gastraphetes

According to a long dominant view expressed by E. W. Marsden, the gastraphetes was invented in 399 BC by a team of Greek craftsmen assembled by the tyrant Dionysius I of Syracuse. However, recent scholarship has pointed out that the historian Diodorus Siculus (fl. 1st century BC) actually did not mention the gastraphetes, but was referring to the invention of the "katapeltikon", a mechanical arrow firing catapult. Since Heron states in his Belopoeica that stand-mounted mechanical artillery such as the katapeltikon was inspired by the earlier hand-held gastraphetes, the invention of handheld crossbows into Greek warfare must have thus occurred some unknown time before 399 BC. The terminus ante quem may be more precisely defined as being before 421 BC, since another Greek author, Biton (fl. 2nd century BC), whose reliability has been positively reevaluated by recent scholarship, credits two advanced forms of the gastraphetes to a certain Zopyros. This Zopyros was probably a Pythagorean engineer from Taranto, Italy. He may have designed his stand-mounted bow-machines on the occasion of the sieges of Cumae and Miletus between 421 BC and 401 BC, thus marking the date by which the archetypical gastraphetes must have already been known.

Besides the gastraphetes, the ancient world knew a variety of mechanical hand-held weapons similar to the later medieval crossbow. The exact terminology is a subject of continuing scholarly debate. Greek and Roman authors like Vegetius (fl. 4th century AD) note repeatedly the use of arrow firing weapons such as arcuballista and manuballista respectively cheiroballistra. While most scholars agree that one or more of these terms refer to handheld mechanical weapons, there is disagreement about whether these were flexion bows or torsion powered like the 2005 Xanten find. The Roman commander Arrian (c. 86 – after 146 AD) records in his Tactica Roman cavalry training for firing some mechanical handheld weapon from horseback. Sculptural reliefs from Roman Gaul depict the use of crossbows in hunting scenes. Dating to the 2nd century AD, the specimens are remarkably similar to the later medieval crossbow, including the typical nut lock. From their reflexible shape they were composite bows.