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Catapult Impact On Society

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Another interesting effect of the catapult was the importance of specialized people. Before the catapult was invented, soldiers only had to be trained in fighting. After the invention however, mathematical and engineering skills became important to be able to build and operate a catapult. The catapult moved the social status of an engineer from “dirty, ugly, and lame,” to an important member of society who was in high demand (Foley and Soedel 8). The creation of the engineer also changed the structure of labor and how innoventions were developed. Catapults represent some of the first examples of modern engineering. Dionysius, ruler of Syracuse, was the first to create these devices, and created them by using modern engineering practices. These included using large specialized teams, splitting work to be done into feasible sizes, and giving financial compensation (1). All this change in status and importance of the engineer brought down likeness in Greek society. Because warfare was based around only soldiers fighting before the invention of the catapult, soldier conformity was important. One …show more content…

For example, Wheeler writes, “Strabo’s quotation of the inscription does not mention the Lelantine War, but the context of the inscription in Strabo is the Lelantine War. So Strabo (or his source) made this connection, whether or not the war was the inscription’s original context” (160). This shows there is a change the treaty does not even have any connection to the war being discussed. Also, Wheeler says, “Polybius’ account of the alleged treaty in comparison to Strabo’s is vague and practically useless, except for its role in leading scholars to posit a common source for the two accounts” (161). This unveils another big problem with the literary evidence. If there is only one useful source, not two a previously thought, how can anyone be sure of the sources

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