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Greek fire
Greek fire
The Oxford Companion to Ships and the Sea
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2006
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© The Oxford Companion to Ships and the Sea 2006, originally published by Oxford University Press 2006. (Hide copyright information)
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Greek fire, a liquid charge made largely from naphtha. It was thrown from mortars as an offensive weapon against ships, acting as a flaming torch against masts and sails. It was developed in the Byzantine Empire during the 7th century
ad, and came into general use after it was employed with conspicuous success against the Arab fleet when the fleet attacked Constantinople in 678. Greek fire was then widely adopted as a naval weapon by most of the maritime countries of the Mediterranean, but fell into disuse after the introduction of guns as naval weapons and the consequent increase in range at which battles at sea were fought. This made it useless, since the charge always burned out before it was able to reach its target.
See also
warfare at sea.
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 "Chicago Tribune (Chicago, IL)")
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Greek fires ravage immigrant communities around the world.
Newspaper article from: Chicago Tribune (Chicago, IL); 8/30/2007; 700+ words
; ...Varvaressos is like so many Greeks of a certain generation who...Nikos Demas, a 29-year-old Greek native who is a doctoral candidate...outside Chicago and in the Greek town of Amaliada, has followed...Amaliada was never in the line of fire, Demas said, but every few...only thing that is good is ...
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Greek Fires Reach Ancient Olympics Site
News Wire article from: AP Online; 8/26/2007; 700+ words
; ...an arsonist. Forest fires are common during Greece...as forest land, and fires are sometimes set to...law. The front of one fire Sunday reached Ancient...king of the ancient Greek gods, and his wife Hera...two firefighters, the fire department said. Another...the Peloponnese. New ...
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Death Toll in Greek Fires Rises to 64
News Wire article from: AP Online; 8/28/2007; 700+ words
; ...devastating blazes have infuriated Greeks - already stunned by deadly forest fires in June and July - and appear...enough. The country's worst fires in memory have burned olive...area affected, although one fire official said there were signs...died on Aug. 24. Some 56 new fires broke out ...
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Prosecutor Orders Probe Into Greek Fires
News Wire article from: AP Online; 8/27/2007; 700+ words
; ...s arson attacks in Greek forests could be considered...brought under control. Fire department spokesman Nikos Diamandis said 89 new fires started during a 24...was the scene of forest fires, with at least one breaking...or injuries. Forest fires are common during Greece...days. The front of ...
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Greek Fires Race Toward Ancient Olympia
News Wire article from: AP Online; 8/26/2007; 700+ words
; ...in a statement. The fire blazed into the nearby...the blazes to abate. "Fires are burning in more than...Andritsaina itself," he told Greek television. A separate...the south, while 42 fires in various parts of the...minute desperation as the fires closed in. Dozens of...her four children. ...
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Greek fires reach site of ancient Olympics
Newspaper article from: Charleston Gazette; 8/27/2007; ; 700+ words
; ...fire department said 42 major fires are blazing out of control...arrest of an arsonist. Forest fires are common during Greece's...designated as forestland, and fires sometimes are set to circumvent the law. The front of one fire reached Ancient Olympia in southern...of Zeus, king of the ...
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Thousands flee unchecked Greek fires ; Karamanlis visits zone as 'everything is up in flames' outside Athens
Newspaper article from: International Herald Tribune; 8/24/2009; ; 659 words
; ...2009 Thousands flee unchecked Greek fires ; Karamanlis visits zone as...CARASSAVA Type: News Raging fires fanned by gusting winds moved...residents to evacuate. Raging fires fanned by gusting winds moved...northeast fringes of Athens and fire break zones erected on Mount...
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Greek Fires Race Toward Ancient Sites
News Wire article from: AP Online; 8/26/2007; 700+ words
; ...television and radio as the fires neared towns near Ancient Olympia...alive here," one woman told Greek television from the village...gale-force winds that swept fires through thousands of acres of...and scrub since Friday, the fire department said. But the winds revived early in the afternoon ...
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 "Press and Journal, The Aberdeen (UK)")
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Greek fires kill 58 and threaten to burn birthplace of the Olympics
Newspaper article from: Press and Journal, The Aberdeen (UK); 8/27/2007; 700+ words
; ...resorts. More than 60 new fires broke out today, although...The worst of Greece's fires have been concentrated...were killed in a new fire that broke out on Evia...two firefighters, the fire department said, revising...Andritsaina itself," he told Greek television. Nearly 4...minute ...
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 "Deseret News (Salt Lake City)")
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Greek fires recede, but officials still wary
Newspaper article from: Deseret News (Salt Lake City); 8/25/2009; ; 619 words
; ...winds died down late Monday, Greek Fire Brigade spokesman Yiannis Kappakis...active fronts" left of the fire, which for days has sent a...revived. "The danger of the fires flaring up again is not yet...said. Since Saturday, the fire has razed some 51,890 acres...
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Greek fire
Book article from: The Columbia Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition
Greek fire a flammable composition believed to have consisted...Byzantines. Bronze tubes that emitted jets of liquid fire were mounted on the prows of their galleys and on...again in 717-18 destroyed two Saracen fleets with Greek fire.
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Greek
Book article from: The Oxford Dictionary of Phrase and Fable
...calends never; the Greek Calends will never come as the Greeks did not use calends...mid 17th century. Greek cross a cross of which...of equal length. Greek fire a combustible composition...first used by the Greeks besieged in Constantinople...
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Greek Mythology
Book article from: Myths and Legends of the World
Greek Mythology The mythology of the ancient Greeks included a dazzling array of deities...dominated the Mediterranean world after the Greeks and adopted elements of Greek mythology. The Roman poet Ovid's...particular culture, comes from the Greek pan (all) and theoi (gods). The pantheon of ...
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Greeks
Book article from: The Oxford Companion to the Body
Greeks In ancient Greek culture, the body was the...central part of the life of the Greek city, and young men were...element, such as air or fire, but the need to explain...the body which are found in Greek art include open display...
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Greek religion
Book article from: A Dictionary of World History
Greek religion The religion of the ancient Greek world. It was polytheistic, involving the worship of several...poetry, the other of chastity and hunting), Hephaestus (fire and metalwork), Aphrodite (love and beauty), Ares (war...
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