The Harpax - Battle of Naulochus

The naval Battle of Naulochus was fought on 3 September 36 BC between the fleets of Sextus Pompeius and Marcus Vipsanius Agrippa, off Naulochus, Sicily. The victory of Agrippa, admiral of Octavian, marked the end of the Pompeian resistance to the Second Triumvirate. Both fleets were composed of 300 ships, all with artillery, but Agrippa commanded heavier units, armed with the harpax, a newer version of the corvus. It was invented by Agrippa himself. Agrippa used his new weapon to great success. Agrippa lost three ships, while 28 ships of Sextus were sunk. At least 17 ships of Sextus fled, and the others were burnt or captured. The battle marked Octavian's rise to power.

Sextus fled to Asia Minor where, in 35 BC, he was captured and executed without trial by general Marcus Titius on the orders of Mark Antony. Sextus Pompey was the youngest son Pompey the Great had with his third wife, Mucia Tertia, around 75 BC. The harpax was a grappling-iron. Its name is derived from the Greek verb harpazo (ἁρπάζω), meaning "to seize" or "to snatch". It was a versatile tool used in both ancient Greece and Rome. In warfare, the harpax took on a much larger and formidable form. They were large iron hooks designed to latch onto the rigging or hull of opposing vessels.

Once a harpax secured its hold on an enemy ship, it could be used to drag the ship closer, allowing for easier boarding. The harpax had a distinct advantage over the traditional naval boarding device, the corvus, as 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. The enemy was then winched in.

Sextus lost 183 of a total force of 300 warships. 28 were sunk by ramming and 155 by capture or destroyed by fire.

Agrippa's design of the harpax included iron bands that could not be cut, and the ropes could not be cut due to the length of the iron grapple. Appian notes "As this apparatus had never been known before, the enemy had not provided themselves with scythe-mounted poles."