William Murray
- Published in print:
- 2012
- Published Online:
- May 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780195388640
- eISBN:
- 9780199932405
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195388640.001.0001
- Subject:
- Classical Studies, Archaeology: Classical, World History: BCE to 500CE
Thanks to Olympias, a full-scale working model of an Athenian trieres (trireme or “three”) built by the Hellenic Navy during the 1980s, we better understand the physical properties of the trireme ...
More
Thanks to Olympias, a full-scale working model of an Athenian trieres (trireme or “three”) built by the Hellenic Navy during the 1980s, we better understand the physical properties of the trireme navies that defeated Xerxes at Salamis and helped build the Athenian Empire of the High Classical Age. The Age of Titans picks up the story of naval warfare and naval power after the Peloponnesian War, following it through the 4th and 3rd centuries BC when Alexander’s successors built huge oared galleys in what has been described as an ancient naval arms race. This book represents the fruits of more than thirty years of research into warships “of larger form” (as Livy calls them) that weighed hundreds of tons and were crewed by 600 to 1000 men and more. The book argues that concrete strategic objectives, more than simple displays of power, explain the naval arms race that developed among Alexander’s successors and drove the development of a new model of naval power we might call “Macedonian.” The model’s immense price tag was unsustainable, however, and during the third century the big ship phenomenon faded in importance, only to be revived unsuccessfully by Antony and Cleopatra in the 1st century BC.Less
Thanks to Olympias, a full-scale working model of an Athenian trieres (trireme or “three”) built by the Hellenic Navy during the 1980s, we better understand the physical properties of the trireme navies that defeated Xerxes at Salamis and helped build the Athenian Empire of the High Classical Age. The Age of Titans picks up the story of naval warfare and naval power after the Peloponnesian War, following it through the 4th and 3rd centuries BC when Alexander’s successors built huge oared galleys in what has been described as an ancient naval arms race. This book represents the fruits of more than thirty years of research into warships “of larger form” (as Livy calls them) that weighed hundreds of tons and were crewed by 600 to 1000 men and more. The book argues that concrete strategic objectives, more than simple displays of power, explain the naval arms race that developed among Alexander’s successors and drove the development of a new model of naval power we might call “Macedonian.” The model’s immense price tag was unsustainable, however, and during the third century the big ship phenomenon faded in importance, only to be revived unsuccessfully by Antony and Cleopatra in the 1st century BC.
William M. Murray
- Published in print:
- 2012
- Published Online:
- May 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780195388640
- eISBN:
- 9780199932405
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195388640.003.0008
- Subject:
- Classical Studies, Archaeology: Classical, World History: BCE to 500CE
The physical properties of the Athlit ram plus the ram sockets at Nikopolis reveal the considerable power generated by the ram blows of mid-sized polyremes. When we pair what we learn from Philo’s ...
More
The physical properties of the Athlit ram plus the ram sockets at Nikopolis reveal the considerable power generated by the ram blows of mid-sized polyremes. When we pair what we learn from Philo’s text on siege warfare with historical accounts for the Hellenistic period, the conclusion is unavoidable: big ships were built to excel in frontal ramming and, thus, played a critical role in naval siege warfare. Big ship navies required large fleets of smaller warships to protect them which, in turn, required considerable logistical support and cost large sums of money. For this, and other reasons, Rome never developed a desire to build such fleets, preferring other methods of projecting power on her enemies. After Antony’s Actian defeat, his big ship navy was proclaimed a symbol of his oriental excess, Augustus decommissioned warships larger than “sixes” and his subsequent lengthy reign insured the dominance of his version of events. By the time of his death, a distorted perception remained that colored how subsequent ages viewed the great fleets of the Hellenistic Age, and this has hindered a proper understanding of the big ship phenomenon to the present day.Less
The physical properties of the Athlit ram plus the ram sockets at Nikopolis reveal the considerable power generated by the ram blows of mid-sized polyremes. When we pair what we learn from Philo’s text on siege warfare with historical accounts for the Hellenistic period, the conclusion is unavoidable: big ships were built to excel in frontal ramming and, thus, played a critical role in naval siege warfare. Big ship navies required large fleets of smaller warships to protect them which, in turn, required considerable logistical support and cost large sums of money. For this, and other reasons, Rome never developed a desire to build such fleets, preferring other methods of projecting power on her enemies. After Antony’s Actian defeat, his big ship navy was proclaimed a symbol of his oriental excess, Augustus decommissioned warships larger than “sixes” and his subsequent lengthy reign insured the dominance of his version of events. By the time of his death, a distorted perception remained that colored how subsequent ages viewed the great fleets of the Hellenistic Age, and this has hindered a proper understanding of the big ship phenomenon to the present day.
