166 
Greek fire. 
ANCIENT GREEK FIRE, 
Regarding the ancient Greek fire, the facts that have been 
collected about it are at present to be sought for, mainly, from 
the various authors whose names have been given above. 
Gibbon, in describing the destruction of the Saracen fleet in 
the harbour of Constantinople, in his tenth volume of the 
“ Rise and Fall/ - ’ gives a graphic account of the ancient Greek 
fire. He says : — 
In the two sieges, the delivery of Constantinople may be ascribed to the 
novelty, the terrors, and the real efficacy of the Greek fire. The important 
secret of compounding and directing this artificial flame was imparted by 
Callinicus, a native of Heliopolis, in Syria, who deserted from the service of 
the Caliph to that of the Emperor. The skill of a chemist and engineer was 
equivalent to the succour of fleets and armies ; and this discovery or improve- 
ment of the military art was fortunately reserved for the distressful period, 
when the degenerate Romans of the East were incapable of contending with the 
warlike enthusiasm and youthful vigour of the Saracens. The historian who 
presumes to analyse this extraordinary composition should suspect his own 
ignorance or that of his Byzantine guides, so prone to the marvellous, so 
careless and, in this instance, so jealous of truth. From their obscure and 
perhaps fallacious hints, it would seem that the principal ingredient of the 
Greek fire was the naphtha or liquid bitumen, a light, tenacious, and inflam- 
mable oil, which springs from the earth and catches fire as soon as it comes in 
contact with the air. The naphtha was mingled, I know not by what 
methods, or in what proportions, with sulphur and with the pitch that is 
extracted from evergreen firs. From this mixture, which produced a thick 
smoke and a loud explosion, proceeded a fierce and obstinate flame, which 
not only rose in perpendicular ascent, but likewise burnt with equal vehe- 
mence in descent or lateral progress ; instead of being extinguished, it was 
nourished and quickened by the element of water ; and sand, urine, or 
vinegar were the only remedies that could damp the fury of this powerful 
agent, which was justly denominated by the Greeks, the liquid or maritime 
fire. For the annoyance of the enemy, it was employed with equal effect, by 
sea and land, in battles and in sieges. It was either poured from the rampart 
in large boilers, or launched in red-hot balls of stone and iron, or darted in 
arrows and javelins, twisted round with flax and tow, which had deeply 
imbibed the inflammable oil ; sometimes it was deposited in fire-ships, the 
victims and instruments of a more ample revenge, and it was most commonly 
blown through long tubes of copper which were planted on the prow of a 
galley, and fancifully shaped into the mouths of savage monsters that seemed 
to vomit a stream of liquid and consuming fire. This important art was 
preserved at Constantinople as the palladium of the State : the galleys and 
artillery might occasionally be lent to the allies of Rome ; but the composi- 
tion of the Greek fire was concealed with the most zealous scruple, and the 
terror of the enemy was increased and prolonged by their ignorance and sur- 
prise. In the treatise on the Administration of the Empire, the royal author 
