Greek Fire, Poison Arrows, and Scorpion Bombs: Biological & Chemical Warfare in the Ancient World [Paperback]

Adrienne Mayor (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: December 30, 2008

"A comprehensive look at WMD's antecedents, from flamethrowers of the Peloponnesian War to plague-bearing booby traps.... Rich and entertaining." -Newsweek

Featuring a new introduction by the author.

Flamethrowers, poison gases, incendiary bombs, the large-scale spreading of disease... are these terrifying agents and implements of warfare modern inventions? Not by a long shot. Weapons of biological and chemical warfare have been in use for thousands of years, and Greek Fire, Poison Arrows & Scorpion Bombs, Adrienne Mayor's fascinating exploration of the origins of biological and unethical warfare draws 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.

Greek Fire, Poison Arrows & Scorpion Bombs will catapult readers into the dark and fascinating realm of ancient war and mythic treachery-and their devastating consequences.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Illuminating... Adrienne Mayor marshals not just myth, but also the writing of ancient authors and evidence from archaeological digs to show that biological and chemical weapons saw action inbattles long before the modern era." -The New York Times

"A sound and very imaginative account....Mayor's historical research has made a significant contribution toward filling in the gapsof knowledge concerning weaponry in the classical age." -Newsday

"Mayor recounts in lively, sometimes darkly comic detail, the diabolical stratagems devised by devious warriors for tactical ends."-Discover

About the Author

Adrienne Mayor is a classical folklorist who specializes in the early history of science. A frequent contributor to Archaeology, MHQ: The Quarterly Journal of Military History, Folklore, and the Journal of American she is often interviewed on NPR and the BBC, as well as on the History and Learning Channels. She lives in Princeton, New Jersey.

Product Details

• Paperback: 336 pages
• Publisher: Overlook TP (December 30, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1590201779
• ISBN-13: 978-1590201770
• Product Dimensions: 7.9 x 5.3 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #94,597 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #17 in Books > History > Military > Weapons & Warfare > Biological & Chemical

More About the Author

Adrienne Mayor writes about the history of ancient science and warfare. In college during the Vietnam War, she received special permission to take ROTC courses in the history of war; 20 years later she began writing articles for MHQ: The Quarterly Journal of Military History. She is also a classical folklorist who investigates natural knowledge embedded in classcial Greek and Roman literature and other "pre-scientific" myths and oral traditions, looking for "folk science" precursors, alternatives, and parallels to modern scientific methods.

Mayor's two books on pre-Darwinian fossil traditions in classical antiquity and in Native America ("The First Fossil Hunters" and "Fossil Legends of the First Americans") opened new windows in the emerging field of Geomythology.

"The First Fossil Hunters" is featured in the popular History Channel show "Ancient Monster Hunters," about Mayor's discovery of the links between ancient observations of dinosaur fossils and the gold-guarding Griffin of mythology. Her research on the connections between fossils and fabulous creatures helped inspire the traveling exhibit "Mythic Creatures" (launched at the American Museum of Natural History, 2007-17).

She also appears in the Thunderbirds and Mermaids videos on the History Channel's MonsterQuest website.

Her book "Greek Fire, Poison Arrows & Scorpion Bombs," on the origins and early use of biological weapons, uncovered the ancient roots of biochemical warfare. This book was featured in National Geographic, New York Times, and the History Channel's "Ancient Greek WMDs" --and it has become a favorite resource for diabolical, unconventional weaponry among ancient war-gamers.

Mayor is currently a research scholar in Classics and the History and Philosophy of Science and Technology Program at Stanford. Her work has been featured on NPR and BBC, Discovery and History TV channels, and other popular media, most recently the New York Times and National Geographic. Mayor's books are translated into Spanish, Japanese, Chinese, Korean, Hungarian, Polish, Turkish, Italian, and Greek.

Best-selling novelists frequently draw on Mayor's findings in their fiction, see for example, "Helen of Troy" and "Memoirs of Cleopatra" by Margaret George; "The Gryphon's Skull" by H. Turteltaub; "Dark Fire" by C.J. Sansom; and Brad Thor's thriller "Blowback."

Mayor spent 6 years researching and writing her latest book, "The Poison King: The Life and Legend of Mithridates," the first full biography in half a century of one of Rome's Deadliest Enemies and the world's first experimental toxicologist. "The Poison King" was a finalist for the 2009 National Book Award, nonfiction and won top honors in Biography in the Independent Book Publishers Awards, 2010. "The Poison King" is available in German, Turkish, Greek, and Italian.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent Study of Poison Weapons in Antiquity, February 28, 2010

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A Reader (USA) - See all my reviews

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This review is from: Greek Fire, Poison Arrows, and Scorpion Bombs: Biological & Chemical Warfare in the Ancient World (Paperback)

Judging by the many positive reviews of this book in, for example, the New York Times, National Geographic, Newsweek, and by leading ancient historians, classical scholars, and experts in biochmical warfare, such as Robert Fagles (translator of Homer's Iliad), Tom Holland (Persian Fire, Rubicon), Brian Balmer (Britain and Biological Warfare), and Richard Stoneman ( Alexander The Great), this book is considered a valuable, pathbreaking study of the deep roots of toxic warfare.

Each chapter, on different types of toxic warfare, is filled with exciting, little-known episodes in myths and in real battles of the earliest references to biological weapons and tactics. Also the facts that this book is chosen for History book clubs, a favorite of war game fans, widely reviewed in Europe, South America, and Asia, and translated into Polish, Greek, Turkish, Japanese, and Chinese indicates the high merit of this book. Sure, any readers combing books for errors and typos will find something to complain about, but the majority of readers realize this and judge a book on its capacity to educate and entertain.

Some reviewers object to Mayor's descriptions of biological weapons in Greek mythology, but the difference between legend and history is not always clear in ancient sources. What the myths show is that the intention to wield secretly poisoned weapons is really ancient and the capacity to actually use such weapons does not require modern technology or scientific knowledge.

The sum-up in the Naval War College Review by a biodefense expert called this book "comprehensive," seminal" and "highly recommended." There is not other book written on this topic and it's hard to imagine one more informative and or more fun to read than "Greek Fire, Poison Arrows & scorpion Bombs."

3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars She knows her stuff., January 9, 2011

By 

C. Hintz "Om Gate" (California) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Greek Fire, Poison Arrows, and Scorpion Bombs: Biological & Chemical Warfare in the Ancient World (Paperback)

We went to a public lecture of hers at Stanford and the room was packed. She has done her research well, writes in a manner that is academic without being dry, and masterfully makes her case. Also get her book on "The Poison King: The Life and Legend of Mithradates."

3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Scorpion Bombs Were News To Me..., September 24, 2010

By 

J. Johns (Atlanta, Georgia USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Greek Fire, Poison Arrows, and Scorpion Bombs: Biological & Chemical Warfare in the Ancient World (Paperback)

Mayor introduces biological and chemical weapons in the ancient world with an eye towards novel weapon innovation. Biology and chemistry didn't exist at the time, so the author begins with an anachronistic frame, however the effort is legitimate insofar as the ethics of modern weaponry are questioned through the historical analysis. There's a real effort to bridge past to present, and it's great fodder for discussion.