Polybolos: The World’s First Machine Gun Built by the Ancient Greeks

Polybolos: The World’s First Machine Gun Built by the Ancient Greeks

A modern reconstruction of the repeating “polybolos” catapult of Dionysius of Alexandria in Kotsanas Museum of Ancient Greek Technology, Athens, Greece. Credit: flickr / SBA73 CC BY-SA 2.0 The ancient Greek machine gun, the polybolos, is one of the most fascinating warfare inventions in antiquity, shooting and reloading multiple bolts. The Greek word “polybolos” (Greek: πoλύβολος) translates to “firing many shots.” In actuality, the weapon was a…