Naval Warfare

Naval warfare during the Classical period was characterized by the use of sleek, fast ramming warships called triremes. These ships dominated naval warfare until around the 4th century BC. During this century, new ships were developed that would eventually succeed the trireme as the premier warship. These new ships were larger and could hold more marines, and eventually were able to have catapults stationed on them.

Credited with the development of these ships is the tyrant of Syracuse Dionysius I in 399/98 BC(Diod. 14.42.2–3). Due to their rivalry with Syracuse, Carthage has also been believed to develop these new ships first (de Souza 358). These new ships were called quadriremes (“fours”) and quinqueremes (“fives”). The quadrireme was based on the bireme, but with two oarsmen per oar, and the quinquereme had the setup of the trireme or the bireme,with three levels of oarsmen with two at the upper levels and one at the lowest, or two levels with three and two oarsmen, respectively (Bugh 275 ). These polyremes slowly spread throughout the Mediterranean, with many Greek city-states having their own quadriremes and quinqueremes by 325 BC.

Later during the 4th century BC, polyremes would continue to get larger and larger. The first of these polyremes was the hexareme (“six,”) developed by Dionysius II of Syracuse after the death of his father. With the death of Alexander, his generals began to have a sort of arms race to see who could build the largest warship. By 315 Antigonus I had over 240 warships in his fleet, the largest being ‘nines’ and ‘tens’ (de Souza 357). His son, Demetrius would develop even larger ships: ‘elevens’ and ‘thirteens’ by 301 BC. Later, around 286 BC he would construct a ‘fifteen’ and a ‘sixteen,’ the flagship of his fleet (de Souza 357). Other Hellenistic kingdoms would build large warships as well. Ptolemy II constructed ‘twentys’ and a ‘thirty,’ and later Ptolemy IV was able to construct a massive ‘forty’ (Tarn 134). The Greek writer Athenaios describes this warship as being 420 feet long, 57 feet wide, 72 feet high with a crew of over 7000 men (Athenaios 5.203e–204d). However, this massive ship was most likely never used in combat, and was more of a symbol of power for Ptolemy IV.

However, polyremes were not the only warships used during this period. Rhodes in particular is known for developing the trihemioliai, or ‘three-and-a-half’ (de Souza 360). This warship was sleeker than a trireme because it had less oarsmen on the lower levels and was cheaper to operate because it had less of a crew overall. Also prevalent were lembos, a general term to describe small galleys. They were usually built as cataphracts and were cheap to produce, used for raiding, reconnaissance, and as small troop transports.

The primary form of naval combat during the Hellenistic period was ramming. However, these new warships had the ability to withstand the ramming from another ship, unlike the trireme. Coupled with the fact that they could also house more marines, naval combat began to shift more towards grappling and boarding or ramming and boarding. The new warships were built as cataphracts, in that they were covered on the sides and had a deck on top to protect the crew and marines. The deck on top also allowed catapults to be stationed on these warships.

Narratives of naval warfare during the Hellenistic period are sparse. Only the Battle of Salamis in 306 BC and the Battle of Chios in 201 BC are described in any sort of detail. While there are references to other naval engagements, we have little detail, if any at all, about them (Tarn 123).

Diodorus gives us the account of the the Battle of Salamis. It took place near the city of Salamis off the coast of the island Cyprus. It was between two of Alexander’s diadochi, Demetrius of Macedonia and Ptolemy I of Egypt. The navy of Ptolemy and his brother, Menelaos, had outnumbered that of Demetrius’, and it seemed like a sure victory for Ptolemy. When the two navies formed into battle lines, Demetrius loaded his left like Epaminondas had during the early 4th century in against Sparta (Diod. 20.50.3). He was able to crush Ptolemy’s right and force many of his ships ashore, allowing them to be captured. Demetrius also outfitted his some of his ships with catapults, attacking Ptolemy’s ships as they reached ramming range (Diod. 20.49.4).

Battle of Salamis

The account of the Battle of Chios comes from Polybius. The battle was Philip V against the city-state of Rhodes and her allies. Philip V had a considerable advantage in numbers, but the Rhodians and her allies charged headlong into his fleet. Attalus of Pergamon attacked Philip’s right, and Theophiliscus of Rhodes engaged his left (Polyb. 16.2.6). This first assault saw Attalus sink Philip’s ‘ten,’ the flagship of his fleet. However, Philip had placed his lembos around his larger ships, which made it more difficult for them to be rammed. Nevertheless, this was a huge defeat for Philip, as he lost over 9,000 men and around 100 ships to only 7 ships and about 150 men to Rhodes and her allies (Polyb. 16.7.1-5).