Greek sail decoration

[Paullus]

I was wondering if anyone can tell me if the Greeks ever put logos, if you will, on their sails? Ala the bulls, lambdas, and sunbursts on the sails of the ships in "Troy". Not particularly certain if it is even a historical fact, but it would strike me that a painted design on the canvas might be useful in identifying ships and fleets in open waters, when you would be using sails.

Something like this, although it looks hideously out of place and it is a game screenshot, but it does portray what I am getting at:
http://guidesmedia.ign.com/guides/15972 ... rireme.JPG
Sorry about the small size.

In particular I am curious since a friend asked me about it in regard to an artistic interpretation. Thanks in advance!

[Mythos_Ruler]

Good question. I too have been wondering this.

[spartacus-033]

It would make sense for them to have some kind of marking on each vessel. I wouldn't be suprised if they did.

[Peroni]

It would make sense for them to have some kind of marking on each vessel. I wouldn't be suprised if they did.

It's possible that instead of heraldric marking, maybe the sails were just different colours? Marking individual vessels could be carried out easier by painting on the prow perhaps?

[hoplite14gr]

Athenians and Corinthians had a city-state colour on their ships and from 5th century B.C had certain sail designs in contrast to the Archaic period where the captain who owned the ship used the sail to show his clan/fratria emblem.
Patience till we categorise them along with the corresponding sources.

Kind regards

[Susanne]

thenians and Corinthians had a city-state colour on their ships and from 5th century B.C

Do we know this from Greek art, literature or both?

[conon394]

Athenians and Corinthians had a city-state colour on their ships and from 5th century B.C had certain sail designs in contrast to the Archaic period where the captain who owned the ship used the sail to show his clan/fratria emblem.
Patience till we categorise them along with the corresponding sources.

I can think of references to sail colors: Plutarch notes Duris of Samos has Alcibiades using a purple sail (but he doubts the accuracy of that claim), Vegetius argues for blue sails for camouflage; but not state symbols on sails. Does not Thucydides 3.32.3 argue against any easy differentiation of Greek warships? If Corinthian and Athenian ships had recognizable sails or overall decoration systems why where the Ionian’s unable to distinguish the Peloponnesian ships from Athenian ones, Thucydides mention no particular attempt at disguise on the part of Alcidas.

[Dan Diffendale]

There's also the story about the ship that took Theseus and the other Athenians to Crete, that it was sent out with black sails of mourning, which were to be swapped for white sails on the return voyage if Theseus escaped. He forgot to swap them, and his father King Aigeus jumped into the sea out of grief, thinking his son dead.

If someone can track down Philostratus, Heroica, xx. 25, it's supposed to refer to the ship that sailed annually from Thessaly to Troy to sacrifice to Achilles with black or sable sails.