A trireme was an ancient warship with three rows of oars propelled by 170 rowers. It was first used by the Greeks, and copied by the Romans. The Trireme was a large battleship, about 32 metres long, propelled by square sails mounted on two masts and rowers. The uppermost row of oars was known as the thranite and had 31 pairs, the middle row was known as the thalamist and the lowest row, close to the water line was known as the zygian, both the middle and lower rows having 27 pairs of oars a piece. It is believed that the Trireme could achieve a top speed of almost 12 knots and carried archers and marines. Research Trireme
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Ships
Research Trireme