The Bacchae Mechanism
In Euripides’ Bacchae (726-7) when the god appeared in answer to the invocation of the bacchae (female worshippers of Dionysus), ‘the entire mountain revelled along with them and the beasts, nothing remained still.’
Dionysiac parades were synonymous with rhythmic motion. The ecstatic dances of the bacchae were an integral part of Dionysiac ritual. On the automaton, bacchae were mounted prominently on one large, hollow itus (wheel) surrounding the temple of Dionysus.
This passed through a pulley and onto an axon (axle). As the axle turned and its rope unwound, the wheel turned and the bacchae came alive, dancing around the temple. As with other mechanisms, movement was initiated by a falling weight.