A catapult is a device used to throw or hurl a projectile a great distance without the aid of explosive devices—particularly various types of ancient and medieval siege engines. Although the catapult has been used since ancient times, it has proven to be one of the most effective mechanisms during warfare.
The early history of the catapult and the crossbow in Greece is not that far apart. The historian Diodorus Siculus (fl. 1st century BC), descr...
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A catapult is a device used to throw or hurl a projectile a great distance without the aid of explosive devices—particularly various types of ancient and medieval siege engines. Although the catapult has been used since ancient times, it has proven to be one of the most effective mechanisms during warfare.
The early history of the catapult and the crossbow in Greece is not that far apart. The historian Diodorus Siculus (fl. 1st century BC), described the invention of the mechanical arrow firing catapult (katapeltikon) by a Greek task force in 400 BC. The weapon was soon after employed against Motya (397 BC), a key Carthaginian stronghold in Sicily. Diodorus is assumed to have drawn his description from the highly rated history of Philistus, a contemporary of the events then.
The date of the introduction of crossbows, however, can be dated further back: According to the inventor Hero of Alexandria (fl. 1st c. AD), who referred to the now lost works of the 3rd century BC engineer...
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