Greek fire is said to be among the most influential and deadly weapons of war in the ancient world,

and yet its composition is said to be unknown, a mystery even today.

Some of these questions about it are real ones, and some of them not so much.

Today we're going to separate the fact from the fiction surrounding this ancient weapon

of terror.

Greek fire is coming up next, Unskeptoid.

You're listening to Skeptoid.

I'm Brian Dunning from Skeptoid.com.

What Greek fire really was?

Today we're going to go back into history, back to the Middle Ages, when Byzantine soldiers

fought with their Muslim rivals.

It was a time when a fearsome new weapon is said to have appeared.

Greek fire, an ancient version of napalm, just as deadly and just as terrifying.

Many questions surrounded.

What was it made of?

And if it really was so effective, why did people stop using it in warfare?

And finally, the big question, was it actually real, or just one of those exaggerated or

misrepresented stories?

Today we're going to find out exactly how much we know and don't know about each of

these elusive questions.

First of all, let's clear up the obvious big one.

Greek fire was real.

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