Description
The polybolos was a repeating bolt thrower developed from the ballista and scorpion. A chain mechanism drew, loaded and released bolts from a gravity-fed magazine as quickly as a handle could be turned. Supposedly invented by Dionysius of Alexandria, the polybolos was quite a complex machine: as the operator turned a windlass handle, the bow was tensioned as a launching shuttle pulled back, an arrow dropped into place, and finally a catch was released to fire the machine. The process repeated as long as the operator worked. All he needed was a loader to keep the magazine filled. Efficient and deadly, the polybolos had the greatest rate of fire of all ancient war machines.
