Page "Greek fire" Paragraph 18

The first and, for a long time, most popular theory regarding the composition of Greek fire held that its chief ingredient was saltpeter, making it an early form of gunpowder.

This argument was based on the " thunder and smoke " description, as well as on the distance the flame could be projected from a siphon, which suggested an explosive discharge.

From the times of Isaac Vossius, several scholars adhered to this position, most notably the so-called " French school " during the 19th century, which included the famous chemist Marcellin Berthelot.

This view has been rejected since, as saltpeter does not appear to have been used in warfare in Europe or the Middle East before the 13th century, and is totally absent from the accounts of the Arabs, the foremost chemists of the Mediterranean world, before the same period.

In addition, the nature of the proposed mixture would have been radically different from the siphon-projected substance described by Byzantine sources.