Another example is the motif known by the Latin phrase deus ex machina, ‘the god from the device’; it was a favourite resource of Euripides, and perhaps his invention; at all events, it was a development originating at some time in the fifth century, not a convention long established. The ‘device’ or ‘machine’ seems to have been a kind of crane supporting a platform which could be swung out into the view of the audience.
