Ballista
Overview
 
For the Roman general, see Balista
Balista
Balista or Ballista , also known in the sources with the probably wrong name of "Callistus", was one of the Thirty Tyrants of the Historia Augusta, and supported the rebellion of the Macriani against Emperor Gallienus....

. For the Italian actor, see Gigi Ballista
Gigi Ballista
Gigi Ballista was an Italian film actor. He appeared in 60 films between 1961 and 1980.-Selected filmography:* The Birds, the Bees and the Italians * L'immorale * The Seventh Floor...

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The ballista (Latin
Latin
Latin is an Italic language originally spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. It, along with most European languages, is a descendant of the ancient Proto-Indo-European language. Although it is considered a dead language, a number of scholars and members of the Christian clergy speak it fluently, and...

, from Greek
Ancient Greek
Ancient Greek is the stage of the Greek language in the periods spanning the times c. 9th–6th centuries BC, , c. 5th–4th centuries BC , and the c. 3rd century BC – 6th century AD of ancient Greece and the ancient world; being predated in the 2nd millennium BC by Mycenaean Greek...

 βαλλίστρα - ballistra and that from - βάλλω ballō, "throw"), plural ballistae, was an ancient missile weapon which launched a large projectile at a distant target.

Developed from earlier Greek weapons, it relied upon different mechanics, using two levers with torsion
Torsion (mechanics)
In solid mechanics, torsion is the twisting of an object due to an applied torque. In sections perpendicular to the torque axis, the resultant shear stress in this section is perpendicular to the radius....

 springs instead of a prod, the springs consisting of several loops of twisted skein
Skein
Skein may refer to:* A flock of geese or ducks in V formation flight* A wound ball of yarn with a center pull strand, see hank* TV Series, used part of Variety's slanguage.* Skein dubh, a Scottish knife* Skein module, a mathematical concept...

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