The Athenian Trireme
The Athenian Trireme
J. F. Coates, Ministry of Defence
N. B. Rankov, Royal Holloway, University of London
Shortly before the launch of the reconstructed Greek warship, Olympias, the first edition of The Athenian Trireme was published, providing historical and technical background to the reconstruction of the ship. Since then, five seasons of experimental trials have been conducted on the ship under oar and sail, and the lessons learned have been supplemented by archaeological discoveries and by historical, scientific and physiological research over the last fifteen years. For this second edition, the text has been recast and a number of substantive changes have been made. In addition, there is an additional chapter which describes the trials of Olympias in detail, reports the performance figures, and outlines the changes desirable in any second reconstruction. There are 19 new illustrations, including 11 photographs of Olympias at sea demonstrating features of the design which could be represented only by drawings in the first edition.
- The launching of the reconstructed warship had huge media coverage - including a television film - and later events (a visit to the Thames) were also widely covered
- The first edition sold 7000 copies
- The updated edition has an additional chapter and 19 further illustrations (the first edition was published before the reconstruction was launched)
Reviews & endorsements
' … reads like the best sort of detective story.' Peter Jones, BBC History Magazine
Reviews of the first edition: '... pulls together all the known theories and evidence concerning the trireme, copiously illustrated and a highly readable account.' The Guardian
'If the ship is as good as the book, it will be doing well.' The Times Literary Supplement
Product details
No date availableHardback
9780521564199
348 pages
219 × 155 × 29 mm
0.61kg
96 b/w illus. 15 maps
Table of Contents
- Introduction
- 1. Questions and answers
- 2. Evolution and supersession of the trieres
- 3. The Salamis campaign
- 4. Sybota and the gulf of Corinth
- 5. Cynossema, Cyzicus and Arginusae
- 6. Naval movements
- 7. The men
- 8. The ships I
- 9. The ships II
- 10. The materials
- 11. The reconstruction: fundamentals of design
- 12. The reconstruction: main features
- 13. The Athenian trireme reconstructed: sea trials of Olympias
- Appendix I: Fast triereis
- Appendix II: The Lenormant relief in projection.
