The Greek Trireme Essay, Research Paper

THE TRIREME

Boats have always represented technological ability and knowledge. And though the Ancient Greeks of Homer’s time were not very technologically advanced (relative to the present time), their ships were quite remarkable. The most prominent among the Greek fighting ships was the trireme.

The trireme first appeared around 700BC in Corinth. After years of modification, this Mediterranean galley became the predominant warship from 500 to 300BC. Controversy arises in trying to describe these ancient ships because so little is known about them. Not many artifacts and no seafaring manuals have been found to teach the modern world about this part of civilization. Despite this fact, we do know that shipbuilding and seafaring were important parts of ancient Greek life.

One of the main parts of this life was war and, accordingly, these galleys were especially designed for battle and quick maneuver. The Greeks used light-weight wood that had a natural curve to form the frame. This shows that they had a thorough knowledge of structure. The hull was relatively shallow and wide. The front of the ship was covered in metal to strength. The design maximized stability, strength and speed. The galley hull is known as a double-ender, which merely means that the ship resembles a kayak more than a rowboat. The hull was based on the Phoenician Principle of outrigger compartments running nearly all of its length. These compartments had a space for each oar and thus provided leverage for the oarsman to row. The actual size of this space is not agreed upon, but could range from 1/3m x 10cm to a hole just slightly larger than the diameter of the oar. These spaces were probably .88m apart, as were the oarsmen. Since there were three levels of rowers (which is the general consensus among descriptions), hence the name trireme, there were three levels of compartments. The oars, about 7cm in diameter, came in several lengths depending on the position of the oarsman. Each level of rowers had a different length of oar, according to some opinions. One opinion claims that first level of rowers, known as thranites, used 4.3m oars; the second level, the zygites, used 3.2m oars; the third level, the thalamites, used 2.3m oars. According to another version, the men steering in the stern of the ship used the shortest oars of all which measured 4m in length and the other oarsmen used oars 4.3m in length.

The ship held 170 oarsmen total who were probably organized in the following fashion: 30 men in the top level on each side, 27 men in the bottom two levels and two men at the stern to steer the vessel. The Greeks rarely ever used slaves on the triremes because the ships required a carefully trained crew; one oarsman out of tandem could disable a ship for minutes. Varying opinions suggest that a whip or lash was used to make the men work harder. Some critics claim that the method of pain to produce better labor would not have worked. No evidence has been brought to support or deny the use of a whip or lash by marines of other men of rank. Though opinions again differ, somewhere between 14-25 officers and/or marines were present on board the ship.

Books

1. Blackburn, Graham. The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Ships, Boats, Vessels, and Other Water-Borne Craft. The Overlook Press: Woodstock, 1st Edition, 1978.

2. Kemp, Peter., ed, Encyclopedia of Ships and Seafaring. Crown Publishers, Inc.: New York, 1980.

3. Tryckare, Tre. The Lore of Ships, Holt, Rineharts, and Winston: New York, 1963.