Last night the History Channel did a program about this dude who was an engineer who designed mechanical contraptions during the Roman period. Some of them were cool enough: an auto-feeding spear chucker, a huge crossbow, a flame thrower, also some clockwork type mechanisms propelled by gravity (falling sand, beans, and and water) that put on a complicated animated show plus stage sets that ran onto and off the stage using similar propulsion devices, but best of all were mechanisms to bedazzle worshippers at various temples. One would operate temple doors, opening them when a sacrifice was burned, powered by an air tank under the fire that pushed water with the expanding air until it filled a bucket that lowered by gravity and pulled on a rope that turned a pulley and opened the doors, presumably timed so that the worshippers were duped into believing a god made the door open in thanks for the offering. Rube Goldberg would be proud.

Best of all, though, was a coin operated holy water dispenser. Drop in a coin at the top, and it hit a lever that opened a valve and let water flow. Seems that hocus pocus was rampant in religion even that long ago.

Now I do not attest that any of this stuff is accurate. The History Channel is often careless and even disingenuous, but if there is anything to Heron, it is fascinating. Anybody know anything about him?

s'Curius