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Polyidus of Thessaly (also Polyides, Polydus; , , English translation: "much beauty", from ''polus'', "many, much" and ''eidos'', "form, appearance, beauty") was an
ancient Greek Ancient Greek includes the forms of the Greek language used in ancient Greece and the ancient world from around 1500 BC to 300 BC. It is often roughly divided into the following periods: Mycenaean Greek (), Dark Ages (), the Archaic peri ...
military engineer of
Philip Philip, also Phillip, is a male given name, derived from the Greek (''Philippos'', lit. "horse-loving" or "fond of horses"), from a compound of (''philos'', "dear", "loved", "loving") and (''hippos'', "horse"). Prominent Philips who popularize ...
, who made improvements in the covered
battering-ram A battering ram is a siege engine that originated in ancient times and was designed to break open the masonry walls of fortifications or splinter their wooden gates. In its simplest form, a battering ram is just a large, heavy log carried by ...
(testudo arietaria, poliorceticus krios) during Philip's siege of
Byzantium Byzantium () or Byzantion ( grc, Βυζάντιον) was an ancient Greek city in classical antiquity that became known as Constantinople in late antiquity and Istanbul today. The Greek name ''Byzantion'' and its Latinization ''Byzantium'' cont ...
in 340 BC. His students were
Diades of Pella Diades of Pella ( grc, Διάδης Πελλαίος ''Diadis Pelleos''), surnamed the "Besieger" ( ''Poliorkitis''), was a Thessalian inventor of many siege engines, student of Philip II's military engineer Polyidus of Thessaly. He lived in the 4t ...
and Charias, who served in the campaigns of
Alexander the Great Alexander III of Macedon ( grc, wikt:Ἀλέξανδρος, Ἀλέξανδρος, Alexandros; 20/21 July 356 BC – 10/11 June 323 BC), commonly known as Alexander the Great, was a king of the Ancient Greece, ancient Greek kingdom of Maced ...
. Polyidus was the inventor of
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 ...
.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 Polyidus, named Diades, was known as 'the man who took Tyre with Alexander' in 332 BC."


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Vitruvius Vitruvius (; c. 80–70 BC – after c. 15 BC) was a Roman architect and engineer during the 1st century BC, known for his multi-volume work entitled ''De architectura''. He originated the idea that all buildings should have three attribute ...
. x. 19. s. 13. §3. *Campbell, Duncan B. ''Greek and Roman Siege Machinery 399 BC-AD 363''. Osprey Publishing, 2003. Ancient Greek engineers Ancient Greek military engineers Ancient Thessalians Hellenistic military engineers 4th-century BC Greek people Philip II of Macedon {{Greece-engineer-stub