Triremes
The battle of Salamis (480 B.C.) was fought with wooden warships called triremes. These triremes could be powered by oar or by sail however, only oars were used in battles. This is due to the fact that speed and maneuverability were vital for success in battle. The term “trireme” comes from the Greek word ‘trieres’ which also means ‘three rower’ ship which refers to the three rowing levels seen when looking along the side of the trireme ships. State of the art naval technology presented itself as triremes and it dominated the seas for two centuries. The battle of Salamis was the greatest battle fought by triremes.
A Greek trireme would be about 130 feet long, 18 feet wide and with the oars extended 39 feet wide, it sat 8 and a half feet above the water. The hull and gunwale of the ship had openings for the two oarsmen on the bottom level to row on oars that extended through. The top level oarsmen rowed on oars extended through the outrigger.
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The triremes primary weapon was a ram at the front of the bow which was right about at the waterline and extended seven feet off the stem. The ram was tipped at the prow and was a squat wooden structure encased in bronze and was armed with three cutting blades in front. The rams proved to be integral for the Greeks success in the Battle of Salamis.
The triremes were fierce battle ships being fast and furious. It was motivated by three ranks of oars oared by over 150 oarsmen and could reach high speeds of up to ten nautical miles per hour, however, triremes generally traveled at a speed of five or six nautical miles per hour on average or when in need of speed seven or eight nautical miles. When in battle, the triremes would need short bursts of speed thus generating speeds of up to ten nautical miles per hour.
However, with all its speed and fury, the triremes were not without any weaknesses. A trireme was narrower than usual for its length which made the ship fragile as well as fast. Therefore, trireme fleets tended to hug the coast and avoid the open water. Triremes were also fairly top heavy therefore very likely to flip in a heavy weather storm. Daylight was also preferable.
The Athenians liked to build their triremes slightly bigger than the usual , most notably the Phoenicians (the then Persian Navy prime element). This was very significant in the Persian Wars and at the Battle of Salamis because this means they had a weight advantage in a collision, but were also slightly slower and less maneuverable. (We will see later how the Greeks were outmaneuvered in the open sea, the impacts and implications of the results, how they later crushed the Persians in the straits of Salamis and the impacts and implications of arguably the greatest/most significant naval encounter).
Oarsmen in the triremes were unarmed and did not get to work in very good conditions. The top deck carried a crew of archers and marines who did the fighting in close conflicts. Archers carried bows and arrows, and the Greek marines carried large, round shields, wore bronze helmets and breastplates and fought with swords and javelins. Most of the marines in the Persian fleet were equipped similarly but slightly poorer, a lot fighting with a variety of weapons from sickles and axes to daggers and long knives. It is clear from the beginning and preparations that the Greeks were much more prepared, organized and well equipped.
Experienced crews fought tactically through means of maneuver: using the ram to strike the enemy and quickly retreating before they could react and retaliate. The crews more inexperienced in naval battle adopted boarding tactics rather than ramming. They preferred to have the marines and archers fight it out thus would increase the number of fighting men on deck.
According to Herodotus, In 480 B.C., it appears that in the Greek fleet, each trireme held ten marines and four archers and in the Persian fleet, each trireme carried forty marines and archers. All of the ships in the Greek fleet were Greek however, none of the ships in the Persian fleet were actually Persian, all the Persian ships were supplied by a ‘Persian subject state’ (Persian expansionist policy) including: Phoenicians, Egyptians, Carians, and some Greek states. The Phoenicians were considered to have the best squadrons in the entire Persian fleet; the Persians only supplied marines, archers and admirals.
The presence of many Iranians and Sacae on every ship reflects the Persian unease. By doing this they minimized the possibilities of the Iranians and Sacae from switching to the Greek side. Persia was a land power and most Persians had contempt for the Sea. They attempted to recreate land battles during the naval battles with their marines and archers which is not at all as effective as using naval tactics.
The three levels of rowers on an Athenian trireme were known as follows; the top level of rowers was called ‘thranitai’ (thranites – “men on the beams”); the middle level was called ‘zygitai’ (zygites – “men on the transverse benches”); and the bottom level of rowers was called ‘thalamioi’ (thalamians – “men in the hold” – this hold may have been used to sleep or nap in). Fully manned and functioning Athenian triremes consisted of rowing crews of 58 zygites and 52 thalamians divided into groups of 29 and 26 rowers per side respectively; and 60 thranites in two files of 30 rowers with a total of 170 rowers.
The marines, archers, the captain, the pilot and the lookouts all sat on the deck. They had to remain seated as much as possible especially when in battle because even small movements could unbalance the boat and disturb the rowing motions. The trireme decks were very narrow and also served to block the sun for the rowers below.
“Athenian triremes had been built for speed and wheeling about.” CITATION Str04 \l 1033 (Strauss)However, at Salamis they were heavier than the triremes in the Persian fleet even with the extra men on the Persian ships. The Athenians decided to build heavier ships to counter the Persians superior numbers. These heavier ships outperform the regular light triremes in certain conditions (as seen in the Salamis straits). However, the Athenians did not have the time to beach their triremes as the Persians did therefore their ships may have been more waterlogged thus adding more weight.
Since triremes were powered by humans when under battle conditions, vidctory depended largely on the training and toughening of the men, giving them plenty of food (there was ample fish), water (around 1.85 gallons for a man per day) and rest on shore. Morale was very significant in the battle and the leader needed to be strong not only needed to possess tactical knowledge and experience but also had to be good in motivating, keeping spirits high and morale up.
Both fleets at salamis comprised of triremes. Although the Greeks may have been more tactically sound, well prepared, organized and equipped, both had experienced crews. Both had intelligent leadership but the Greeks had two clear advantages: “they were fighting for hearth and home.” And they “had an amazingly astute leader, Themistocles.” CITATION WJR09 \l 1033 (Rayment)
It is true thou wretch, that we have left behind us our houses and our city walls, not deeming it meet for the sake of such lifeless things to being subjection; but we still have a city, the greatest in Hellas, our two hundred triremes. Themistocles before the Greek navy sailed to Salamis according to Plutarch CITATION Lah09 \l 1033 (Lahanas)
*most of the information on triremes comes from the period 430 – 320 B.C., which is fifty years after the Persian Wars. ‘Fortunately, what little indications we have suggest that what was true of triremes in the later period was, by and large, true of the earlier period as well’ CITATION Str04 \l 1033 (Strauss).
