![]() ![]() A creative inventor, Archimedes built his death ray to repel the invading Roman legions and protect the city-state of Syracuse. The Archimedes death ray was not a chemical substance but a device. Although calcium phosphide can combust when it comes in contact with water, this fire burns quickly and less intensely than Greek fire. The fire would have to be very hot in order for calcium phosphide to be produced. ![]() They would just need to boil urine and crushed bones in a sealed metal pot. This substance could be produced by ancient people. ![]() Still another theory about the makeup of Greek fire states that the weapon could have been made using calcium phosphide. The petroleum may have been mixed with pine resin or tar that would help sustain the flame and burn hotter. The Byzantine Empire included spots in the Middle East where crude oil could be found. This may indicate that Greek fire was some sort of petroleum based product, perhaps even napalm. Then the wooden ships were set ablaze by a flaming arrow that was shot from shore. In yet another ancient text, Tactica, written by Emperor Leo the Wise, there is mention that Greek fire was a liquid substance that was poured all over ships’ decks. The trouble with this theory is that there is no collaborating evidence that saltpeter was ever used anywhere in Europe or the Middle East before the 13th century. That bit of information has led some to speculate that Greek fire may have contained a gunpowder-like material called saltpeter, which is a potassium nitrate compound. Other accounts of Greek fire mention “thunder” associated with it. While it is true that calcium oxide is easily ignited, it does not burn with the intensity that Greek fire was said to have. In this work, he wrote that a torch of Greek fire could be plunged underwater and stay burning because it was, as he said, it was made of “sulphur mixed with lime.” What he meant by lime was most likely quicklime, or calcium oxide, a substance that was known to the Byzantines and the Arabs at the time. ![]() One of these works was The History of Rome by the noted historian, Titus Livy. Because the substance was so powerful, the formula for making it was closely guarded.Įven today, we do not know for sure what Greek fire was, but the textual evidence from the ancient writings gives us some clues. Archimedes left sketches and notes that were replicated by other authors in their writings. We know much more about the Archimedes death ray than we do about Greek fire. It was, by all descriptions, an enormous mirror that focused the sun’s rays into a lethal lazar that igniting the approaching enemy ships. Archimedes death ray was the creation of the Greek mathematician and inventor Archimedes that he developed to protect his home of Syracuse from the invading Roman navy in 214 BC. It was used by the Byzantine navy to defeat their enemies and, in fact, Greek fire is credited with making the Byzantine military extremely powerful. Once lit, it burned extremely hot and could even stay burning under water. According to the ancient accounts, Greek fire, developed in 672, was a substance that was easily ignited. But what exactly were these two cool-sounding ancient weapons and could they have really worked?īoth Greek fire and the Archimedes death ray were incendiary devices. In fact, both of these weapons have been mentioned in some of the popular medieval fantasy books, movies, and television series, like Game of Thrones. Legends from antiquity talk of two different weapons used in warfare, Greek fire and the Archimedes death ray. ![]()
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