The Trireme was an ancient rowing warship with 3 rows of oars on each side and a rower on each oar. Fully manned, she could sail unprecedentedly for her standard season speed (8.6 knots) and maneuverability. The first Trireme was designed by the Corinthian Aminoklis.

The use of the trireme soon extended to Mediterranean naval forces, in addition to the Greeks, but these also adopted variations with two-decked triremes, that is, with two decks and two (2)
rowers per oar on the upper deck, as well as single-rowers, that is, with one deck and three (3) rowers per oar. As a vessel, she was fast and flexible, making her the dominant type warship in the Mediterranean from the 7th to the 4th century BC, after which was largely replaced (mainly as a dominant warship) by quadriremes and quinquereme. Triremes played a vital role during the Persian Wars, culminating in the Battle of Salamis, the creation of the Athenian Hegemony and the Peloponnesian War.

It is worth mentioning, the Battle of Salamis took place on September, 22, 480 BC, in the Straits of Salamis (in the Saronic Gulf, near Athens) between the Alliance of Greek city-states and of the Persian Empire. The naval Battle of Salamis was the most important conflict and the beginning of the end of the second Persian campaign in Greece. She is also a beacon of the long Navy tradition of the Greeks.

The trireme was used for more than four hundred years, when she was replaced by heavier galleys and, above all, by the quinquereme, which, although less flexible, responded better to differentiated needs of a naval battle. Some authors mention the use of biremes and triremes years later than the Roman and Byzantine Navy.

The trireme was a long narrow ship, fast, low, with a shallow keel and, in general, relatively light overall construction. Her length varied from 33 to 43 meters, her width 3.5-4.4 meters, her height 2.1-2.5 meters above the waterline and her draft 0.9-1 meters.

The trireme could move with her sails, rowing or a combination of the above, when needed. Aristotle called her a “rowing machine”. The trireme was designed for war action and had, from her construction, special armament: the piston. The piston was a wooden, metalized or all-metal protrusion up to 2 meters long. It was a natural extension of the propeller. Its weight is estimated to have reached about 200 kilograms. According to the testimony of Herodotus, the piston was first used in the Naval Battle of Alalia in 540 BC, between Greek colonists of Corsica and the Carthaginian – Tyrrhenian alliance. Finally, the last known naval battle in which Triremes were used to ram the enemy, failing, was the Battle of Amorgos, in 322 BC.

It is important to clarify that the crew in the Triremes were citizens and not slaves or convicts. If they needed the employment of slaves, then they were freed first. They were also not tied to their posts and instead tended to be armed, especially the Thranites, and took part in deck combat in the event of a salvo. The full manning of the Trireme was 200 people:

Trierarchos: He is the overall commander of the Trireme, the crew and the ship’s support. In the case of Athens, he belonged to the class of “five hundred and two” and assumed, along with this prominent position, the obligation to pay the cost of the construction of the trireme and all the expenses of paying the crew and all kinds of maintenance, feeding and equipment of the vessel.

Captain: He was in charge of safe sailing. He was handling the rudder.

Sergeant: He was responsible for the training of the rowers. Directed the rowers.

Pentakontarchos: The name is a remnant of the era of the pentagons, but in the triremes he had the duties of secretary, treasurer and caretaker, as well as being responsible for all kinds of supplies.

Observer: He usually stood on the bow, observing and mentioning to the two above that he was observing something important.

Shipwright: He was in charge of the technical matters of the vessel which included repairs and overhauls when these were required.

Triiraulis or Flutist: He used a flute and was responsible for the rhythm of rowing.

General duty sailors: 9 persons

Rowers (Eretes): 170 persons of which:

62 Thranites
54 Zygites
54 Thalamites

Soldiers: Spearmen: 10 people
Archers: 4 people