Lords of the Sea: The Epic Story of the Athenian Navy & the Birth of Democracy

by John R. Hale

  My travels and field surveys of sites in the Aegean and eastern Mediterranean have been supported by the American School of Classical Studies at Athens, the Association of Yale Alumni, Travel Dynamics, the trustees of the University of Louisville, my dear friends Bruce and Elizabeth Dunlevie, and VPRO Television Rotterdam, who flew me to Greece so that I could try out trireme-style rowing on a sheepskin pad at the Homilos Ereton rowing club in Zea Harbor. Welcome and enthusiastic traveling companions have been the Gunlicks of Virginia, the Regueiros of Pennsylvania, and the Ringboms of Finland. Muharrem Zeybek of Izmir provided indispensable guidance for my travels in Turkey, from the fast-flowing Eurymedon River in the south to the rainy coast of Cyzicus (modern Erdek) in the north. Where my own travels could not reach, Bob Brier and Pat Remler stepped in with vivid accounts of the Nile delta in Egypt. And to a kind invitation from the great archaeologist John Camp I owe my first glimpses of Halicarnassus, Miletus, Ephesus, Notium, Samos, Lesbos, the Hellespont, and other sites along the Athenian maritime empire’s eastern frontier.

  Over the years of research into Greek naval matters I have been educated by the conversations, correspondence, and critical comments of many great scholars, among them Lucien Basch, Jack Cargill, Lionel Casson, John Coates, Philip de Souza, Victor Davis Hanson, Peter Krentz, Robert Littman, Sean McGrail, John Morrison, Bill Murray, Boris Rankov, Barry Strauss, Larry Tritle, Harry Tzalas, Hans van Wees, and H. T. Wallinga. Here at the University of Louisville I am indebted to my colleagues Bob Luginbill, who helped interpret the Greek text of Phormio’s stratagems as recorded by Polyaenus; Bob Kebric, who took an interest in ancient rowing techniques; and astronomer John Kielkopf, who helped determine the positions of celestial bodies in the night sky at the time of the battle of Salamis. In Finland, Ville Aaltonen enlightened me about modern competitors who depend for their speed, as did the ancient Athenians, on rowing pads and leg muscles.

  Among underwater archaeologists I have learned much about ancient ships from Bridget Buxton, Deborah Carlson, Susan Katzev, Paraskevi Micha, and Katerina Delaporta, ephor of underwater antiquities during the time of my research in Greece. I salute my friends and colleagues in the Persian Wars Shipwreck Survey—Shelley Wachsmann, Bob Hohlfelder, Dan Davis, Alexis Catsambis, Dana Yoerger, and the crew and scientific team of the Greek research vessel Aegaeo. I owe my understanding of the Navy Yard and the life of the Athenian trireme on shore to the amphibious heroes of the Zea Harbor Project, including Bjørn Lovén, Mads Nielsen, artist Ioannis Nakas, as well as the generous souls who joined the American Friends of the Zea Harbor Project.

  Donald Kagan provided the original inspiration for this book. Years later, he also provided its title. On a snowy night in February 2006 I was sitting at the table in the Kagans’ gleaming black-and-white kitchen. Myrna Kagan had already washed her hands of yet another obsessive discussion of the Athenian navy and retired to the upper regions. Don was staring at a long list of phrases, keywords, and rejected titles that had accumulated over half a decade in the quest to name the book. The only sound was the blizzard beating lightly on the windowpane. Suddenly Don raised his head, stared at me with a sort of visionary glow, and pronounced, in oracular tones, four words. I acknowledged at once that the phrase made a good title, and also had the benefit, if I remembered rightly, of being drawn from one of Pericles’ speeches.

  “Are you sure? Not the Funeral Oration, anyway. Bring me the book.” In the Kagans’ house, a Greek text of Thucydides is never more than a few steps away from your chair. I fetched the nearest one. Don began to work his way through the last speech of Pericles, the defiant oration delivered after the plague had struck and the people had turned against their leader. As always, he held the page three inches away from his face and ran his finger along the lines, muttering as he read.

  “If I did not see you discouraged . . . the world . . . land and sea . . .” The translating ceased. “Ha! It’s better than you remembered. Kyriôtatous! The Athenians rule as supreme lords—most lords. So!” Don clapped the book shut and handed it back across the table. “Let it be Lords of the Sea.”

  INDEX

  Page numbers in italics refer to illustrations and maps.

  Abronichus

  Abydos, battle of

  Academy

  Acarnania

  Acharnians (Aristophanes)

  Achilles

  Achilles ROV

  Acropolis

  Erechtheum temple on

  Persian siege of

  Phidias’ statue of Athena on

  rebuilding of

  Actium, battle of

  Adeimantus

  Aegaeo RV

  Aegina

  Athenian feud with

  Aegospotami (Goat Rivers), battle of

  Athenian defeat in

  Conon’s flight from

  site of

  spy ships in

  Aegyptus

  Aeschines

  Aeschylus

  Aesop

  Afghanistan

  Agamemnon

  Agesilaus, king of Sparta

  Agis, king of Sparta

  Agora

  Ahura Mazda

  Ajax

  Akademos

  Alalia, battle of

  Alcibiades

  at Abydos

  at Aegospotami

  at Cyzicus

  death of

  Eupolis’ lampoon of

  Notium fiasco and

  at Potidaea

  recovery of Athens and

  in return to Athens

  scandalous behavior of

  in Sicilian expedition

  Spartan sojourn of

  Alexander the Great

  Alexandria founded by

  at Chaeronea

  Alexander the Great (cont.)

  death of

  in Egypt

  Exiles Decree of

  at Gaugamela

  at Granicus River

  invasion of Greece and

  at Miletus

  Persia invaded by

  successors of

  Alyzia, battle of

  Amazons

  Ambracia

  Ameinias

  Ammonias

  Amorgos, battle of

  Amphipolis, battle of

  Amphitrite

  Amyntas, king of Macedon

  Anabasis (Xenophon)

  Anaxagoras

  Androtion

  Antigone (Sophocles)

  Antiochus

  Antipater

  Aphrodite

  Apollo

  Archelaus, king of Macedon

  Archippe

  Areopagus (Hill of Ares)

  Ares

  Arginusae Islands, battle of

  Athenian deployment in

  Spartan deployment in

  storm after

  Thrasyllus’ dream and

  Argo

  Argonauts

  Argos

  Ariaramnes

  Aristagoras of Miletus

  Aristides

  Aristocrates

  Aristomenes

  Aristophanes

  Aristotle

  death of

  followers of

  naval democracy opposed by

  Nicomachean Ethics of

  Artaxerxes I, king of Persia

  Artaxerxes II, king of Persia

  King’s Peace of

  Artaxerxes III, king of Persia

  Artemis

  Artemisia, queen of Halicarnassus

  Artemisium, battle of

  Cilician naval losses in

  Greek encampment and

  Greek retreat from

  Persian attack in

  Persian flanking movement in

  Themistocles’ strategy for

  Aspasia

  Assembly, Athenian

  Alcibiades recalled by

  appointment of generals by

  colonization mission and

  Corcyran alliance and

  Demosthenes’ maiden
speech in

  enfranchisement of slaves by

  Long Walls proposal in

  meeting protocols of

  Pericles demoted by

  Phormio reinstated by

  Segesta delegation and

  Sicilian expedition decided on

  Themistocles’ naval proposal and

  Themistocles ostracized by

  Tolmides’ expedition supported by

  trial of the generals and

  and War with the Allies

  western campaign and

  “Assembly Women, The” (Ecclesiazusae ) (Aristophanes)

  Astarte

  Atalante

  Athena

  Atlantis myth and

  Parthenon statue of

  Phidias’ statue of

  Athenian Empire

  allied tribute districts of

  Athenian Trireme, The: A Study of Nautical Archaeology (Cartault)

  Athens:

  Aegina’s conflict with

  Alcibiades’ return to

  Alexander’s successors and

  Assembly of, see Assembly, Athenian

  Attica building project of

  barbers in

  Black Sea expedition of

  citizenship in

  colonization mission of

  commoners and aristocrats of

  constitution of

  cultural renaissance of

  democracy in

  Egyptian expedition of

  and end of Golden Age

  festivals in

  Four Hundred’s rule in

  government of

  growth of

  intellectual life in

  Ionian revolt and

  Laurium silver mines and

  Lycurgan naval reforms of

  Macedonian occupation of

  medicine in

  monument to war dead of

  navalization of

  Athens (cont.)

  naval power and policy of

  oligarchic coup in

  peacetime naval expeditions of

  Pericles’ reforms and

  population growth of

  reaction to Aegospotami’s outcome in

  rebuilding of

  in recovery from Sicilian expedition

  rule by generals in

  Samian War and

  seafaring and

  in Second Maritime League

  sexual license in

  slaves enfranchised in

  standardized coinage and weights and measures in

  thalassocracy of

  theater in

  Theseus cult in

  thetes of

  Thirty Tyrants’ rule in

  urban development in

  Zacynthus alliance and

  see also Acropolis; Parthenon; Piraeus

  Atlantis

  Atlas

  Attica

  deforestation of

  geography of

  Augustus, emperor of Rome

  Baal, cult of

  Babylonia

  Babylonians (Aristophanes)

  Baptai (“The Dippers”) (Eupolis)

  Barathron

  Bendis

  Ben-Hur (Wallace)

  Black Sea

  Boreas

  Brasidas

  Bucephalas

  bull sacrifice, cult of

  Byzantium

  Cadmus

  Callias

  Callicratidas

  Callistratus

  Calynda, king of

  Cantharus Harbor

  Caria

  Cartault, Augustin

  Carthage

  Casson, Lionel

  Castor

  Catana

  Cecrops, king of Athens

  Cecryphaleia, battle of

  Cedon

  Cephallenia

  Cephisodotus

  Chabrias

  Chaeronea, battle of

  Chaireas

  Chalcedon

  Characters (Theophrastus)

  Chares

  Charitimides

  Charon

  China

  Chios

  Chrysopolis (Golden City)

  Churchill, Winston

  Cilicia

  Cimon

  death of

  democratic reforms opposed by

  leadership of

  Long Walls project and

  navalization of Athens and

  ostracism of

  in Persian Wars

  Sparta as model for

  Theseus’ bones recovered by

  Clazomenae

  Cleinias

  Cleisthenes

  Cleito

  Cleitus

  Cleombrotus

  Cleon

  Aristophanes’ satirization of

  death of

  personality of

  Sphacteria blockade and

  cleruchies (klerouchoi)

  Cnemus

  Cnidus, battle of

  Coates, John

  Conon

  at Aegospotami

  at Cnidus

  death of

  military career of

  Constitution of the Athenians (Xenophon)

  Corcyra

  Corinth

  Athenian conflict with

  battle of Sybota Islands and

  Corcyra’s conflict with

  triremes of

  Coronea, battle of

  Cos

  Council of Five Hundred

  Crannon, battle of

  Cratinus

  Crete

  Critias

  Critias (Plato)

  Cronus

  Ctesias

  Cunaxa, battle of

  Cybele

  Cydonia

  Cynossema

  Cyprus

  Cyrus the Younger, prince of Persia

  Cyzicus, battle of

  Alcibiades’ ruse in

  fight at Kleroi in

  Danaus

  Darius I, king of Persia

  Darius III, king of Persia

  Delian League

  Eion campaign and

  founding of

  growth of

  tribute paid to

  waning of

  Delias

  Delos

  Delphic Oracle

  Theseus’ bones prophecy of

  Wooden Wall prophecy of

  Demades

  Demaratus, king of Sparta

  Demeter

  democracy

  Demon

  Demosthenes (general)

  Demosthenes of Paiania (orator)

  background of

  in Byzantium mission

  death of

  maiden Assembly speech of

  naval reform advocated by

  Olynthiacs of

  as orator

  in overseas campaigns

  Philippics of

  Thucydides’ influence on

  Description of Greece (Pausanias)

  Desolation Angels (Kerouac)

  diekplous

  Diodorus Siculus

  Diogenes Laertius

  Diomedon

  Dionysus

  Diotimus

  “Dippers, The” (Baptai), (Eupolis)

  Dorieus

  Ecclesiazusae (“The Assembly Women”) (Aristophanes)

  Echinades Islands

  eclipses

  Egypt

  Alexander’s conquest of

  Athenian expedition to

  in The Suppliants

  Eirene

  Electra (Euripides)

  Eleusinian Mysteries

  Eleven, the

  Elis

  Embata, battle of

  Enquiry into Plants (Theophrastus)

  Ephesus

  Ephialtes (mercenary)

  Ephialtes (mythical giant)

  Ephialtes (reformer)

  Ephorus of Cyme

  Epidaurus

  Erasinides

  Erechtheum

  Eretria, bat
tle of

  Eros

  Ethiopia

  Euainetus

  Euboea

  Euetion

  Eupolis

  Euripides

  death of

  romantic tragedies of

  Europa, Phoenician princess

  Eurybiades

  Eurymedon (divine hero)

  Eurymedon (general)

  Eurymedon River, battle of

  Euryptolemus

  Evagoras, King of Salamis

  Exiles Decree

  “Finest Story in the World, The” (Kipling)

  First Philippic (Demosthenes)

  Four Hundred

  Frogs (Aristophanes)

  action of

  Frontinus

  Furies

  Gallipoli (Kallipolis)

  Gaugamela, battle of

  Gelon, tyrant of Syracuse

  Goat Rivers, battle of, see Aegospotami, battle of

  Granicus River, battle of

  Great Pyramid

  Greek Oared Ships (Morrison)

  Gylippus

  Halicarnassus

  Hegeso

  Helen (Euripides)

  Helen of Troy

  Helike

  Helios

  Hellanicus of Lesbos

  Hellenica (Xenophon)

  Hellenic League

  Hellenic War (Lamian War)

  Hellespont

  Alexander’s crossing of

  helots

  hemlock

  Hephaestus

  Heracles

  Hermes

  Hermippus

  Hermocrates

  Hermolycus

  Herodotus

  Hill of Ares (Areopagus)

  Hindu Kush

  Hipparche

  Hipparchus

  Hippias

  Hippocampe

  Hippocrates of Cos

  Hippodamian Agora

  Hippodamus of Miletus

  Hippodromia

  Histories, The (Herodotus)

  Hohlfelder, Robert

  Homer

  hoplites

  horse carriers

  Horsemen (Aristophanes)

  House of Boats

  hubris

  Hymn to Poseidon (Aristophanes)

  Iliad (Homer)

  Imbros

  “Immortals,”

  Inarus, king of Libya and Egypt

  India

  Influence of Sea Power upon History, The (Mahan)

  Io

  Ion

  Ionia

  Ionian revolt

  Ionian War

  Iphicrates

  in Corcyra operation

  military innovations of

  Iphigenia Among the Taurians (Euripides)

  Iphigenia in Aulis (Euripides)

  Isis

  Isocrates

  death of

  letter to Philip II of

  Issus, battle of

  Isthmian Games

  Italy

  Jason

  Jocasta, Queen

  Kagan, Donald

  Kallipolis (Gallipoli)

  katabatic winds

  Keos