αὐτόματος

1. of persons, acting of one's own will, of oneself, αὐ. δέ οἱ ἦλθε Il. 2.408; αὐ. φοιτῶσι Νοῦσοι Hes. Op. 103; αὐ. ἥκω Ar. Pl. 1190, cf. Th. 6.91, D.S. 2.25, etc.

2. of inanimate things, self-acting, spontaneous, of the gates of Olympus, αὐτόμαται δὲ πύλαι μύκον οὐρανοῦ Il. 5.749; of the tripods of Hephaistos, which ran of themselves, ὄφρα οἱ αὐτόματοι . . δυσαίατ’ ἀγῶνα 18.376, cf. Pl.Com. 188; ὅπλα . . αὐ. φανῆναι ἔξω προκείμενα τοῦ νηοῦ Hdt. 8.37; τὰ αὐ. marionettes, Arist. GA 734b10, Hero Aut. passim: generally, spontaneous, βίος Pl. Plt. 271e; ἔπαινος Epicur. Sent.Vat. 64.

3. of natural agencies, ὁ ποταμὸς αὐ. ἐπελθών of itself, Hdt. 2.14; of plants, growing of themselves, αὐ. ἐκ τῆς γῆς γίνεται Id. 3.100; αὐ. φύεσθαι Id. 2.94, Thphr. Fr. 171.11; κύτισος αὐ. ἔρχεται Cratin. 98.8: metaph., αὐτόματα πάντ’ ἀγαθὰ . . ποριζεται Ar. Ach. 976, cf. Cratin. 160; of philosophers, αὐ. ἀναφύονται Pl. Tht. 180c.

4. of events, happening of themselves, without external agency, αὐ. δεσμὰ διελύθη E. Ba. 447; αὐ. θάνατος natural death, D. 18.205; κόποι αὐ. not to be accounted for externally, Hp. Aph. 2.5; ἀπό τινος αἰτίας αὐτομάτης Pl. Sph. 265c; without visible cause, accidental, opp. ἀπὸ πείρης, Hdt. 7.9.γ/.

II. αὐτόματον,τό, accident, τὸ αὐ. αἰτιᾶσθαι Lys. 6.25; σε ταὐ. ἀποσέσωκε Men. Epit. 568; διὰ τὸ αὐ. Arist. Ph. 195b33; τὸ αὐ. ἀγαπῶντες Id. Ath. 8.5; τῷ αὐ., opp. τέχνῃ, Id. Metaph. 1070a7: most freq. in the form ἀπὸ τοῦ αὐτομάτου or ἀπὸ ταὐτομάτου, ἀποθανέειν ἀπὸ τοῦ αὐ. Hdt. 2.66, cf. Th. 2.77, Pl. Ap. 38c, al., Arist. Po. 1452a5, al., Men. Pk. 31; ἐκ τοῦ αὐ. X. An. 1.3.13; τὸ Αὐ. personified, Ath.Mitt. 35.458 (Pergam.); ταὐτόματόν ἐστιν ὡς ἔοικέ που θεός Men. 291.

III. Adv. ‐τως, = ἀπὸ ταὐτομάτου, v.l. in Hdt. 2.180, Hp. Fract. 43, Arist. PA 640a27, al., Theoc. 21.27; of itself, κοχλίας αὐ. βαδίζων Plb. 12.13.11:—also αὐτοματεί or ‐τί (q.v.).