Greek fire was a powerful incendiary weapon used by Byzantine Greeks, Arabs, Chinese, and Mongols. Its formula was kept secret and is still unknown today. It was made of ingredients such as petroleum, naphtha, quicklime, sulphur, nitre, and saltpeter. Greek fire was used to make ships of fire and firebombs. It was compared to the atomic bomb in terms of its devastating power. Attempts to replicate it have been unsuccessful.
Greek fire is an incendiary weapon that appears to have been developed around the 7th century. It gets its name from the Byzantine Greeks, who were especially fond of using it in battle, though it was also employed by the Arabs, Chinese, and Mongols, among others. This weapon was extremely devastating, striking fear into the heart of the enemy and effectively cutting down troops, ships and other weapons of war. Numerous testimonies of the time speak of the power of this weapon.
Curiously, the formula for Greek fire was kept so secret that it was quickly lost, and today no one is quite sure what it was. It appears to behave somewhat like napalm and other modern incendiaries in that it was extremely difficult to put out. It seemed to ignite in water, and by pouring water on it, the fire grew even bigger, leading some people to believe it may be related to thermite.
Some theories for the composition of Greek fire include ingredients such as petroleum, which was known to people in this period, along with naphtha, quicklime, sulphur, nitre and saltpeter. Many of these ingredients are used in contemporary explosives, a testament to their power, and would have been available and known to at least a limited portion of humanity during this historical period. The development of Greek fire is probably closely related to alchemy, the ancient forerunner of chemistry.
As you can imagine, Greek fire was an extremely effective and frightening weapon. The Greeks used it to make ships of fire, setting fire to empty ships and setting them on course for the enemy, and it was also used to make firebombs that could be hurled with catapults at other ships. The fire was also apparently kept in large cauldrons and directed with a hose, preventing unwanted boarding of ships and scaling of walls.
Many people have written about Greek fire with great awe and respect. This incendiary weapon certainly contributed greatly to a number of Byzantine military victories, and some people have compared it to the atomic bomb, suggesting that just as the atomic bomb was the most devastating weapon of the second millennium, Greek fire was the more effective and terrifying than the first. Several attempts have been made to replicate this weapon, using ingredients that would have been accessible to its inventors, but no satisfactory formula has been created.
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