The Harpax: A much lighter more effective substitute for the corvus in Roman naval battles

 by Mary Harrsch © 2025 

I've been thoroughly enjoying Professor Gregory S. Aldrete's The Great Courses lecture series "Unsung Heroes of the Ancient World." Today, I listened to his lecture about Sextus Pompey. In previous references to Pompey the Great's youngest son, I have heard him described as essentially someone who resorted to piracy after the deaths of his father and brother during the civil wars. But, Professor Aldrete explained Sextus could have been the first emperor of Rome if only he had taken advantage of several opportunities where he could have demolished Octavian's forces in battles where Octavian had been defeated and in one case, if Sextus had been more ruthless, had both Octavian and Antony assassinated while negotiating a treaty to end Sextus' blockade of the Italian mainland.

Image courtesy of Wikimedia Commons contributor Ramnavot.

In the decisive battle of Naulocus, Sextus was finally defeated by Marcus Agrippa who employed a device I had not encountered in my studies before, a harpax, also known as a harpago, a large, iron hook designed to latch onto the rigging or hull of opposing vessels. Once a harpago secured its hold on an enemy ship, it could be used to drag the ship closer to the attacker’s vessel, allowing for easier boarding and destruction. Although I have been familiar with the corvus for some time, eventually discontinued because of its 1-ton weight that proved disastrous in storms, I somehow did not hear about the harpax until now!

It was said to have been originally invented by Pericles. It is said to have first been employed by the Roman consul Gaius Duilius during the First Punic War. Appian describes the device as a piece of wood, five cubits long bound with iron and having rings at the extremities. To one of these rings was attached the grip itself, an iron claw, to the other numerous ropes, which drew it by machine power after it had been thrown by a catapult and had seized the enemy's ships."

The harpax had a distinct advantage over the traditional naval boarding device, the corvus, in that it was much lighter. The corvus boarding bridge is estimated to have weighed a ton. The harpax could be thrown long distances due its light weight. It was discharged by a ballista as if it were a heavy dart. Furthermore, the harpax was composed of iron bands that could not be cut, and the ropes could not be cut due to the length of the iron grapple.

I asked ClaudeAI if the harpax was used in any major Roman naval engagements after the battle of Naulochus but it reported, "While the harpax proved effective at Naulochus, there isn't substantial evidence of its widespread adoption or continued use for extended periods afterward in the Roman navy."

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