Trireme

[Subdeacon Joe]

ANCIENT GREEK TRIREME 'OLYMPIAS' IN HELLENIC NAVY (PRESENT TIMES)

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.
Olympias was constructed from 1985 to 1987 by a shipbuilder in Piraeus. The bronze bow ram weighs 200 kg. It is a copy of an original ram now in the Piraeus archaeological museum. The ship was built from Douglas fir and Virginia oak. The keel is of iroko hardwood. In 1987 exercise crewed by 170 volunteer oarsmen and oarswomen. Olympias achieved a speed of 9 knots (17 km/h) and was able to perform 180 degree turns within one minute, in an arc no wider than two and a half (2.5) ship-lengths. These results, achieved with an inexperienced, mixed crew, suggest that ancient historians like Thucydides were not exaggerating about the capabilities of triremes. In 2004 she was used to transport the Olympic Flame ceremonially from the port of Keratsini to the main port of Piraeus, as the Olympic Torch Relay approached Athens for the 2004 Summer Olympics.

 

[Marshal Mo Hare, SASS #45984]

“Row faster, the captain wants to go water skiing!”

 

 

[Forty Rod SASS 3935]

Had to have had a huge supply vessel to carry food and water for that crew, plus every other necessity.