navy equipment and tactics

• why were the rowers on the top row (thranitial) the most respected


  the ones most in danger of being hurt

  leads the direction of the ship
• how did the gear of a hoplite soldier on a trireme differ from a land soldier

  grappling hooks for boarding enemy ships
• who was the captain of a greek trireme? what was he responsible for

  trierarchors

  ship maintenance and recruitment
• Boarding


  A naval battle technique where soldiers would jump from their deck to the enemy's deck and fight with swords and shields
• Boarding manoeuvre

  1. Ship has plenty of rowers

  2. Ship has fully armed soldiers on deck

  3. Attacking soldiers kill all defending soldiers

  4. Captured ship added to navy
• Ramming

  Sailing directly into the side of the enemy's ships to create holes in their hull, or even to break their ships apart
• Ramming ships

  • Have a bronze-coated battering ram at the front and at the water level
  • Create a hole that causes the enemy ship to take on water
  • Bronze protects the attacking ship
• Qualities of ramming ships

  • Speed
  • Manoeuvrability
  • Light ship preferable
• Diekplous


  1. Ships sail past opponents' ships

  2. Turn to ram from the side

  3. Opponents counter by retreating into tight circle with prows facing outward
• Periplous


  1. Ships sail around entire enemy line

  2. Turn to ram from the side
• Shearing


  Sailing close alongside an enemy ship and using the bronze battering ram to break off the enemy's oars
• Breaking oars could injure or even kill rowers, and the ship would have to spend time rearranging their remaining oars and oarsmen
• A ship with broken oars would be vulnerable to a follow-up ramming attack
• features of an athenian trireme

  made of local pine and wood

  long,thin shape

  low to water

  three seats for rowers per bank

  piper

  170 rowers
• what was the use of a piper


  helps everyone in time and unison
• what was a hypozomata

  two cables to keep tension in the trireme
• why were hypozomata so good

  reinforced the hull helping the ship withstand the stain of rapid rowing and quick-turns as well as knocks from the waves and enemy ships.this meant ships could be even longer and narrower enhancing speed and manoeuvrability
• what was treason in athens

  telling a non-athenian about the hypozomata as it an Atheninan invention
• Roman Navy during Imperial Period


  • Did not face much threat from naval powers
  • Land army was far more important for defense and expansion than the navy
• Augustus

  Established a full-time navy, paid by the state
• Uses of the Roman Navy

  • Putting down pirates
  • Transporting soldiers, messages and supplies to the provinces and beyond
• Composition of the Roman Navy

  • Mostly non-citizens from the Eastern Empire (in particular coastal places such as Egypt which had a preexisting culture of seafaring)
  • Roman citizens served as soldiers, were paid less than legionaries and could not command
• Command of the Roman Navy

  • Each fleet commanded by a senator called a prefectus
  • Squadrons of 10 ships commanded by a navarch
  • Individual ships captained by trierarchs
  • Commands communicated between ships with musical and flag signals
  • Celeusta in charge of the rowers
  • Fully armed soldiers commanded by a centurion
• Roman Navy Tactics

  1. Ram enemy ship or shear off their oars using bronze battering ram

  2. Board enemy ship with fully armed infantry soldiers

  3. Use grappling hooks and corvus to board enemy ships

  4. Archers fire on enemy ships

  5. Larger ships carry catapults to launch fireballs or grappling hooks

  6. Use perilous and diekplous tactics
• Roman Warships


  • Copied from Greeks - used triremes, quadriremes, quinqueremes, hexaremes, septaremes
  • Mix of ship types for ramming and boarding
• Corvus - a type of platform that soldiers could walk over to board enemy ships