04-18-2009, 08:08 PM
I've found a source that may be behind Anthemius' account: Galen, On Temperaments 3.2. Galen, never tired of telling tall stories, is describing how houses can suddenly catch fire, and adds that "they say that this is how Archimedes, using pyreia, could set fire to enemy ships". Note that the Romans are not mentioned -it may refer to all kinds of enemies- and note that pyreia means "candlesticks", not burning mirrors.
Another, almost equally old source is Lucian, Hippias 2, where he likens Archimedes' fire-throwing to enemy ships to a technical feat that is impossible: diverting the course of the Nile to capture Memphis. It is probably one of Lucian's lovely inventions, like those non-existing historians he quotes in How to write history.
So, I am again left with the idea that the burning mirror story is a Byzantine fairy tale; a summary can be found here.
Another, almost equally old source is Lucian, Hippias 2, where he likens Archimedes' fire-throwing to enemy ships to a technical feat that is impossible: diverting the course of the Nile to capture Memphis. It is probably one of Lucian's lovely inventions, like those non-existing historians he quotes in How to write history.
So, I am again left with the idea that the burning mirror story is a Byzantine fairy tale; a summary can be found here.
