Description
There is a good deal of debate as to how large ancient warships worked; the principles are understood, but the details are not always so clear. A Roman 'quadreme' or Greek 'tetreres' would seem to have four rows of oars if the name is translated literally. However, it is unclear how four sets of oars each with one rower apiece could be used without them getting in a terrible tangle even with a magnificently trained crew, or how the top set of rowers would be able to handle the extremely long oars pitched at a steep angle and still produce any power. The chances are that the term 'oar' had become synonymous with 'rower' and that the lowest bank had more than one man per oar. The other option was to go back to a double row of oars, with two men apiece. Two banks of oars would also have made for a cheaper construction task for each ship. Either way, the result was a ship that could rival the lighter trireme in speed, yet had more deck space for a large fighting contingent or artillery pieces.
The ‘dwellers around’, the periokoi were a free, but non-citizen class of Sparta. As the Spartans themselves could pursue no profession other than that of the warrior, the periokoi fulfilled the roles of artisans and merchants in the Lacedaemonian state, eventually taking on the roles in the Spartan army considered unsuitable for true citizens, such as skirmishing and cavalry. Living along the coast and in the many hill towns surrounding the fertile valleys of Eurotas and Pamisos, they acted as a barrier between the Spartan citizens and the rest of Greece - a barrier that also kept in the helots, the Spartans' slaves that farmed the valleys below the city. Like other Greeks, the periokoi were expected to purchase and maintain their own arms and armour, each town contributing to the Spartan war machine when required. Even though they were allowed their own laws and customs, as non-citizens periokoi could not influence or vote on Spartan foreign or military policy.
