Quinque Noctes apud Theodosium

According to an offhand remark in the latest toldinstone video, Emperor Theodosius II’s palace in Byzantium had a “steam-powered throne.” Naturally, I had to know more, so I looked it up. Apparently he had golden lions that could roar and swish their tails, a golden tree with birds that chirped and flapped their wings, and a throne mounted on hydraulic rams to lift it into the air.

Of course, my mind went straight to comparing that automata to modern animatronics. Imagining being a night guard there circa 830 AD would make for one Hell of a FNAF prequel!

Sources:

https://greekreporter.com/2026/02/10/byzantine-emperor-automation-rising-throne/

https://ia600109.us.archive.org/5/items/brett-1954-byzantine-automata/Brett_1954_Byzantine_Automata.pdf

https://www.schhg.cl/automatas-de-leon-el-matematico/ (fuck this site, BTW; it disabled right-clicking in a futile effort to stop me from copying the picture)