{"id":3921708,"date":"2025-09-03T09:09:50","date_gmt":"2025-09-03T14:09:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/mikedyess.info\/para\/when-alchemy-and-ancient-technology-merge-greek-fire-an-ancient-weapon-that-couldnt-be-put-out\/"},"modified":"2025-09-03T09:09:50","modified_gmt":"2025-09-03T14:09:50","slug":"when-alchemy-and-ancient-technology-merge-greek-fire-an-ancient-weapon-that-couldnt-be-put-out","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/mikedyess.info\/para\/when-alchemy-and-ancient-technology-merge-greek-fire-an-ancient-weapon-that-couldnt-be-put-out\/","title":{"rendered":"When Alchemy and ancient technology merge: \u201cGreek Fire\u201d an ancient weapon that couldn\u2019t be put out"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Meet \u201cGreek Fire,\u201d an ancient weapon that was nearly impossible to extinguish, and whose composition remains a profound mystery for experts even to this date. Many refer to it as the best-kept secret of the Ancient World. Oh and\u2026\u00a0Greek Fire was accompanied by \u201cthunder\u201d and \u201cmuch smoke.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n

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An illustration of Greek Fire. A screenshot from the game \u201cAssassin\u2019s Creed Revelations.\u201d<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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It was one of the most fearful ancient weapons of ancient times. Its composition remains a profound mystery for scientists, it cannot be replicated, and it goes by a variety of names, such as \u201csea fire,\u201d \u201cRoman fire,\u201d \u201cwar fire,\u201d \u201cliquid fire,\u201d\u00a0 \u201csticky fire,\u201d or \u201cmanufactured fire.\u201d<\/p>\n

This mysterious ancient weapon burned on water, and according to many accounts, was IGNITED by water. The fire could only be extinguished by a few SPECIFIC substances, most notoriously sand (as it deprives oxygen of the fire) a strong vinegar and urine, as these two create a chemical reaction which reduces the flames.<\/p>\n

Greek fire was not a projective; it was a liquid substance unlike many authors state. While at sea, it was ejected through a siphon although later on it was adapted to be used in pots or as grenades.<\/p>\n

Curiously, and what captures my attention most is the fact that all of those who have described witnessing Greek Fire indicate how Greek Fire was accompanied by \u201cthunder\u201d and \u201cmuch smoke.\u201d<\/p>\n

Throughout history, ancient mankind has created an infinity of weapons of enormous destructive capacity, from the earliest uses of gunpowder to today\u2019s nuclear bombs. But in the range of horrors, very few weapons have astonished historians and awakened the imagination of many as much as the legendary Greek Fire.<\/p>\n

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And while the recipe of Greek fire is lost, this was found in an illuminated manuscript and is considered as one of few surviving ancient depictions of Greek fire.\u00a0Source: Wikimedia<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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It is believed that a Jewish refugee in the Byzantine Empire, was the one who \u201cinvented the art of projecting liquid fire\u201d during the reign of Constantine IV (668-685).<\/p>\n

Its composition is, to this day, a mystery.<\/p>\n

Writers of antiquity spoke about how it was made, but it remained a matter of speculation. There are some who say that \u201cGreek Fire\u201d was created by a mixture of oil ether, sulfur, coal, saltpeter, turpentine, and even pine resin.<\/p>\n

The Greek Fire was feared by the ancient world because it clung to the skin or the clothes, it burned longer and at a higher temperature, and unlike any other fire: it burned on water<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Supposedly, the flames could only be extinguished with a mixture of urine, sand, and vinegar.<\/p>\n

The art of its composition was such a well-kept secret that those who knew it took it to the grave, meaning that\u2014most likely\u2014there arent any written records that mention its composition or how it was produced. According to historians, \u00a0the ingredients and the processes of manufacture and deployment of Greek fire were carefully guarded military secrets.<\/p>\n

This fearful ancient weapon was launched with air pumps, giving the effect of a modern flamethrower. It was with this weapon that the Greek ships destroyed the Arab fleet that attacked Constantinople in 673. For many historians, the Greek Fire was a key weapon for the Byzantine Empire.<\/p>\n

Greek fire was ascribed by the chronicler\u00a0Theophanes\u00a0to Kallinikos, who was an architect from\u00a0Heliopolis\u00a0in the ancient\u00a0province\u00a0of\u00a0Phoenice, by then occupied by the\u00a0Muslim conquests:<\/p>\n

At that time Kallinikos, an artificer from Heliopolis, fled to the Romans. He had devised a sea fire which ignited the Arab ships and burned them with all hands. Thus it was that the Romans returned with victory and discovered the sea fire.<\/p>\n

The only known \u201crecipe\u201d of\u00a0 Greek fire comes from Anna Comnena\u2014<\/strong>a\u00a0Byzantine princess\u2014who provided a description of the weapon after it was used by the Byzantine garrison of\u00a0Dyrrhachium\u00a0in 1108 against the\u00a0Normans:<\/p>\n

This fire was made by the following arts. From the pine and the certain such evergreen trees inflammable resin is collected. This is rubbed with sulfur and put into tubes of reed, and is blown by men using it with violent and continuous breath. Then in this manner it meets the fire on the tip and catches light and falls like a fiery whirlwind on the faces of the enemies.<\/p>\n

However, historians agree this is but a mere speculation.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Go to Source<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"\n

Meet \u201cGreek Fire,\u201d an ancient weapon that was nearly impossible to extinguish, and whose composition remains a profound mystery for experts even to this date. Many refer to it as the best-kept secret of the Ancient World. Oh and\u2026 Greek Fire was accompanied by \u201cthunder\u201d and \u201cmuch smoke.\u201d<\/p>\n

An illustration of Greek Fire. A […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[57],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3921708","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-ancient-code","odd"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/mikedyess.info\/para\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3921708","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/mikedyess.info\/para\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/mikedyess.info\/para\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/mikedyess.info\/para\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/mikedyess.info\/para\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3921708"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"http:\/\/mikedyess.info\/para\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3921708\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/mikedyess.info\/para\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3921708"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/mikedyess.info\/para\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3921708"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/mikedyess.info\/para\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3921708"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}