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Chapter Five. The Age of the Trireme: 500-323 B.C.

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Ships and Seamanship in the Ancient World
This chapter is in the book Ships and Seamanship in the Ancient World
CHAPTER FIVE The Age of the Trireme: 500-323 B.C. I THE "TRIREME QUESTION" IN THE FIFTH century B.C., the ship of the line throughout the ancient world was the trireme,1 and, except for a few centuries of experiment with larger types, it retained this distinction down to the days of the later Roman Empire.2 "Trireme" is the English ren­dering of a word found only in Latin literature; the technical name for the ship, in the Roman navy3 as well as the Greek, was trieres "three-fitted." Precisely what is meant by "three-fitted" has given rise to the famed "trireme question."4 Before the trireme made its appearance, the only ship-types men­tioned are the triaconter and penteconter (58 above). These terms 1 E.g., triremes were the capital ships in both the Persian and Peloponnesian Wars. Larger units did not appear in Athens' fleets until the second half of the 4th B.C., and then in only relatively small numbers. See GOS 223-27, 249. Most of our detailed information concerns the Athenian navy in the 4th B.C., thanks to the preservation of extensive fragments of the navy yard records of the period. See IG Ii2 1604-32, 377-322 B.C.; SEG XIII 48 (additions to IG II2 1624); E. Schweigert in Hesperia 8 (1939) 17-25 (fragments of a second copy of IG II2 1611); D. Laing in Hesperia 37 (1968) 244-54 (additions and corrections to IG II2 1628); SEG χ 355. Laing, who has conducted a thorough-going restudy of the originals, reports (p. 245, note 4) that IG Ii2 1604 and 1605 probably come from the same stele; that 1613 and 1614 join and are respectively the upper and lower parts of the same stele, which is to be dated 353/2 (p. 253); that 1615 and 1617-19 are parts of the same document; that 1620 and 1621 are from the same stele and should probably be dated 348/7; and that 1628 and 1630 are parts of the same document. There are also extant a few lines dating from the second half of the 5th B.C.; see IG Ii2 1604a on p. 811. 2 Starr 53. 3 E.g., sailors of the Roman fleet use only trieres, the Greek term, on their tomb­stones, never the Latin triremis·, see SEVEN, note 6, and Starr 52. 4Morrison, "Trireme" 17-24, gives a concise survey of the history of the question. The appendices in the second edition of Torr (154-214) contain a number of articles from the later stages of the debate. Tarn's footnote on p. 154 there (= JHS 25, 1905, p. 137) and Starr in CPh 35 (1940) 353 provide a good sampling of the earlier bibliography.

CHAPTER FIVE The Age of the Trireme: 500-323 B.C. I THE "TRIREME QUESTION" IN THE FIFTH century B.C., the ship of the line throughout the ancient world was the trireme,1 and, except for a few centuries of experiment with larger types, it retained this distinction down to the days of the later Roman Empire.2 "Trireme" is the English ren­dering of a word found only in Latin literature; the technical name for the ship, in the Roman navy3 as well as the Greek, was trieres "three-fitted." Precisely what is meant by "three-fitted" has given rise to the famed "trireme question."4 Before the trireme made its appearance, the only ship-types men­tioned are the triaconter and penteconter (58 above). These terms 1 E.g., triremes were the capital ships in both the Persian and Peloponnesian Wars. Larger units did not appear in Athens' fleets until the second half of the 4th B.C., and then in only relatively small numbers. See GOS 223-27, 249. Most of our detailed information concerns the Athenian navy in the 4th B.C., thanks to the preservation of extensive fragments of the navy yard records of the period. See IG Ii2 1604-32, 377-322 B.C.; SEG XIII 48 (additions to IG II2 1624); E. Schweigert in Hesperia 8 (1939) 17-25 (fragments of a second copy of IG II2 1611); D. Laing in Hesperia 37 (1968) 244-54 (additions and corrections to IG II2 1628); SEG χ 355. Laing, who has conducted a thorough-going restudy of the originals, reports (p. 245, note 4) that IG Ii2 1604 and 1605 probably come from the same stele; that 1613 and 1614 join and are respectively the upper and lower parts of the same stele, which is to be dated 353/2 (p. 253); that 1615 and 1617-19 are parts of the same document; that 1620 and 1621 are from the same stele and should probably be dated 348/7; and that 1628 and 1630 are parts of the same document. There are also extant a few lines dating from the second half of the 5th B.C.; see IG Ii2 1604a on p. 811. 2 Starr 53. 3 E.g., sailors of the Roman fleet use only trieres, the Greek term, on their tomb­stones, never the Latin triremis·, see SEVEN, note 6, and Starr 52. 4Morrison, "Trireme" 17-24, gives a concise survey of the history of the question. The appendices in the second edition of Torr (154-214) contain a number of articles from the later stages of the debate. Tarn's footnote on p. 154 there (= JHS 25, 1905, p. 137) and Starr in CPh 35 (1940) 353 provide a good sampling of the earlier bibliography.

Chapters in this book

  1. Frontmatter i
  2. Preface vii
  3. Contents xi
  4. Illustrations xv
  5. Chapter One. Floats, Rafts, and the Earliest Boats 1
  6. Chapter Two. Egypt and Mesopotamia 11
  7. Chapter Three. The Eastern Mediterranean: 3000-1000 B.C. 30
  8. Chapter Four. The Eastern Mediterranean: 1000-500 B.C. 43
  9. Chapter Five. The Age of the Trireme: 500-323 B.C. 77
  10. Chapter Six. The Warships of the Hellenistic Age: 323-31 B.C. 97
  11. Chapter Seven. The Roman Imperial and Byzantine Navies 141
  12. Chapter Eight. Merchant Galleys 157
  13. Chapter Nine. Sailing Ships 169
  14. Chapter Ten. Shipbuilding 201
  15. Chapter Eleven. Rudder, Rigging, Miscellaneous Equipment 224
  16. Chapter Twelve. Seasons and Winds, Sailing, Rowing, Speed 270
  17. Chapter Thirteen. Officers and Men 300
  18. Chapter Fourteen. Small Craft 329
  19. Chapter Thirteen. Markings and Names 344
  20. Chapter Sixteen. Harbors
  21. I. Early Greek Harbors 361
  22. II. Greek and Roman Naval Bases 363
  23. III. Greek and Roman Commercial Harbors 365
  24. Illustrations 1-67 371
  25. Illustrations 68-110 392
  26. Illustrations 111-147 414
  27. Illustrations 148-196 437
  28. List of Abbreviations 371
  29. Glossary of Nautical Terms 383
  30. Glossary of Greek and Latin Terms 389
  31. Indexes 403
  32. Addenda and Corrigenda 442
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https://doi.org/10.1515/9781400853465.77

Chapters in this book

  1. Frontmatter i
  2. Preface vii
  3. Contents xi
  4. Illustrations xv
  5. Chapter One. Floats, Rafts, and the Earliest Boats 1
  6. Chapter Two. Egypt and Mesopotamia 11
  7. Chapter Three. The Eastern Mediterranean: 3000-1000 B.C. 30
  8. Chapter Four. The Eastern Mediterranean: 1000-500 B.C. 43
  9. Chapter Five. The Age of the Trireme: 500-323 B.C. 77
  10. Chapter Six. The Warships of the Hellenistic Age: 323-31 B.C. 97
  11. Chapter Seven. The Roman Imperial and Byzantine Navies 141
  12. Chapter Eight. Merchant Galleys 157
  13. Chapter Nine. Sailing Ships 169
  14. Chapter Ten. Shipbuilding 201
  15. Chapter Eleven. Rudder, Rigging, Miscellaneous Equipment 224
  16. Chapter Twelve. Seasons and Winds, Sailing, Rowing, Speed 270
  17. Chapter Thirteen. Officers and Men 300
  18. Chapter Fourteen. Small Craft 329
  19. Chapter Thirteen. Markings and Names 344
  20. Chapter Sixteen. Harbors
  21. I. Early Greek Harbors 361
  22. II. Greek and Roman Naval Bases 363
  23. III. Greek and Roman Commercial Harbors 365
  24. Illustrations 1-67 371
  25. Illustrations 68-110 392
  26. Illustrations 111-147 414
  27. Illustrations 148-196 437
  28. List of Abbreviations 371
  29. Glossary of Nautical Terms 383
  30. Glossary of Greek and Latin Terms 389
  31. Indexes 403
  32. Addenda and Corrigenda 442
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