The Journey Begins – Mediterranean Maritime Travel

The Journey Begins

Mediterranean Maritime Travel

Sea Travel in the Mediterranean

Merchant Ships

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• Due to the mountainous features of the Greek landscape, overland travel was difficult. The Greek coastline provided an abundance of harbors and inlets for shipping. In ancient Greece, nearly 700 small communities were within forty miles of the coast. These communities typically enjoyed more wealth than their inland counterparts.
• Even with all of the positives for sea travel, we will soon see that there were many dangers while traveling by sea.

• Carried many barrels and boxes of goods for trade.
• Sailors would buy goods at one port and then travel by ship to another port and sell the goods there to make a profit.
• Wide and deep in size to carry as much cargo as possible.
• Used sails to move along open water, and oars to steer in the ports.
• Two types of ships – one with 20 oars and a crew of 50 men; the other with 50 oars and a crew of 120 men Not as fast as triremes, as their purpose was to transport cargo
• Often attacked by pirates.

Pirates in Ancient Greece?

• Despite all the movies and literature popularizing the Golden Age of Pirates during the 16th Century, you might be surprised to learn that piracy was also a common occurrence during the times of the Ancient Greeks.

Why was piracy common in Ancient Greece and Rome?

• Firstly, these were the richest civilizations during the height of their dominance and therefore the amount of goods entering the Greek and Roman empires would have been substantial and highly attractive for pirates.
• Ships from those times used to sail near the coast, which made them easy targets for pirates.
• In addition, ongoing wars and feuds between countries brought fertile ground for pirates to “legitimately” attack enemies, stealing their merchandise in the name of land and country.

Quick Facts:

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• Perhaps the most famous pirates of ancient times, were the Sicilian pirates whose territory was located in what is modern Turkey. They were most famous for kidnapping Julius Caesar in 78 BC asking for a large ransom to be paid, and were a major threat to the Roman empire. After he was released, Julius Caesar made a point of hunting down his kidnappers and had them...taken care of.
• The Greek pirates enjoyed their heyday over hundreds of years until the rise of the Roman empire, when the Romans began to put a stop to the pirate attacks around 70BC.

• There were no ships dedicated only for travelers and the would-be tourist would have to persuade a sea-trader to make room amongst his cargo.
• Religious pilgrimages were also a common activity, the most popular destinations being the sanctuaries of Delphi and Delos. Here the visitors could not only admire some of the greatest buildings of Greek architecture but also great works of art in the form of statues, relief sculpture and fountains.

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Different Ships used in Ancient Greece

The Evil Eye

• The concept of the evil eye is widespread in Mediterranean countries, with its roots planted in ancient Greece. It is mentioned or discussed in many ancient texts including the Old Testament, Talmudic literature and the Koran. The idea is that the gaze of someone who harbors feelings of envy or jealousy can bring misfortune upon the one who is seen -- the one who "gets the evil eye."
• The matiasma (a symbol) served the function of warding off the effects of the evil eye.
• Greek people often safeguard themselves against bad fortune by keeping some form of mati or eyeball symbol somewhere important to them.

Triremes - Called a trireme (meaning three oars) because it had three layers of oarsman: 170 oarsman powered the vessel, 85 on each side in three tiers or layers .

• Each tier’s oars were shaped differently than the next tier’s.
• Bronze tip at the front to ram other sailing vessels and pierce them just below the water line.
• Often painted with an evil eye on the front to ward against evil.
• Athens could build more than 200 of these ships annually.