragedy by, 103; Eurystheus, 91; Glaukos as subject of tragedy by, 48; Hecuba, 91; Laodamia as subject of tragedy by, 109; Sisyphus as subject of tragedy by, 53

  Eustace, 184

  Eve, 2, 112, 157

  evil eye, 10, 28, 157

  Ex Machina (film), 29

  exoskeleton, 32, 62, 132, 134, 138

  Fa Hsien, 207

  Fantasia (film), 52

  Faraone, Christopher, 36

  ferrum vivum (“live iron,” magnet), 100–101

  Firdowsi, Shahnama, 67, 230n14

  Flaxman, John, 172

  flight, human-powered, 75–84, 181–82

  floating statues, 100–101

  flying chairs, 146, 148–49

  foresight, 156, 172, 216

  Foundry Painter: kylix and foundry scene, Plate 3, 25, 25, 26; kylix with Athena and sculptor, 97; kylix with Hephaestus and Thetis, 130

  fountain of youth, 48–49. See also rejuvenation

  Frankenstein (film), 125

  Franklin, Benjamin, 125

  free will, 29, 111, 122–23, 157

  Freyja, 68

  Furtwangler, Adolf, 162

  Future of Life Institute, 144

  Galatea, 2, 108, 111, 143, 160

  Galvani, Luigi, 125

  galvanism, 125

  Ganymede, 42

  Gao Yang, 182

  Gates, Bill, 215

  Gellius, Aulus, 190

  gems: Pandora myth, 157, 159; Prometheus creating humans, Plate 10, Plate 11, 114, 115, 117, 119, 120, 125–26, 238n41

  Genesis, 157

  Gesar of Ling, 127–28

  giants. See Colossi of Memnon; Colossus of Rhodes; Nuragic civilization; Talos

  Gilgamesh, 47, 51

  Gilgamesh (epic), 47

  Glaukos, 48

  gliders, 84

  Global Positioning Systems (GPS), 151

  Gnosticism, 123

  gods: consequences of attachments to mortals, 54–55; diet of, 27, 57–58; humans created by, 105–6; humans in relation to, 122–24; ichor as blood of, 8, 10, 27, 32, 43, 50, 57; immortality of, 8, 27, 43; life bestowed by command of, 2, 21, 23, 106–8, 111–12; mechanical devices serving, 19; punishments given by, 51–53, 58; use of technology by, 22, 23, 112, 114–15, 122, 129–54, 179, 224n23, 225n24, 225n28; virtues of, 46

  Godwin, William, 125

  Goethe, Johann Wolfgang von, 52

  Golden Charmers, 149, 187, 188

  Golden Fleece, 8–9, 13

  Golden Hound, 7, 142–43, 143. See also Laelaps

  Golden Maidens, 149–50, 152–55, 160, 214

  Graces, 158–59

  Grand Procession, of Ptolemy II Philadelphus, 197–99, 207

  Gray, John, Soul of a Marionette, 123

  Great Snail, 192–93

  Group of Polygnotos, 161–62; volute-krater with Epimetheus, Pandora, Zeus, and Hermes, Plate 12, 161, 161, 175

  guardian warriors, Hindu and Buddhist, 203–6, 204, 208–9, 210

  Hales, Thomas C., 88

  Hamilcar Barca, 184

  hang gliders, 84

  Harmony (modern sex robot), 236n16, 241n34

  Harrison, Evelyn, 175

  Harryhausen, Ray: dragon-teeth army for Jason and the Argonauts, 65; Talos model and animation for Jason and the Argonauts, 8, 8, 12

  Hawking, Stephen, 215, 216

  Hebe, 42–43

  heel/ankle, vulnerability of, 10–11, 13, 16, 17, 18, 50–51

  Hegesistratus, 68

  Heidelberg Painter, cup with Golden Hound made by Hephaestus, 143

  Hekate, 36

  Helen of Troy, 64, 146

  Helios, 10, 101

  Hephaestus, 1, 2, 129–55; Achilles’s armor made by, 130–31, 130; as artificer, 129; automata and lifelike devices by, 138–55, 160, 214; background of, 129; bellows made by, 152; bulls made by, 9, 65, 138, 186; creations of, 129–30; Daedalus confused/compared with, 19, 91–92, 103–4; devices for harm or punishment, 129, 134–35, 156, 177, 180; dogs made by, 143–44; Eagle made by, 127–28, 138; fountains made by, 198; as god of technology and craft, 22, 23; Golden Hound made by, 142–43, 143; horses made by, 138–39, 140, 141, 141; Laelaps created by, 7, 12, 142; lion made by, 144; mechanical servants made by, 146, 149–50; Pandora created by, 1, 123, 156–64, 157, 170–72, 215; quiver of arrows made by, 142; scapula made by, 68; singing statues made by, 149–50, 187, 188; Talos created by, 7–8, 10, 20, 22, 51, 138; tripods made by, 145–46; working conditions of, 130, 134

  Her (film), 29

  Hera, 134–35

  Heracles: armor of, 129; and Chiron, 43, 51; Daedalus’s statues of, 91; and the Hydra, 51–52; Icarus buried by, 75; immortality granted to, 42–43, 57; and India, 208, 209; as model for cuirass, 132, 134; and Prometheus, 127, 156; and Stymphalian Birds, 127; vulnerability of, 53

  Hercules (miniature modern robot), 216

  Hermes, 142, 159–63, 159, 161, 163, 172

  Herodotus, 19, 43, 46, 48, 68

  Heron of Alexandria, 94, 145, 190, 199–200, 214, 234n30; Theater of Heron, 200–201, 202

  Hersey, George, 110

  Hesiod, 23, 105, 154, 209; Aegimius, 135; “Age of Bronze,” 223n4; Theogony, 156–58; Works and Days, 8, 156, 158–60, 166, 172–73, 175–76

  Hesychius, 121

  heteropaternal superfecundation, 43

  Hinduism, 102, 123

  Hippocratic writings, 27

  historiography, of ancient cultures, 4–5

&n
bsp; Homer, 23, 50, 69, 154, 214; Epigoni, 142; Iliad, 19, 130–31, 145, 149–52, 160, 172, 176, 201, 223n1; Odyssey, 21, 45–46, 54, 57, 64, 139, 143–44, 151, 201

  Homeric Hymns, 53–55

  honeycomb, 86–88, 88

  hope, 11, 42, 63, 81, 173–77, 213, 216, 244n39. See also Elpis

  Horace, 57, 190

  Horn of Themistius, 187

  horses, made by Hephaestus, 138–39, 140, 141, 141

  Huffman, Carl, 191

  human enhancements, 62–65, 68–69, 75, 131–34

  HUMANS (television show), 31

  humans and human nature: ancient speculation on, 29, 213; artificial creation of, 105–6, 114–26; automata as means of inquiry into, 29; autonomy of, 122–23, 157; hope and, 175–77; Mill on, 241n39; natural lifespan associated with, 48, 229n26; Pandora as punishment for, 156–58, 160–61, 172; Prometheus as creator of, 105–6, 112, 113, 114–27, 156; in reference to immortality, 45–46; weakness of, 60, 61

  Huxley, T. H., 123

  Hydra, 51

  Hyginus, 70, 109, 127

  Ibycus, 57

  Icarus, 75–81, 76–80, 181

  Icarus Cup, 84

  ichor, 8, 10, 11, 13, 24, 26–27, 31, 32, 43, 50, 51, 57, 63–64, 64

  Idas, 55–56

  identity, time as factor in formation of, 45–46

  imagination, role of, in contemplating artificial life and technological invention, 1–5, 13, 22–23, 28, 95–96, 103, 112, 134, 146, 150, 153–54, 159, 177, 179, 211–12, 214, 233n22

  immortality: of Castor and Pollux, 43–44; Chinese tales about, 49; consequences of, 45–46, 50–59; contemporary quest for, 58; fatalism as substitute for, 47–48; glory as substitute for, 47, 50; of the gods, 8, 27, 43; gods’ granting of, 42; human desire for, 44–60, 58; Medea and, 42; Talos and, 8, 10–11, 27, 29. See also rejuvenation

  Immortals, as designation of military units, 46–47

  India, 48–49, 71, 102–3, 110–11, 203–9, 211

  Indra, 204

  Io, 135

  Iolaus, 43

  Iolcos, 33

  Iron Knight. See Talus

  Iron Maiden, 195

  Iron Man (film), 32

  James, William, 123

  Japan, 209–10

  Jason and the Argonauts, 1, 7–11, 13, 16, 17, 33, 35, 38, 42–43, 63–66, 127, 150

  Jason and the Argonauts (film), 8, 11–12, 65

  al-Jazari, 146, 201

  Jerome, 189

  Jesus, 2, 189

  kanaboi (armatures), 121–22

  Kanellopoulos, Kanellos, 84

  Kang, Minsoo, 21–22, 111–12, 153–54, 247n37

  Kant, Immanuel, 125, 126

  Karloff, Boris, 125

  Kerle, Hanfried, 199

  Kipchak, 67, 134

  kites, 83–84, 182

 

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