A Hellenistic Arms Race. The Development and Spread of Siege Technologies in the 3rd Century BC

Abstract

At the turn of the 4th and 3rd centuries BC a dynamic development of siege technology, especially launching weapons, took place. The article considers the causes and circumstances of this development, focusing on the figure of Demetrios Poliorketes and the emergence of large-caliber torsion catapults, which revolutionized the way sieges were conducted at that time. The study further explores possible transmission paths of newly developed siege technologies: from the engineering base of Demetrius to Rhodes, Ptolemaic Egypt, and Magna Graecia, but also through warfare, capture of abandoned equipment or alliance. The historiographical sources, technical treatises, and archaeological finds allow us to estimate the most probable scenario of the genesis of new engineering solutions as well as the possible paths of dissemination of these ideas.