Greek Fire, Poison Arrows, and Scorpion Bombs

Download or read book Greek Fire, Poison Arrows, and Scorpion Bombs written by Adrienne Mayor and published by Princeton University Press. This book was released on 2022-07-26 with total page 432 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A gripping and groundbreaking history of how ancient cultures developed and used biological, chemical, and other unconventional weapons of war Flamethrowers, poison gases, incendiary bombs, the large-scale spreading of disease: are these terrifying agents of warfare modern inventions? Not by a long shot. In this riveting history of the origins of unconventional war, Adrienne Mayor shows that cultures around the world have used biological and chemical weapons for thousands of years—and debated the morality of doing so. Drawing extraordinary connections between the mythical worlds of Hercules and the Trojan War, the accounts of Herodotus and Thucydides, and modern methods of war and terrorism, this richly illustrated history catapults readers into the dark and fascinating realm of ancient war and mythic treachery.