Well, first off the gyroscopic/balance issues can be mitigated a lot by making wide feet with the toes going in all four directions instead of a human style foot, for a bipedal mecha. As was mentioned, an AT-AT.
Settling on the 4 footed variety, I then went with the hydrothermal self opening temple ddors method for moving the feet up and down. Basically a fire is started on top of a metal cask of water and as water heats expands and pushes the foot down which lifts the mech up tilting it to one side. This lifts the mech until the leg is up enough to get to the vent on the leg that lets up enough to cause the water level to sink below the vent (causing a blast of hot water and steam out, vented through tubes outward as a defensive weapon.)
Now that up and down is cover you have to get it to walk foward. Have slaves/solders push the leg foward, as it goes up and backwards when its down. Thus the mech walks forward, granted training the teams have to be timed together or your going to walk in circles/drunkenly. Steering is equally hard to time. Also you either have to time it so the fire is the same temperature in each of the 2 diagonal legs in 2 sets of 2 legs or have the a system of pipes for 2 central ones to to get the thing coordinated. Though reverse is equally possible.
Slow granted and hard to steer, but its going to walk. You also have to add in room for the design to allow greased slats to prevent steaming the guys moving the legs around. The main weapons are missile ones (ballista and bows) as this is a walker, the secondary are steam blasts from the basic legs operation and the forward mounted main steam/water vents (or from front and back in the 4 heater design) ones that go off to stop it /clear the defenders from the wall before the frontal boarding ramps drop and the back feed ramp is lowed so that the army can run into the city from there. Pity it causes so much mud though.
Its a wooden frame with armor plates strapped onto it like the Colossus of Rhodes.
Thats the earliest I think it can be done, without magic and with a bit of science flubbing. As soon as Automated temple doors came around The Muslims came after Jesus... they aren't going to get a chance to do much as they won't exist until after the ancient Greeks. The Chinese will base mechs off their dragons.... which do ot even have legs.
Edit: Due to hitting ENTER during title, instead of TAB.
Settling on the 4 footed variety, I then went with the hydrothermal self opening temple ddors method for moving the feet up and down. Basically a fire is started on top of a metal cask of water and as water heats expands and pushes the foot down which lifts the mech up tilting it to one side. This lifts the mech until the leg is up enough to get to the vent on the leg that lets up enough to cause the water level to sink below the vent (causing a blast of hot water and steam out, vented through tubes outward as a defensive weapon.)
Now that up and down is cover you have to get it to walk foward. Have slaves/solders push the leg foward, as it goes up and backwards when its down. Thus the mech walks forward, granted training the teams have to be timed together or your going to walk in circles/drunkenly. Steering is equally hard to time. Also you either have to time it so the fire is the same temperature in each of the 2 diagonal legs in 2 sets of 2 legs or have the a system of pipes for 2 central ones to to get the thing coordinated. Though reverse is equally possible.
Slow granted and hard to steer, but its going to walk. You also have to add in room for the design to allow greased slats to prevent steaming the guys moving the legs around. The main weapons are missile ones (ballista and bows) as this is a walker, the secondary are steam blasts from the basic legs operation and the forward mounted main steam/water vents (or from front and back in the 4 heater design) ones that go off to stop it /clear the defenders from the wall before the frontal boarding ramps drop and the back feed ramp is lowed so that the army can run into the city from there. Pity it causes so much mud though.
Its a wooden frame with armor plates strapped onto it like the Colossus of Rhodes.
Thats the earliest I think it can be done, without magic and with a bit of science flubbing. As soon as Automated temple doors came around The Muslims came after Jesus... they aren't going to get a chance to do much as they won't exist until after the ancient Greeks. The Chinese will base mechs off their dragons.... which do ot even have legs.
Edit: Due to hitting ENTER during title, instead of TAB.