Ancient Sailing Ships

Ancient Sailing Ships: "Galley
Galleys are large seagoing vessels propelled primarily by oars in battle and equipped with sails for cruising. The Egyptians, Cretans, Byzantines, Arabs, and other ancient peoples all used galleys for both war and trade. However, galleys came to be known as warships. The galley was the standard European battle vessel until the late 16th century, when the sail-powered and more heavily armed galleon began to replace it.

The earliest galleys about which much is known were Greek and Phoenician warships of early classical times. The largest of these were biremes, apparently first introduced by the Phoenicians around 700 BC, who improved upon an Egyptian design. The galley had a narrower underwater hull with a high length to beam ratio. This resulted in a slender and graceful vessel, increasing power and momentum, which was important for ramming.

The Greek galley possessed a single mast with a broad rectangular sail that could be furled. The mast was stowed or lowered when rowing into the wind or in battle. The Greek galley was a true seagoing warship. It typically possessed a bronze-shod ram.

The next evolution in ships was the uniremes. This ship had a single bank of oars, undecked or partially decked. It was fast and graceful, with a high curving stem and stern. In Homeric times the unireme sometimes carried an embolon (a beak or ram).

In the 8th century BC, the bireme was created. Descendant from the unireme, it was about 25m (80') long, with a maximum beam of about 10'. The bireme had 2 banks of oars - hence its name. The Phoenician bireme had a single pole mast with a square sail and steering oars to port and starboard, with two banks of oars staggered on either side of the vessel; the upper bank situated above the lower to permit the oars of the upper bank to clear the rowers below. The vess"


The Earliest Ships: The Evolution of Boats into Ships (Conway's History of the Ship Series)