Ancient and Modern Ships Part 9

The galley in question, Fig. 74, is reproduced from an ill.u.s.tration, traced direct from the vase, and published in the "Journal of h.e.l.lenic Studies," vol. xix. (1899). The chief peculiarity of the construction is that the rowers are seated upon a two-storied open staging, erected upon a very shallow hull and extending from an elevated forecastle to an equally raised structure at the stern. The stage, or platform, on which the lower tier of oarsmen is seated, is supported by vertical struts rising out of the body of the boat. The platform for the upper stage is also supported by vertical struts, which rise, not from the boat itself, but from an intermediate stage, situated between the two tiers of rowers. In the absence of a plan it is not possible to say if these platforms were floored decks, with openings cut in them, where necessary, for the legs of the rowers; or if they were simply composed of longitudinal beams connected by cross-pieces which served as seats, or benches. The latter arrangement appears to be the more probable.

There are twenty oarsmen a-side, on the lower tier, and, apparently, nineteen on the upper. No attempt is made by the artist to show more than the rowers on one side, and, to avoid confusion, those on the two tiers have their oars on the opposite sides of the galley, and only one of the blades of the far side is shown. The men of the lower tier rest their feet against supports fixed to the vertical struts which support their platform, while those of the upper tier rest theirs, apparently, upon the intermediate stage. The vessel is provided with a large and a small ram, and is steered by means of two large paddles.

The prow ornament resembles a snake. In some of its features, notably in the shape of the ram, the shallowness of the hull, and the height and number of the stages, this galley resembles the Phoenician boat of a somewhat later date, described on page 28. The arrangement of the rowers is, however, totally different in the two cases, those in the Phoenician vessel being all housed in the hull proper, while those in the Greek galley are all placed on the stages. It is a curious coincidence that the two specimens of galleys of the eighth and seventh centuries B.C., of which we possess ill.u.s.trations, should both be provided with these lofty open stages.

[Ill.u.s.tration: FIG. 74.--Archaic Greek bireme. About 800 B.C.]

This Greek bireme, with its shallow hull and lofty, open superstructure, could hardy have been a seaworthy vessel. The question arises, What purpose could it have been intended to serve? The rams, of course, suggest war; but the use of rams appears to have been pretty general, even in small Greek rowing-boats, and has survived into our own day in the Venetian gondola. The late Dr. A. S. Murray, keeper of the Greek and Roman antiquities at the British Museum, who wrote an account of the vase in the "Journal of h.e.l.lenic Studies," is of opinion that both the subjects on this vase represent processions, or races, held at the funeral ceremonies of some prominent citizen, and that, in fact, all the subjects on Dipylon vases seem to refer to deceased persons. He points out that Virgil mentions in the _aeneid_ that games, held in honour of the deceased, commenced with a race of ships, and that he could hardly have done this if there were no authority for the practice. The large figures at the stern seem to point to the bireme of Fig. 74 being about to be used for racing purposes. The man who is going to step on board is in the act of taking leave of a woman, who holds away from him a crown, or prize, for which he may be about to contend. If this view be correct we have, at once, an explanation of the very peculiar structure of this bireme, which, with its open sides and small freeboard, could only have been intended for use in smooth water and, possibly, for racing purposes.

There are several other representations of Greek galleys, or of fragments of them, in existence. Nearly all have been found on eighth-century Dipylon vases, but, hitherto, no other specimen has been found in which all the rowers are seated on an open stage. In the collection of Dr. Sturge there is a vase of this period, ornamented with a painting of a bireme, which is as rakish and elegant in appearance as Fig. 74 is clumsy. It also is propelled by 78, or perhaps 80, rowers. Those of the lower tier are seated in the body of the boat, while those of the upper bank on what appears to be a flying deck connecting the forecastle and p.o.o.p, and about 3 ft. to 3 ft. 6 in. above the seats of the lower tier.

In the Museum of the Acropolis there are also some fragments of Dipylon vases, on which are clearly visible portions of biremes. The rowers of the lower bank are here again, seated in the hull of the galley and appear to be working their oars in large square portholes, while the upper row are seated on a flying deck, the s.p.a.ce between which and the gunwale of the hull is partly closed in by what appear to be patches of awning or light fencing. The portholes above referred to are in fact merely open intervals between the closed-in s.p.a.ces.

Similar lengths of fencing may be seen in the representation of a Phoenician galley (Fig. 7, p. 27).

From the above description it is not difficult to see how the galley, with two tiers of oars, came to be evolved from the more primitive unireme. First, a flying deck was added for the accommodation of the upper tier of rowers. It formed no part of the structure of the ship, but was supported on the latter by means of struts, or pillars. The s.p.a.ces between the hull and the flying deck at the two ends of the galley were closed in by a raised forecastle and p.o.o.p. These additions were necessary in order to keep the vessel dry, and attempts were no doubt made to give protection to the remainder of the sides by means of the patches of light awning mentioned above. The step from this to carrying the structure of the sides up bodily, till they met the upper deck, and of cutting portholes for the lower tier of oars, would not be a long one, and would produce the type of bireme ill.u.s.trated on p.

31 (Fig. 9).

FOOTNOTES:

[1] This ill.u.s.tration is taken from Mr. Villiers Stuart's work, "Nile Gleanings."

[2] "A History of Egypt under the Pharaohs," by Dr. Henry Brugsch Bey.

Translated and edited from the German by Philip Smith, B.A.

[3] "Nile Gleanings," p. 309.

[4] The inscription is taken from the "History of Egypt under the Pharaohs," by Dr. Henry Brugsch Bey. Translated and edited by Philip Smith, B.A. Second edition, pp. 137, 138.

[5] "A History of Egypt under the Pharaohs," by Dr. Henry Brugsch Bey.

Translated and edited from the German by Philip Smith, B.A.

Second edition, p. 358.

[6] Egypt Exploration Fund: _Archaeological Report_, 1895-1896. Edited by F. L. Griffith, M.A.

[7] "The History of Herodotus," translated by G. C. Macaulay, M.A. 1890.

Vol. i. p. 157. (ii. 96 is the reference to the Greek text.)

[8] In Appendix, p. 157, will be found an account of an eighth-century Greek bireme, recently discovered.

[9] For latest information on Greek vessels of Archaic period, _see_ Appendix.

[10] This figure is obtained by adding the height of the lowest oar-port above the water, viz. 3 ft., to 2 ft. 6 in., which is twice the minimum vertical interval between successive banks.

[11] This ill.u.s.tration is taken from Charnock's "History of Marine Architecture." It is copied by Charnock from Basius, who, in his turn, has evidently founded it on the sculptures on Trajan's Column.

[12] "Caesar, de Bello Gallico," bk. iii. chap. 13.

[13] Vol. xxii., p. 298. Paper by Mr. Colin Archer.

[14] "Archeologie Navale."

[15] W. S. Lindsay, "History of Merchant Shipping and Ancient Commerce,"

vol. ii. p. 4.

[16] The details, as related by various authorities, differ slightly.

[17] According to some accounts there were 1,497 bronze and 934 iron guns of all calibres.

END OF PART I.