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A mechane was a crane used in Greek theatre, 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, hence the term Deus ex machina (God from the machine). Euripides' use of the mechane in Medea in 431 BC is a notable use of the machine by a non-divine character. It was also often used by Aeschylus.
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