Greco-steampunk certainly makes sense. In ancient times, Greeks were considered master automata makers: Robots were so prevalent in the imaginative and materia

Greco-steampunk certainly makes sense. In ancient times, Greeks were considered master automata makers: Robots were so prevalent in the imaginative and material culture of the Greek-speaking world that they were seen as emblematic of Hellenistic culture by others. Buddhist legends focused on north-eastern India from the fourth and third centuries BCE recount the army of automata that guarded Buddha’s relics, built with knowledge smuggled from the Graecophone world. In one version, which features both killer robot-assassins and robot-guardians, a young man travels in disguise to the land of the Yavanas (Greek speakers) to learn the art of automaton-making, a secret closely guarded by the yantakaras (automaton makers) there, knowledge that he then steals to make the artificial guards. We find stories of automatic warriors guarding the Buddha’s relics in Chinese, Sanskrit, Hindu, and Tibetan texts. Additionally, mechanical automata also appear elsewhere in the Chinese historical record: for example, at the court of Tang ruler Empress Wu Zhou (c.624–705 CE). https://thereader.mitpress.mit.edu/the-ancient-history-of-intelligent-machines/ https://thereader.mitpress.mit.edu/the-ancient-history-of-in... Nowdays, we're better known for our army of civil servants guarding state pensions :/