Featuring a new introduction by the author.

A devastatingly relevant look at the mythic and historic origins of biological and chemical warfare.

Adrienne Mayor's exploration of the origins of biological and unethical warfare is an attention-grabber that follows through with fascinating illustrative episodes. Greek Fire, Poison Arrows & Scorpion Bombs is a meticulously researched page-turner that draws extraordinary connections between the mythical worlds of Hercules and the Trojan War, the accounts of Herodotus and Thucydides, and modern warfare. Mayor describes ancient recipes for arrow poisons, bobbytraps rigged with plague, petroleum-based combustibles, choking gases, and the deployment of dangerous animals and venomous insects. She also explores the ambiguous moral implications inherent in this kind of warfare.

Praise for Greek Fire, Poison Arrows & Scorpion Bombs
Illuminating Adrienne Mayor marshals not just myth, but also the writing of ancient authors and evidence from archaeological digs to show that biological and chemical weapons saw action in battles long before the modern era. The New York Times

A sound and very imaginative account .Mayor s historical research has made a significant contribution toward filling in the gaps of knowledge concerning weaponry in the classical age. Newsday

Mayor recounts in lively, sometimes darkly comic detail, thediabolical stratagems devised by devious warriors for tactical ends. Discover

Adrienne Mayor is a classical folklorist who specializes in the early history of science. A frequent contributor to Archaeology, MHQ: The Quarterly Journal of Military Hiistory and the Journal of American Folklore, she is often interviewed on NPR, the BBC, and the History and Learning Channels. She lives in Princeton, New Jersey, with her husband, the historian Josiah Ober.