09-16-2005, 10:26 AM
Hi all!
OK, I have a huge fleet (200 triereis plus about 150 merchant, support ships) that has to move from Cyprus to Egypt ca. 460BCE...
The direct route, using the dominant winds (in their favor), at an average speed of 10 knots (possible, but I don't think all of them would be able to maintain it, how did the triereis moved when using sails?) would be close to 22 hours (about 220 nautical miles, 400 kilometers)
Triereis on rowers could maintain a speed of 7 knots with two rows, and using some crew rotation... But that would mean more than 30 hours to reach Egyptian coasts... Could they move by night through the Mediterranean, and how? The merchants would know the way to get down to Egypt, so they could lead, and food and water could be provided on board the trirremes before departure, but I really don't know if they had the technology and knowledge to do so... Plus, pinewood trirremes, could they stand the open sea between Cyprus and Egypt? So many doubts...
I need some of you to help me out on this one... Could the trirremes navigate for 20-30 hours through the Mediterranean, well away from the coast?
If not, how would you set up a beach camp in hostile coasts? (Syria, Lebanon, Palestine, ..., belonged to the Persian empire, and where hostile to the greeks)...
Classical authors simply state that the fleet was deflected from Cyprus to Egypt, but say nothing more... Would they move to Cyrenaica and then eastwards to the Nile? Go directly to the south until the arrived to the Nile? Go the long, dangerous route of Persian satrapies?
oh, damned classical authors that left so much to the knowledge of their readers... grrr...
thanks for the help!
OK, I have a huge fleet (200 triereis plus about 150 merchant, support ships) that has to move from Cyprus to Egypt ca. 460BCE...
The direct route, using the dominant winds (in their favor), at an average speed of 10 knots (possible, but I don't think all of them would be able to maintain it, how did the triereis moved when using sails?) would be close to 22 hours (about 220 nautical miles, 400 kilometers)
Triereis on rowers could maintain a speed of 7 knots with two rows, and using some crew rotation... But that would mean more than 30 hours to reach Egyptian coasts... Could they move by night through the Mediterranean, and how? The merchants would know the way to get down to Egypt, so they could lead, and food and water could be provided on board the trirremes before departure, but I really don't know if they had the technology and knowledge to do so... Plus, pinewood trirremes, could they stand the open sea between Cyprus and Egypt? So many doubts...
I need some of you to help me out on this one... Could the trirremes navigate for 20-30 hours through the Mediterranean, well away from the coast?
If not, how would you set up a beach camp in hostile coasts? (Syria, Lebanon, Palestine, ..., belonged to the Persian empire, and where hostile to the greeks)...
Classical authors simply state that the fleet was deflected from Cyprus to Egypt, but say nothing more... Would they move to Cyrenaica and then eastwards to the Nile? Go directly to the south until the arrived to the Nile? Go the long, dangerous route of Persian satrapies?
oh, damned classical authors that left so much to the knowledge of their readers... grrr...
thanks for the help!
Episkopos P. Lilius Frugius Simius Excalibor, :. V. S. C., Pontifex Maximus, Max Disc Eccl
David S. de Lis - my blog: <a class="postlink" href="http://praeter.blogspot.com/">http://praeter.blogspot.com/
David S. de Lis - my blog: <a class="postlink" href="http://praeter.blogspot.com/">http://praeter.blogspot.com/