In 240 BC, king Hiero of Syracuse ordered his chief engineer and inventor to complete a nearly impossible task: Build the Syracusia.
The Syracusia was the Titanic of its day. A ship so large, so pompous, so loaded with amenities, it would be a floating palace in the sea.
It would have a catapult capable of firing 180-pound-rocks on its bow and eight massive watchtowers atop the deck, which would be supported not by wooden columns, but statues of Atlas, carrying the earth on his shoulders. That’s a fitting image, seeing as Hiero also wanted the ship to carry over 1,000 people, including hundreds of soldiers, and 20 horses in separate stalls.
Therefore, the ship also needed plenty of passenger entertainment. Hiero’s ideas? A flower-lined promenade, multiple indoor swimming pools, a bathhouse with warm water, a library, a temple, and, of course, a gym. In addition, the ship was supposed to carry 400 tons of grain, 10,000 jars of pickled fish, over 70 tons of drinking water, and 600 tons of wool.
The Syracusia was a great vision for a big king at the time. Unfortunately, it was the engineer’s problem to figure out how to keep this thing afloat. If the ship sank on its maiden voyage, imagine the disgrace for its originator — and guess who he’d take it out on. Back in those days, death was as common a punishment for failure as…
