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Greetings,
the progress on our ship has raised the question on what colours and patterns should we use for the hull and the sails. Do we have any specific knowledge and details about this? Basically, the ship is 50% complete, but these things need to be planned ahead 
The inspiration for the project (Argo and Olympias) on the top, our plan and design on the bottom part of the picture:
![[Image: snmek1.jpg]](http://img216.imageshack.us/img216/9572/snmek1.jpg)
Some pictures from the earlier part of the project (there is a lot of them, I had to choose only some to not spam the entire board )
Preparation of the construction site:
![[Image: snmek2.jpg]](http://img216.imageshack.us/img216/5402/snmek2.jpg)
Progress by May 18th
![[Image: snmek5.jpg]](http://img257.imageshack.us/img257/8950/snmek5.jpg)
Progress by May 25th
![[Image: snmek9.jpg]](http://img177.imageshack.us/img177/5663/snmek9.jpg)
We will be ramming your ports before you know it
Juraj "Lýsandros" Skupy
Dierarchos
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In the old times, people were much closer to each other. The firing range of their weapons simply wasnt long enough
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Wow! It's working! it' being built!
Although centuries later,those frescos from pompei show that the ships were colourful.
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2054/166 ... 1217791405
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2139/166 ... 1217791635
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2282/166 ... 1217791998
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2054/166 ... 1217791405
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2259/166 ... ea05_b.jpg
About sail patterns,take a look at this:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/inn3rflow/2081224081/
Here's a ram,i think in peiraeus museum.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/trojannorse/2614218332/
However you reconstruct an earlier ship.In vases the rams have the shape of boar heads,and indeed i have seen one such in a private museum just under the acropolis. It was very small, it was supposed to be from a small vessel,not a trirreme,but they didn't specify what kind od ship either. Usualy dirremes are shown with such rams.
As far as i can remember usually the sails are plain,no design on them. And according to herodotus the ships were recognised by their emblems on the head or the stern. He says one of the two but can't remember what. It's when Xerxes recognises Artemisia's ship. Od course in battle they wouldn't have sails on.
Keep us posted and good luck!
Khaire
Giannis
Giannis K. Hoplite
a.k.a.:Giannis Kadoglou
a.k.a.:Thorax
![[Image: -side-1.gif]](http://i118.photobucket.com/albums/o118/kadoglou_gr/-side-1.gif)
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The only know emblem from herodotus and Thukidides is "Samena" - the bronze ram in the shape of a boar.
It is stronngly associated with the vessels of Samos.
The Corinthian and Athenian vessels in their majority had the ram of the style of Olympias.
Archeological evidence supports it.
An educated gues is that Sikyonian vessels had a goats head shaped ram.
You could try and get a better image of this:
http://sikyon.com/Korinth/Pottery/korinth_peg01.html (Dolphin-shaped ram)
Samean attacked by a bireme with dolphin shaped ram:
http://images.google.com/hosted/life/f? ... db79622cbc
Good luck
Kind regards
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Thank you very much for your posts, I think we can use the pompei frescos to some degree. Even though the ship we are building is of much earlier design, it would be logical to believe that patterns and colours followed the same or similar schemes.
Concerning the frescos, all of them show red/yellow/brown ships with white patterns and details. Do you think this was caused only by the artists selection/availability of colours or that the ships really looked like that?
Juraj "Lýsandros" Skupy
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In the old times, people were much closer to each other. The firing range of their weapons simply wasnt long enough
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Might help you:
http://www.trireme.gr/en/bireme.html
http://www.volosradio.gr/Argo_EN.htm
Keep in mind that some times vessels used for raiding like Solo Peisistatos raid in Salamis might not be brightly coloured.
A cheep version of red color base on Hematite was availble to ancients but the good blue colour based on copper oxides was not so frequent and appeara with the progres of trade and colonies.
Kind regards
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I fear the frescos can only help you in the sence that they show fully coloured ships with different colours. The selection of colours I suppose could vary much.
Another indication is from here,the Nile mosaic. In the bottom there is a vessel much like those from the frescos where,though i didn't find a photo of the whole ship,some colours are visible.
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/c ... strina.jpg
Khaire
Giannis
Giannis K. Hoplite
a.k.a.:Giannis Kadoglou
a.k.a.:Thorax
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You guys are walking wisdom resources, thank you very much for being so helpful. In my case its not about being lazy to look it up, the problem is not having the idea where to look to find anything valuable
Juraj "Lýsandros" Skupy
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I have posted a new thread in the reenactment and reconstruction forum that deals with name selection for the ship and also for project support. You can find the thread here:
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Juraj "Lýsandros" Skupy
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In the old times, people were much closer to each other. The firing range of their weapons simply wasnt long enough
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The thread in the reenactment section has been updated! 
Juraj "Lýsandros" Skupy
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If you are looking for slightly earlier information, there is a Hellenistic funerary stele from the Crimea which shows a diminutive warship on which red and blue paint still survived. I can dig up more detailed info if you're interested.
Ruben
He had with him the selfsame rifle you see with him now, all mounted in german silver and the name that he\'d give it set with silver wire under the checkpiece in latin: Et In Arcadia Ego. Common enough for a man to name his gun. His is the first and only ever I seen with an inscription from the classics. - Cormac McCarthy, Blood Meridian
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That would be very kind of you, thanks! Its good to have as many resources as possible, before we start applying the final layer of paint.
Juraj "Lýsandros" Skupy
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In the old times, people were much closer to each other. The firing range of their weapons simply wasnt long enough
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Here's the stele in question:
http://antiquemilitaryhistory.com/images/warship.JPG
Sorry for the poor photograph quality, but this comes from a book published in 1909 ("Griechische Grabreliefs aus Südrussland" by Gangolf von Kieseritzky and Carl Watzinger). This is the stele of Glykarion and Polysthenes which was found in Kerch and dates to the 2nd c. BC. The description notes that the body of the ship is red, and that the front part as well as the strip running along the side of the ship are blue.
Ruben
He had with him the selfsame rifle you see with him now, all mounted in german silver and the name that he\'d give it set with silver wire under the checkpiece in latin: Et In Arcadia Ego. Common enough for a man to name his gun. His is the first and only ever I seen with an inscription from the classics. - Cormac McCarthy, Blood Meridian
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Thank you very much, your effort is very apprechiated!
Juraj "Lýsandros" Skupy
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In the old times, people were much closer to each other. The firing range of their weapons simply wasnt long enough
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My dear fellow Ancient Greece re-enactors, researchers and fans. I would like to happily state that the first phase of the ancient greek bireme Hyperborea has been finished! I have updated the respective thread in the reconstruction forum. Thank you very much for your support and help! The next stage will involve installation of the sails and rope system to keep it in place (and training of the crew to do this very quickly), which will be possible right away as we aquire the sailcloth. I will keep you all updated
I am sorry that there are no pictures with full crew in costumes, but if you are patient enough, we will eventually get there!
Juraj "Lýsandros" Skupy
Dierarchos
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In the old times, people were much closer to each other. The firing range of their weapons simply wasnt long enough
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