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According to the Athenian playwright Aeschylus, who actually fought at Salamis, the Greek fleet numbered 310 triremes (the difference being the number of Athenian ships). [56] Ctesias claims that the Athenian fleet numbered only 110 triremes, which ties in with Aeschylus's numbers. [57] According to Hyperides, the Greek fleet numbered only 220 ...
The trireme was a fast attack, light displacement vessel. In order to sustain the bending moments of her considerable length, a tightened rope (hypozomata) was mounted beneath the deck spanning from bow to stern. This was an ingenious way to increase rigidity of the hull. Today in modern construction it is called pre-tensioning. After every ...
Athenian maritime power is the first example of thalassocracy in world history. Aside from Athens, other major naval powers of the era included Syracuse, Corfu and Corinth. In the subsequent Peloponnesian War, naval battles fought by triremes were crucial in the power balance between Athens and Sparta.
The Paralus or Paralos (Greek: Πάραλος, "sea-side"; named after a mythological son of Poseidon), was an Athenian sacred ship and a messenger trireme of the Athenian navy during the late 5th century BC. Its crew were known for their vehement pro-democracy views.
The war continued, but Athens's decision was to prove costly less than a year later when Lysander, in command of the Spartan fleet once more, decisively defeated the Athenian fleet at Aegospotami. Within two years of the dramatic Athenian victory at Arginusae, the city of Athens surrendered, and its walls were torn down.
For the philosophical question of the ship's identity, see Ship of Theseus.) After the reforms of Cleisthenes, a ship was named for each of the ten tribes that political leader had created; these ships may also have been sacred ships. [4] Another known sacred ship was the Theoris (θεωρίς), a trireme kept for sacred embassies. [5]
The Athenian ships, although they were part of the line, did not at first join the battle, as the Corinthians had not attempted to land. The Corcyraean ships on the left routed the Corinthian right wing, chasing them all the way back to their camp on the coast, which they then burned.
The Athenian fleet was obliterated; only nine ships escaped, led by the general Conon. Lysander captured nearly all of the remainder, along with some three or four thousand Athenian sailors. One of the escaped ships, the messenger ship Paralus, was dispatched to inform Athens of the disaster.