What is Wildfire in the Real World

Hello to everyone,

This blog is all about wildfire. For all the Game of Thrones fans out there, this term isn’t new; in fact it is arguably the most important weapons in the series.This blog will be about the wildfire that existed centuries ago in our world and thankfully is a lost science.

So what is wildfire?

Wildfire has a great history in Westeros. It was one of those inventions that still made the pyromancer’s guild useful and relevant. In short it is the Westerosi weapon of mass destruction.

It has caused the death of Aerion Targaryen when he wrongly thought it would turn him into a dragon. And also, since we are talking about wildfire we can never not mention Aerys and Cersei. Aerys has burnt numerous people using wildfire and it was the very reason for his fall and eventually his assassination at the hands of Jaime. Wildfire has immense political significance. Cersei has also used wildfire on many occasions including, burning the tower of the hand and the sept along with its occupants. Wildfire happens to be the link between the Aerys and Cersei. Their obsession with wildfire and keeping a hold on the throne are on the same lines.

Wildfire is essentially a green highly inflammable liquid (also known as pyromancer’s piss) which is said to consume everything and is essentially inextinguishable. It can also burn on water making it indispensable during naval warfare as we saw in the Battle of the Blackwater.

Greek Fire:

Greek Fire was invented by the Byzantines in the 5th century CE. The Byzantines used this against the Arab sieges while protecting Constantinople, the Byzantine capital. They primarily used it in naval warfare as is shown in the show, because it could burn on water. The method of its preparation was a closely guarded secret much like wildfire.

But the Byzantines had a different way of deployment. Very much unlike the Westerosis, they used a war machine which ejected the “liquid fire” towards the enemy from a nozzel( Think Assassin’s Creed: Revelations).

The Westerosi method of deployment was inspired from the Third Crusade. When Richard the Lionheart was knocking at the walls of Acre(the most important port city during the Crusades) down in an epic siege, Saladin’s men devised a way to keep the Christians outside the walls. They made something very much alike Greek Fire. Since we don’t know what Greek Fire constituted we cannot be sure if the one devised by a Damascene coppersmith is the original preparation or not. But nevertheless these were launched at the Christian army, in pots.

These flaming pots were launched across the walls by catapults as we see in the Battle of the Blackwater on the 9^th episode of season 2 in GoT. Also these were stored in pots. So that’s where the inspiration for deployment came. The Byzantine method was good for close range naval warfare but what good is it when an army lays siege in a desert? Therefore, these were the inspiration for Wildfire and the Battle at Blackwater Bay.

What made Greek Fire nearly Inextinguishable?

Unlike Wildfire, Greek Fire could be extinguished using sand which cut the oxygen supply. But it was very much like wildfire. The substance was inflammable and sticky, so once it got attached to a siege engine or a ship or a person there was no way to stop complete incineration. Also the petroleum allowed it to float on water. But we are still oblivious of the actual preparation, we can only guess. The speculation goes that they used a resinous substance to make it sticky. Greek Fire was also called Napalm for the resinous material used to make it.

Why is the Wildfire green?

The only thing that is not analogous is the colour of wildfire. I think this has to do with George R.R.Martin hinting at us from the very beginning that Cersei would be a reincarnation of the Mad King Aerys Targaryen. Her eyes are compared to wildfire and her obsession with it is almost parallel to that of Aerys’.

Greek fire has been used in many more works of fiction including games, movies and other literature. It has been a mystery and mysteries always attract more interest.

George RR Martin is an absolute genius to have involved these little fragments of history here and there in the books. This blog is one of many to come referring to these historical allusions.

Thanks for reading

And Winter Has Come

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