Hey there,
Just got out of my Technology in History class. I like that class alot.
Anyway, we learned briefly about a Greek quasi seige weapon, and I was
wondering if you might have any info on it (or maybe ask the Merry Rose).
It's called a Gastraphetes, aka stomach-bow, aka belly bow. It's like a
primitive form of crossbow, 'cept different. With a normal crossbow, the bow
is fixed to the stock, and the string is pulled back with the arms. With the
belly bow, the string is locked into a lever with a swivel lock. T%hen the
archer leans on to the butt end of the stock, and uses his body weight to push
the bow and front end of the sliding stock forward. There is a wooden
ratcheting mechanism along the side of the stock.
My question is this -- Why the hell haven't I heard of this thing before? Has
anybody seen one (or more importantly -- does anybody know how to make one?).
This bow, invented around 500 BC, enabled a normal guy to shoot a 200 lb bow.
The belly bow, by the way, got tinkered with and eventually became the
ballista.
Take care,
Justin
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