Part A: Ideation

Introduction

Part A: Ideation had us choose a random Mythological Character and translate their moments within their own myths into their fabricated, functional, mechanical systems showing this with 2D and 3D Drawings as well as 4D Motion Recordings with 2.5D Drawings in the mix.

I ended up picking the Greek God of Death Thanatos who is the son of the Goddess Nyx and the God Eberyss.

Born in the Underworld and given the job of collecting mortal souls and bringing them to Hades for judgement.

Out of the many siblings, some information was given that Thanatos has a twin known as Hypnos the God of Sleep and also a sister who is also a bringer of death, Keres.

Some say that Thanatos and Keres are both Death however, Thanatos is the spirit of non-voilent death due to his touch being gentle and is liked by Hypnos whilst Keres is the spirit of slaughter and disease.

Thanatos’ description is either an old or young bearded man who is both muscular and lean. Wearing black clothing with his wings and weilding either a sword or a butterfly-shaped butterfly net.

Scenario References

Myth

Thanatos in Greek mythology represents a minor figure as the God of Death and is barely referenced. He was mostly expelled by Hades, the God of the underworld and was hated by both Gods and mortals as he showed no mercy, nor did he discriminate. He was the son of the Goddess of Night, Nyx, and the God of Darkness, Erebus, and the twin brother of Hypnos, the God of Sleep. Thanatos would appear to humans and with his gentle touch which was likened to by his twin brother, would carry them to the underworld where they would then wait for their fate.

There are no myths specifically about the God of Death, Thanatos, but he is referenced in two. Thanatos appeared in the myth of Sisyphus, the King of Corinth who wanted a second chance in life. After angering Zeus, God of the Sky, Thanatos was commanded to chain him in the Underworld however, Sisyphus would turn the tables and trap the God of Death in chains resulting in death to perish from the mortal world. Angered by this, Ares the God of War would free him so that death can return, and Thanatos could fulfill his duties and bring Sisyphus to his eternal punishment.

Another myth results in Thanatos’ defeat where he was sent to collect the mortal soul of Alcestis, wife of Admetus the King of Pherae, as she fell gravely ill. Thanatos was defeated by Heracles who would not permit the death of his friend’s wife although Thanatos still took their lives after they had lived it.

Allegory

Thanatos’ Allegory is that death cannot be avoided regardless of how hard we try to prevent it. This is emphasised in both myths as Sisyphus wanted a second chance at life and proceeded to trap death but was foiled and death still approached him. The same can go for Alcestis as even though she was spared and continued to live on, death still approached both her and Admetus. I want to transfer the being of Death rising and falling to and from the Underworld symbolising Thanatos’ arrival for souls and departure with said souls.

After some difficulty of choosing which Mythological Character but deciding on Thanatos, Midjourney was used first to see what I could come up with for the God of Death.

The first trial was to combine Thanatos’ parents along with himself. As his parents are the Gods of Night and Darkness I wanted that feel with the images and Version 3 was the best choice for it with the images provided. The other was as an adaptatiuon but specifying the Gates Of Hell signifying Thanatos’ departure for new souls.

Before continuing, more references was needed for Thanatos as there was not much information nor imagury for the God of Death besides being in different myths but ultimately losing. Some of the images found were from video game adaptations, and carvings from museums and statues other than being depicted by everyone as a skull figure with a black cloak and a scythe.

These 2 designs above were depicted from 2 games, Hades and Persona from left to right as harbinger of death. The other 2 designs below were from the British Museum in London, left, and a stone statue representing Thanatos.

The last two images to research where the Underworld, or Hell. Being an area that no one has been to besides movies and descriptions from many they only way to describe the Underworld is fiery and unpleasant.

Sadly, Midjourney just dislikes how Thanatos is described as no mater how many times I specify that he is wearing black clothes with wings and a butterfly net they still give these images as representation of

Within the two main myths that state Thanatos’ arrival, it was when Thanatos was in combat with Heracles for the soul of his friends wife and being chained by as a prisoner all because a mortal wanted to have a second chance at life and stopped everyones death.

Story board icons where all found on Flaticon and were coloured by myself. http://flaticon.com

The Goddess of Night

Nyx and also Thanatos’ Mother

The God of War Ares

The last two from Midjourney were Thanatos’ loyalty to Hades as he was born in the Underworld. Having Thanatos with Hades in the Underworld as one image followed by Thanatos in the Underworld by himself.

The God of Darkness

Erebus and also Thanatos’ Father. Sadly, there is no icon for Erebus so one had to be rearranged using other icons.

The God of Death

Thanatos who is depicted as a skeleton with a scythe in modern times

Heracles

The God of Sleep

Hypnos who is Thanatos’ twin brother

Sisyphus who trapped the God of Death and angered both Zeus and Ares

The God of the Skies

Zeus

Alcestis who fell ill. There was no icon for Alcestis so a modern hosptial icon had to do.

Images of individuals and gods for Thanatos’

Experimentation

With all research completed it was time for constructing a functioning system to demonstrate Thanatos’ function, which is rising from the Underworld for souls and departing back down.

Out of the three systems I mainly focused on one known as the Bone system mainly focusing on the Cranks and Rods aspect of it. Whilst Cams and Followers is a good system for moving an object up and down, Cranks and Rods seems a bit more in the field of going up and down with much more ease and is less likely to be caught causing the system to not work.

The second design trial was the exact same as the first as it just needed some fixes. I made the base a lot bigger as well as a smaller base part to go on top so that the Balsa would would not fall out much, I do plan on using screws or the such but Balsa wood for now works fine. I added another 2 top pieces foe for when the Thanatos block goes through to make it more secure and so that it does not get caught and break. The final change was making the Thanatos block a lot longer so that it would function properly.

The first trial system used two gears with the smaller one having 10 teeth whilst the larger one having 13 teeth. As the gears rotate it will allow a shaft to go around in a circle allowing a block that represents Thanatos to go up and down.

The first trial was a semi success, although it does need to be manually cranked. The only issues with the first trial were that I had used Balsa wood for the connectors which was smooth and okay but it could sometimes fall out. The other issue was that the block that represetned Thanatos would not go through the slits completely as I missmeasured the height of how far the system would go.

For using Balsa wood for the connectors, the seconmd cut was a great success as now the only issue was to make it a bit better with screws for easier movability and a bit better maths but other than that it works perfectly.