1. All this Salamis talk makes me think of the Olympias! A thread on the background and information of the experimental archaeological trireme the Olympias! #ClassicsTwitter #trireme #ancienthistory #ancientwarfare

2. For centuries a debate raged as to just how a Greek trireme was designed and manned. Many of the questions were answered in the summer of 1987. In 1987, the first reconstructed trireme, the “Olympias”, was put to sea and placed through a series of trials.

3. It was constructed and designed based on the available ancient information. It’s performance was surprising. It was able to sprint at a speed of 9 knots, travel for hours at 4 knots with half crew rowing in turn.

4. It could also execute a 180’ turn in one minute in an arc no wider than two and one-half ship-lengths! The crew needed very little training and became adept at rowing in just a few weeks. (No where near as good as their ancient counterparts!)

5. The Olympias Specifications: It’s nomination day was August 26th, 1987. It was constructed out of Oregon pine and Virginia oak (not the same wood used in the ancient construction of triremes, obviously).

6. Constructed using handmade bronze nails and was armed with a bronze ram weighing 200 kilos (Not lost-wax casted, sad). The Olympias is 36.90m long, 5.50m wide and has a draft of 1.25m with a displacement of 70 tons!

7. The crew of a typical trireme consisted of a Trierarchos (commander), a Kybernetes (executive officer), a Keleustes (basically the trainer of the crew), a Pentecontarhos (administrative officer)....

8. ....a Prorates (bow officer), 170 Oarsmen (62 Thranites, 54 Zygites and 54 Thalamites), a Auletes (flute player), 10 sailors (for a multitude of things), 10 spearman and 4 archers.

Overall, the Olympias is a great example of experimental archaeology!