Greek fire Greek fire was an incendiary weapon used by the Eastern Roman ( Byzantine ) Empire . The Byzantines typically used it in naval battles to great effect as it could continue burning while floating on water . It provided a technological advantage , and was responsible for many key Byzantine military victories , most notably the salvation of Constantinople from two Arab sieges , thus securing the Empire ' s survival . The impression made by Greek fire on the west European Crusaders was such that the name was applied to any sort of incendiary weapon , including those used by Arabs , the Chinese , and the Mongols . These , however , were different mixtures and not the Byzantine formula , which was a closely guarded state secret , a secret that has since been lost . The composition of Greek fire remains a matter of speculation and debate , with proposals including combinations of pine resin , naphtha , quicklime , sulfur , or niter . Byzantine use of incendiary mixtures was distinguished by the use of pressurized nozzles or " siphōn " to project the liquid onto the enemy . Although the term " Greek fire " has been general in English and most other languages since the Crusades , in the original Byzantine sources it is called by a variety of names , such as " sea fire " ( " pyr thalássion " ) , " Roman fire " ( " pyr rhomaïkón " ) , " war fire " ( " polemikòn pyr " ) , " liquid fire " ( " hygron pyr " ) , or " manufactured fire " ( " pyr skeuastón " ) . History . Incendiary and flaming weapons were used in warfare for centuries prior to the invention of Greek fire . They included a number of sulphur - , petroleum - and bitumen - based mixtures . Incendiary arrows and pots containing combustible substances were used as early as the 9th century BC by the Assyrians , and were extensively used in the Greco - Roman world as well . Furthermore , Thucydides mentions the use of tubed flamethrower s in the siege of Delium in 424 BC . In naval warfare , the fleet of the Byzantine Emperor Anastasius I ( r . 491 – 518 ) is recorded by the chronicler John Malalas as having utilized a sulphur - based mixture to defeat the revolt of Vitalian in AD 515 , following the advice of a philosopher from Athens called Proclus . Greek fire proper , however , was developed in ca . 672 , and is ascribed by the chronicler Theophanes to Kallinikos ( Latinized Callinicus ) , an architect from Heliopolis in the former province of Phoenice , by then overrun by the Muslim conquests . The accuracy and exact chronology of this account is open to question : Theophanes reports the use of fire - carrying and " siphōn " - equipped ships by the Byzantines a couple of years before the supposed arrival of Kallinikos at Constantinople . If this is not due to chronological confusion of the events of the siege , it may suggest that Kallinikos merely introduced an improved version of an established weapon . The historian James Partington further thinks it likely that Greek fire was not in fact the creation of any single person , but " invented by chemists in Constantinople who had inherited the discoveries of the Alexandrian chemical school " . Indeed , the 11th - century chronicler George Kedrenos records that Kallinikos came from Heliopolis in Egypt , but most scholars reject this as an error . Kedrenos also records the story , considered rather implausible by modern scholars , that Kallinikos ' descendants , a family called " " Lampros " " ( " Brilliant " ) , kept the secret of the fire ' s manufacture , and continued doing so to Kedrenos ' time . Kallinikos ' development of Greek fire came at a critical moment in the Byzantine Empire ' s history : weakened by its long wars with Sassanid Persia , the Byzantines had been unable to effectively resist the onslaught of the Muslim conquests . Within a generation , Syria , Palestine and Egypt had fallen to the Arabs , who in ca . 672 set out to conquer the imperial capital of Constantinople . The Greek fire was utilized to great effect against the Muslim fleets , helping to repel the Muslims at the first and second Arab sieges of the city . Records of its use in later naval battles against the Saracens are more sporadic , but it did secure a number of victories , especially in the phase of Byzantine expansion in the late 9th and early 10th centuries . Utilisation of the substance was prominent in Byzantine civil wars , chiefly the revolt of the thematic fleets in 727 and the large - scale rebellion led by Thomas the Slav in 821 – 823 . In both cases , the rebel fleets were defeated by the Constantinopolitan Imperial Fleet through the use of Greek fire . The Byzantines also used the weapon to devastating effect against the various Rus ' raids to the Bosporus , especially those of 941 and 1043 , as well as during the Bulgarian war of 970 – 971 , when the fire - carrying Byzantine ships blockaded the Danube . The importance placed on Greek fire during the Empire ' s struggle against the Arabs would lead to its discovery being ascribed to divine intervention . The Emperor Constantine Porphyrogennetos ( r . 945 – 959 ) , in his book " De Administrando Imperio " , admonishes his son and heir , Romanos II ( r . 959 – 963 ) , to never reveal the secrets of its construction , as it was " shown and revealed by an angel to the great and holy first Christian emperor Constantine " and that the angel bound him " not to prepare this fire but for Christians , and only in the imperial city " . As a warning , he adds that one official , who was bribed into handing some of it over to the Empire ' s enemies , was struck down by a " flame from heaven " as he was about to enter a church . As the latter incident demonstrates , the Byzantines could not avoid capture of their precious secret weapon : the Arabs captured at least one fireship intact in 827 , and the Bulgars captured several " siphōns " and much of the substance itself in 812 / 814 . This , however , was apparently not enough to allow their enemies to copy it ( see below ) . The Arabs for instance employed a variety of incendiary substances similar to the Byzantine weapon , but they were never able to copy the Byzantine method of deployment by " siphōn " , and used catapults and grenades instead . Greek fire continued to be mentioned during the 12th century , and Anna Komnene gives a vivid description of its use in a naval battle against the Pisans in 1099 . However , although the use of hastily improvised fireships is mentioned during the 1203 siege of Constantinople by the Fourth Crusade , no report confirms the use of the actual Greek fire . This might be because of the general disarmament of the Empire in the twenty years leading up to the sacking , or because the Byzantines had lost access to the areas where the primary ingredients were to be found , or even perhaps because the secret had been lost over time . Records of a 13th - century event in which " Greek fire " was used by the Saracens against the Crusaders can be read through the Memoirs of the Lord of Joinville during the Seventh Crusade . One description of the memoir says “ . . . the tail of fire that trailed behind it was as big as a great spear ; and it made such a noise as it came , that it sounded like the thunder of heaven . It looked like a dragon flying through the air . Such a bright light did it cast , that one could see all over the camp as though it were day , by reason of the great mass of fire , and the brilliance of the light that it shed . ” In the 19th century , it is reported that an Armenian by the name of Kavafian approached the government of the Ottoman Empire with a new type of Greek fire he claimed to have developed . Kavafian refused to reveal its composition when asked by the government , insisting that he be placed in command of its use during naval engagements . Not long after this , he was poisoned by imperial authorities , without them having ever found out his secret . Manufacture . General characteristics . As Constantine Porphyrogennetos ' warnings show , the ingredients and the processes of manufacture and deployment of Greek fire were carefully guarded military secrets . So strict was the secrecy that the composition of Greek fire was lost forever and remains a source of speculation . Consequently , the " mystery " of the formula has long dominated the research into Greek fire . Despite this almost exclusive focus , however , Greek fire is best understood as a complete weapon system of many components , all of which were needed to operate together to render it effective . This comprised not only the formula of its composition , but also the specialized dromon ships that carried it into battle , the device used to prepare the substance by heating and pressurizing it , the " siphōn " projecting it , and the special training of the " siphōnarioi " who used it . Knowledge of the whole system was highly compartmentalised , with operators and technicians aware of the secrets of only one component , ensuring that no enemy could gain knowledge of it in its entirety . This accounts for the fact that when the Bulgarians took Mesembria and Debeltos in 814 , they captured 36 " siphōns " and even quantities of the substance itself , but were unable to make any use of them . The information available on Greek fire is exclusively indirect , based on references in the Byzantine military manuals and a number of secondary historical sources such as Anna Komnene and Western European chroniclers , which are often inaccurate . In her " Alexiad " , Anna Komnene provides a description of an incendiary weapon , which was used by the Byzantine garrison of Dyrrhachium in 1108 against the Normans . It is often regarded as an at least partial " recipe " for Greek fire : This fire is made by the following arts . From the pine and the certain such evergreen trees inflammable resin is collected . This is rubbed with sulfur and put into tubes of reed , and is blown by men using it with violent and continuous breath . Then in this manner it meets the fire on the tip and catches light and falls like a fiery whirlwind on the faces of the enemies . At the same time , the reports by Western chroniclers of the famed " ignis graecus " are largely unreliable , since they apply the name to any and all sorts of incendiary substances . In attempting to reconstruct the Greek fire system , the concrete evidence , as it emerges from the contemporary literary references , provides the following characteristics : Theories on composition . The first and , for a long time , most popular theory regarding the composition of Greek fire held that its chief ingredient was saltpeter , making it an early form of gunpowder . This argument was based on the " thunder and smoke " description , as well as on the distance the flame could be projected from the " siphōn " , which suggested an explosive discharge . From the times of Isaac Vossius , several scholars adhered to this position , most notably the so - called " French school " during the 19th century , which included the famous chemist Marcellin Berthelot . This view has been rejected since , as saltpeter does not appear to have been used in warfare in Europe or the Middle East before the 13th century , and is totally absent from the accounts of the Arabs , the foremost chemists of the Mediterranean world , before the same period . In addition , the nature of the proposed mixture would have been radically different from the " siphōn " - projected substance described by Byzantine sources . A second view , based on the fact that Greek fire was inextinguishable by water – rather , some sources suggest that pouring water on it intensified the flames – suggested that its destructive power was the result of the explosive reaction between water and quicklime . Although quicklime was certainly known and used by the Byzantines and the Arabs in warfare , the theory is refuted by literary and empirical evidence . A quicklime - based substance would have to come in contact with water to ignite , while Emperor Leo ' s " Tactica " indicate that Greek fire was often poured directly on the decks of enemy ships , although admittedly , decks were kept wet due to lack of sealants . Likewise , Leo describes the use of grenades , which further reinforces the view that contact with water was not necessary for the substance ' s ignition . Furthermore , C . Zenghelis pointed out that , based on experiments , the actual result of the water - quicklime reaction would be negligible in the open sea . Another similar proposition suggested that Kallinikos had in fact discovered calcium phosphide . On contact with water , calcium phosphide releases phosphine , which ignites spontaneously . However , extensive experiments with it also failed to reproduce the described intensity of Greek fire . Although the presence of either quicklime or saltpeter in the mixture cannot be entirely excluded , they were consequently not the primary ingredient . Most modern scholars agree that the actual Greek fire was based on petroleum , either crude or refined ; comparable to modern napalm . The Byzantines had easy access to crude oil from the naturally occurring wells around the Black Sea ( e . g . , the wells around Tmutorakan noted by Constantine Porphyrogennetos ) or in various locations throughout the Middle East . An alternate name for Greek fire was " Median fire " ( ) , and the 6th - century historian Procopius , records that crude oil , which was called " naphtha " ( in Greek νάφθα , " naphtha , " from Middle Persian نفت ( " naft " ) ) by the Persians , was known to the Greeks as " Median oil " ( ) . This seems to corroborate the use of naphtha as a basic ingredient of Greek fire . There is also a surviving 9th - century Latin text , preserved at Wolfenbüttel in Germany , which mentions the ingredients of what appears to be Greek fire and the operation of the " siphōn " s used to project it . Although the text contains some inaccuracies , it clearly identifies the main component as naphtha . Resins were probably added as a thickener ( the " Praecepta Militaria " refer to the substance as , " sticky fire " ) , and to increase the duration and intensity of the flame . A modern theoretical concoction included the use of pine tar and animal fat along with other ingredients . A 12th - century treatise prepared by Mardi bin Ali al - Tarsusi for Saladin records an Arab version of Greek fire , called " naft " , which also had a petroleum base , with sulfur and various resins added . Any direct relation however with the Byzantine formula is very unlikely . Methods of deployment . The chief method of deployment of Greek fire , which sets it apart from similar substances , was its projection through a tube ( " siphōn " ) , for use aboard ships or in sieges . Portable projectors ( " cheirosiphōnes " ) were also invented , reputedly by Emperor Leo VI . The Byzantine military manuals also mention that jars ( " kytrai " or " tzykalia " ) filled with Greek fire and caltrop s wrapped with tow and soaked in the substance were thrown by catapults , while pivoting cranes ( " gerania " ) were employed to pour it upon enemy ships . The " cheirosiphōnes " especially were prescribed for use at land and in sieges , both against siege machines and against defenders on the walls , by several 10th - century military authors , and their use is depicted in the " Poliorcetica " of Hero of Byzantium . The Byzantine dromon s usually had a " siphōn " installed on their prow under the forecastle , but additional devices could also on occasion be placed elsewhere on the ship . Thus in 941 , when the Byzantines were facing the vastly more numerous Rus ' fleet , " siphōn " s were placed also amidships and even astern . Projectors . The use of tubular projectors ( σίφων , " siphōn " ) is amply attested in the contemporary sources . Anna Komnene gives this account of beast - shaped Greek fire projectors being mounted to the bow of warships : " As he [ the Emperor Alexios I ] knew that the Pisans were skilled in sea warfare and dreaded a battle with them , on the prow of each ship he had a head fixed of a lion or other land - animal , made in brass or iron with the mouth open and then gilded over , so that their mere aspect was terrifying . And the fire which was to be directed against the enemy through tubes he made to pass through the mouths of the beasts , so that it seemed as if the lions and the other similar monsters were vomiting the fire . " Some sources provide more information on the composition and function of the whole mechanism . The Wolfenbüttel manuscript in particular provides the following description : " . . . having built a furnace right at the front of the ship , they set on it a copper vessel full of these things , having put fire underneath . And one of them , having made a bronze tube similar to that which the rustics call a " squitiatoria " , " squirt " , with which boys play , they spray [ it ] at the enemy . " Another , possibly first - hand , account of the use of Greek fire comes from the 11th - century " Yngvars saga víðförla " , where the Viking Ingvar the Far - Travelled faces ships equipped with Greek fire weapons : " [ They ] began blowing with smiths ’ bellows at a furnace in which there was fire and there came from it a great din . There stood there also a brass [ or bronze ] tube and from it flew much fire against one ship , and it burned up in a short time so that all of it became white ashes . . . " The account , albeit embellished , corresponds with many of the characteristics of Greek fire known from other sources , such as a loud roar that accompanied its discharge . These two texts are also the only two sources that explicitly mention that the substance was heated over a furnace before being discharged ; although the validity of this information is open to question , modern reconstructions have relied upon them . Based on these descriptions and the Byzantine sources , John Haldon and Maurice Byrne designed a hypothetical apparatus as consisting of three main components : a bronze pump , which was used to pressurize the oil ; a brazier , used to heat the oil ( πρόπυρον , " propyron " , " pre - heater " ) ; and the nozzle , which was covered in bronze and mounted on a swivel ( στρεπτόν , " strepton " ) . The brazier , burning a match of linen or flax that produced intense heat and the characteristic thick smoke , was used to heat oil and the other ingredients in an airtight tank above it , a process that also helped to dissolve the resins into a fluid mixture . The substance was pressurized by the heat and the usage of a force pump . After it had reached the proper pressure , a valve connecting the tank with the swivel was opened and the mixture was discharged from its end , being ignited at its mouth by some source of flame . The intense heat of the flame made necessary the presence of heat shields made of iron ( βουκόλια , " boukolia " ) , which are attested in the fleet inventories . The process of operating Haldon and Byrne ' s design was fraught with danger , as the mounting pressure could easily make the heated oil tank explode , a flaw which was not recorded as a problem with the historical fire weapon . In the experiments conducted by Haldon in 2002 for the episode " Fireship " of the television series " Machines Times Forgot " , even modern welding techniques failed to secure adequate insulation of the bronze tank under pressure . This led to the relocation of the pressure pump between the tank and the nozzle . The full - scale device built on this basis established the effectiveness of the mechanism ' s design , even with the simple materials and techniques available to the Byzantines . The experiment used crude oil mixed with wood resins , and achieved a flame temperature of over and an effective range of up to . Hand - held projectors . The portable " cheirosiphōn " ( " hand - " siphōn " " ) , the earliest analogue to a modern flamethrower , is extensively attested in the military documents of the 10th century , and recommended for use in both sea and land . They first appear in the " Tactica " of emperor Leo VI the Wise , who claims to have invented them . Subsequent authors continued to refer to the " cheirosiphōnes " , especially for use against siege towers , although Nikephoros II Phokas also advises their use in field armies , with the aim of disrupting the enemy formation . Although both Leo VI and Nikephoros Phokas claim that the substance used in the " cheirosiphōnes " was the same as in the static devices used on ships , Haldon and Byrne consider that the former were manifestly different from their larger cousins , and theorize that the device was fundamentally different , " a simple syringe [ that ] squirted both liquid fire ( presumably unignited ) and noxious juices to repel enemy troops . " However the illustrations of Hero ' s " Poliorcetica " show the " cheirosiphōn " also throwing the ignited substance . Grenades . In its earliest form , Greek fire was hurled onto enemy forces by firing a burning cloth - wrapped ball , perhaps containing a flask , using a form of light catapult , most probably a seaborne variant of the Roman light catapult or onager . These were capable of hurling light loads — around — a distance of . Effectiveness and countermeasures . Although the destructiveness of Greek fire is indisputable , it should not be seen as some sort of " wonder weapon " , nor did it make the Byzantine navy invincible . It was not , in the words of naval historian John Pryor , a " ship - killer " comparable to the naval ram , which by then had fallen out of use . While Greek fire remained a potent weapon , its limitations were significant when compared to more traditional forms of artillery : in its " siphōn " - deployed version , it had a limited range , and it could be used safely only in a calm sea and with favourable wind conditions . The Muslim navies eventually adapted themselves to it , by staying out of its effective range and devising methods of protection such as felt or hides soaked in vinegar . In popular culture . Greek fire made an appearance in the 2011 film " " as a naval weapon used by the character Blackbeard , as well as in the video games " " and " " . Both the academic discussion around Greek fire and a medieval demonstration of it appear in the 1999 novel " Timeline " and its 2003 film adaption . A similar substance , known as " wildfire " , is used in a naval battle in the book " A Clash of Kings " by George R . R . Martin . A self - igniting liquid was referred to as Greek Fire in Season 1 Episodes 7 - 11 of the BBC America television series " Copper " . Greek Fire was used in the episode " The Mask of Doom , Part III " of the " Fantastic Four " 1994 TV series to thwart the Persians and Dr Doom . Greek fire is a common weapon used in the " Percy Jackson & the Olympians " series , as well as its spin - off series , " The Heroes of Olympus " . Rick Riordan ' s version of the weapon is green , however .