Catapults were invented about 400 B.C. in the powerful Greek town called Syracus. These Greek engineers first constructed a small machine, called the Gastraphetes, sort of a crossbow. However, after they found out how good the smaller Gastraphetes were, they made a bigger one and put it on a carriage to transport it and added a windlass to cock the heavier machine. Some physical barriers prevented the Gastraphetes from getting any larger. So in the …showed first 75 words of 564 total…

…showed last 75 words of 564 total…Mangonel used the energy used by twisting ropes to create torsion to shoot large heavy stones and arrows and flaming balls known as Greek Fire would have been better off. The earliest catapult was the Ballista and it resembled a cross bow and it shot arrows and small stones only. Trebuchets didn’t rely on the energy of torsion it used the power of gravity and weight to help throw the object several hundred feet.