Helepolis
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Helepolis
Helepolis ( el, ἑλέπολις, meaning: "Taker of Cities") is the Greek name for a movable siege tower. The most famous was that invented by Polyidus of Thessaly, and improved by Demetrius I of Macedon and Epimachus of Athens, for the Siege of Rhodes (305 BC). Descriptions of it were written by Diodorus Siculus, Vitruvius, Plutarch, and in the Athenaeus Mechanicus. Description The Helepolis was essentially a large tapered tower, with each side about 130 feet (41.1 m) high, and 65 feet (20.6 m) wide that was manually pushed into battle. It rested on eight wheels, each 15 feet (4.6 m) high and also had casters, to allow lateral movement as well as direct. The three exposed sides were rendered fireproof with iron plates, and stories divided the interior, connected by two broad flights of stairs, one for ascent and one for descent. The machine weighed 160 tons, and required 3,400 men working in relays to move it, 200 turning a large capstan driving the whe ...
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Helepolis Siege Tower, 4th Century BC, Greece (model)
Helepolis ( el, ἑλέπολις, meaning: "Taker of Cities") is the Greek name for a movable siege tower. The most famous was that invented by Polyidus of Thessaly, and improved by Demetrius I of Macedon and Epimachus of Athens, for the Siege of Rhodes (305 BC). Descriptions of it were written by Diodorus Siculus, Vitruvius, Plutarch, and in the Athenaeus Mechanicus. Description The Helepolis was essentially a large tapered tower, with each side about 130 feet (41.1 m) high, and 65 feet (20.6 m) wide that was manually pushed into battle. It rested on eight wheels, each 15 feet (4.6 m) high and also had casters, to allow lateral movement as well as direct. The three exposed sides were rendered fireproof with iron plates, and stories divided the interior, connected by two broad flights of stairs, one for ascent and one for descent. The machine weighed 160 tons, and required 3,400 men working in relays to move it, 200 turning a large capstan driving the whe ...
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Epimachus Of Athens
Epimachus of Athens ( grc, Ἐπίμαχος ὁ Ἀθήναιος, , c.300 BC) was a renowned Athenian engineer and architectSmith, W. p.563 who is known to have constructed the Helepolis (literally, ''Taker of Cities''), a huge siege machine first conceptualised by Demetrius I of Macedon and built to be employed in the unsuccessful siege of Rhodes.Campbell, D.B. p.83 Life Few particular details are known about Epimachus of Athens' life. He built other unique siege weapons, aside from the Helepolis, some for Demetrius I of Macedon, and others for various other leaders and warlords. Of these other siege weapons was a large battering ram over 60 metres long. Many of his creations had visible effects on future siege engineering, hundreds of years later, and the design for the Helepolis in particular had effects on future designs; the term Helepolis endured for many centuries after the "original", used for any similar, tower-like siege machine. The Helepolis The design for the He ...
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Siege Tower
A Roman siege tower or breaching tower (or in the Middle Ages, a belfry''Castle: Stephen Biesty's Cross-Sections''. Dorling Kindersley Pub (T); 1st American edition (September 1994). Siege towers were invented in 300 BC. ) is a specialized siege engine, constructed to protect assailants and ladders while approaching the defensive walls of a fortification. The tower was often rectangular with four wheels with its height roughly equal to that of the wall or sometimes higher to allow archers to stand on top of the tower and shoot arrows into the fortification. Because the towers were wooden and thus flammable, they had to have some non-flammable covering of iron or fresh animal skins. Used since the 11th century BC by the Babylonians and Assyrians in the ancient Near East, the 4th century BC in Europe and also in antiquity in the Far East, siege towers were of unwieldy dimensions and, like trebuchets, were therefore mostly constructed on site of the siege. Taking considerable time t ...
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Siege Tower
A Roman siege tower or breaching tower (or in the Middle Ages, a belfry''Castle: Stephen Biesty's Cross-Sections''. Dorling Kindersley Pub (T); 1st American edition (September 1994). Siege towers were invented in 300 BC. ) is a specialized siege engine, constructed to protect assailants and ladders while approaching the defensive walls of a fortification. The tower was often rectangular with four wheels with its height roughly equal to that of the wall or sometimes higher to allow archers to stand on top of the tower and shoot arrows into the fortification. Because the towers were wooden and thus flammable, they had to have some non-flammable covering of iron or fresh animal skins. Used since the 11th century BC by the Babylonians and Assyrians in the ancient Near East, the 4th century BC in Europe and also in antiquity in the Far East, siege towers were of unwieldy dimensions and, like trebuchets, were therefore mostly constructed on site of the siege. Taking considerable time t ...
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Heliopolis (other)
Heliopolis (Greek for "Sun City") may refer to: Places * Heliopolis (ancient Egypt), also known as Heliopolis in Augustamnica * Heliopolis, Cairo, a suburb or district of Cairo, Egypt ** Heliopolis Sporting Club ** Heliopolis University in Cairo ** New Heliopolis * Heliopolis (Lebanon), ancient city also known as Heliopolis Syriaca, Roman Heliopolis, or Heliopolis in Phoenicia; at modern Baalbek in Lebanon *Heliopolis (Athens suburb) or Ilioupoli, a suburb of Athens, Greece * Heliópolis, the largest favela of São Paulo City, Brazil *Heliópolis, Bahia, a municipality in Bahia, Brazil * Héliopolis, Algeria, a town and commune in Algeria *Héliopolis, a town in France situated on the Levant Island * Heliópolis, Seville, neighbourhood of the Bellavista-La Palmera district in Seville, Spain Fictional places *Heliopolis (Marvel Comics), a location in Marvel comics *Heliopolis, a planet in the ''Stargate SG-1'' episode " The Torment of Tantalus" Literature * ''Heliopolis'' (Jün ...
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Trebuchet
A trebuchet (french: trébuchet) is a type of catapult that uses a long arm to throw a projectile. It was a common powerful siege engine until the advent of gunpowder. The design of a trebuchet allows it to launch projectiles of greater weights and further distances than that of a traditional catapult. There are two main types of trebuchet. The first is the traction trebuchet, or mangonel, which uses manpower to swing the arm. It first appeared in China in the 4th century BC. Carried westward by the Avars, the technology was adopted by the Byzantines in the late 6th century AD and by their neighbors in the following centuries. The later, and often larger and more powerful, counterweight trebuchet, also known as the counterpoise trebuchet, uses a counterweight to swing the arm. It appeared in both Christian and Muslim lands around the Mediterranean in the 12th century, and was carried back to China by the Mongols in the 13th century. Etymology and terminology It is uncer ...
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Siege Engine
A siege engine is a device that is designed to break or circumvent heavy castle doors, thick city walls and other fortifications in siege warfare. Some are immobile, constructed in place to attack enemy fortifications from a distance, while others have wheels to enable advancing up to the enemy fortification. There are many distinct types, such as siege towers that allow foot soldiers to scale walls and attack the defenders, battering rams that damage walls or gates, and large ranged weapons (such as ballistae, catapults/trebuchets and other similar constructions) that attack from a distance by launching projectiles. Some complex siege engines were combinations of these types. Siege engines are fairly large constructions – from the size of a small house to a large building. From antiquity up to the development of gunpowder, they were made largely of wood, using rope or leather to help bind them, possibly with a few pieces of metal at key stress points. They could launch simple ...
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Polyidus Of Thessaly
Polyidus of Thessaly (also Polyides, Polydus; , , English language, English translation: "much beauty", from ''polus'', "many, much" and ''eidos'', "form, appearance, beauty") was an ancient Greek military engineer of Philip II of Macedon, Philip, who made improvements in the covered battering-ram (testudo arietaria, poliorceticus Crius, krios) during Philip's siege of Byzantium in 340 BC. His students were Diades of Pella and Charias, who served in the campaigns of Alexander the Great. Polyidus was the inventor of Helepolis.Campbell, p. 4. "On campaign, Phillip was accompanied by engineers, one of whom, Polyidus of Thessaly, allegedly developed different types of battering ram. The same engineer was also remembered as the builder of a giant siege tower (''helepolis'') at Byzantium during Philip's siege of 340 BC. Alexander routinely utilised siege machinery, and several of his engineers are also known by name, emphasising, the esteem in which they were held. Indeed, a pupil of Polyi ...
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Demetrius I Of Macedon
Demetrius I (; grc, Δημήτριος; 337–283 BC), also called Poliorcetes (; el, Πολιορκητής, "The Besieger"), was a Macedonian nobleman, military leader, and king of Macedon (294–288 BC). He belonged to the Antigonid dynasty and was its first member to rule Macedonia. He was the son of Antigonus I Monophthalmus and Stratonice. Biography Early career Demetrius served with his father, Antigonus I Monophthalmus, during the Second War of the Diadochi. He participated in the Battle of Paraitakene where he commanded the cavalry on the right flank. Despite the Antigonid left flank, commanded by Peithon, being routed, and the center, commanded by Antigonus, being dealt heavy losses at the hands of the famous Silver Shields, Demetrius was victorious on the right, and his success there ultimately prevented the battle from being a complete loss. Demetrius was again present at the conclusive Battle of Gabiene. Directly after the battle, while Antigonus held the b ...
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Diodorus Siculus
Diodorus Siculus, or Diodorus of Sicily ( grc-gre, Διόδωρος ;  1st century BC), was an ancient Greek historian. He is known for writing the monumental universal history ''Bibliotheca historica'', in forty books, fifteen of which survive intact, between 60 and 30 BC. The history is arranged in three parts. The first covers mythic history up to the destruction of Troy, arranged geographically, describing regions around the world from Egypt, India and Arabia to Europe. The second covers the time from the Trojan War to the death of Alexander the Great. The third covers the period to about 60 BC. ''Bibliotheca'', meaning 'library', acknowledges that he was drawing on the work of many other authors. Life According to his own work, he was born in Agyrium in Sicily (now called Agira). With one exception, antiquity affords no further information about his life and doings beyond his written works. Only Jerome, in his ''Chronicon'' under the "year of Abraham 1968" (49 BC), w ...
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Naval Helepolis
A navy, naval force, or maritime force is the branch of a nation's armed forces principally designated for naval and amphibious warfare; namely, lake-borne, riverine, littoral, or ocean-borne combat operations and related functions. It includes anything conducted by surface ships, amphibious ships, submarines, and seaborne aviation, as well as ancillary support, communications, training, and other fields. The strategic offensive role of a navy is projection of force into areas beyond a country's shores (for example, to protect sea-lanes, deter or confront piracy, ferry troops, or attack other navies, ports, or shore installations). The strategic defensive purpose of a navy is to frustrate seaborne projection-of-force by enemies. The strategic task of the navy also may incorporate nuclear deterrence by use of submarine-launched ballistic missiles. Naval operations can be broadly divided between riverine and littoral applications (brown-water navy), open-ocean applicati ...
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LacusCurtius
LacusCurtius is a website specializing in ancient Rome, currently hosted on a server at the University of Chicago. It went online on August 26, 1997; in July 2021 it had "3707 webpages, 765 photos, 772 drawings & engravings, 120 plans, 139 maps." The site is the creation of William P. Thayer. Overview The main resources to be found on it include: * a number of Latin and Greek texts, usually in English translation, and often in the original language as well, * ''Smith's Dictionary of Greek and Roman Antiquities'', * ''Platner's Topographical Dictionary of Ancient Rome'', * several secondary works, mostly on Rome and Roman Britain, * a photogazetteer of Roman remains and medieval churches of central Italy including the city of Rome, * an often-cited online copy of Richard Hinckley Allen's '' Star Names: Their Lore and Meaning'', * the Antiquary's Shoebox, a selection of articles from classical studies journals that are now in public domain. The parent site also includes a large Ame ...
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