Customer Reviews

The Athenian Trireme: The History and Reconstruction of an Ancient Greek Warship

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In its own era, the trireme was undoubtedly the pinnacle of technical complexity and achievement, at least the equivalent of a modern jet fighter or nuclear submarine. In the approximately 2500 years since that time, however, almost all detailed information as to how these warships were actually designed and used. "The Athenium Trireme" is a in-depth study of the reconstruction of such a vessel based upon what scraps of information survived (chiefly snippets of dialogue in plays, a few brief passages in ancient histories, and a handful of vase paintings and the like), illuminated by modern understanding of ship design and fluid mechanics. Based upon the research presented in this book, in the 1980's a full-sized trireme was built and, over several years, tested by the most fundamental and meaningful method -- rowing the vessel, constantly studying and modifying techniques and, where possible, physical design details. As a result of this project, our understanding of this crucial element of Greek history is far better than ever before and we can more intelligently read the ancient sources describing the Persian and Peloponnesian Wars. Make no mistake about it -- this is a scholarly book, but it describes a rare meeting of academia and the practical world which leaves us richer for the experience.

I approached this book as an introduction to the subject of triremes. It was interesting to read how the authors came together to reconstruct one of the most investigated and yet elusive styles of ship building in ancient Greek history (since there is only artistic and literary evidence of a trireme, due to its construction, leaving no material remains). It gives a thorough insight into the study and developement of the trireme and the practical problems that arose in building it. It also gives information on the trial runs of the Olympias, their reconstruction of a trireme, and the amount of skill that was absolutley essential to rowing and maneuvering these ships in naval battles. I thought it was a good read and is a great place to start when entering the subject of triremes and ancient Greek naval warfare.

I purchased this book on the basis of the review listed here and was very disappointed when it arrived. The book is a cursory review of what we know about triremes from ancient sources and devotes a few pages to the most important battles. I learned FAR more from other books (some with contributions by the same author). The book has one short chapter on the reconstruction of the Olympias, the trireme currently operated by the Greek navy, and most of this was devoted to technical information of the most basic sort. I was hoping to read an account of how the project came together and what it was like for the people who participated. The title seemed to promise this. Nope. If the book were moderately priced I still couldn't recommend it. Hope the authors write a more personal account one day.

What this book brings out is the enormous technical skill employed by Greeks in the construction of their naval fleets. Must come as quite a

surprise to the modern reader the skills necessary in building these ships. Enjoyable addition to any historian's library. Can't say I ever

saw a ship of this type: possibly the closest ever was the British

Royal Naval frigate H.M.S Manchester fitted out at a review with her

waterline illuminated by flood lights.