Clank, clatter, clank-is that Marley's chained ghost? No, it's Talos, a bronze giant from ancient Greek mythology constructed by Hephaestus, the Olympian blacksmith, to patrol the island of Crete and defend it from pirate raids. Mayor says he was the first robot, a self-propelled creature built according to Zeus's divine command. Gods and Robots is an absorbing study of ancient mythological and historical automata that explores their origins and significance in the ancient and modern worlds. It will intrigue anyone interested in mythology, ancient and modern robotics, and the genesis of artificial intelligence. Adrienne Mayor is a research scholar in Stanford University's classics department, investigating ancient folklore and science plus the connections between the ancient and modern worlds. In this book Mayor concentrates on the ancient Mediterranean, while including some references to ancient India and China.
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