EB Help Required Thread

[O'ETAIPOS]

Triere

{triere_fleet} Triere Fleet

{triere_fleet_descr}
\n\n This is an ancient ship Ho Basileos! And famous. Great historian Thukidydes claim that the first of those were built in korynthian docks by a shipwright Ameinocles during theire war with Korkyra (dates varies betwen late VIII till half VI century BC). At first they were rare, but as the days passed by more and more states used them. Just two years before persian king - hope he lays in the deepes deeps of Tartar - Xerxes attempted to enslave Hellenoi athenoi decided to built 200 of them. In the great battles near Artemision and Salamis trierai formed the bulk of both fleets. The years had passed and the ships bacame a bit obsolete, but are still very efficient.\n\n Unlike the other ancient ships we know how trirere looked quite well due to some very detailed reliefs and vase painting. The ship probably mesured around 35x4.8m - it's the size of docs excavated in Pireus. ship had three rows of single manned oars on each side. Two lower rows (thalamioi - lowest and zygioi - middle level)) were inside the hull, while the highest (thramitai) on open outtriggers. Deck wasn't covering whole width of the ship - probably only the hull width (some late trierai are called cataphraktoi and this mean probably that those had full deck). The crew consisted of 200 men, including 170 oarsmen (54 on both in-hull levels, 62 on the highest) and 30 officers, sailors and marines. We know that Athenian ships had 4 archers and 10 hoplites on board. Triere was primarly designed for ramming attacks so it was very manevrouable at the cost of seaworthines - in choppy sea they were strugleing. As mentioned the ram was triere's main weapon, but we may assume that later full deck ones carried few marines more or smaller balistas.
As other ancient ships trieres had two sails for longer voyages - main on the central mast and additional on small front mast.
{triere_fleet_descr_short}
Ancient and famous trierai are still very usefull ships.