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Phryctoria

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Also known as fryktoria

Phryctoria () was a semaphore system used in Ancient Greece. The phryctoriae were towers built on selected mountaintops so that one tower (phryctoria) would be visible to the next tower (usually 20 miles away). The towers were used for the transmission of a specific prearranged message. One tower would light its flame, the next tower would see the fire, and light its own.

~7 min read

Encyclopedic overview

6 sections
Contents
  • Terms
  • Use of beacons in Ancient Greece
  • Phryctoriae and Pyrseia
  • See also
  • References
  • External links

Phryctoria () was a semaphore system used in Ancient Greece. The phryctoriae were towers built on selected mountaintops so that one tower (phryctoria) would be visible to the next tower (usually 20 miles away). The towers were used for the transmission of a specific prearranged message. One tower would light its flame, the next tower would see the fire, and light its own.

==Terms== A beacon was called phryctos (φρυκτός), with the plural form phryctoi (φρυκτοί).

Excerpted from Wikipedia’s “Phryctoria” article, available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.

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