Ancient Greek artillery

thumb|Illustration of a ballista being loaded and drawn

thumb|A modern reconstruction of the Greek gastraphetes

thumb|Arsenal of ancient mechanical artillery in the Saalburg, Germany; left: polybolos reconstruction by the German engineer Erwin Schramm (1856–1935) thumb|A modern reconstruction of the repeating "polybolos" catapult of Dionysius of Alexandria, in Museum of Ancient Greek Technology|Kotsanas Museum of Ancient Greek Technology, [[Athens, Greece.]] The polybolos (the name means "multi-thrower" in Greek) was an ancient Greek repeating ballista, reputedly invented by Dionysius of Alexandria (a 3rd-century BC Greek engineer at the Rhodes arsenal,) and used in antiquity. The polybolos was not a cr

thumb|Oxybeles The oxybeles () was a weapon used by the Ancient Greeks starting in 375 BC. The word is derived from Ancient Greek: οξύς (oxys = sharp, pointed) and βέλος (belos = arrow). The weapon was basically an oversized gastraphetes, a composite bow placed on a stand with a stock and a trigger. It was supplanted by the scientifically engineered ballista. The difference between the two is the use of torsion power by the ballista. The most notable use of the oxybeles was under Alexander the Great's rule.

thumb|upright=1.35|A Roman carroballista from the time of Trajan Carroballista was an ancient, cart-mounted ballista, a type of mobile field artillery. According to the Roman author Vegetius (Epitoma rei militaris II.25), each legion had 55 carroballistae (one per centuria) which were arrow/bolt-shooter of the cheiroballistra () type. Vegetius tells us that each carroballista was carried by mules and operated by one contubernium (i.e., eight soldiers commanded by one decanus). Surviving representation of a carroballista are from the bas-reliefs of Trajan's Column (Scene XL and Scenes LXV/LXVI)