It might bear mentioning that a few references to the-more-rare-compared-to-
petra petros in Greek literature I’ve seen suggests a stone that is obviously larger than a “pebble” (which some make
petros to mean), since it is thrown by troops to block enemies and can even maim, destroy or kill (such as in the citation from the Iliad above):
But while the rest of the army was passing by and they were engaged in this conference, all the enemy from that neighbourhood had streamed together to the spot; and as soon as Xenophon and his men began to descend from the round hill, in order to join the rest of the Greeks at the place where they were halted under arms, the enemy took this opportunity to rush upon them in great force and with a great deal of uproar. When they had reached the crest of the hill from which Xenophon was descending,
they proceeded to roll down stones (
ekulindoun petrous). They broke one man’s leg, and Xenophon found himself deserted by the servant who was carrying his shield; but Eurylochus of Lusi, a hoplite, ran up to him and, keeping his shield held out in front of them both, fell back with him; and the rest also made good their retreat to the main array.
-Xenophon (ca. 430 BC-354 BC),
Anabasis, 4.2.19b-21
So when the Greeks were standing in for Tenedos,
Tenes saw them and tried to keep them off
by throwing stones (
ballōn petrous), but was killed by Achilles with a sword-cut in the breast, though Thetis had forewarned Achilles not to kill Tenes, because he himself would die by the hand of Apollo if he slew Tenes.
These were, however, saved by Antenor; but the Greeks, exasperated at the insolence of the barbarians, stood to arms and made sail against them. Now Thetis charged Achilles not to be the first to land from the ships, because the first to land would be the first to die. Being apprized of the hostile approach of the fleet, the barbarians marched in arms to the sea, and endeavored
by throwing stones (
ballontes petrois) to prevent the landing.
And having lit a fire and sacrificed some of the kids, they feasted. But the Cyclops came, and when he had driven in his flocks,
he put a huge stone (
petron) to the door, and perceiving the men he ate some of them…
And he snatched up one of them and devoured him; but the rest fled, and he pursued them, shouting and calling together the rest of the
Laestrygonians*. They came to the sea, and
by throwing stones (
ballontes petrois) they broke the vessels and ate the men. Odysseus cut the cable of his ship and put to sea; but the rest of the ships perished with their crews.
Laestrygonians: A tribe of gigantic cannibals.
-Apollodorus (ca. 180 BC-after 120 BC),
Library and Epitome, E.3.26, 29; 7.5, 13
Here is something more contemporaneous with the NT:
When the king had heard this of the messengers, he took it heinously, and said that they did wrong when they assaulted the wall, whereas they ought, by undermining and other stratagems of war, to endeavor the taking of rite city, especially when they had before their eyes the example of Gideon’s son Abimelech, who would needs take the tower in Thebes by force, and was killed by
a large stone (
petros) thrown at him by an old woman; and although he was a man of great prowess, he died ignominiously by the dangerous manner of his assault (cf. Judges 9:50-57)…
-Flavius Josephus (37 AD-ca. 100 AD),
Antiquities of the Jews, 7.142
But still Josephus and those with him, although they fell down dead one upon another by the darts and stones (
petrobolōn, “throwing stones”) which the engines threw upon them, yet did not they desert the wall, but fell upon those who managed the ram, under the protection of the hurdles, with fire, and iron weapons, and stones (
petroi); and these could do little or nothing, but fell themselves perpetually, while they were seen by those whom they could not see, for the light of their own flame shone about them, and made them a most visible mark to the enemy, as they were in the day time, while the engines could not be seen at a great distance, and so what was thrown at them was hard to be avoided; for the force with which these engines threw stones (
petrōn) and darts made them hurt several at a time, and the violent noise of the stones that were cast by the engines was so great, that they carried away the pinnacles of the wall, and broke off the corners of the towers; for no body of men could be so strong as not to be overthrown to the last rank by the largeness of the stones (
lithou). And any one may learn the force of the engines by what happened this very night; for as
one of those that stood round about Josephus was near the wall, his head was carried away by such a rock (
petras)
, and his skull was flung as far as three stadia. In the day time also, a woman with child had her belly so violently struck, as she was just come out of her house, that the infant was carried to the distance of half a
stadion, so great was the force of that engine…
-Josephus,
The Wars of the Jews, 3.240-246
That last quote is especially interesting, as it describes a man being hit with a
petra, which in context would be synonymous to the
petroi or
lithoi mentioned earlier. Obviously you could not achieve these effects through pebbles!
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