Claw of Archimedes Claw of Archimedes The Claw (, "harpágē", "snatcher") of Archimedes (also known as the "iron hand") was an ancient weapon devised by Archimedes to defend the seaward portion of Syracuse's city wall against amphibious assault. Although its exact nature is unclear, the accounts of ancient historians seem to describe it as a sort of crane equipped with a grappling hook that was able to lift an attacking ship partly out of the water, then either cause the ship to capsize or suddenly drop it. These machines featured prominently during the Second Punic War in 214 BC, when the Roman Republic
Archimedes (crater) in what he thought to be a mid-sized crater in the south of the rim of what is now Plato, between that crater (then as "Lacus Panciroli") and Mare Imbrium (then as "Mare Astronomicum"). The stretch of lunar surface between Archimedes and Autolycus was the site of the crash-landing of the Soviet probe Luna 2. This was the first craft to reach the surface of the Moon, landing September 13, 1959. By convention these features are identified on lunar maps by placing the letter on the side of the crater midpoint that is closest to Archimedes. The following craters have