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Trireme, oar-powered warship that reached its highest point of development in the eastern Mediterranean during the 5th century bce. Light, fast, and maneuverable, it was the principal naval vessel with which Persia, Phoenicia, and the Greek city-states vied for mastery of the seas from the Battle.
The scope and scale of warfare in Ancient Greece changed as a result of the Greco-Persian Wars, which marked the beginning of Classical Greece (480–323 BC). To battle the enormous armies of the Achaemenid Empire was effectively beyond the capabilities of a single city-state.
The Athenian navy was extremely strong and the reason why Athens turned from being a relatively insignificant Central Greek city-state to being a major political player in Greece and the Aegean Sea in only 5 years.
In the great wars of the 5th century BC, such as the Persian Wars and the Peloponnesian War, the trireme was the heaviest type of warship used by the Mediterranean navies. [3][4] The trireme (Greek: τρῐήρης (triḗrēs), "three-oared") was propelled by three banks of oars, with one oarsman each.
Olympias is a reconstruction of an ancient Athenian trireme and an important example of experimental archaeology. It is also a commissioned ship in the Hellenic Navy of Greece, the only commissioned vessel of its kind in any of the world's navies.
This ancient Greek warship ruled the Mediterranean. With a bronze battering ram attached to its prow and a crew of nearly 200 oarsmen, the trireme helped turn Athens into a naval superpower.
Combining a powerful navy, disciplined hoplite infantry, and various specialized troops, Athens developed a military system that allowed it to project power, protect its interests, and influence the wider Greek world.