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The Mediterranean area was in constant conflict for over a 100 years between 264-146 years BCE. The Romans were battling Carthage, their rival to the south. Three wars, named the Punic Wars (another name for the Carthaginians), raged for 70 years. Part of these wars involved the city state of Syracuse on the island of Sicily. The leader of this land, Hiero, aligned himself with Rome. But, as the Carthaginians started to win victories on Sicily and Hiero I died, the new leader, Hiero II of Syracuse, aligned himself with the Carthaginians. Now Syracuse was a target of the Romans.
Rome did not let any of its enemies rest. The Roman general, Marcellus, arrived in the Syracuse harbor with a fleet of ships and an army to lay siege in order to capture the city. One weapon that the Romans had not counted on was a man--Archimedes. He was a genius. Hiero II asked him to create weapons to defend the city. Archimedes set to work. He created giant cranes with large hooks that could catch the Roman ships as they came close to the city walls and tip them over.
The most fantastic of his defenses was to created giant polished curved mirrors. These were aimed at the Roman ships by soldiers on the walls of the city. The focused sunlight set the ships ablaze! The Roman crews retreated and waited far away in the harbor.
The Carthaginian fleet arrived to try to rescue the city, but the Romans drove them off. A Carthaginian army tried to save Syracuse but it was decimated by disease. Now, Syracuse was blockaded by the Romans with no help available.
In the middle of the night after a celebration of Artemis, elite Roman soldiers scaled the walls and opened the city gates. Marcellus had warned his men not to harm Archimedes who the Romans considered a valuable weapon. However, when the Romans stormed into the city, Archimedes was killed by a sword and the world lost a brilliant man.
Could Archimedes plan for burning the ships be true? Is sunlight strong enough to set a ship on fire?
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