Ships and sea-power before the great Persian War : the ancestry of the ancient trireme /
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This book presents a new theory about the developments in shipping and naval organization that culminated in the invention - around 530 BC in the eastern Mediterranean - of the trireme, and the subsequent adoption of this first specialized warship of antiquity by all the naval powers of the time. New interpretations are proposed of Greek and Assyrian iconographic data and of hitherto ignored evidence in Herodotos and Thukydides, the non-military factors determining developments are emphasized. Thukydides' fundamental essay on the genesis of Greek sea-powers is studied in depth, the rarity of these sea-powers stressed, and the peculiar background of the naval power of Phokaia and the Samian tyrant Polykrates exposed. The problem of the trireme's place of origin, the factors determining its invention, probably in Saïte Egypt, and its immediate adoption by the Persian king Kambyses are discussed. The first naval operations of the Persians are surveyed, reasons and circumstances of the trireme's introduction into the navies of the Greek city-states analysed with special attention for Themistokles' navy bill. The book offers ancient historians and classical philologists a radically new approach to archaic maritime and naval history. It will also be useful to (nautical) archaeologists.
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1 online resource (xv, 217 pages) : illustrations. :
Includes bibliographical references (p. 187-193) and indexes. :
9789004329171 :
0169-8958 ; :
Available to subscribing member institutions only.
Xerxes' Greek adventure : the naval perspective /
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This volume deals with Xerxes' invasion of Greece (480 B.C.), particularly as a naval operation. It examines the traditions preserved by Aischylos, Herodotos, and others against the background of the revolutionary naval developments in the period preceding Xerxes' decision to attack. Among the subjects discussed are: the naval pressure on Persian foreign policy; the strength in numbers of the Persian navy in 480; its deployment in the waters of Salamis related to the physical features of the battlefield and the position of the Greeks; Themistokles' legendary message as a key to the Persian plan of attack; the quality of the opposing ships and their tactical capabilities; the battle of Salamis itself and its outcome. The book includes maps and a photograph of the area discussed.
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1 online resource (x, 174 pages) : maps. :
Includes bibliographical references (p. 160-162) and indexes. :
9789047406549 :
0169-8958 ; :
Available to subscribing member institutions only.