A dictionary of Greek and Roman . § 65. n. 12.) [L. S.] ARIES (Kpi6s), the battering-ram, was used toshake, perforate, and batter down the walls of be-sieged cities. It consisted of a large beam, madeof the trunk of a tree, especially of a fir or an one end was fastened a mass of bronze or iron(Ke(pa\ri, en§oX-f], ), which resembled inits form the head of a ram. The upper figure inthe annexed woodcut is taken from the bas-reliefson the column of Trajan at Rome. It shows the 134 ARISTOCRAT IA. ARISTOCRATIA. aries in its simplest state, and as it was borne andimp
A dictionary of Greek and Roman . § 65. n. 12.) [L. S.] ARIES (Kpi6s), the battering-ram, was used toshake, perforate, and batter down the walls of be-sieged cities. It consisted of a large beam, madeof the trunk of a tree, especially of a fir or an one end was fastened a mass of bronze or iron(Ke(pa\ri, en§oX-f], ), which resembled inits form the head of a ram. The upper figure inthe annexed woodcut is taken from the bas-reliefson the column of Trajan at Rome. It shows the 134 ARISTOCRAT IA. ARISTOCRATIA. aries in its simplest state, and as it was borne andimpelled by human hands, without other an improved form, the ram was surrounded withiron bands, to which rings were attached for thepurpose of suspending it by ropes or chains from abeam fixed transversely over it. See the lowerfigure in the woodcut. By this contrivance thesoldiers were relieved from the necessity of sup-porting the weight of the ram, and they could withease give it a rapid and forcible motion backwardsand (ftâf âa The use of this machine was further aided byplacing the frame in which it was suspended uponwheels, and also by constructing over it a woodenroof, so as to form a testudo (x^Ac^ Kpio<p6pos,Appian, Bell. Mith. 73 ; testudo arietaria, Vitruv. ), which protected the besieging party from thedefensive assaults of the besieged. Josephus, whogives a description of the machine (B. J. iii. 7. § 19),adds, that there was no tower so strong, no wallso thick, as to resist the force of this machine, ifits blows were continued long enough. The beamof the aries was often of great length, 80, 100,or even 120 feet. The design of this was both toact across an intervening ditch, and to enable thosewho worked the machine to remain in a position ofcomparative security. A hundred men, or even agreater number, were sometimes employed to strikewith the beam. The aries first became an important militaryengine in the hands of the Maced
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Keywords: ., bookauthorsmithwilliam18131893, bookcentury1800, bookdecade1840
