Grčka vatra

Prikaz broda koji Grčkom vatrom pali drugi brod

Grčka vatra (starogrčki Ὑγρὸν Πύρ, higron pir, novogrčki Υγρό Πυρ, igro pir, „tečna vatra“) je vizantijski izum koji su koristili kao oružje u pomorskim bitkama. U Vizantiji bila je poznata isto kao „morska vatra“ ili „rimska vatra“ (pošto su Vizantinci sebe smatrali Romejima, tj. Rimljanima). Radi se o tečnom plamenu koji se izbacivao iz neke vrste sifona koji su se nazivali strepte. Nikada se nije saznao pravi hemijski sastav ove zapaljive tečnosti, ali se smatra da je sigurno jedan od osnovnih sastojaka bila šalitra.

Grčku vatru je, prema Teofanu, izmislio arhitekta Kalinik iz grada Heliopolja koji se tada nalazio u Siriji ili Egiptu i doneo ju je u Carigrad nešto pre početka prve arapske opsade (674—678). Zahvaljujući grčkoj vatri, Vizantinci su uspešno odbili napade Arabljana na Carigrad, i to ne samo 674—678, nego i drugu veliku opsadu Arabljana 717. godine.

Dugo vremena neprijatelji Vizantije jednostavno nisu nalazili načina da se odbrane od ovog ubojitog oružja. Prema Jovanu Kinamu, vizantijskom istoričaru 12. veka, tek nekoliko vekova kasnije flote itaijanskih republika su pronašle načina da zaštite svoje brodove oblagajući ih tkaninama natopljenim u sirće. Georgije Pahimer, vizantijski istoričar iz 14. veka, kaže da su Đenovljani svoje brodove štitili osušenim volujskim kožama.

Istorija

Zapaljivo i plameno oružje korišćeno je u ratovanju vekovima pre nego što je izmišljena grčka vatra. Ono je uključivalo brojne mešavine na bazi sumpora, nafte i bitumena. Zapaljive strele i lonci koji su sadržavali zapaljive materije okružene kaltropima ili šiljcima, ili lansiranim katapultima, koristili su Asirci još u 9. veku pre nove ere, a široko su korišćeni i u grčko-rimskom svetu. Dalje, Tukidid pominje da je u opsadi Delijuma 424. p. n. e. korišćena dugačka cev na točkovima koja je izduvala plamen napred koristeći velike mehove. Rimski autor Julije Afrikan, koji je pisao u 3. veku nove ere, beleži mešavinu koja bi se zapalila pri odgovarajućoj toploti i intenzivnoj sunčevoj svetlosti, te je korišćena u granatama ili noćnim napadima:

Automatska paljba takođe po sledećoj formuli. Ovo je recept: uzmite jednake količine sumpora, kamene soli, pepela, gromnog kamena i pirita i dobro istucite u crni prah na podnevnom suncu. Takođe u jednakim količinama svakog sastojka pomešati smolu crnog duda i zakintski asfalt, potonji u tečnom obliku i da slobodno teče, što rezultira proizvodom čađave boje. Zatim dodajte na asfalt najmanju količinu negašenog kreča. Ali pošto je sunce u zenitu, treba ga pažljivo udarati i zaštititi lice, jer će se iznenada upaliti. Kada se zapali, treba ga zatvoriti u neku vrstu bakarne posude; na taj način ćete ga imati na raspolaganju u kutiji, bez izlaganja suncu. Ako želite da zapalite neprijateljsko naoružanje, uveče ćete ga namazati, bilo po oružju ili nekom drugom predmetu, ali tajno; kad sunce izađe, sve će izgoreti.

U pomorskom ratu, vizantijskog cara Anastasija I (v. 491–518) beleži hroničar Jovan Malalas da je savetovao filozof iz Atine po imenu Proklo da upotrebe sumpor za spaljivanje brodova pobunjeničkog generala Vitalijana.

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Spoljaše veze

• Greek Fire – World History Encyclopedia
• Technoporn: Greek Fire – Wired Blog, December 29, 2006.
• Greek Fire – The Best Kept Secret of the Ancient World – by Richard Groller.
• Greek Fire – The University of Calgary, 2000. Retrieved on 10 March 2013.
• The Link: Greek Fire Arhivirano na sajtu Wayback Machine (21. oktobar 2012) – National Geographic, 1 May 2012. Retrieved on 9 Mar 2013.