J. S. Morrison

This book is written in the belief that a proper understanding of Greek civilization in antiquity requires some knowledge of its background of seafaring. A knowledge of nautical practice is required for an understanding of some passages of Greek poetry and prose writing, and for a correct interpretation of numerous historical events. This is an attempt at a thorough study of the evidence, both literary and archaeological. Modern reference books tend to repeat the misconceptions of nineteenth-century scholars. In contrast, Mr Morrison and Mr Williams have written a scholarly and scientific study of the subject. They collect in this volume evidence for Greek oared ships between 900 and 322 BC. The book is primarily a catalogue of decorated pottery and quotations from literature and from naval inventories. The pottery is illustrated by diagrams and plates; and the quotations are given in full.

Shortly before the launch of the reconstructed Greek warship, Olympias, the first edition of The Athenian Trireme was published, providing historical and technical background to the reconstruction of the ship. Since then, five seasons of experimental trials have been conducted on the ship under oar and sail, and the lessons learned have been supplemented by archaeological discoveries and by historical, scientific and physiological research over the last fifteen years. For this second edition, the text has been recast and a number of substantive changes have been made. In addition, there is an additional chapter which describes the trials of Olympias in detail, reports the performance figures, and outlines the changes desirable in any second reconstruction. There are 19 new illustrations, including 11 photographs of Olympias at sea demonstrating features of the design which could be represented only by drawings in the first edition.

Shortly before the launch of the reconstructed Greek warship, Olympias, the first edition of The Athenian Trireme was published, providing historical and technical background to the reconstruction of the ship. Since then, five seasons of experimental trials have been conducted on the ship under oar and sail, and the lessons learned have been supplemented by new archaeological discoveries and by historical, scientific and physiological research over the last fifteen years. For this second edition, the text has been recast and a number of substantive changes have been made. In addition, there is an entirely new chapter which describes the trials of Olympias in detail, reports the performance figures, and outlines the changes desirable in any second reconstruction. There are 19 new illustrations, including 11 photographs of Olympias at sea demonstrating features of the design which could be represented only by drawings in the first edition.