Talk:Trireme
From Academic Kids
VERY nice, Josh! --MichaelTinkler
Thanks! I don't remember the construction details, rower arrangements, speeds, or precisely which countries maintained fleets (there were only a few), so anyone who knows about these is very encouraged to add to the article. Also, I'm not quite sure how exactly the Carthaginian quinqueremes were employed, and would be anxious to find out, though that would go on quinquereme rather than here.
My encyclopedia states that triremes were first constructed in Corinth (8th century B.C.) and their design was evolving constantly. Their use was generalised during the Peloponnesian War (end of 5th century B.C.). Before them there were only big ships with 50 or 100 lines of rows that were too big and slow to serve effectivelly in battles where velocity and agility were crusial (see Salamis). After the appearance of the trirems it was attempted the introduction of another in between type of ship, one with 2 lines of rows that was not proved to be equally effective. After the Peloponnesian War other ships with 5, 7 or 10 lines of rows were constructed but none of those could mach the trireme. Is there any contradiction with your text?
Both the idea that triremes were invented in Corinth and the idea that they preceded the bireme are contradicted, but that's because the first is very doubtful and the second isn't true. The constant evolution isn't gone into at the moment, though additions would as always be wonderful, and the larger boats are not considered inferior to the trireme because they were used for different things.
I was under the impression that in the Battle of Salamis it was only the Athenians that had trirems and that was the whole point of their manouvering!?
No. The Persians simply had heavier triremes - so slower and less maneuverable - because they needed space on board to hold marines.
209.130.174.16, did you mean to take that sentence out?
Oarsmen
The trireme's staggered seating permitted three row of oarsmen, and an outrigger above the gunwale, projecting laterally beyond it, kept the third row of oars out of the way of the first two. I am afraid I don't understand this. There are a lot more than three rows of oarsmen on the trireme. This sentence doesn't do a very good job of describing to me how the oarsmen were situated. --timc | Talk 14:49, 17 Dec 2004 (UTC)
- It needs a good picture. But the sentence seems perfectly clear. The second row sat above the first row and the third row sat above the second row. What makes you think there were more than three rows? Gdr 15:17, 2004 Dec 17 (UTC)
