Olympias (trireme)
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 Olympias |
|
| Career |  |
|---|---|
| Ordered: | 1985 |
| Laid down: | July 27, 1987 |
| Launched: | August 1987 |
| Commissioned: | August 26, 1987 |
| Status: | serves as exhibit in dry dock |
| Homeport: | Faliron |
| General Characteristics | |
| Displacement: | 70 tonnes |
| Length: | 36.9 m (121.06 ft) |
| Beam: | 5.5 m (18.04 ft) |
| Draught: | 1.25 m (4.10 ft) |
| Propulsion: | two large square sails 170 oarsmen |
| Speed: | Maximum (with oars) - over 9 knots (16.7 km/h) Continuous (crew rowing in turns) 4.0 (7.4 km/h) (estimated) |
| Complement: | 200 plus 5 officers (in antiquity) |
| Armament: | bronze bow ram, ten spears, four archers |
Olympias is a reconstruction of an ancient Athenian trireme.
She was constructed from 1985 to 1987 by a shipbuilder in Piraeus. Finance came from the Hellenic Navy and donors such as Frank Welsh (a Suffolk banker, writer and trireme enthusiast). The building was advised by the historians J. S. Morrison and John F. Coates, who with Welsh founded the Trireme Trust that initiated the project, and drew on evidence gained from underwater archaeology.
The bronze bow ram weighed 200 kg. The ship was built from Oregon pine and Virginia oak.
She was subject to sea trials in 1987, 1990, 1992 and 1994, but one of the most informative was an exercise in 1988 when crewed by 170 volunteer oarsmen and oarswomen. Olympias achieved a speed of 9 knots (17 km/h) and was able to execute 180 degree turns within one minute, in an arc no wider than two and a half (2.5) ship-lengths. These results, achieved with an inexperienced crew, suggest that the ancient writers were not exaggerating about the capabilities of such vessels.
Olympias was transported to Britain in 1993, in order to be presented in events celebrating the 2,500 years since the beginning of democracy. In 2004 Olympias was used to transport the Olympic Flame ceremonially from the port of Keratsini to the main port of Piraeus, as the Olympic Torch Relay entered its final stages in the run-up to the 2004 Summer Olympics opening ceremony. She is now an exhibit in a dry dock in Faliron, Athens, Greece.
A tireme of the classical period would have had a crew of 200, including five officers. This would be made up of:
- Trierarchos Greek Τριήραρχος - the commanding officer, responsible for supporting the ship
- Kybernetes Greek Κυβερνήτης (executive officer, responsible for the cruising safety)
- Keleustes Greek Κελευστής - responsible for the training and morale of the crew
- Pentecontarchos Greek Πεντηκόνταρχος (Administration Officer),
- Prorates Greek Πρωράτης (Bow Officer, responsible for keeping a sharp lookout))
- 1 Auletes Greek Αυλητής, a musician supplying the oar timing with his flute
- 170 oarsmen in three banks
- 10 sailors for handling the sails
- 14 Marines (10 spearsmen, 4 archers)
