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1 results

  • Chapter 1 - Viewing the Mēchanē

  • from Part I - Greek Tragedy and Mechanical Epiphany
  • Tatiana Bur, Australian National University, Canberra
  • Book:
    Technologies of the Marvellous in Ancient Greek Religion
    Published online:
    04 September 2025
    Print publication:
    24 July 2025, pp 35-48
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  • Summary

    The first example of mechanical epiphany that the book sets forth is that of the well-known ‘god on the machine’ (deus ex machina) employed in the ancient Greek theatre. Moving beyond interpreting the theatrical crane as a plot device, this chapter forefronts the mēchanē’s material qualities to explore the theological potential of the object as a mode of visual epiphany. Vital to the success of this mode of epiphany was the challenge to the viewer to recognise divine intervention as well as the mechanics that constructed and enabled it. The evidence of Old Comedy, both fragmentary and the fuller plays of Aristophanes, help demonstrate how uses of the comic crane (kradē) undercut the interpretative symbiosis between man, machine, and divine agency on which tragedy was predicated. The chapter closes by exploring how the theatre as a form of mass media made it fertile ground for development and exploration of theological ideas, not just a reflection of literary norms.