Roman Ballistae in Modern Popular Culture

[P. Clodius Secundus]

There is quite a lot of modern interest in Ancient artillery. Unfortunately, most depictions or toys/models available bear little resemblance to historical evidence. For example, The desk-top "ballista" in one of the linked articles is more correctly termed a Euthytone Catapulta, not a Ballista at all. In both instances, there are many who would argue that the arms of a ballista (palintone engine) should point forward when at rest and be drawn inwards and back rather than pointing outwards in the traditionally accepted fashion. Possibly the worst and most pervasive anachronism out there is that nearly all the depictions of Roman single-armed catapults/onagers show them with spoon-like arms rather than the sling they actually used. There is so much misinformation out there in the popular culture that it becomes nearly impossible to defeat. Many of us have resigned ourselves to its existence and use it to start a dialogue with the general public.