Siegecraft in Ancient Greece
Siegecraft originated in Ancient Greece. This type of siege originated from the moment in which the stage of the mere siege was surpassed by an exceptional development of military techniques, which were hardly taken any further during the Middle Ages, until the invention of firearms. The importance of siege techniques was due to the increase in the strategic role of the city to the detriment of the territory in the overall defense of the polis. Origins Apart from the Mycenae tablet, in which slingers, archers and stone throwers are seen fighting a battle under the walls of a city, Homer's description of the chariot assault launched by the Trojans against the fortified camp of the Achaeans, and the anecdote of the Trojan Horse, there is nothing, except the fortifications discovered by archaeologists, that informs us about the evolution of Greek poliorcetics before the end of the Archaic Period. Since the Neolithic, defensive concerns have presided over the organization of the urban plan. More than through the construction of fortified enclosures of very limited size and extent, one can observe the adaptation of civil architecture itself for military purposes: the streets are narrow and winding, while the walls of the houses