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.
Far from being simple, ignorant barbarians, the various steppe tribes had a great cultural wealth. Living in an area stretching from the Caspian Sea to the northern shores of the Black Sea; the Greeks called them 'Scythians' and the Persians 'Saka', while a western group became known as the Sarmatians. Wearing trousers marked them as barbarians as far as the Greeks were concerned, before their tall, pointed caps and swarthy appearances were even considered. Looks apart, they were, however, exceptional horsemen, highly-skilled with composite-recurve bows and deadly hand-to-hand fighters. Grave goods suggest that Scythian women were as warlike as their men, and probably fought alongside them in battle. This may well be the origin of the Greek myths of Amazon warrior women.
