Helepolis
Helepolis (Greek: ἑλέπολις, meaning: "Taker of Cities") is the Greek name for a movable siege tower.
| Helepolis (Taker of Cities) | |
|---|---|
A Helepolis-like Siege Engine showing catapults, stairs and movement capstan. | |
| Type | Siege tower |
| Place of origin | Ancient Greece |
| Production history | |
| Designer | Polyidus of Thessaly |
| Specifications | |
| Mass | 160 short tons (150 t; 140 long tons) |
| Width | 65 ft (20 m) |
| Height | 130 ft (40 m) |
| Crew | 3,400 |
| Armor | Iron plates |
Main armament | 2× 180 lb (82 kg) catapults 4× 60 lb (27 kg) catapults 10× 30 lb (14 kg) catapults |
Secondary armament | 4× dart throwers |
The most famous was that invented by Polyidus of Thessaly, and improved by Demetrius I of Macedon and Epimachus of Athens, for the Siege of Rhodes (305 BC). Descriptions of it were written by Diodorus Siculus, Vitruvius, Plutarch, and in the Athenaeus Mechanicus.
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