Helepolis (Greek: ἑλέπολις, English: "Taker of Cities") was an ancient siege engine invented by Polyidus of Thessaly and improved by Demetrius I of Macedon and Epimachus of Athens for the unsuccessful siege of Rhodes, based on an earlier, less massive design used against Salamis (305–304 BC). Descriptions of it were written by Dioeclides of Abdera, Vitruvius, Plutarch, and in the Athenaeus Mechanicus. If their numbers are accurate, it was the biggest and most powerful siege tower ever erected.
Helepolis （希腊语：ἑλέπολις，英语: "Taker of Cities"（破城者） ）是由希腊的Polyidus of Thessaly（工程师人名）最初发明的，后来经过马其顿王国的德米特里一世和Epimachus of Athens（工程师人名）改造，并在马其顿王国对罗德岛失败的围城战中被使用，破城者其实是在马其顿争夺萨拉米的过程中（公元前305年到公元前304 年）所使用的大型攻城器 的基础上改造的。Dioeclides of Abdera，维特鲁威，普鲁塔克均有对破城者进行过细致的描叙，并且在Athenaeus Mechanicus也能发现关于破城者的描叙。    
如果这些古代文献提供的数据正确的话，那破城者将是人类历史上最巨大，最可怕的攻城塔了！


The Helepolis bore a fearsome complement of heavy armaments, with two 180-pound (82 kg) catapults, and one 60-pounder (27 kg) (classified by the weight of the projectiles they threw) on the first floor, three 60-pounders (27 kg) on the second, and two 30-pounders (14 kg) on each of the next five floors. Apertures, shielded by mechanically adjustable shutters, lined with skins stuffed with wool and seaweed to render them fireproof, pierced the forward wall of the tower for firing the missile weapons. On each of the top two floors, soldiers could use two light dart throwers to easily clear the walls of defenders. As the Helepolis was pushed towards the city, the Rhodians managed to dislodge some of the metal plates, and Demetrius ordered it withdrawn from battle to protect it from being burned. Following the failure of the siege, the Helepolis along with the other siege engines were abandoned, and the people of Rhodes melted down their metal plating and sold abandoned weapons using the materials and money to build a statue of their patron god, Helios, the Colossus of Rhodes, known as one of the ancient Seven Wonders of the World.
破城者是一个很可怕的古代战争机器，在其内部第一层楼里有两个石弩（能发射重达82千克的石弹），和一个小型弩炮（能发射27千克的石弹），第二层楼里有 三个小型弩炮（能发射27千克的实弹），顶上5层楼，每一层都安放着两个弩炮（能发射14千克的实弹）。这些弩炮的瞄准口由可内部调节的大型百叶窗所遮 盖。
百叶窗的衬里是兽皮包裹，兽皮中间填充着羊毛和海藻的混合物，以起到防火作用。在破城塔移动时，里面的炮台会对着城墙狂轰乱炸。
在破城者的最上面两层，每一层都安放着两个轻型弩炮，士兵可以躲在破城者内部，用这些弩炮轻易快速的射杀城墙上的敌军。
当破城者在靠近罗德岛城的城墙时，罗德人意识到其危险性，想尽了不少方法移去破城者身上包裹的铁片，德米特里一世害怕罗德人这样会让破城者失去防火性， 赶忙让破城者撤退。
接下来马其顿军队又遭到了一系列的攻击，围城战打的一塌糊涂，便把一大堆的攻城武器都丢在了战场上，逃之夭夭。
罗德人把这些攻城武器的金属部分还有那些战利品通通融化，最后熔铸成了他们的保护神---太阳神，这就是日后的罗德岛巨像，是当时古代世界七大奇迹之一。

Vitruvius offers an alternative version, in which the Rhodians begged Diognetus, once the town architect of Rhodes, to find a way to capture the Helepolis. By cover of night he had the Rhodians knock a hole through the wall and channel large amounts of water, mud and sewage onto the area where the Helepolis was expected to attack the following day. Diognetus was successful; the tower was brought forth to the anticipated attack position and became irretrievably stuck in the mire. Once the siege was lifted, the Rhodians sold Demetrius' abandoned engines and used the money to erect the enormous Colossus of Rhodes.
维特鲁威又提供了一个不同的描叙，罗德岛的人乞求Diognetus，一位罗德岛的建筑师，想一个办法对付那可怕的破城者。就在夜色的掩护下，罗德人 偷偷的在自己的城墙上打了一个洞，然后把水，泥巴，沟里的垃圾通通都从这洞里倒出去，把破城者攻城的路线弄得一塌糊涂。Diognetus的计策后来奏 效，笨重的破城者在后面的进攻中“深陷泥潭”。 当马其顿大败而归之后，罗德人就把城墙外的攻城器械和战利品的金属部分熔铸成了罗德岛巨像。

该物的假想图

城管是宇宙级大杀器

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鄙人亦半信半疑，所以标题注有“传说中”三字

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后面写到，“200人来转动一个巨大的绞盘，接着绞盘转动带动传送带，最后带动底座的8个巨轮。剩下的人在后面使劲的推。”另外3200人是推车的