4 Times Ancient Texts Predicted Future Technology

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4 Times Ancient Texts Predicted Future Technology</h4>

Long before the age of computers, automobiles, and phones, most of an ancient civilization's entertainment and lore came from stories and myths. What’s bizarre, though, is that on occasion these tales ring very true for us, today. They may have emerged thousands of years before this generation was born… but they seemingly speak of wholly modern inventions, innovations, behaviors and beliefs. Which is… strange.

This is Unveiled, and today we’re taking a closer look at four times ancient texts predicted future technology. 

From the Wright Brothers through to Lindberg, fighter jets, jumbo jets and concorde… the power of flight feels very much like a twentieth century breakthrough. It was over the course of the 1900s that our species managed to shrink the world by shortening the time it took to get anywhere, all thanks to airplanes. But, actually, was our sky-bound destiny known centuries beforehand?

Cast your eye through certain texts of ancient India, and Vimanas - mythical flying chariots - are described in incredible detail. The Ramayana is one of the most influential ancient epics in world literature, composed of almost 24,000 verses, and written between the 7th and 5th centuries BCE. The Mahabharata is another ancient Indian epic, written between the 3rd century BCE and the fourth century CE. It’s one of the longest poems ever written, with roughly 200,000 verses, making it almost ten times the length of the “Iliad” and “Odyssey” combined. Both texts are culturally crucial to the history of humankind, and both include some richly in-depth accounts of aerial vehicles, known as Vimanas.

In the texts, these entities, which are sometimes imagined as though they were palaces in the sky, are sophisticated and versatile flying machines. They’re capable of traveling vast distances, and even to other planets. They come in a wide variety of shapes and sizes, with many unique functions. For the most part, they are seemingly piloted by the gods themselves. In the Ramayana, in particular, the Vimanas are used not just for transport, but also for warfare. Some are equipped with advanced weaponry, others can turn invisible, others can fly at incredible speeds. In some interpretations, there’s even use of mercury as a superfuel. And all of that is, of course, reminiscent of so much of modern flight and air travel technology. From our fleets of passenger planes to the stealth technologies of fighter jets, and arguably even to the next-gen ambitions of space travel.

For many, the age-old passages are enough to say that ancient Indian cultures truly knew what was coming. Were the Vimanas purely mythological creations, symbolic of spiritual ideas and aspirations? Do they hint at lost technology that was once just as advanced as ours, today? Or did the writers of these epics simply make predictions with astounding accuracy? Definitive answers are elusive, but stories of these airborne somethings continue to intrigue and inspire.

Next, and turning our attention to the Mediterranean, it can just as well be proposed that the Ancient Greeks predicted submarines. For context, we’re heading back to when Alexander the Great conquered Persia, forming what was then the world’s largest ever empire. As such, Alexander’s legacy lived on long after he himself had passed, notably via the rise (and continued rewriting) of a new epic known as the Alexander romance. In what is essentially a very long life story, it features endless (mostly fictionalized) tales about the great Emperor. The first known full romance was written around the 3rd century CE. But the seeming submarine link comes up hundreds of years later, in a 12th-century French version, called “Roman d'Alexandre”, where it’s said that the young Emperor didn’t only want to conquer the lands of this world - but the oceans, as well.

To do this, the text claims that he built a glass diving ball, which he piloted as it was lowered far beneath the sea. In one version, he even takes with him a cat, a chicken, and a dog - for various then-believed reasons linked to survival - with the entire group safely housed in their underwater vessel. If this particular episode in Alexander’s life actually did take place, then it would have been so incredibly far ahead of its time. The technology didn’t exist back then. But, even as an imagined concept, it’s seemingly innovative to the point of being revolutionary. Again, it features in a piece of literature written in the 12th-century, which is 500 years before submarines were invented. On the one hand, it’s a legend that highlights humankind’s continued fascination with the ocean, as well as our long-held desire to better explore its depths. On the other hand, readers may well be amazed that a medieval version of an ancient  myth should strike so close to what we know to be true in the modern day.

Moving to our third prediction, but staying in Ancient Greece, and there are multiple classic myths and stories that seemingly preempt robots. The actual term ‘robot’ didn’t come into popular use until the early 20th century, but the Greeks are credited with perhaps the earliest depictions of what we now know a robot to be. The most famous ancient automata were crafted by Hephaestus, the god of the forge, of blacksmiths, craftsmen, and fire. It’s said that it was his unparalleled skill in metalworking that allowed him to create numerous mechanical servants - including self-moving tripods and golden handmaidens - which were then given to gods and mortals alike. The handmaidens notably appear in Homer’s “Iliad”, where it’s said that Hephaestus crafted them wrought of gold in the semblance of living maids. They were crafted to look and act like real people, with the capacity to move and speak. Their purpose was to help Hephaestus maintain his forge; they were built to artificially assist him. To modern minds, they could be seen as the forerunners for everything from self-service machines to products like Alexa, to AI services like Chat-GPT.

The most famous of  Hephaestus’s creations, however, was the formidable Talos. A truly epic automaton, Talos was an enormous bronze warrior, chiefly tasked with protecting the key island of Crete. His myth says that he was programmed to patrol the Cretian shores, throwing boulders at invading ships. His artificially created life came from his having a single vein of ichor, running from his head to his feet, with ichor being the life force of the gods. This vein was secured by just a single nail in his ankle, though, and ultimately Talos was slain by a sorceress, Medea - who it’s said removed the nail, drained the ichor, and took the life away from Talos. The nail in the ankle working something like a killswitch on computers today.

Beyond Hephaestus, other Greek texts reference robotic concepts, too. For example, Aristotle pondered the idea of autonomous tools. In his work “Politics”, he wondered if self-operating instruments could be possible, envisioning a future where manual labor was done by machines, instead of by human beings. And if that all sounds quite familiar, it’s because Aristotle was seemingly talking about a chapter of the technological age that we’re currently living through.

But finally, let’s turn our attention east, and to Ancient China. Lie Yukou was a Daoist philosopher, who lived during the Warring States period, which lasted from around 475 to 221 BCE. The “Liezi” is a Daoist text, historically attributed to him. And one story within it, set during the 10th century BCE, focuses on King Mu of Zhou. As the tale goes, during one of his journeys King Mu met an artificer, called Yan Shi. The man presents the king with an incredible contraption; a singing and acting automaton. It’s said that Yan Shi’s creation moved miraculously like how a human does, enrapturing Mu with its performance. Afterwards, Yan Shi is said to have shown the king the automaton’s inner workings. It was built from wood, leather, glue, and paint. The creator went so far as to create working internal organs for it, however, and Mu was apparently so convinced by the technology that he enlisted Yan Shi as an advisor from then on. Given that much of King Mu of Zhou’s legend is also wrapped up in his desire to want to be immortal, perhaps the automaton was seen as a step towards being able to live forever.

Meanwhile, and in a separate but just as incredible episode of Chinese history, in the 4th century BCE, Lu Ban, an architect, engineer, and inventor, created a mechanical bird. It was one of many ancient inventions that led to him, today, being remembered as China’s god of builders. The bird is now believed to have been the world’s first kite. Lu Ban is also credited by some with making the earliest version of a modern bicycle. He also invented an early form of the siege ladder, called a ‘cloud ladder’, which was widely used in war. Some claim that Leonardo Da Vinci - a later (and also prolific) inventor - was directly inspired by Lu Ban. The exploits of Lu Ban were recorded, across a number of texts. And, while his story doesn’t quite have the mythical status of Yan Shi and the automaton… he could justifiably be seen as the most effective implementer of such far-future technological thinking. The like of which we simply take for granted today.

So, what’s your verdict? Do the Vimanas predict airplanes? Did Alexander the Great ride a submarine? Do we have Hephaestus to thank for robots? Is Yan Shi the true father of automation? No matter how you look at it, it would seem that the roots of modern technology stretch very, very far back.