The Altar Mechanism

The altars on the mobile automaton were made of either bronze or iron. Ancient gods such as Dionysus could be honoured anywhere, on both permanent and portable altars by offering gifts or burning plant and animal remains as sacrifices. Sacrifices took place outside temples, at borders or crossroads, in front of bodies of water, and along processional routes.

According to Hero (On Making Automata 12.1-4), in preparation for the sacrifice, lamps hidden inside the altars were lit, and flammable material (he recommended wood shavings as the best kindling) were placed on the altars. Sliding metal covers, like the lid of a little chest, were then placed between them, both to hide the lamps and to prevent the kindling from being lit prematurely by the flames.

To start the sacrificial fire ‘miraculously’, the hidden mechanisms were activated. A counterweight attached to a rope wound around an axle was released. As the axle turned, a chain connected to the metal covers were wound onto the axle. When the covers slid back, the lamps’ flames shot upward, igniting the kindling on the altars.

The spontaneous appearance of the flame was an important element of the sensory performative ritual created by the automaton. When the aperture hiding the lamps were opened, flames shot up, spectacularly igniting the highly flammable kindling: immediately, spectators would have been able to see, hear and smell the sacrifice, reinforcing the association between Dionysus and the idea of divine wonder.