Technology Lost to Time IV: Greek Fire

Rome has fallen. The western provinces are in Barbarian hands now. Gaul has been invaded by the Franks, Visigoths and Ostrogoths swept through the Iberian Peninsula to establish kingdoms of their own, and there is a reason “Vandal” means what it does in the English language. When we picture the Fall of Rome, popular depiction shows us grandiose battles, sackings, slaughter, and great men standing against the oncoming hordes as examples of flickering flames shining defiantly against the encroaching darkness, the last great example of the spirit of what Rome once was, and perhaps could have been. We see the roaring fire of the Empire fade, even as these small embers still spark and burn despite the dimming of that once bright light.

We do love to romanticize it, don’t we?

After Diocletian split the Empire among his Tetrarchs, an east and a west were established as a direct result of this bisection. The West fell while the East lived on. How?

Well, aside from paying its enemies to simply skip the Eastern provinces and head over to plunder the West, they also kept the spirit of Rome alive. Rome was a Kingdom, a Republic, then an Empire. Rome is dead, long live Rome. The civilization of Rome survived, as deceptive as that may sound. Through ingenuity and invention combined with that crazy ability to adapt, the East was still standing, and as the embers of the West were snuffed out, the East lit a torch.

Greek Fire is believed to have been invented by an architect and chemist named Kallinikos, from Heliopolis, Syria. This is according to historian and Orthodox Saint, Theophanes the Confessor. He writes:

“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 the discovery of sea fire.”

-St. Theophanes the Confessor

This is an easy explanation. Convenient, even. Though I must admit that there is heated scholarly debate on the accuracy of these statements. Some believe it to have been in-house chemists in Constantinople that inherited the works of the Alexandrian School of chemistry, and even 11th-century chronicler George Kedrenos misattributed Kallinikos’ origins to Egypt’s Heliopolis as opposed to Syria. Regardless, it was developed circa 672 CE as a reaction to the Muslim Conquests and a struggle for survival.

The torch has been lit. Let’s see how they used it.

Turns out pretty effectively. Greek Fire arrived on the scene just in time to repel the first two sieges of Constantinople as it ravaged the Arab fleets, simultaneously aweing and terrifying them as it did not stop burning even as it hit the water. In fact, it was reported

that the flames ignited upon contact with the oceans tumultuous waves.

As a result of this astonishing effectiveness, the composition of Greek Fire, also known to me as Medieval Napalm, was a closely guarded military secret. Shortly after Kallinikos’ arrival, engineers and chemists would have been frantically testing this new technology in a myriad of ways, one of which included the use of medieval grenades, which had been developed in Persia by the Sassanids. The difference would have been the velocity and duration of the explosion as well as the heat of the flames themselves, intensifying the experience for any unfortunate enough to find themselves in the paths of one of these incendiary devices. These grenades would have been hand thrown and made of typical pottery.

psychological aspect of this new breed of warfare. Siphons would have been made of a few key components. A large bronze container would hold the chemical mixture within, and a bellow would have fanned a flame from below to heat the liquid inside without igniting it, simply keeping it less viscous than maple syrup for better flow. An inlet pipe would have been pumped with air, pressurizing the chamber, not too dissimilar to aerosol cans today, many of which can be ignited when a lighter is brought up to the spray. An outlet valve tipped with a nozzle would have overlooked a pilot flame, which would have ignited the steam of the already heated liquid as it sprayed onto a battlefield or enemy ship. All of this to set everything, even water, ablaze. Sources claim that the liquid could be propelled around 100 feet, and a swiveled head allowed for a range of motion to cover larger areas and thus bathe more targets in hellish flame. For perhaps the first time in history, commanders with these weapons at their disposal would have shouted “Fire!” as a command word.

The contents for the recipe of Greek Fire itself remain largely a mystery to this day, part of this due to the fact that the term “Greek Fire” was used as a catch-all term for combustible materials, and you’ll even notice that there were other names such as “Sea Fire” in Theophanes’ quote. Modern researchers hypothesize that the main components of Greek Fire were Sulphur, Quicklime, and Naphtha.

Naphtha is a mixture of crude oils and assorted “fossil fuels” like coal. Quicklime appears as a white powder derived from the refinement of limestone and/or seashells. Sulphur would have also been known more colloquially as Brimstone, and it is a naturally occurring substance known for its wretched odor and flammability. Other likely candidates are wax, resin, and saltpeter.

Regardless, the sheer devastation of these devices, their implementation in the Eastern Roman Navy, and the tales of battle that abounded by the survivors at the other end of the nozzle all served to instigate a mythos that served them well. It became a deterrence for many years, and imitation devices would propagate as the centuries wore on.

Of course, all good things must come to an end. Eastern Rome, whether due to loss of resources, trade routes, or collective dementia regarding the recipe, eventually lost of one of its greatest weapons. During a council, it was decided that Greek Fire was simply too violent to continue using on the battlefield, despite protestations from those in the military.

This torch, too, eventually flickered and waned, only leaving a puff of smoke in its once devastating wake. Unlike Damascus Steel, Greek Fire has yet to be rediscovered, if ever. Besides, even if it was, I doubt the Geneva Conventions would allow for its use in a militaristic capacity. After researching the topic, I can’t say I’d blame them. O

This torch, too, eventually flickered and waned, only leaving a puff of smoke in its once devastating wake. Unlike Damascus Steel, Greek Fire has yet to be rediscovered, if ever. Besides, even if it was, I doubt the Geneva Conventions would allow for its use in a militaristic capacity. After researching the topic, I again can’t say I’d blame them.

(Note: I was unable to find a proper diagram of the siphons used on warships, so I went with the portable one instead to give you an idea. The depiction below is a little treat for Assassin’s Creed fans with minimal relevance. 🙂