Before circa 800BC there was no dominant ship type used in the navies of the Aegean Sea. Most ships were little more than long boats of a primitive design. In war they were mainly used to transport troops and naval battles were boarding actions.
Circa 800BC the ram was invented and changed naval battles to a contest of speed and maneuver. At first this led to the development of the Penteconter (meaning 50-oared), a sleek ram-armed and fast war galley power by fifty oars, with twenty-five to a side and manned by fifty oarsmen. A large Penteconter could range up to 37-38 meters, the beam would be four meters to allow room for the rowers to work the oars. These ships would have a top speed of 9-10 knots. There was also a smaller war galley, the Triaconter (meaning 30-oared) used in the navies of the Aegean Sea.
Circa 700BC the Bireme was developed when someone came up with the idea of using outriggers. This allowed two tiers of oars. The lower tier of oars were fitted directly to the hull and operate excactly as they had in earlier ships. The upper tier of oars were fitted to the outriggers and the upper oarsmen sat further outward, giving room for both tiers of oars to work. Biremes had a narrower beam than Penteconters of the same length with most having a beam of three meters. Most Biremes carried 100 oarsmen.
The first Triremes were built circa 650BC, and by 500BC the Trireme was the most widely used heavy warship of the Greek city-states. In the Trireme the outriggers were now an integral part of the ship's hull. The Trireme also had a partial or full fighting deck above the rowers. The length of the Trireme remained approximately 35-38 meters, and the beam was approximately 3.5 meters. A Trireme carried 170 oarsmen, plus twenty sailors and fourteen marines in Greek navies. The top speed of a Trireme was approximately 11.5 knots. Some Triremes may have been able to reach higher speeds in short bursts. A Trireme travelling from Athens to Mitylene in 427BC made the 350 kilometer trip in only 24 hours averaging eight knots (14.6 km/h). The Trireme could accelerate much faster than a Bireme or Penteconter, and was much more maneuverable. This gave the Trireme an advantage in combat where higher speed and maneuverability meant a better chance of victory.
The Trireme needed a well-trained and drilled crew of rowers, every man had to respond to commands in unison. A single rower that failed to maintain the stroke could cripple the ship's fighting ability, so only free men could be used on Triremes. This meant they were expensive to maintain, and it took time to train crews to the level needed for combat.
The Greek navies relied on two main tactics, the diekplus and the periplus. The periplus was an extended line used to outflank the enemy and ram his vulnerable sides. The diekplus was a maneuver of some complexity and needed skillful rowing and exact timing. The counter was to form more that one line and this was quickly adapted. A defensive tactic used during this period was the Kyklos.
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Periplus In the periplus, the fleet performing the maneuver (red fleet) backs water slowly in front of its opponent's (blue fleet), keeping its rams facing the enemy until the ships on its flanks can execute the periplus, enabling them to ram their opponents' sides. At the same time, the remainder of the fleet stops backing water and advances to attack. This is the tactic that was used at the Battle of Salamis in 480BC.
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Diekplus In this maneuver, the faster and more maneuverable fleet (red fleet) wishes to break through the opponent's (blue fleet) line and bring about a general action which will give it an advantage. Led by its flagship, it makes its approach in line ahead. Then the red flagship, by quickly backing water on one side, turns into an opponent, and aided by that opponent's own momentum sheers off its oars, leaving it helpless. The red fleet's flagship then picks up speed again and selects its next victim. The next ship in line will finish off the crippled opponent. Any ship in the opponent's line turning to aid its sister ship will expose its own vulnerable side to a ram from the red fleet. One tactic to counter this maneuver is to deploy in two lines, making a diekplus suicidal. The disadvantage to this is that it shortens the battle line, leaving a fleet vulnerable to a periplus. |
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Kyklos The kyklos is a defensive tactic adopted by a fleet that is outnumbered or has slower ships. The ships form in a circle with rams pointing outward. This is the tactic used by the Greeks against the Persians at Artemisium.
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Bibliography
Most of the information for this article comes from Thucydides and Herodotus for original sources.
I also used the following sources when researching this article:
Casson, L., Ships and Seamanship in the Ancient World
(Princeton, 1971)
Holladay, A.J., 'Further Thoughts on Trireme Tactics', Greece and Rome 35 (1988), 149-51.
Morrison, J. and Coates, J., The Athenian Trireme (Cambridge, 1986)
Morrison, J., Greek and Roman Oared Warships, 399-30 BC (Oxford, 1995)
Rodgers, W.R., Greek and Roman Naval Warfare (Annapolis, 1937)
