Greek Ballista
Only a slack-jawed barbarian would not use such an efficient engine of death!According to Diodorus, the 'katapeltikon' or catapult was invented under the patronage of Dionysius I, tyrant of Syracuse, in 399BC. The weapon was not the result of a stroke of inventive genius, instead being inspired by an earlier mechanical weapon called the 'gastraphetes'. In its original form, the gastraphetes consisted of a powerful composite bow mounted transversely on a stock and resembling the later crossbow. Its stock had two crucial parts: the syrinx, to which the bow of the weapon was fixed, and the diostra, a shorter board that could slide back and forth. The end of the diostra was in turn attached to a claw for pulling back the bowstring, with a trigger to release it again. Machines such as this were known to the Greeks before the invention of the katapeltikon, but didn't replace the composite bow with a pair of torsion springs, considered to be a major design improvement. Dionysius is said to have fielded "catapults of all kinds", using them to great effect in his siege of Motya in 397BC. By the time of Alexander, in the latter part of the 4th century BC, catapults were a regular feature of Hellenistic armies.
Unit Name Greek Ballista |
Main Unit Key inv_gre_ballista_syracuse |
Land Unit Key inv_gre_ballista |
Naval Unit Key pel_transport |
Soldiers 40 |
Category Siege Engine |
Class Field Artillery |
Custom Battle Cost 1560 |
Recruitment Cost 960 |
Upkeep Cost 200 |
180 |
├ Engine ballista_medium |
├ Missile Weapon rome_ballista_medium |
├ Projectile stone |
├ Missile Damage 90 |
├ Missile Ap Damage 90 |
└ Base Reload Time 23 |
Accuracy 5 |
Range 420 |
Reload 4 |
Shots Per Minute 3 |
Ammunition 15 |
Melee Attack 9 |
24 |
├ Melee Weapon rome_shortsword |
├ Melee Damage Base 20 |
├ Melee Damage Ap 4 |
├ Armour Piercing No |
├ Bonus vs. Large 0 |
├ Bonus vs Elephants 0 |
└ Bonus vs Infantry 0 |
Charge Bonus 6 |
14 |
├ Base Defence 14 |
├ Shield none |
└ Shield Defence 0 |
10 |
├ Armour cloth |
├ Armour Defence 10 |
└ Shield Armour 0 |
45 |
├ Man Entity rome_infantry_medium |
├ Man Health 40 |
└ Bonus Hit Points 5 |
Base Morale 40 |
Abilities
No Ability
Attributes
- Cannot Run
This unit cannot run and will only move at walking pace.
Strengths & Weaknesses
Transport- Very poor hull strength
- Very slow speed
- Weak ramming
- Very accurate
- Very long range
- Average rate of fire
- Lower damage than other artillery
- Easily destroyed
Recuitment Requirement | |
---|---|
Required Technology | |
Requires Buildings | |
Lv. 0 |
Hoplite Barracks
(inv_gre_military_3) Level 2
Royal Barracks
(inv_gre_military_4) Level 3 |
Faction Availability | |
---|---|
Rise of the Republic |