Codes and Ciphers - the language of the Semaphore
I was doing more research for the Codes and Ciphers book by Agapeyeff from 1939, of which I recently obtained a 70s reprint that I recently sold. He has some information on the semaphore, the signaling device familiar to railroad riders. In older times it was more complex and in the 1700s it became what we would call now a network of communications. The author indicates that the semaphore is a logical derivation of the ancient (Greek and Roman) use of torches by Polybius. Consulting an online encyclopedia, we find that Polybius lived in the second century B. C. (or if your prefer B. C. E) in Greece. He was noted for his contribution to cryptography for the Polybius square which when checking back earlier in Codes and Ciphers was also used as a form of telegraphy, if one can telegraph without wires and electricity, more a visual signal. That is an entry by itself, since it involved using torches in formation to spell out letters of the alphabet using a system of boxes to spell out letters in a square. One wonders how extensive the use of that system was in the ancient world. The story "Lest Darkness Fall" by L. Sprague deCamp as I remember had signaling systems as a way of speeding communication across the Roman Empire, when a time traveler from the 20th Century finds himself in classical Rome. The idea that perhaps they already had rapid visual communication sounds like a kind of retro science fiction come true.
Here is something from the author about semaphores:
Semaphore, however, is still in use, and most people are familiar with this form of signaling, which is done either with flags or signal arms. The arms move in a circle which is divided into eight parts, each of degrees; seven of the parts are the letters A—G, and the eighth position is where the arms are placed when not in use.Here is a diagram about some of the messages to be sent by the operators in the system:
Posted by mylynx at 10/16/2009 9:19 AM 
Categories: uncategorized
Tags: semaphores ancient communication systems
Categories: uncategorized
Tags: semaphores ancient communication systems
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Sometimes I feel so old, that I actually know semaphore! I used to ride the rail system long ago in my youth, and I would use it to signal. I haven't used it in such a long time though!
Jon
Napoleon set up a system that communicated across Europe with semaphores. It was fast and accurate. Thanks for stopping by.
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