Issue 111 - August September 1998

The Athenian Trireme: lessons from Olympias

After five series of sea trials, the reconstructed Athenian trireme Olympias has now come ashore and been put on permanent display on cradles at Neon Faliron, a suburb of the port of Piraeus in Greece. As present, it is unknown whether she will ever go to sea again. Nevertheless, she has largely fulfilled her original purpose as an archaelogical experiment or, more accurately, as a "floating hypothesis" to test the practicability of the theory that the fastest warships of the ancient world were rowed on three levels. The trials have provided an invaluable insight into the practical problems of controlling and coordinating 170 rowers whose oarblades are separated in the water by only 30 cms, as well as into the general logistics of ancient seafaring. They have also produced a host of data on the ship's speed and manoeuvrability.

Getting such a large number of people to row in time was initially far from easy, especially since it was difficult for the rowing masters to make themselves heard throughout the ship. Despite this, it eventually proved possible, with practice, to achieve a high degree of accuracy, and the oarsystem has been shown to be completely viable, even in waves of up to a metre in height. Manoeuvrability has been excellent, with the ship achieving a minimum turning circle of only 62 metres in diameter, less than twice its length. She has been sailed to within 60 degrees of the wind, and under oar, speed has been improved from 5 knots to 6 knots cruising at 30 strokes per minute, and from 7 knots to 9 knots in a flat-out sprint at 46 (for comparison, a time of 5 minutes 30 seconds for 2,000 metres represents a speed of 11.5 knots).

Olympias's performance under oar falls well short of the 7.5 knots cruising speed which the best ancient crews appear to have been able to maintain all day in favourable conditions. The trials have pointed up a number of relatively minor improvements which could be made to the oarsystem whilst still keeping within the parameters of the ancient evidence for these ships. These would allow the crew to row in greater safety and comfort and to produce, with the same effort, the extra 30% of effective power required to match their ancient predecessors. The architect of Olympias, John Coates, has now produced a modified design which will encompass these improvements and stand as the final outcome of the whole project. Since the modifications, though small, cannot be incorporated into the existing hull of Olympias, this design will also be available as the basis for any second reconstruction to be built in the future.

John Coates's new design will be presented at a day-conference to be held at the River and Rowing Museum at Henley-on-Thames on Saturday September 19. The venue has been chosen because the Museum is housing a full-scale mock-up of the oarsystem as one of its major exhibits. The purpose of the conference is to subject the new design to scrutiny and discussion ahead of its final publication. To this end, it is hoped that the conference will be attended by as many interested parties as possible, including former members of Olympias's oarcrew. In addition, a number of distinguished scholars have agreed to attend from Britain, France, the Netherlands, Germany, Greece and the United States. They will reconvene in Oxford on the next day to discuss the details in the light of the previous day's discussions and suggestions. The conference will offer an opportunity to meet and talk with these scholars, as well as explore the newly-opened museum at no extra cost. It should prove to be a fascinating day for all those interested in the history of rowing.

Trireme Conference, September 19 at the River and Rowing Museum: contact Rosie Randolph, Pyrton Halt House, Watlington, Oxon. OX9 5AN. Tel: 01491-612411. Places will be allocated on a first-come, first-served basis. Fees £15 for crew members and £25 for others, to include tea or coffee on arrival and free entrance to the Museum galleries. If you are in Greece this summer and would like to see Olympias, take the metro from Athens to the Piraeus and get off at Neon Faliron. It's then a short, cheap taxi ride to the ship - ask to be taken to the Averof, a pre-First World War cruiser moored nearby.

© Copyright Boris Rankov, 1998.