Oxybeles
The Oxybeles (plural: Oxybelai ) was a Greek siege weapon . The word comes from the Greek and means sharp projectile (ὀξὺς, oxys = sharp and βέλος, belos = projectile)
Description and use
The Oxybeles consisted of a composite arch that was mounted on a wooden structure. So, unlike the ballista , it was not a torsion gun . The projectiles used were arrows that had only one shaft and a triangular tip. The structure was comparable to the portable Gastraphetes . It was pulled up with the help of a winch .
history
The Oxybeles was created around 375 BC. Chr. , Their heyday was during the campaigns of Alexander the Great . Above all, it was characterized by its precision, which was of great effect both in sieges and in field battles. This weapon disappeared from the battlefield with the advent of the Roman scorpions (around 200 to 100 BC), which were much lighter and had a greater range.
See also
literature
- Peter Connolly : The Greek Armies. Tesslofverlag, Hamburg 1981, ISBN 3-7886-0181-7 , chap. Siege devices.
- Holger Richter: The horn bow crossbow. History and technology. Angelika Hörnig, Ludwigshafen 2006, ISBN 3-938921-02-1 .
- Jeff Kinard: Artillery. An illustrated history of its impact. ABC-CLIO, Santa Barbara CA 2007, ISBN 978-1-85109-556-8 , pp. 3–5, limited preview in Google book search.