Customer Reviews

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

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

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."

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."

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.

Aside from a new preface, the book is a reissue of the first edition (2003). Most of the historical examples come from the Greek world, the Roman empire and Asia Minor, yet the reader can also encounter other cases from the Middle East, China and India, although those related to this latter country are almost exclusively based on Kautilya's (4-3rd c. BCE) "Arthashastra" ('Treatise on Polity') and on the accounts of Alexander the Great's experiences.
Overarching Greek mythological themes include Hercules's Hydra-venom arrows and his gruesome death owing to a poisoned shirt, in similar vein to the gown received as a gift from the sorceress Medea and donned by the Corinthian princess Glauke; and the accidentally self-inflicted wound of Philoctetes on his way to the Trojan War. Among the historical personages and locations that come up frequently we find Alexander the Great, Mithridates VI of Pontus (d. 63 BCE), and Syracuse (Sicily).

Topics discussed: poison arrows, especially those of the Scythians and the related toxin known as "scythicon" (drawing on sources from Herodotus, Aristotle, Theophrastus, and Aelian; pp. 77-86); venomous plants used in warfare (hellebore species, aconite, nightshade); poisoning drinking water, toxic honey, contaminated wine, etc.; plagues as weapons of war, i.e., driving disease-ridden animals to enemy land or sending 'poison maidens' to their camp; the idea that certain temples in the ancient world were utilized for storing contagious pathogens (and their antidotes?); deployment of chemical incendiaries and protective measures against them; and much more. While certainly interesting, the inclusion of war dogs, elephants, camels, etc. (chapter 6) in a discussion about bio/chemical weapons is quite a bit of stretch for me.

Corrigenda:

+ I don't think it's wise to call the respective territory of the Iberian Peninsula Spain and its inhabitants Spanish or Spaniards in the context of Carthaginian and Roman campaigns (pgs. 14, 72, 108, 155, 203, 225), but rather Iberians or, as the author does on one occasion (p. 155), "Celtiberians" or Ibero-Celts.
+ A. Mayor asserts that Hungarians catapulted beehives at the Turks in 1289 (p. 180). Hardly so...Ottoman Turks first set foot on the European continent in the 1350s. One of the first major battles in the Balkans was fought between a Serb-led multi-ethnic Christian army and the Muslims at Kosovo Polye in 1389.
Endnotes (pp. 259-93); bibliography (pp. 296-305). The illustrations are carefully selected; an historical time line (pp. 11-17) and an incomplete index facilitate navigating in the book.

This is a terrible book, massively overwritten, and so rife with bold and questionable statements and hero-worship as to make the reader question its accuracy.

In addition to having elastic definitions of biological and chemical warfare (war elephants and camels count, as does praying for plagues ...) the author indulges in imaginative speculation, holding (among other things) that the Ark of the Covenant was a repository of a last-ditch bioweapon in the form of disease-infested rags (and that other Near Eastern societies did the same thing), and stating that the Scythians were never without little pots of sticky arrow poison, on the sole authority of Herodotus, who reported that they hung small cups from their belts. These reveries are inextricably mixed with the author's factual statements and frequently form the basis for her elaboration of her arguments.

She places unquestioning trust in the factual accuracy of myths and epic poetry, particularly in the cases of the Trojan War and Herakles. She also makes extremely selective use of primary sources: for instance, Julius Caear doesn't mention bringing an elephant in Britain in his own writings; the reference is Polyaenus's Strategemata, a document composed two centuries after Casear, which might be confusing Caesar's and Claudius's invasions.

Also, for what it's worth, Alexander's army was Macedonian, not Greek; as Alexander captured Darius' elephants at Gaugamela, they weren't new to him when he fought them in India; and Carlsbad is in New Mexico, not Mexico.

Finally, illustrations should illustrate the text, not just break it up, which means that pictures of painted Scythian arrow shafts are welcome, while romantic portraiture and Dover clip art are useless when they're not misleading.

This was a quick, light read. Finished it in two days, but a more diligent reader could easily finish this in an afternoon.

PROS:
- Accessible; writing was clear, vocabulary and references were written for general consumption
- Notes; almost an 1/8th of the bound pages are dedicated to notes for additional info (...YMMV on their usefulness)
- Entertaining; it was Discovery channel-ish. There aren't many five-syllable words aside from almost every Greek name mentioned.
- Reference; it contains a lot of information that can be kept on the back burner to do further research on later if there are particular things you find interesting.

CONS:
- Sourced material; there is no shortage of using myths for citations. This would probably not be an ideal primary source for serious research purposes, but some of the bibliography certainly could. Serious historians could easily take offense.
- Definitions become a little muddy; there were times I thought a couple of the "weapons" were really pushing the boundaries of contemporary definitions of chemical/biological weapons, BUT this isn't a book about contemporary definitions, so it has that much going for it.
- Repetition; I could swear there are a few paragraphs that are repeated almost verbatim throughout the entire book. It's not REALLY noticeable, but I remember having a sense of déjà vu on more than one occasion.
- Images; I can't speak for the hardcover version, but the paperback's images were almost worthless. There may have been a 10-20 images in the entire book, and less than half were actually of relevance as they relate to the text. For instance, when talking about poisoning wells, there was an image of women holding water jugs, and a caption that said, "People typically collected water from wells in antiquity," or something equally useless.

I'd recommend this to people into bizarre or occult sort of history, but PhD's may find it intolerable. I'll probably hang on to it for its novelty more than its historical merit.

I think the most valuable thing you can do to calibrate your expectations of the book is to remember the title contains the phrase, "scorpion bombs". ;)

If you like the interesting bits of history you will enjoy this book. The recipe for Scythian arrow poison was quite remarkable. No wonder they frightened the Greeks!

I was very excited to read this book. Sadly I was terribly disappointed then to find that it read like an overzealous history dissertation. One I might add, that would not stand up well to peer review. Taking into account right off the bat that the author misleads the reader with factual errors either intentionally or unintentionally(you decide which is worse), there is the painful repetition of "facts" and "ideas" over and over and over again. Then there is the very loose notion of what is considered a biological weapon. Sure a dog is biological and has been used in war, but it is a stretch to consider it a "biological weapon". And that is the sort of tortured logic that permeates this book. All of these things add up to what might be the overall problem. The author really and truly does not think that anybody is going to believe her that there were chemical and biological weapons in the ancient world. So much so that it leads her down the afore mention path of misdirection, repetition, and credulity stretching. I was already on bored. Theres no need to lie, or exaggerate to get you point across.