Essay On Ancient Greek Triremes

“Give me a lever long enough and a fulcrum on which to place it, and I shall move the world,” stated famous Greek inventor, Archimedes . One of the city-states of Greece, Athens, used their adept shipbuilding skills to create the most powerful navy the world had ever seen. Using this great navy as a ‘fulcrum’ the Athenians protected their territory and fended off dangerous enemies like the Persian Empire. The main component of this great navy was a type of ship known as a trireme. The ancient Assyrians first made triremes around the fifth century BCE. A trireme is a three decked sailing ship that was also powered by human rowers on all three levels. The foremost part of the trireme was a massive bronze ram that was used to smash gaping holes in enemy …show more content…
These ships would soon be put to the ultimate test when faced against their adversary, a huge Persian fleet of over 1000 ships. The location of this coming storm of ships and soldiers would meet at the infamous Salamis Bay for one of the biggest sea and land battles in history. Ancient Greek triremes outperformed Persians ships, which led to the victory at Salamis Bay because of their superior design, powerful weaponry, and the skilled seamanship of Athenian sailors. First, the Greeks and their triremes destroyed many enemy vessels and prevailed in the Battle of Salamis Bay because of their superior design. The Greek triremes were the most advanced ship the world had ever seen at the time of the ancient Greeks. These ships could cruise 60 miles in just one day, which during the Athenian’s time period was a huge accomplishment. The construction of these magnificent ships started with a single wooden keel that stretched up to 35 meters in length. Wooden longitudinal ribs were spiked into the keel using wooden pegs and on top of these ribs, catwalks were fastened so that seamen could traverse the ship. On the outside thin shingles of wood were pegged and covered in