Ep. 030 – Trireme 101: How to Build, Sail, and Ram and Ancient Greek Warship

Today we have a lengthy primer focused only on the trireme. After a jaunt through some of the evidence related to when the trireme first came into use on the seas of ancient Greece and the Near East we then take a deep dive into the numerous aspects of the ship itself. We discuss the materials used by ancient shipwrights, the process of building and outfitting a trireme, and the design of this ship that set it apart from the oared galleys of archaic Greece. The trireme was essentially an oar-powered maritime missile, so we then outline the various sailors who made up the typical 200-man contingent of each trireme. The trierarch functioned as a ship captain, and from there we meet the other 199 men, 170 of whom were oarsmen. Much of what we know about the trireme has been confirmed via the reconstruction of Olympias and the ensuing sea trials that she underwent. After a bit about Olympias, we conclude with a look at the naval tactics that developed in the wake of the trireme taking over the naval scene in ancient Greece. All in all, what we've got is a 105-minute ode to the most important ship of the ancient world: the trireme.

Sources

  • Abulafia, David, The Great Sea: A Human History of the Mediterranean (2013).
  • Casson, Lionel, The Ancient Mariners: Seafarers and Sea Fighters of the Mediterranean in Ancient Times (1959).
  • Grant, Michael, The Rise of the Greeks (1987).
  • Hale, John R., Lords of the Sea: The Epic Story of the Athenian Navy and the Birth of Democracy (2009).
  • Herodotus, The Histories (Robert Strassler, Ed., Andrea Purvis, Transl., 2007).
  • McGrail, Seán, Boats of the World: From the Stone Age to Medieval Times (2009).
  • Morrison, J.S., et al, The Athenian Trireme: The History and Reconstruction of an Ancient Greek Warship (2nd edition, 2000).
  • Morrison, J.S., The Greek Trireme, The Mariner's Mirror, 27:1, 14–44 (1941).
  • Paine, Lincoln, The Sea and Civilization: A Maritime History of the World (2013).
  • Papalas, Anthony J., Polycrates of Samos and the First Greek Trireme Fleet, The Mariner's Mirror, 85:1, 3–19 (1999).
  • Papalas, Anthony J., The Development of the Trireme, The Mariner's Mirror, 83:3, 259–271 (1997).
  • Strauss, Barry, The Battle of Salamis: The Naval Encounter That Saved Greece--and Western Civilization (2004).
  • The Decree of Themistocles (The Troezen Decree). [link]
  • Thucydides, The History of the Peloponnesian War.
  • Xenophon, Oeconomicus, Book XXI.

5 Responses

  1. Somewhere i read that each oarsman had his own wool cushion that enabled his butt to slide, as with a modern sliding seat, increasing his efficiency. In the Olympias videos I don’t see that, just a simple pad but no room for it to slide.

    “Pads of sheepskin would enable the trireme’s oarsmen to work their legs as they rowed, thus adding to the power of each stroke.” (http://erenow.com/ancient/lordsoftheseaatheniannavy/4.html)

    Wherever it was I read this originally, that source told me that the oarsmen got an occupational nickname from the greek word for the sheepskin pad each carried — but I can’t find that source now. Comment?

    1. Thanks for the comment, Dave! You’re quite right to recall the proposition made by some that the oarsmen used a cushion to slide along the bench. The few clear-cut depictions that show detail of the rowers in a trireme don’t show the bench, so although we know they had bent knees we don’t know if they used a fixed or a sliding cushion. Thucydides refers to the rowers having to carry their own cushion as well.

      I believe that in the case of Olympias, they simply chose to use a fixed cushion because of space constraints. In their book on the reconstruction, Morrison and Coates mention that any cushion sliding in a trireme would be “over a much shorter distance than in a modern racing craft, about 15 cm as opposed to 40-50 cm actual movement on the sliding seats with wheels which are used in today’s boats.” They mention in this same discussion that the available evidence regarding seat cushions in the ancient trireme is equally compatible with fixed-seat rowing, and that in the original trials where the oarsmen used sheepskin cushions one man tried to use a sliding stroke but found it hard to slide on the bench and thought it to be more tiring than a fixed-seat oar stroke.

      Basically, as with many particularities from this far back, we don’t have clear-cut evidence to help us choose a winner between sliding-cushion or fixed-cushion. John R. Hale is famously the historian who argues in favor of the sliding-cushion, so his writing may be where you read about the nickname. I haven’t come across that myself, but I know there a few articles Hale wrote focusing on the seat cushion in Greek triremes specifically, I just can’t find access to those, blasted academic journal paywalls blocking the way again! I’ll follow up if I do come across that nickname though, you’ve got me curious about it now 😉

      1. Hi! Regarding the use of sheepskins as a cushion, you might be interested in my experience in sculling Thames Skiffs. These are traditional clinker built single or double sculling boats still raced on primarily the Thames in England. They have fixed seats, so the sliding of the buttocks does take its toll if you haven’t been in one for a while!
        Several club members buckle sheep skins to the narrow seat plank with leather straps sewn to the edges of the skin, so that it wraps around three sides of the plank. While there is no evidence to prove this is what the Greeks did, my club mates know through experience that if the skin is not secured firmly, it will pull off the seat over the course of an outing.
        Sheep skins are something that most of us avoid, partly because of feel, partly because it’s one more thing to have to maintain, partly pride, but also because your skin hardens up after a few outings and you don’t suffer anymore. I have sculled the length of the Thames and back again over six days – the return non stop, barring locks and changeovers, food breaks etc. for 43 hours – and my rear was none the worse for it. But, these guys were in the ship for far longer and when you factor in the addition of salt water which would add to the chaffing, a sheepskin would be pretty essential I’d imagine!
        On another point, Vikings are known to have placed a cloak or blanket over the storage chests they used as seats in the longships, so creating a cushion for themselves. I’d imagine they tried to make a hard job as easy as it possibly could be!
        Best wishes!

        1. Thanks for that info, Steve! I had the fortune of visiting the UK and seeing the Thames in several places for the first time recently, so I somewhat envy your experience of sculling on the river there. Sounds quite enjoyable! (though hard work too).

          Those are very enlightening first-hand experiences as well, in relation to the Greeks and their comfort when rowing the biremes and triremes of yore. Sheepskins were quite helpful, I agree in your comments there, but I have been wondering more recently how often they may have used them. If you can build up a tolerance to it, then perhaps it was a personal preference issue much like yours sounds to be. Because, while they may have been on the rowing benches for many days in succession, I am seeing more and more indication that is was their typical goal to beach the ship at night whenever possible. Triremes weren’t built to be in the water for extended periods, so perhaps they had enough chances to rest their skin in between rowing sessions that they also grew used to it, built up a tolerance.

          Ultimately, you’re quite right. Each man must have done whatever he thought worked best to make a tough job as easy as it could be made!
          Thanks again 🙂

          1. Hi Brandon, you’re welcome! Your article makes great reading by the way and very interesting. I hope you get to visit the UK again one day, I’m sure any of my club mates would be happy to show you the pleasures of Skiffing! Best wishes.

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