Talos

Talos was a giant man made entirely of bronze, forged by Hephaestus and given to King Minos (or to Europa) as a guardian of Crete. He circled the island three times each day, his massive bronze legs carrying him around the coastline, watching for invaders.

When hostile ships approached, Talos hurled enormous boulders at them. If enemies managed to land, he heated his bronze body in a fire until it glowed red-hot, then clasped the invaders to his chest, burning them alive.

Talos had a single vein running from his neck to his ankle, sealed at the bottom by a bronze nail. When the Argonauts arrived at Crete, the sorceress Medea used her magic to remove the nail. The divine ichor — the fluid that served as his blood — drained out, and Talos collapsed. He was, in essence, the first robot in literature — an artificial being created to serve a specific function.