Helepolis

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Helepolis (ἑλέπολις, English: "Taker of Cities") was an ancient siege engine invented by Polyidus of Thessaly and improved by Demetrius I of Macedon and Epimachus of Athens for the succesfulsiege of Rhodes, based on an earlier, less massive design used against Salamis (305–304 BC). Descriptions of it were written by Dioeclides of Abdera, Vitruvius, Plutarch, and in the Athenaeus Mechanicus. If their numbers are accurate, it was the biggest and most powerful siege tower ever erected.

It was a large tapered tower, each side about 130 feet (41.1 meters) high and 65 feet (20.6 m) wide. It rested on eight wheels, each 12 feet (3.7 m) high. It also had casters for lateral movement. The three exposed sides were rendered fireproof with iron plates. The interior was divided into nine stories, connected by two broad flights of stairs. The machine weighed 160 tons and required 3,400 men working in relays to move it, 200 men turning a large capstan driving the wheels via a belt and the rest pushing from behind.

The Helepolis was heavily armed. The first floor contained two 180-pound catapults and one 60-pounder, the second floor three 60-pounders, and each of the next five floors two 30-pounders. In front, each storey had apertures for firing the missile weapons. They were protected by shutters that could be opened or closed mechanically, and were lined with skins stuffed with wool and seaweed to render them fireproof as well. The top two floors had two dart throwers apiece.

As the Helepolis was pushed towards the city, the Rhodians managed to dislodge some of the metal plates, and Demetrius ordered it withdrawn from battle to protect it from being burned. Following the failure of the siege, the Helepolis was abandoned, and the people of Rhodes melted down its metal plating and used the materials to build one of the Seven Wonders of the World, the Colossus of Rhodes.

An alternate version by Vitruvius is that the Rhodians begged Diognetus, once the town architect of Rhodes, to find a way to capture the Helepolis. By cover of night he had the Rhodians knock a hole through the wall and channel large amounts of water, mud and sewage onto the area where the Helepolis was expected to attack the following day. Diognetus was successful; the tower was brought forth to the anticipated attack position and became irretrievably stuck in the mire. Once the siege was lifted, the Rhodians sold Demetrius' abandoned engines and used the money to erect the enormous bronze Colossus of Rhodes.

Demetrius also attacked the city with a battering ram 180 feet long, requiring 1000 men to operate it, and he ordered the construction of korax, huge drills for boring through walls. Due to his use of siege engines at Rhodes, Demetrius was given the name "Poliorcetes" (the Besieger). In subsequent ages, siege engineers continued to use the name helepolis for moving towers which carried battering rams, as well as machines for throwing spears and stones.

References

Sources

Connolly, Peter. Greece and Rome at War. London: Greenhill Books, 1998.
Warry, John. Warfare in the Classical World. Salamanda Books.
Campbell, Duncan B. Greek and Roman Siege Machinery 399 BC-AD 363. Osprey Publishing, 2003. ISBN 1841766054

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Last updated on Wednesday March 12, 2008 at 12:18:49 PDT (GMT -0700)
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