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The penteconter (alt. spelling pentekonter, pentaconter, pentecontor or pentekontor; , ''pentēkónteros'', "fifty-oared"), plural penteconters, was an
The penteconter (alt. spelling pentekonter, pentaconter, pentecontor or pentekontor; , ''pentēkónteros'', "fifty-oared"), plural penteconters, was an ancient Greek
Ancient Greek (, ; ) includes the forms of the Greek language used in ancient Greece and the classical antiquity, ancient world from around 1500 BC to 300 BC. It is often roughly divided into the following periods: Mycenaean Greek (), Greek ...
galley
A galley is a type of ship optimised for propulsion by oars. Galleys were historically used for naval warfare, warfare, Maritime transport, trade, and piracy mostly in the seas surrounding Europe. It developed in the Mediterranean world during ...
in use since the archaic period.
In an alternative meaning, the term was also used for a military commander of fifty men in ancient Greece.
History
In contrast to the ships of theHomeric poems
Homer (; , ; possibly born ) was an Ancient Greek poet who is credited as the author of the ''Iliad'' and the ''Odyssey'', two epic poems that are foundational works of ancient Greek literature. Despite doubts about his authorship, Homer is ...
, used to transport warriors to the battlefield, penteconters were designed to fight at sea. They had a heavy metal ram at the bow to pierce the hull of the enemy. Speed and maneuverability were key to their design. Naval historians reconstruct their design partly from written sources, from inscriptions, and from the visual arts.J. S. Morrison and J. F. Coates, Greek and Roman Oared Warships, 399-30 B.C. (Oxbow Monographs 62), Oxford 1996, pp. 178-185 is authoritative. Online at eBook Comprehensive Academic Collection - North America. In present understanding, the fifty of the pentaconter's name refers to the number of oars on each side. They were arranged in two banks of twenty-five, one hundred oars in total. A midship mast with sail could also propel the ship under favorable wind. Penteconters were longer than merchant ships, hence described as ''long vessels'' (, ''nḗes makraí'' ). They had a deck for carrying armored warriors (hoplite
Hoplites ( ) ( ) were citizen-soldiers of Ancient Greek city-states who were primarily armed with spears and shields. Hoplite soldiers used the phalanx formation to be effective in war with fewer soldiers. The formation discouraged the sold ...
).
According to some contemporary calculations, penteconters are believed to have been between long, approximately 4 m wide, and capable of reaching a top speed of . However, a modern reconstruction of a trireme
A trireme ( ; ; cf. ) was an ancient navies and vessels, ancient vessel and a type of galley that was used by the ancient maritime civilizations of the Mediterranean Sea, especially the Phoenicians, ancient Greece, ancient Greeks and ancient R ...
, crewed by modern untrained amateurs, attained that top speed fairly easily on initial sea trials, which implies that the top speed of the pentaconter, with fewer oars and likely not as fast, would also have exceeded initial estimates.
See also
* Hellenistic-era warships * '' Pentecopterus'', a genus of eurypterid named after the penteconter.References
External links
* Achaemenid navy Galleys Naval history of ancient Greece Naval warfare of antiquity Ships of ancient Greece {{navy-stub