Mechane

A mêchanê (μηχανῆ) was a crane used in Greek theater, especially in the fifth and fourth centuries BC. Made of wooden beams and pulley systems, the device was used to lift an actor into the air, usually representing flight. This stage machine was particularly used to bring gods onto the stage from above, hence the Latin term deus ex machina ("god from the machine"). Euripides' use of the mêchanê in Medea (431 BC) is a notable use of the machine for a non-divine character. It was also often used by Aeschylus.

In Christian liturgy the mêchanê has also been identified with the cross. Ignatius calls the cross the "theatre machine" of Jesus Christ.

Stage machines were also used in ancient Rome, e.g. during the sometimes highly dramatic performances at funerals. For C. Iulius Caesar's funeral service Appian reports a mêchanê that was used to present a blood-stained wax effigy of the deceased dictator to the funeral crowd. The mêchanê was used to turn the body in all directions. Geoffrey Sumi proposes that the use of the mêchanê "hinted at Caesar's divinity". This is highly unlikely because Appian doesn't describe the mêchanê as a genuine deus-ex-machina device. Furthermore Caesar's apotheosis wasn't legally conducted until 42 BC, and Caesar had only been worshipped inofficially as divus during his lifetime. First and foremost Marcus Antonius attempted to arouse the masses as a means to strengthen Caesar's esteem as well as his own political power.