Who invented Greek fire and when did it first appear?
Kallinikos, a Jewish architect from Heliopolis in Syria, invented Greek fire during the year 672. The weapon emerged to help repel Arab fleets threatening Constantinople that same year.
Questions about Greek fire
Short answers, pulled from the story.
What was the chemical composition of Greek fire used by the Byzantine Empire?
Modern scholars agree that Greek fire consisted of petroleum mixed with resins as its primary ingredients. Historical evidence points to crude or refined petroleum sourced from oil wells near Tmutorakan around the Black Sea.
How did the Byzantines deploy Greek fire during naval battles?
The chief method involved projecting the substance through tubes called siphons installed on the prow of dromons. Portable projectors known as cheirosiphones appeared in military documents of the tenth century for use against siege towers.
When did Greek fire disappear from recorded history after the fall of Constantinople?
No report confirms the use of Greek fire during the siege of Constantinople in 1203 by the Fourth Crusade. Records indicate the substance continued to be mentioned during the twelfth century before disappearing forever.
Why could enemies not copy the formula for Greek fire despite capturing it?
Knowledge of the whole system remained highly compartmentalized so operators and technicians knew secrets of only one component. Emperor Constantine Porphyrogennetos warned his son Romanos II never to reveal the secrets of composition to anyone outside the imperial city.