For the Roman general, see Balista. For the Italian actor, see Gigi Ballista. For the sniper rifle, see FN Ballista.
Illustration of a ballista being loaded and drawn
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The ballista (Latin, from Greek βαλλίστρα ballistra[1] and that from βάλλω ballō, "throw"),[2] plural ballistae, sometimes called bolt thrower, was an ancient missile weapon that launched either bolts or stones at a distant target.
Developed from earlier Greek weapons, it relied upon different mechanics, using two levers with torsion springs instead of a tension prod (the bow part of a modern crossbow). The springs consisted of several loops of twisted skeins. Early versions projected heavy darts or spherical stone projectiles of various sizes for siege warfare. It developed into a smaller precision weapon, the scorpio,[3] and possibly the polybolos.
^Liddell, Henry George; Scott, Robert (1901). "Ballistra". A Greek-English Lexicon – via Perseus Tufts.
^Liddell, Henry George; Scott, Robert (1901). "Ballo". A Greek-English Lexicon – via Perseus Tufts.
^Warry, John (1995). Warfare in the Classical World: War and the Ancient Civilisations of Greece and Rome. London, United Kingdom: Salamander Books Ltd. p. 178. ISBN 0-8061-2794-5.[permanent dead link]
The ballista (Latin, from Greek βαλλίστρα ballistra and that from βάλλω ballō, "throw"), plural ballistae, sometimes called bolt thrower, was an ancient...
The FN Ballista is a sniper rifle developed by FN Herstal. The company states that the Ballista's design compares with the Remington MSR, the Sako TRG...
A ballista elephant, also known as a Khmer ballista, is a war elephant mounted with a simple or double-bowed ballista which was used by the Angkorian...
Gigi Ballista (1 December 1918 – 2 August 1980) was an Italian film and television actor. He appeared in 60 films between 1961 and 1980. Born in Florence...
Balista or Ballista (died c. 261), also known in the sources with the name of "Callistus", was one of the Thirty Tyrants of the controversial Historia...
in the ballista had to be a particular sort. According to Vegetius, river stones were best, since they are round, smooth, and dense. Ballista stones found...
Drillia ballista is a species of sea snail, a marine gastropod mollusk in the family Drilliidae. The size of an adult shell varies between 11 mm and 22 mm...
an arcuballista was similar to a large crossbow. Later the Romans used ballista catapults on their warships. In chronological order: 19th century BC, Egypt...
Top Ballista is an accessory for the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game. Top Ballista is a supplement for a campaign setting in the city of...
novel featuring Ballista, was published on 30 September 2021. The series centres on the Anglo-Roman soldier Marcus Clodius Ballista (a fictionalized...
Antaeotricha ballista is a moth of the family Depressariidae. It is found in French Guiana. The average wingspan is 19–20 mm for males and about 24 mm...
by the scientifically engineered ballista. The difference between the two is the use of torsion power by the ballista. The most notable use of the oxybeles...
word originating from the Roman name arcuballista (from arcus 'bow' + ballista 'missile-throwing engine'), which was then used for crossbows, although...
Carroballista was an ancient, cart-mounted ballista, a type of mobile field artillery. According to the Roman author Vegetius (Epitoma rei militaris II...
including "crossbow" itself; most of these names derived from the word ballista, an ancient Greek torsion siege engine similar in appearance but different...
Ballista Futbol Club is an association football team that plays in Luquillo. They currently play in the Puerto Rico Soccer League. On December 4, 2015;...
Plautus remarked in the Captivi that “Meus est ballista pugnus, cubitus catapulta est mihi” (“The ballista is my fist, the catapult is my elbow"). By 100...
in 844; it ended in failure with many Vikings killed by the Galicians' ballistas; and seventy of the Vikings' longships captured on the beach and burned...
χειροβαλλίστρα) or manuballista (Latin), which translates in all its forms to "hand ballista", was an imperial-era Roman siege engine. Designed by Hero of Alexandria...
basket for hauling earth. Sudis: stakes for construction of camps The ballista was a powerful catapult, consisting of a beam with a frame at the end,...
History and Modern Day Construction - midrealm". Retrieved 25 May 2017. "Ballista - lordsandladies". Retrieved 24 May 2017. "Trebuchet - lordsandladies"...
(the name means "multi-thrower" in Greek) was an ancient Greek repeating ballista, reputedly invented by Dionysius of Alexandria (a 3rd-century BC Greek...
[citation needed] Early crew-served weapons were siege weapons, like the ballista, trebuchet, and battering ram. Modern versions include machine guns, anti-tank...
environmental conditions. The term "robustness testing" was first used by the Ballista project at Carnegie Mellon University. They performed testing of operating...
composite bow. For Special Weapons, Alexander's ballista was tested against Attila's scythian axe. The ballista was fired at a silhouette target of a mounted...
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