Mythili the dreamer
I am sure every history buff worth his/her salt would remember the Second Punic war fought between Rome and Carthage.
It was a war that is completely overshadowed by the great Carthaginian general Hannibal who invaded Italy scored emphatic victories at Lake Trasimene and Cannae before his eventual defeat at the hands of the Roman general Scipio Africanus in 202 B.C.
That said, an often-overlooked battle that nearly frustrated Rome for two years was the Siege of Syracuse, from 213–212 BC. This battle was a special one. This was a battle between military might and the brilliance of science. The brute Roman military strength was led by the great general Marcus Claudius Marcellus and his massive army was opposed by the brilliance of one man, Archimedes whose superior technological inventions stopped the Romans dead in their tracks.
Marcellus knew that the source of all his problems was only one ‘local engineer’ who had been orchestrating Syracuse’s staunch resistance and frustrating the Romans again and again. He was bitterly angry but at the same time had great respect for his legendary foe who was one of the greatest of minds in the ancient world. Archimedes was a man whose mind reached far beyond his times.
As the ancient biographer, Plutarch describes Archimedes during the siege.
“The one soul moving and managing everything; for all other weapons lay idle, and his alone were then employed by the city both in offense and defense.”
The story of Archimedes
Archimedes was the resident of the city-state of Syracuse on the east coast of Sicily, founded in 734 BCE. During his time the state was a powerhouse of art, science, and commerce even rivaling Athens.
Archimedes shared a close relationship with the king and was often called to suggest solutions to civic problems within the city. From inventing a water pump to remove rainwater from ships to testing the amount of gold in the king’s crown (remember the Eureka moment when he ran naked?), Archimedes’s brilliance made him the most respected scientist of his time.
It was around this time that the Romans attacked the state. A huge Roman army under their famous general Marcellus laid siege outside the walls of Syracuse. Well versed in siege warfare, the Romans expected the conquering of the city-state to be a cakewalk as ships carrying ladders and grappling hooks sailed toward the city with the intention of scaling its walls.
But they had grossly underestimated the brilliance of Archimedes. Archimedes devised a series of devious engineering marvels that repulsed Marcellus and his army in every assault. What was expected to finish in two days went on for two years with the Roman army waiting outside the walls, frustrated and terrorized by a ‘local’ engineer as they called Archimedes.
Some of his marvelous creations were simply too brilliant even for today’s times.
The Archimedes Claw
The Archimedes Claw was a notorious invention in which huge beams could be swung out over the walls and some of also dropped huge weights, punching holes through the ships and sinking them.
Others had a claw or grappling hook, which grabbed hold of the rigging or rails of a galley, raising it, shaking it, and capsizing it. The terrifying spectacle of a ship being lifted and thrown stuck terror within the Romans.
The Archimedes Catapult Engine
The historian Plutarch describes the catapult engine as a series of “engines” designed to hurl arrows and rocks at attacking Roman troops and ships.
According to him, some of the rocks hurled from Archimedes’s catapults weighed as much as 10 talents — around 700 pounds. He also describes different types of catapult engines with varied ability to hurl or shoot projectiles at attackers both at great range and directly under the city’s walls.
The Archimedes Death Ray
This was the most lethal of Archimedes inventions. The invention involved a huge mirror that could focus sunlight onto the wooden Roman ships and cause them to burst into flames.
The device consisted of a large array of highly polished bronze or copper shields arranged in a parabola, concentrating sunlight into a single, intense beam. This single device spread havoc among Roman sailors who even mutinied rather than getting burnt to death.
Marcellus could not afford any more direct attacks and he suffered heavy losses. What began as a short siege had become a stalemate that went on for two years.
Marcellus finally wins
Indeed, the men of the mighty Roman army were so terrorized beyond their wildest dreams as Plutarch writes.
“Whenever they saw a bit of rope or a stick of timber projecting a little over the wall, ‘There it is,’ they cried, ‘Archimedes is training some engine upon us,’ and turned their backs and fled.”
But Marcellus was determined to win, come what may. He decided to play the waiting game and attack when the Syracusans were feeling comfortable and oblivious.
As Plutarch writes.
“Marcellus seized his opportunity when the Syracusans were celebrating a festival in honor of Artemis and were given over to wine and sport. He stealthily came and filled the wall around with armed men, before the break of day, and cut his way through the city.”
In the end, the war machines of Archimedes did not save the city of Syracuse from defeat. Though they possessed superior technology thanks to Archimedes, what they lacked was the resourcefulness and the grit that the Romans had to wait patiently and finally win the battle. Marcellus ordered his troops to find Archimedes and bring him back unharmed as he had great respect for his brilliant foe.
Unfortunately, the eager Roman soldiers caught him and killed him on the spot. Marcus Claudius Marcellus was livid as he declared his killers as murderers and personally apologized to his relatives. On his tomb, he placed a sculpture featuring a sphere and cylinder of equal height and diameter; a symbol of his favorite subject, mathematics.
Archimedes would forever remain a source of inspiration for genius minds of later times and his incredible legacy can never be forgotten over the centuries.
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