Perhaps the earliest examples of the urge to make artificial persons are the Greek Gods. ... As a present from Zeus to Europa, Hephaestus makes Talos, a man of bronze whose duty is to patrol the beaches of Crete. He thwarts invaders by hurling great rocks at them, or by heating himself red hot and squeezing trespassers in a warm embrace.
-Pamela McCorduck from Machines Who Think