Reviving after 2000 years the
"static" automatic theatre of Heron of Alexandria, the
"cinema" of the ancient Greeks
An accurate reconstruction of the static
automated theatre of Philon of Byzantium (3rd cent. B.C.) which is described in
detail and improved by Heron of Alexandria in his work
"Automatopoetike". Automatic theatres were "miracles" of
the classical and hellenistic age, works of the "miracle workers" of
antiquity. The theatre of Heron presents, automatically, the myth of Nauplius
who wants revenge on the Achaeans for his son’s death in Troy:
1st scene: Achaeans repair their ships - we can
see figures moving, hammering and sawing and we can hear the sound made by the
tools as if they were real.
2nd scene: Achaeans push their boats into the
water.
3rd scene: Ships suddenly appear in the sea. We
can see them sail as a fleet, progress and finally disappear - the sea gets
rough - the ships reappear in the rough sea dashing on and on. Occasionally,
dolphins emerge from the sea.
4th scene: Nauplius, standing at the foreland,
with a lit torch, sends a false signal to the Achaeans abetted by goddess
Athena.
5th scene: We can see scattered remains of the
wrecked ships and Aeas swimming in the sea. Athena appears (as deus ex
machina), crosses the stage and disappears. While lightning strikes and the
sound of thunder is heard, Aeas' figure is lost.
The stage gates open and close between scenes.
All the above take place without any human
interference, solely with the force of a lead weight which descends at a steady
pace in a sand clepsydra.
The only manual movement required in order to
put the automatic theatre into operation is to pull a string!
SCALE 1:1, SOURCES: "Heron of Alexandria,
Automatopoetike"
Reviving
after 2000 years the movable automatic theatre of Heron of Alexandria (the
scheduled auto-mobile "puppet show" of the the ancient Greeks)
A precise
reconstruction of Heron’s mobile automatic theatre which
presents the myth of Dionysos.
1st scene: The mobile theatre moves automatically to
another programmed position (doing compilations of rectilinear and circular movements).
2nd scene: Fire is lit on the altar in front of Dionysos.
Water springs from his holy stick and wine from his cup is poured onto the
small panther.
3rd scene: The place around the four columns of the base
is crowned with flowers. The sound of drums and cymbals are heard while the six
Bacches move dancing around the temple.
4th scene: The musical instruments stop and Dionysos turns
to the other side of the temple. The winged Niki (Victory) turns with him.
5th scene: Fire lights on the other altar of the temple
and from his holy stick, water springs again and from his cup, wine is poured
onto the small panther.
6th scene: The sound of drums and cymbals are heard again
while the six Bacches move backwards dancing around the temple.
7th scene: The musical instruments stop and the mobile
theatre moves automatically to its initial position (by moving backwards doing
compilations of rectilinear and circular movements).
All of
these are accomplished automatically by the movement of tens of metres of
wisely mechanically timed (=programmed) threads that are pulled from the force
of a lead weight which fall at a steady pace in a clepsydra with grain
(millet). With the clockwise, the releasing and the counter-clockwise winding
of threads around axles and reels, the following is accomplished a) the forward
movement (rectilinear or circular) of the automatic and the clockwise turns of
the mechanisms, b) stillness and c) the backward movement (rectilinear or
circular) of the automatic and the counter-clockwise turns of the mechanisms.
To start the show, the rope from the front side of the base needs only be
pulled.
SCALE 1:1, SOURCES:
"Heron of Alexandria, Automatopoetike"
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