Trireme

trireme: see galley.

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trireme

Oar-powered warship. Light, fast, and maneuverable, it was the principal naval vessel with which Persia, Phoenicia, and the Greek city-states vied for mastery of the Mediterranean from the Battle of Salamis (480 BC) through the end of the Peloponnesian War (404). The Athenian trireme was about 120 ft (37 m) long, and was rowed by 170 oarsmen seated in three tiers along each side; it could reach speeds of more than 7 knots (8 mph, or 13 kph). Square-rigged sails were used when the ship was not engaged in battle. Armed with a bronze-clad ram, it carried spearmen and bowmen to attack enemy crews. By the late 4th century BC, armed deck soldiers had become so important in naval warfare that it was superseded by heavier ships. See also galley.

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trireme

a galley, developed by the ancient Greeks as a warship, with three banks of oars on each side

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Trireme 

a galley with three lines of oars placed one on top of another in staggered rows. Triremes usually had a displacement of more than 200 tons; they were 45 m long and 6 m wide, with a draft of 2.5 m. They carried a crew of up to 200. Sails were sometimes used on triremes as an aid to the oars. Triremes first appeared in Phoenicia, and beginning in the fifth century B.C., they spread throughout the fleets of other Mediterranean states. In the ancient Greek fleet, a vessel of this type was called a meres.