Biton of Pergamon
Biton of Pergamon (
Ancient Greek: Κατασκευαὶ πολεμικω̑ν ὄργάνων καὶ καταπαλτικω̑ν).[2]
The military treatise is dedicated to a king named Attalus (
Attalus II (159–38). Some scholars have suggested, based on internal evidence, that the text should date to 156–55.[3]
Biton describes the construction of four non-torsion
scaling ladder. One of the more difficult to understand passages involves a part of the sambuca called the kochlias, which is either a roller or a screw, mounted horizontally or perhaps vertically. To historians, Biton is valuable as the only ancient witness other than Hero of Alexandria to mention non-torsion catapults.[3]
The lost treatise on optics is known only from Biton's references to it in the military treatise. He says that in his optical work he describes a method for calculating the height of walls, which is necessary in order to calculate the proper dimensions for siege engines attacking those walls.[3]
Notes
- ^ Lexikon historikomythikon kai geographikon (etc.)(Historisch-mythologisches und geographisches Wörterbuch etc.) neograece. Andreola. 1834. p. 78.
- ^ Simon Hornblower, "Biton", in Simon Hornblower and Antony Spawforth (eds.), The Oxford Classical Dictionary, 3rd rev. ed. (Oxford University Press, 2005). The Greek may be transliterated Kataskeuai polemikon organon kai katapaltikon.
- ^ a b c Francesco Fiorucci, "Biton of Pergamon", in Roger S. Bagnall, Kai Brodersen, Craige B. Champion and Andrew Erskine (eds.), The Encyclopedia of Ancient History (Wiley, 2013), pp. 1140–41. His translation of Biton's title is Construction of War Engines and Artillery.
Further reading
- Lewis, M. J. T. (1999), "When was Biton?",
- Irby-Massie, Georgia L.; Keyser, Paul T. (2001). Greek Science of the Hellenistic Era: A Sourcebook. Routledge. ISBN 978-0415238472.
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