The Apega of Nabis, also known as the Iron Apega, was described by Polybius as an ancient

torture device Torture is the deliberate infliction of severe pain or suffering on a person for reasons such as punishment, extracting a confession, interrogation for information, or intimidating third parties. Some definitions are restricted to acts c ...

similar to the

iron maiden Iron Maiden are an English heavy metal band formed in Leyton, East London, in 1975 by bassist and primary songwriter Steve Harris. While fluid in the early years of the band, the lineup for most of the band's history has consisted of Harri ...

. It was invented by

Nabis Nabis ( grc-gre, Νάβις) was the last king of independent Sparta. He was probably a member of the Heracleidae, and he ruled from 207 BC to 192 BC, during the years of the First and Second Macedonian Wars and the eponymous " War against Nab ...

, a king who ruled

Sparta Sparta ( Doric Greek: Σπάρτα, ''Spártā''; Attic Greek: Σπάρτη, ''Spártē'') was a prominent city-state in Laconia, in ancient Greece. In antiquity, the city-state was known as Lacedaemon (, ), while the name Sparta referre ...

as a

tyrant A tyrant (), in the modern English usage of the word, is an absolute ruler who is unrestrained by law, or one who has usurped a legitimate ruler's sovereignty. Often portrayed as cruel, tyrants may defend their positions by resorting to re ...

from 207 to 192 BC.

Device description

The mechanical Apega, according to Polybius, was a machine, a well-executed replica of the real wife of Nabis, and was used by Nabis to collect money from unwilling

n citizens. Those who did not give money were sent to deal with his wife. This was the replica, dressed in expensive clothing, with arms outstretched. When the drunken visitors hugged her, this triggered the arms to close. The device's arms, hands, and breasts were covered with iron nails, and the arms were capable of crushing the body of its victim. Nabis would control the machine through hidden devices until the victim agreed to pay a tribute or to the point of death. The

automaton An automaton (; plural: automata or automatons) is a relatively self-operating machine, or control mechanism designed to automatically follow a sequence of operations, or respond to predetermined instructions.Automaton – Definition and More ...

, Apega, was one of the advancements in

technology Technology is the application of knowledge to reach practical goals in a specifiable and Reproducibility, reproducible way. The word ''technology'' may also mean the product of such an endeavor. The use of technology is widely prevalent in me ...

of the ancient Greco-Roman world used as implements of torture, along with other torture devices such as the

cross A cross is a geometrical figure consisting of two intersecting lines or bars, usually perpendicular to each other. The lines usually run vertically and horizontally. A cross of oblique lines, in the shape of the Latin letter X, is termed a sa ...

, the wheel, and the brazen bull of

Phalaris Phalaris ( el, Φάλαρις) was the tyrant of Akragas (now Agrigento) in Sicily, from approximately 570 to 554 BC. History Phalaris was renowned for his excessive cruelty. Among his alleged atrocities is cannibalism: he was said to have e ...

Origins

Nabis, tyrant of Sparta, reportedly created the device in the image of his own wife, Apega ( grc, Ἀπήγα; also known as Ἀγαπήνα or Ἀπία), a tyrant herself who helped in furthering her husband's ambitions. The

Greek Greek may refer to: Greece Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group. *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family. **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...

historian A historian is a person who studies and writes about the past and is regarded as an authority on it. Historians are concerned with the continuous, methodical narrative and research of past events as relating to the human race; as well as the st ...

, Polybius (203–120 BC, author of '' The Histories''), further described the real Queen Apega as a female ruler who ruled Sparta like a

Hellenistic In Classical antiquity, the Hellenistic period covers the time in Mediterranean history after Classical Greece, between the death of Alexander the Great in 323 BC and the emergence of the Roman Empire, as signified by the Battle of Actium in ...

queen, similar to Cleopatra and Arsinoe, because she "received men at

court A court is any person or institution, often as a government institution, with the authority to adjudicate legal disputes between parties and carry out the administration of justice in civil, criminal, and administrative matters in acco ...

alongside her husband." Polybius also mentioned that she was a woman who knew how to dishonor men by humiliating women belonging to the families of male citizens. Both Nabis and Apega brought suffering and violence to their subjects by stealing their wealth and valuables. The historical Apega was described as a

n woman who had exceeded her husband's viciousness and wielded power to satisfy her own

greed Greed (or avarice) is an uncontrolled longing for increase in the acquisition or use of material gain (be it food, money, land, or animate/inanimate possessions); or social value, such as status, or power. Greed has been identified as und ...

. The Iron Apega was further described as the personification of the evilness and deceitfulness of the real Apega, and was said to be equal to Pandora, the first woman in

Greek mythology A major branch of classical mythology, Greek mythology is the body of myths originally told by the ancient Greeks, and a genre of Ancient Greek folklore. These stories concern the origin and nature of the world, the lives and activities ...

Literary references

Arthur Machen Arthur Machen (; 3 March 1863 – 15 December 1947) was the pen-name of Arthur Llewellyn Jones, a Welsh author and mystic of the 1890s and early 20th century. He is best known for his influential supernatural, fantasy, and horror fiction. His ...

's episodic horror novella ''

The Three Impostors ''The Three Impostors; or, The Transmutations'' is an episodic horror novel by British writer Arthur Machen, first published in 1895 in The Bodley Head's Keynotes Series. It was revived in paperback by Ballantine Books as the forty-eighth v ...

'' (1895), one story centers on an execution device named the "Iron Maid", which in its outstretched arms bears a great resemblance to the Iron Apega. Nabis and Apega are mentioned in

Adrienne Mayor Adrienne Mayor (born 1946) is a historian of ancient science and a classical folklorist. Mayor specializes in ancient history and the study of "folk science", or how pre-scientific cultures interpreted data about the natural world, and how these ...

’s “Gods and Robots”.

References

Clements, Barbara (University Communications staff writer)
“Apega of Nabis.” one of the “Machines of Malice” on a Discovery Channel program aired on September 23, 2008
{{webarchive , url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100713182207/http://news.plu.edu/node/2773 , date=July 13, 2010 , Professor (Eric Nelson) Appears On Discovery Channel This Week, Campus Voice, Pacific Lutheran University, New.PLU.edu, Sept 19, 2008 Polybius, 13.7. The thrust of Polybius' anecdote is the extent to which the tyrannical cruelty of Nabis would drive him. Neither F. W. Walbank (''A Historical Commentary on Polybius'', vol. II, 1967:420f) nor P.A. Cartledge and A.J.S. Spawforth, ''Hellenistic and Roman Sparta: A Tale of Two Cities'' London 1989:72) believe this story. Sarah B. Pomeroy, ''Spartan Women'' 2002:90, credits it because of other documented Hellenistic automata; Evan T. Sage, "An ancient robotette", ''Classical Journal'', 30.5 (February 1935: 299–300) withholds judgement Ancient instruments of torture European instruments of torture

Individual instruments of torture