from the publisher:
Current concerns over anthrax and other biological and chemical weapons make our understanding of the deep roots of biochemical and unethical warfare more crucial than ever before. The origins of such weapons are surprisingly ancient. The idea of turning harmful forces of nature against enemies goes back to archaic Greek myth and was put into practice much earlier than has been previously recognized.
Adrienne Mayor's Greek Fire, Poison Arrows & Scorpion Bombs: Biological and Chemical Warfare in the Ancient World is a book about the origins and practice of biochemical weapons from the Trojan War to the Roman Empire.
Adrienne Mayor is an independent scholar who writes about the scientific and historical realities embedded in myths and folklore. She specializes in legends about natural history in classical history and in modern times. Her publications have appeared in scholarly journals and popular magazines. Mayor's work has been been reported in the national and international media and she has presented her research in radio and TV interviews and in public lectures in the US and Europe.
Her other book, The First Fossil Hunters, is about discoveries and interpretations of the large fossil bones of extinct creatures in ancient Greece and Rome.