Roman soldiers killed by chemical weapons

I concur, very fascinating indeed. Does anyone know of a compound which the Greeks used to destroy enemy ships, supposedly igniting on contact with water? I recall reading something along these lines many years back but w/o specific details.

I concur, very fascinating indeed. Does anyone know of a compound which the Greeks used to destroy enemy ships, supposedly igniting on contact with water? I recall reading something along these lines many years back but w/o specific details. Cant say i have heard of a compound that will ignite on contact with water , maybe it was some kind of oil and they lit it up . TiP

Potassium Chlorate.

I think potassium ignites in air and is stored in water. i could be wrong

Potassium Chlorate was used before gunpowder. It's highly unstable, very small doses of it are used in those little "Snap Cracker" things kids use. The ones that are thrown at the ground. However, it holds up well against water, so it was favored before Gun Powder to other forms of propellants. So, it's not Potassium Chlorate, I really can't think of what that could be though.

I concur, very fascinating indeed. Does anyone know of a compound which the Greeks used to destroy enemy ships, supposedly igniting on contact with water? I recall reading something along these lines many years back but w/o specific details. *I've heard of it.. don't really KNOW of it. http://www.1911encyclopedia.org/Greek_Fire It is said that in the reign of Constantine Pogonatus (648-685) an architect named Callinicus, who had fled from Heliopolis in Syria to Constantinople, prepared a wet fire which was thrown out from siphons (TO bta Twv o wwwv ic4 €pbjsevov 7rUp u-ypov), and that by its... [More]

People back then were smarter than most people usually give them credit for.

Pretty nice skel. Wish they eould have shown all of it. Also looks like he's waving. /wave

Viva Persian Soldiers .

I think alot of people underestimate the ingenious mind of the ancients whether they be Roman, Celtic, Egyptian, Persian or Chinese. There must be alot of technology they used that as been lost to the ages. I think we do them a great disservice by attributing their advanced technology to "Extraterrestrials" and other drivel!