How Britannia Came to Rule the Waves | Page 3

upper tier
must have been very great, and it must have required considerable
exertion on the part of the rower to move it. The most interesting part,
however, of an ancient ship to us at the present day was the beak or

rostra. At first these beaks were placed only above water, and were
formed in the shape of a short thick-bladed sword, with sharp points,
generally three, one above another, and inclining slightly upwards, so
that they might rip open the planks of the vessels against which they
ran. They were sometimes formed in the shape of a ram's head fixed to
the end of a beam; and hence in modern days we have adopted the
name of rams, which we give to ships of war built on the same
principle.
After a time these beaks were fixed on to the bow of the ship below the
water, and were thus still more dangerous to other ships, when they
could strike an antagonist on the side. The bow of a ship was generally
ornamented by the head of some animal, such as a wild boar or a wolf,
or some imaginary creature placed above the rostra. On both sides of
the prow were painted eyes, such as are seen on the bows of boats and
vessels in the Mediterranean at the present day. The upper part of the
prow was frequently ornamented with a helmet covered with bronze.
The steersman or pilot was looked upon as the chief in rank among the
crew, and after him there came an officer whose duties were similar to
those of the boatswain, as he had the care of the gear and command
over the rowers. The stern or puppis, from which we derive the term
poop, was elevated above the other parts of the deck, and here the
helmsman had his seat, sheltered by a shed frequently adorned with an
image of the tutelary deity of the vessel. Sometimes he had a lantern
hanging in front of him, probably to enable him to see the magic
compass, the use of which was kept secret from the rest of the crew. A
circular shield or shields also ornamented the stern. Behind the
helmsman was placed a slight pole on which flew the dog-vane, to
show the direction of the wind. In the centre of the ship was a raised
platform on a level with the upper part of the bulwarks, on which in
battle the soldiers took their stand to hurl their darts against the
enemy.
The quadremes and quinqueremes carried from three to four hundred
rowers, and a ship belonging to Ptolemaeus Philopater is described as
carrying four thousand rowers. From the surface of the water to the top
of the prow was forty-eight cubits, or seventy-two feet, and from the

water to the top of the stern fifty-three cubits, or nearly eighty feet; she
had thus sufficient room for forty ranks of rowers, and the oars of the
uppermost rank were thirty-eight cubits or fifty-seven feet long, the
handles of which were weighted with lead, so as to balance the outer
part, and thus render the long oars manageable. The lower parts of the
holes through which the oars passed were covered with leather. Till the
invention of the rudder, vessels were steered by two large oars, one on
either side of the stern, with very broad blades. Ships were also
furnished with long poles, by which they could be shoved off the ground.
The triremes were fitted with two masts, and so were even smaller
vessels; the larger had three masts, the largest of which was nearest
the stern. They were usually of fir; and the head of the lower mast,
which is at present called the top, was in the shape of a drinking cup.
Some of these tops were of bronze; the largest held three men, two in
the next, and one in the smallest; and breast-works ran round them to
defend the occupants from the darts of the enemy. They were also
furnished with tackles for hoisting up stones and weapons to hurl at the
foe. Above the main-mast was a top-mast or topgallant-mast, called the
distaff; the yards were hoisted up much as in the present day, and were
secured by parrels or hoops to the mast. They were fitted with
topping-lifts and braces. Each mast carried two square sails, and in
after days the Romans introduced triangular sails. Though they
generally ran before the wind, they were also able to sail on a wind,
though probably not very close-hauled.
Ships were supplied with weather-boards, or broad belts of canvas, to
keep out the sea, and were surrounded, also, by lines of ropes one
above another, to prevent the seamen from being washed overboard.
Sometimes these breast-works were