When Zeus asks you to build a contraption to protect Crete, you don’t cut corners. So, at Zeus’ behest, legendary blacksmith Hephaestus built Talos - a giant bronze automaton who would serve as a bouncer for the island.

Standing 30 metres tall, Talos had just one vein sealed with a bronze nail. Every day, Talos patrolled the shores of Crete like a diligent guardian. When the Argo (carrying Jason and the Argonauts) approached Crete, Talos hurled giant boulders to keep them at bay.

But even with all his bronze brawn, Talos met his match in Medea. Some stories claim she used drugs to drive him mad, others say she tricked him into removing that one precious nail from his vein. We can only hope he wasn’t programmed to feel pain.

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