Trierarch () was the title of officers who commanded 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 ...

(''triēres'') in the classical Greek world. In

Classical Athens The city of Athens (, ''Athênai'' ; Modern Greek: Αθήναι, ''Athine'' ) during the classical period of ancient Greece (480–323 BC) was the major urban centre of the notable '' polis'' ( city-state) of the same name, located in Attica, ...

, the title was associated with the trierarchy (τριηραρχία, ''triērarchia''), one of the public offices or

liturgies Liturgy is the customary public ritual of worship performed by a religious group. As a religious phenomenon, liturgy represents a community, communal response to and participation in the sacred through activities reflecting praise, thanksgiving, ...

, which were filled by wealthy citizens for a year. As the name implies, the trierarch was responsible for the outfitting and crewing of a trireme, and for commanding it in battle. Trierarchs thus had to be men of considerable means, since the expenses incurred could run as high as a talent in the course of a year. As the cost of the office was great, co-trierarchs (''syntriērarchoi'') were also appointed. By the 4th century BC, trierarchies in Athens were assumed by navy boards ('' symmoriai''), as the financial burden of the job had become too great.

References

*Hornblower, Simon, and Anthony Spawforth ed., ''The Oxford Classical Dictionary'' (Oxford University Press, 2003)

External links

Alexander's Courtiers
{{Webarchive, url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160505233106/http://www.livius.org/aj-al/alexander/alexander_t57.html , date=2016-05-05 Ancient Greek titles Military ranks of ancient Greece Military ranks of ancient Macedon Navy of ancient Athens