Archimedes’ claw

E620691

Archimedes’ claw was an ancient defensive war machine, attributed to the Greek mathematician Archimedes, designed to lift and capsize attacking ships during naval assaults on Syracuse.

All labels observed (2)

Label Occurrences
Archimedes’ claw canonical 1
Archimedes’ war machines 1

How this entity was disambiguated

Statements (47)

Predicate Object
instanceOf ancient war machine
defensive weapon
siege defense device
associatedWith Archimedes’ war machines
linked to: Archimedes’ claw

defense of Syracuse
attributedTo Archimedes
constructedFrom metal fittings
wood
culture Ancient Greek
describedBy Livy
Polybius
describedIn ancient historical accounts
designedFor harbor defense
naval defense
designedTo destabilize enemy vessels
grip hulls of ships
lift bow of ships out of water
effect capsizing of ships
deterrence of close approach by enemy fleet
field ancient military engineering
mechanics
historicalContext Roman siege operations
conflict between Rome and Carthage
historicalPeriod 3rd century BC
languageOfPrimarySources Ancient Greek
locatedIn Mediterranean Sea region
linked to: Mediterranean Basin
location Sicily
Syracuse
mechanismType crane-like device
lever-based mechanism
notableFor innovative use of mechanical advantage in warfare
psychological impact on attacking forces
operatedFrom city walls of Syracuse
shore installations
poweredBy human power
primaryFunction capsize attacking ships
defend harbor of Syracuse
lift attacking ships
reconstructedAs modern experimental replicas
status known only from textual descriptions
lost technology
targeted Roman warships
uncertainty exact design unknown
extent of historical use debated by scholars
usedBy Syracuse
usedDuring Second Punic War
Siege of Syracuse

How these facts were elicited

Referenced by (2)

Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.

Siege of Syracuse notableTechnology Archimedes’ claw
Archimedes’ claw associatedWith Archimedes’ war machines
linked to: Archimedes’ claw