Archimedes was one of the greatest minds of the Ancient World. He lived in Syracuse on the island of Sicily. In 215 BCE, Roman general Marcellus laid siege to the city. Being a patriot, Archimedes aided the defense of the city with some amazing weapons. He designed large catapults to hurl huge rocks on the Roman ships. Smaller catapults called “scorpions” shot bolts. The “claw” was a device that would be dropped on the deck of a wooden Roman galley. The claw would dig into the wood and a crane-like arm would lift the ship off the water and drop it back down causing it to spring leaks and sink. And then there was the “death ray”. This may have involved the use of mirrors or polished shields to focus the sun’s rays on the ships causing them to catch fire. (There is still scientific dispute over the feasibility of the “death ray”.) Marcellus did capture the city anyhow, but he recognized the brilliance of Archimedes and could see him working for the Romans. He instructed his soldiers to enjoy themselves sacking the city, but not to harm Archimedes. A Roman legionary found the scientist working on a geometry problem by sketching in the dirt. When the soldier grabbed him roughly, he shouted “Don’t disturb my circles!” The soldier was enraged and killed Archimedes.
https://sciencing.com/weapons-invented-by-archimedes-12756747.html
https://explorable.com/archimedes-war-machines
– The Greatest War Stories Never Told pp. 2-3
1 Comment
Robert · July 15, 2022 at 5:05 pm
Back in the late 1960s (as report in Time or Newsweek) the Greek Navy tested the “Death Ray” and it worked. check it out. This would have been in 1967, 68 or 69.