Helepolis siege tower at Rhodes
E730055
The Helepolis siege tower at Rhodes was an enormous, multi-storied ancient war machine built by Demetrius I of Macedon to assault the city’s fortifications during his famous siege of Rhodes.
Statements (44)
| Predicate | Object |
|---|---|
| instanceOf |
ancient war machine
ⓘ
siege tower ⓘ |
| alsoKnownAs | Helepolis of Rhodes NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| approximateDate | 305–304 BC ⓘ |
| armament |
ballistae
ⓘ
catapults ⓘ projectile-throwing engines on multiple levels ⓘ |
| armorMaterial |
bronze plates
ⓘ
iron plates ⓘ |
| associatedWith |
Demetrius I of Macedon
NERFINISHED
ⓘ
Epimachus of Athens NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| associatedWithEvent | failed attempt to capture Rhodes ⓘ |
| builder | Demetrius I of Macedon NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| category |
ancient military engineering
ⓘ
siege engines of classical antiquity ⓘ |
| constructionMaterial | wood ⓘ |
| crewSize | several hundred men (ancient accounts) ⓘ |
| culture | Hellenistic Greek ⓘ |
| designedBy | Epimachus of Athens NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| fate | dismantled after the siege ⓘ |
| height |
about 130 feet
ⓘ
about 40 meters ⓘ |
| historicalSource |
Diodorus Siculus
NERFINISHED
ⓘ
Vitruvius NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| legacy | influential example in later descriptions of siege machinery ⓘ |
| locatedInPresentDay | Greece NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| locationOfUse | Rhodes NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| mobility |
capable of being rolled toward fortifications
ⓘ
mounted on wheels ⓘ |
| notableFeature |
one of the largest siege towers of antiquity
ⓘ
symbol of Hellenistic siege engineering ⓘ |
| numberOfStories |
multiple stories
ⓘ
nine stories (traditional account) ⓘ |
| operatedBy | army of Demetrius I of Macedon ⓘ |
| opposedBy | defenders of Rhodes ⓘ |
| primaryFunction |
to allow troops to approach and scale fortifications
ⓘ
to assault city walls ⓘ to provide elevated firing positions for artillery ⓘ |
| protectiveCovering | metal plating to resist fire and missiles ⓘ |
| shape | square plan ⓘ |
| technologicalContext | Hellenistic siegecraft ⓘ |
| timePeriod | early 3rd century BC ⓘ |
| translationOfName | Taker of Cities NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| usedInConflict | Siege of Rhodes (305–304 BC) NERFINISHED ⓘ |
Referenced by (1)
Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.