Part 11 (2/2)
She is a ”Lembus:” probably the private cutter of the commandant of the port. Generally speaking, however, we soon find that all the larger Greek s.h.i.+ps are divided into two categories, the ”long s.h.i.+ps” and the ”round s.h.i.+ps.” The former depend mainly on oars and are for war; the latter trust chiefly to sail power and are for cargo. The craft in the merchant haven are of course nearly all of this last description.
Greeks are clever sailors. They never feel really happy at a great distance from the sea which so penetrates their little country; nevertheless, they have not made all the progress in navigation which, considering the natural ingenuity of the race, might well be expected. The prime difficulty is that Greek s.h.i.+ps very seldom have comfortable cabins. The men expect to sleep on sh.o.r.e every night possible. Only in a great emergency, or when crossing an exceptionally wide gulf or channel,[*] can a captain expect the average crew to forego the privilege of a warm supper and bivouac upon the strand. This means (since safe anchorages are by no means everywhere) the s.h.i.+ps must be so shallow and light they can often be hauled up upon the beach. Even with a pretty large crew, therefore, the limit to a manageable s.h.i.+p is soon reached; and during the whole of the winter season all long-distance voyaging has to be suspended; while, even in summer, nine sailors out of ten hug close to the land, despite the fact that often the distance of a voyage is thereby doubled.
[*]For example, the trip from Crete to Cyrene--which would be demanded first, before coasting along to Egypt.
However, the s.h.i.+ps at Peiraeus, if not large in size, are numerous enough. Some are simply big open boats with details elaborated.
They have a small forecastle and p.o.o.p built over, but the cargo in the hold is exposed to all wind and weather. The propulsion comes from a single unwieldy square sail swinging on a long yard the whole length of the vessel. Other s.h.i.+ps are more completely decked, and depend on two square sails in the place of one. A few, however, are real ”deep sea” vessels--completely decked, with two or even three masts; with cabins of tolerable size, and forward and aft curious projections, like turrets,--the use whereof is by no means obvious, but we soon gather that pirates still abound on the distant seas, and that these turrets are useful when it comes to repelling boarders. The very biggest of these craft run up to 250 gross tons (later day register),[*] although with these ponderous defense-works they seem considerably larger. The average of the s.h.i.+ps, however, will reckon only 30 to 40 tons or even smaller. It is really a mistake, any garrulous sailor will tell us, to build merchant s.h.i.+ps much bigger. It is impossible to make sailing vessels of the Greek model and rig sail very close to the wind; and in every contrary breeze or calm, recourse must be had to the huge oars pile up along the gunwales. Obviously it is weary work propelling a large s.h.i.+p with oars unless you have a huge and expensive crew,--far better then to keep to the smaller vessels.
[*]The Greeks reckoned their s.h.i.+ps by their capacity in talents (= about 60 lbs.), e.g. a s.h.i.+p of 500 talents, of 2000, or (among the largest) 10,000.
103. The Three War Harbors and the s.h.i.+p House.--Many other points about these ”round s.h.i.+ps” interest us; but such matters they share with the men-of-war, and our inspection has now brought us to the navy yard. There are strictly three separate navy yards, one at each of the harbors of Munychia, Zea, and Cantharus, for the naval strength of Athens is so great that it is impossible to concentrate the entire fleet at one harbor. Each of these establishments is protected by having two strong battlements or breakwaters built out, nearly closing the respective harbor entrances. At the end of each breakwater is a tower with parapets for archers, and capstans for dragging a huge chain across the harbor mouth, thus effectively sealing the entrance to any foe.[*] The Zea haven has really the greatest wars.h.i.+p capacity, but the Cantharus is a good type for the three.[+] As we approach it from the merchant haven, we see the shelving sh.o.r.e closely lined with curious structures which do not easily explain themselves. There are a vast number of dirty, shelving roofs, slightly tilted upward towards the land side, and set at right angles to the water's edge. They are each about 150 feet long, some 25 feet wide, about 20 feet high, and are set up side by side with no pa.s.sage between. On close inspection we discover these are s.h.i.+p houses. Under each of the roofs is accommodated the long slim hull of a trireme, kept safe from sea and weather until the time of need, when a few minutes' work at a tackle and capstan will send it down into harbor, ready to tow beside a wharf for outfitting.
[*]Ancient harbors were much harder to defend than modern ones, because there was no long-range artillery to prevent an enemy from thrusting into an open haven among defenseless s.h.i.+pping.
[+]Zea had accommodation for 196 triremes, Munychia, 82, and the Cantharus, 94.
104. The Great Naval a.r.s.enal.--The s.h.i.+p houses are not the only large structures at the navy yard. Here is also the great naval a.r.s.enal, a huge roofed structure open at the sides and entirely exposed to public inspection. Here between the lines of supporting columns can be seen stacked up the staple requisites for the s.h.i.+ps,--great ropes, sail boxes, anchors, oars, etc. Everybody in Athens is welcome to enter and a.s.sure himself that the fleet can be outfitted at a minute's notice[*]; and at all times crews of half-naked, weather-beaten sailors are rus.h.i.+ng hither and yon, carrying or removing supplies to and from the wharves where their s.h.i.+ps are lying.
[*]This a.r.s.enal was replaced a little later than the hypothetical time of this narrative by one designed by the famous architect, Philo. It was extremely elegant as well as commodious, with handsome columns, tiled roofs, etc. In 360 B.C., however, the a.r.s.enal seems to have been a strictly utilitarian structure.
105. An Athenian Triearch.--Among this unaristocratic crowd we observe a dignified old gentleman with an immaculate himation and a long polished cane. Obsequious clerks and sailing masters are hanging about him for his orders; it is easy to see that he is a TRIERARCH--one of the wealthiest citizens on whom it fell, in turn, at set intervals, to provide the less essential parts of a trireme's outfit, and at least part of the pay for the crew for one year, and to be generally responsible for the efficiency and upkeep of the vessel.[*] This is a year of peace, and the patriotic pressure to spend as much on your wars.h.i.+p as possible is not so great as sometimes; still Eustatius, the magnate in question, knows that he will be bitterly criticized (nay, perhaps prosecuted in the courts) if he does not do ”the generous thing.” He is therefore ordering an extra handsome figurehead; promising a bonus to the rowing master if he can get his hands to row in better rhythm than the ordinary crew; and directing that wine of superior quality be sent aboard for the men.[+] It will be an anxious year in any case for Eustathius.
He has ill wishers who will watch carefully to see if the vessel fails to make a creditable record for herself during the year, and whether she is returned to the s.h.i.+p house or to the next trierarch in a state of good repair. If the craft does not then appear seaworthy, her last outfitter may be called upon to rebuild her completely, a matter which will eat up something like a talent.
Public service therefore does not provide beds of roses for the rich men of Athens.
[*]Just how much of the rigging and what fraction of the pay of the crew the government provided is by no means clear from our evidence. It is certain that a public-spirited and lavish trierarch could almost ruin himself (unless very wealthy) during the year he was responsible for the vessel.
[+]According to various pa.s.sages in Demosthenes, the cost of a trierachy for a year varied between 40 minae (say $540 [1914 or $9,304.20 in 2000]) and a talent (about $1000 [1914 or $17,230 in 2000]), very large sums for Athenians. The question of the amount of time spent in active service in foreign waters would of course do much to determine the outlay.
Eustathius goes away towards one of the wharves, where his trireme, the ”Invincible,” is moored with her crew aboard her. Let us examine a typical Athenian wars.h.i.+p.
106. The Evolution of the Trireme.--The genesis of the trireme was the old PENTECONTER (”fifty-oar s.h.i.+p”) which, in its prime features, was simply a long, narrow, open hull, with slightly raised prow and stern cabins, pulling twenty-five oars to a side. There are a few penteconters still in existence, though the great naval powers have long since scorned them. It was a good while before the battle of salamis that the Greek sea warriors began to feel the need of larger wars.h.i.+ps. It was impossible to continue the simple scheme of the penteconter. To get more oars all on one tier you must make a longer boat, but you could not increase the beam, for, if you did, the whole craft would get so heavy that it would not row rapidly; and the penteconter was already so long in relation to its beam as to be somewhat unsafe. A device was needed to get more oars into the water without increasing the length over much.
The result was the BIREME (two-banker) which was speedily replaced by the still more efficient TRIREME (three-banker), the standard battles.h.i.+p of all the Greek navies.[*]
[*]By the end of the fourth century B.C., vessels with four and five banks of oars (quadriremes and quinqueremes) had become the regular fighting s.h.i.+ps, but they differed probably only in size, not in principle, from the trireme.
107. The Hull of a Trireme.--The ”Invincible” has a hull of fir strengthened by a solid oak keel, very essential if she is to be hauled up frequently. Her hull is painted black, but there is abundance of scarlet, bright blue, and gilding upon her prow, stern, and upper works. The slim hull itself is about 140 feet long, 14 feet wide, and rides the harbor so lightly as to show it draws very little water; for the wars.h.i.+p, even more perhaps than the merchantman, is built on the theory that her crew must drag her up upon the beach almost every night.
While we study the vessel we are soon told that, although triremes have been in general use since, say, 500 B.C., nevertheless the s.h.i.+ps that fought at Salamis were decidedly simpler affairs than those of three generations later. In those old ”aphract” vessels the upper tier of rowers had to sit exposed on their benches with no real protection from the enemy's darts; but in the new ”cataphract”
s.h.i.+ps like the ”Invincible” there is a stout solid bulwark built up to s.h.i.+eld the oarsmen from hostile sight and missiles alike. All this makes the s.h.i.+ps of Demosthene's day much handsomer, taller affairs than their predecessors which Themistocles commanded; nevertheless the old and the new triremes have most essentials in common. The day is far off when a battles.h.i.+p twenty years old will be called ”hopelessly obsolete” by the naval critics.[*]
[*]There is some reason for believing that an Athenian trireme was kept in service for many years, with only incidental repairs, and then could still be counted as fit to take her place in the line of battle.
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