Talos of Crete: The 2,000-year-old story of the first robot god

The ideas of artificial intelligence and automata existed more than 2,000 years ago in Greek mythology. Talos ('Τάλως') - the first cyborg-like creature in mythology - is certainly a fascinating example. Its name is related to Zeus, as on Crete, Zeus was also known as Talios, and in the ancient Greek dialect Talos was also the name of the Sun.

The giant robot Talos was brought to life in the 1963 mythological fantasy film, Jason and the Argonauts. The 17-inch (43 cm) model of Talos was created by animator and special effects artist Ray Harryhausen.

According to Greek legend, Talos is not a human but an autonomous robot built by Zeus himself. Another version of Greek mythology attributes his creation to Hephaestus, the god of fire and iron. In other versions, Talos is the son of Cres and the god Hephaestus. Created by man, rather than born from nature, the idea of ​​Talos was first mentioned by Hesiod around 700 BC.

Talos is the sun god of Crete and is said to be built of bronze. A single vein, which started at his neck and ran down to his ankles, carried his living blood - liquid metal - and a nail was hammered on each ankle to prevent the liquid metal from leaking out. Depictions of Talos on coins and in paintings vary, some depicting him with wings while others depict him without.

Talos was given by Zeus to Minos, king of Crete, to defend Crete against any invaders; however, according to the ancient Greek author Apollonius Rhodius, Talos was a gift from Zeus to Europe to protect her and her children, whom she later gave to King Minos.

A depiction of the giant Talos armed with a stone on the back of a silver ascetic from Phaistos, Crete, dated between 300 and 270 BC.

Talos and his mission: Defend Crete from its enemies

Plato claims that Talos defended Crete by circumnavigating the island three times a day. Taking into account that Crete is the largest island in Greece, getting around it three times a day would be a huge task, meaning that Talos is either a giant creature or he has other means of transportation. , such as flying, which may explain why he is sometimes depicted with wings.

When any enemy ship approaches Crete, Talos will send huge boulders and destroy the ship from afar. If an enemy approaches Crete, Talos will cause his body to heat up abnormally and kill the enemy.

Still depicting the scene where Talos confronts Argo's crew from the 1963 film Jason and the Argonauts.

However, the defense of Crete was not his only mission. Talos also had to make sure that all the inhabitants of the island obeyed the divine laws. To accomplish this task, three times a year, he would visit all the villages on the island carrying metal plates inscribed with divine laws.

Talos defended Crete for many years until he was finally defeated by Jason and the Argonauts, not using weapons of course but by tricks. When Jason and the Argonauts approached Crete, Medea, the sorcerer, captured Talos by talking to him and casting spells, convincing him to remove the nail from his ankle. So the liquid metal spilled out and Talos died.

Talos' death is depicted on a 5th century BC Greek vase. (Forzaruvo94)

Reality in the myth of Talos

History has shown us that some myths, such as the story of Troy, have evolved from real events that cannot be understood by those who witnessed them, and perhaps also cannot be deciphered. like it. One way for witnesses to pass on records of those events is to use words and descriptions that are appropriate to their contemporary understanding of the world, knowledge, and beliefs.

Could it be that Talos' narrative is in fact based on fact? And if so, what exactly are Talos? Is it possible that Talos is actually a spaceship, a machine-made device, or even an extraterrestrial? The descriptions certainly fit some sort of mechanical flying device - made of bronze with flying wings, capable of circling a large block of land three times per day and capable of firing certain types of weapons at ships enemy.

What about the vein that ran the length of Talos's body carrying the living blood? Mythology holds that spilling this liquid caused Talos to die. Some have suggested that this is an archaic description of an extraterrestrial spacecraft powered by some form of liquid fuel. Meanwhile, the idea of ​​a giant autonomous robot that can grow extremely hot, hurl rocks at ships and leak life fluids, has been interpreted by others as a reference to Talos referring to an eruption. volcano.

At present, the answers to these questions remain elusive. But whatever the answer may be, Talos is a fascinating and enigmatic tale found in Greek mythology. The story of Talos is not the only myth that explores the idea of ​​artificial intelligence and science fiction, as they also appear in the stories of Medea, the craftsman Daedalus, Prometheus, and Pandora. The idea of ​​these robotic creatures existed long before technology actually made them a reality. As Adrienne Mayor put it, "myth reinforces the view that the imagination is the spirit that unites myth and science".