Description
Of all the warships found in the ancient world, it is the trireme, or trieres, that remains the most famous and recognisable. Nearly all Hollywood 'sword and sandal' movies will include a trireme somewhere. The vessel was entirely designed for war. Its name came from the three rows of oars carried on each side, stacked above each other in staggered columns to give the rowers some room to work. The top row of oars pivoted on a rowlock, or oarlock, mounted on an outrigger projecting from the hull. This allowed the top oars to pitch down at a sharper angle to reach the sea without getting tangled in the lower ones. The trireme was a greyhound of a ship, capable of high-speed dashes with a well-trained crew and, contrary to popular belief, not all rowers were slaves. Aboard Greek vessels they were citizens, and were given respect, not the lash. They were also largely fair-weather ships, and unsuited to rough seas such as the Atlantic; the lowest level of oars were, at most, less than half a metre above the waterline. That, however, did not stop the trireme being a superb weapon against other ships: a high-speed ramming attack could rip a hole in the side of almost any target. The type was also large enough to be used in other ways, which lead to it carrying archers and assorted light artillery pieces.
As far as the Celts were concerned, the best way to kill a man was in hand-to-hand combat. The Celts thought there was great value in personal bravery and there was no honour in killing from a distance. Even so, slingers, javelinmen and archers still had their place on the battlefield. It was often the only way that some Celts could go to war: Celtic warriors paid for their own equipment, so only the wealthy could afford, or had the right to carry, fine armour and weapons. Skirmishers were usually the poor: freemen who served as clients to the noble class. While they could never hope to achieve the same status as their noble masters, they could still prove their worth in the cut and thrust of battle.
