Greek Trireme

The Greek trireme was the three-banked oared warship that dominated Mediterranean naval warfare in the fifth century BCE, crewed by about 170 rowers seated in three superimposed tiers. Light, fast, and fitted with a bronze ram at the bow, it was the principal ship at the Battle of Salamis in 480 BCE, where the Athenian fleet broke the Persian invasion. Athens built its empire on triremes financed through the trierarchy. The full-scale reconstruction Olympias, built with the Hellenic Navy, tested its performance under oar.