Dorin, Alan (Author)
Anagnostou-Laoutides, Eva (Author)
This article assesses the imperial Roman technological options and cultural impetus for constructing and displaying an automaton Triton. Suetonius reports that such a figure announced the commencement of a staged sea battle organised by Emperor Claudius to entertain the Roman citizens in 52 CE. This automaton, whose feasibility we assess, fits neatly as an application of the pneumatic techniques summarised by Heron of Alexandria, who was probably alive at the time. By drawing attention to this little discussed passage of Suetonius, our article corroborates the idea that these techniques were useful – here contributing to the “media-image” and audio-visual culture of Claudius’ imperial agenda – and that their wondrous effects provided an intellectual bridge between their practical utility and their ability to contribute to the philosophy of science and technology.
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Trabucco, Oreste;
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L'opere stupende dell'arti più ingegnose: la recezione degli Pneumatika di Erone Alessandrino nella cultura italiana del Cinquecento
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Argyrakis, Vaios;
(2011)
The Clepsydra Experiment, Clepsydra's Functioning and the Related Devices in Heron's Pneumatics
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Papadopetrakis, Eftichis;
Argyrakis, Vaios;
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The Demonstration of the Corporeity of Air in Heron's Pneumatics: A Methodological Breakthrough in Experimentation
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Gods and Robots: Myths, Machines, and Ancient Dreams of Technology
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Liba Taub;
(2020)
The Cambridge Companion to Ancient Greek and Roman Science
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(2014)
Ancient Pneumatics Transformed during the Early Modern Period
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David Espinosa-Espinosa;
A. César González-García;
Marco V. García-Quintela;
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Urban Planning and Ritual Action in Colonia Ulpia Traiana (Xanten, Germany): Understanding a Non-solar Orientation Pattern
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A. César González-García;
Marco V. García Quintela;
(2018)
Roman or Gaulic: Orientation as a Footprint of Cultural Identity?
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Marie-Hélène Marganne;
Antonio Ricciardetto;
(2017)
En marge du Serment hippocratique. Contrats et serments dans le monde gréco-romain.
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Claudius Aelianus;
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Vom Wesen der Tiere. Bücher I–VII
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Daniel Bertoni;
(2017)
Geometry and Genre in Columella
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Andrea Rodríguez-Antón;
Antonio César González-García;
Juan Antonio Belmonte;
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Astronomy in Roman Urbanism: A Statistical Analysis of the Orientation of Roman Towns in the Iberian Peninsula
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Thesis
Kyle Grothoff;
(2016)
Astrology in Augustan Rome: A Cultural History
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Thesis
Brent Arehart;
(2022)
Sexual Medicine in the Roman Empire
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Rebecca Flemming;
(2023)
Pandemics in the Ancient Mediterranean World
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Christian Laes;
(2018)
Disabilities and the Disabled in the Roman World: A Social and Cultural History
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Shulamit Shinnar;
(2019)
“The Best of Doctors Go to Hell”: Rabbinic Medical Culture in Late Antiquity (200-600 CE)
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Jason Morris;
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Forma facta est: Agrimensores and the Power of Geography
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Ailianos;
(2018)
Tierleben. Griechisch-deutsch
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Book
Sacha Stern;
(2021)
Calendars in the Making: The Origins of Calendars from the Roman Empire to the Later Middle Ages
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