Let's Visit Port Piraeus, Home of the Athenian Navy - History Tour in AC: Odyssey Discovery Mode

[@InvictaHistory]

If you love the topic of ancient navies, I recommend you check out our series on the Roman Navy: kzbin.info/www/bejne/bYHLg6Oshb-of8U. Also we will be rolling out with some more modern naval content in the weeks ahead, stay tuned!

[@RomanCourier]

Yes, this was an excellent video. But I‘ve been waiting for the video on the Imperial Roman fleet for 3 years now! 😅

[@DislikeThisCommentNow]

Can you make a video on : Could citizens have weapons in Ancient Rome - Where citizen allowed to arm themselves at anytime..was there punishment for having a certain type of weapon on yourself if you weren't part of the legion or guard? It would be an interesting video regarding such things considering it's a big topic in the United States on guns & some States banned the carry of knives as well.

[@RomanCourier]

Very interesting indeed. Weapon regulations changed over time, the best example being the sacred pomerium. Outside of Rome, there is (even) less clarity about the ancient laws. We do know, however, that slaves were not allowed to wear weapons - meaning tools that are designed to be used as a weapon - with the exception of gladiators within the walls of the arena (not even inside the gladiator school). The lictors couldn’t bring the axes of their fasces inside the pomerium, with the exception of the 24 (!) lictors of a dictator in times of crisis. This would be a big red flag for Roman citizens.

[@DislikeThisCommentNow]

@@RomanCourier yea true but tools can be used as weapons and vice versa, especially after the early slave revolts and the one we know and love Spartacus. I know these revolts change the way the Romans viewed slaves and as well made them changed rules & laws around that general topic. So much to learn about the Empire...its such a lovely indulgence.

[@RomanCourier]

A lovely indulgence it is :) I remember a political murder with a chair... But I’d have to look that up. And Caesar was assassinated with conceiled daggers.

[@georgios_5342]

This is my home town! Salutations from Piraeus!

[@InvictaHistory]

Hey that's awesome! I hope to visit in person some day!

[@georgios_5342]

@@InvictaHistory yeah me too! I'll be here alright. Except if it's summer, then I'll probably be in some nice Greek beach 😉👌

[@RomanCourier]

Greetings to Πειραιάς, or rather Πειραιεύς 😇

[@45calibermedic]

That's awesome! When I visited your country, I went to Piraeus to catch a ferry to Hydra. Greece is one of the nicest countries to visit with the kindest and most helpful people, too.

[@georgios_5342]

@@RomanCourier Χαίρε φίλτατε!

[@Erikaaaaaaaaaaaaa]

You got an actual historian for one of these. That's incredible! Absolutely amazing. I'm loving these videos, you so rarely get insights into regular day-to-day life in ancient times

[@InvictaHistory]

I'm reaching out to additional historians to ride along in future videos. Maybe we can even do a livestream where people get to ask questions as we all explore together.

[@BoopSnoot]

I wish the historian would comment about the population. There are so many black people shown, but I wonder if that's just white developers being "woke" and trying to be inclusive, as I understood that at this time the Greeks should have looked far more white than they even do today, since darker migrants of later centuries had not yet mixed into the population.

[@Erikaaaaaaaaaaaaa]

@@BoopSnoot The thing is that it's Athens, the greatest trading city in the world at the time. If anything, I think it would be really nice to see Indian spice traders, Carthaginian olive oil salesmen, and Syrian jewelers rather than just generic people

[@BoopSnoot]

@@Erikaaaaaaaaaaaaa That wouldn't make any sense though. Indians didn't bring their wares all the way to Europe. The land trade routes crossed many hands before making it that far, and the Indians (well wasn't really a country back then) didn't have a wide reaching sea faring trade network. Carthaginians and Syrians would be as white as Greeks. Southern Arab migrations didn't occur at this time, and some people get confused and think that anyone from Africa must be black, but it was sub-Saharan Africans that were black, and the Northern coastline of Africa was colonized by Mediterranean peoples and so would look just like Spaniards, Italians, and Greeks.

[@Erikaaaaaaaaaaaaa]

@@BoopSnoot The concept of "white" and "black" people isn't very useful when talking about a time period where the separation of people into those two categories wasn't really a thing. The idea of white people as being one race and black people as being this other different race is incredibly modern. Of course there were people around the Mediterranean in ancient times that we would describe as black including in Greece. There are depictions in coins, pottery, and statues of black people in Greece. That's not to say dark-skinned people were the norm, but you're talking about "Greeks" "Syrians" and "Carthaginians" like they're one massive ethnic block, which we know for a fact is not how the Ancients perceived race. Having people with different coloured skins in the largest trading city in the world is entirely fair

[@JanGotner]

I am currently reading Plato's Republic and it literally starts from Socrates coming back from Piraeus with his friends. Now I can imagine how their stroll might have looked like! Thank you so much for these videos :)

[@RomanCourier]

8:54 Your point about shipping / cargo insurance is very interesting and sounds surprisingly modern indeed. It was essential to the existence of many harbour cities in ancient times, including Roman ones (Ostia Antica!) after the Greek world set an example. I believe this is the earliest large-scale insurance system in ancient Greece, but I’d be happy to be corrected if it wasn’t. It also seems like a bonus for taking the risk in open sea, both financially and physically.

[@ISawABear]

i'm even more impressed with discovery mode, much of the topics they cover are in the mode as tours or stations.

[@dreonnac3169]

I just fricking LOVE this series

[@nodoxplz]

Invicta: tries to educate us on how ancient ships were built Half naked man: "ope let me just squeeze right past ya"

[@TheDKninja]

It's pretty cool how games are able to accurately present these historical structures with current and improving graphics

[@CoqPwner]

Too bad they put so much historical effort on such a shit micro-transactions infested game though. Gotta give props for at least trying to give a damn about historical accuracy though

[@barahng]

Too bad they didn't get the historical accuracy of what Greeks looked like. The Greeks depicted in this game are darker in complexion than modern Greeks post mass Ottoman rapings. The modern conception of Mediterraneans as a swarthy people comes from the infusion of Turkish and Moorish DNA from mass rape. Back then they would have been as fair skinned as northern italians are today. Ancient sources all concur that Alexander had reddish blonde hair, many other Greek leaders were described as fair haired and skinned. Other cultures described the Greeks as a fair skinned and haired people too. Swarthy people generally don't have fair hair colors like that. The Greeks in this game look like fucking Somalis.

[@janetkizer5956]

I've lived in port cities all my life, and I still find them fascinating. This is simply marvellous. Thanks.

[@nathanielkramer3092]

I’m finishing up a class at a university on Classical Technology. The amount of detail that they discuss here is as much as I got in my class. It’s extremely accurate, from the hull-first construction to the shipworms. Mortise-and-tenon joints! Shipsheds! This is university, academic-tier information. The focus on cultural history too just warms my heart.

[@trtvitor1385]

Honestly, your content keeps blowing me away. I've watched you since your Rome 2 tournament commentaries and i'm amazed by your progression. Keep it up Oakley.

[@UserName0043]

These are by far my favorite videos coming out on youtube right now. Keep it up, man!

[@KellySTaylor]

These "Let's Visit" videos are excellent! I'm a theatre historian and am keeping my fingers crossed that you plan to visit some of the theaters or odeons!

[@MonEyRuLess]

This series somehow just keeps getting better and better!!

[@barahng]

The AC footage REALLY helps visualize the architecture being described. Keep up the good work man.

[@gkspain1]

Brilliant I'm painting an Athenian army for the Peloponnesian war and of course the port of Piraeus is really important to Athenians, all the best, Garry

[@RomanCourier]

SHIPS! Thanks for answering the request, Invicta! 😁

[@InvictaHistory]

my pleasure : )

[@rrdgz5355]

@ 10:41 She is grinding down grain into a paste. That's a Metate, basically a one person operated mill. It is a flat stone set at an angle, she places the grain on top of it then she uses another enlongated stone, the mano (hand of the metate) controlled with both hands to grind the grain. She adds water and she has the dough ready for bread. Anything that needs to be grinded down or any meal that requires a blender in today's world, would have use this machine in ancient times

[@jimbeaux89]

I just started playing odyssey for the first time, and I am so impressed with the world they’ve built based on Greece. I’m so thankful I get this big chunk of history

[@CoqPwner]

I never thought I'd find this much enjoyment out of an Assassin's creed game in 2019

[@gaius_enceladus]

What a pity it is that there is probably nothing left of the ships sunk in the ancient naval battles like Actium and Ecnomus! Imagine seeing one of those ships on the sea floor - it'd be **awesome!** I guess it's possible that the Romans' metal rams on their ships could be found. I think a lot more could have been done to search the sea floor in the areas of the ancient naval battles.

[@siechamontillado]

10:55 - "Don't mind me, just going to causs shimmy up this Ionic column."

[@hmmm6317]

The only thing that kinda puts me off about this game are the proportions... they are called Long Walls for a reason!

[@jebosamvasjako]

I got put off because of the social pondering

[@MegaMrSpitfire]

That's unfair towards the developers. It's a game trying to depict ancient greece as accurately as possible while still maintaining the core gameplay and keeping it fun. Also if the world was correctly scaled it would be a lot more difficult to create and make a game out of

[@jebosamvasjako]

@@MegaMrSpitfire it's not as accurate, actually no way near accurate, except the architecture

[@MegaMrSpitfire]

@@jebosamvasjako That's what I'm saying. As accurate as possible without sacrificing gameplay...

[@hmmm6317]

Not to sound negative, but how was proper hoplite warfare going to sacrifice gameplay?

[@VladTevez]

Be careful, everybody, you might encounter Takis Tsoukalas in Piraeus

[@baggelis_aikaterinis]

Aaaaaaaaante geia lol

[@manapo8205]

🤣🤣🤣

[@tightbudgy1460]

So good! Do more like this! Love the visuals

[@christophernorthern2566]

Fantastic and interesting videos! Thank you!

[@45calibermedic]

This series has been fantastic! I hope you will visit Sparta and maybe some of the islands like Crete or Lesbos as well.

[@the_rover1]

*@ Invicta & team, you're a star!* at current, this is my favourite series, I'm always looking for that every day I log into youtube and can't wait for the next episode! suggestions for upcoming tours: 1) site of Thermophylae (I know it's covered in the game, saw it in a let's play and that guy just walked through the pass without even noticing _sigh_ ) 2) mount Olympus 3) Laconia, city of Sparte 4) the home of Odysseus, on island Ithaka 5) is Ilion covered in the game? I don't know, would be a swell tour to visit this place, though. _p.s: how can I support you? via patreon?_

[@InvictaHistory]

Hey thanks for leaving a kind message here! I'll definitely be continuing this series as its a joy to produce and people like you definitely reinforce the idea that it is appreciated by the community. As for support, tossing a dollar or two our way over on Patreon will definitely help.

[@GottHammer]

@@InvictaHistory if you do cover battle sites and/or Sparta, maybe you can get u/Iphikrates to do another collaboration :D

[@elijahc.brooks3493]

Hey man. My name is Elijah and I love your content. I found your awesome channel because I watch the Metatron. Please make more history discovery tour videos.

[@Deepstinkt]

these videos are great, goes well with the odyssey footages too

[@NathanASMR]

Huge fan here of this video series! I made a similar version but asmr haha. Your history videos are inspiring and informative and I truly appreciate it!

[@ZDavidH]

I was irl in the piraeus and knowing its history it was really amazing

[@kingfish4575]

Very informative, I never knew the Greeks built their boats that way.

[@ПётрГордеев-ч2я]

Потрясающее впечатление от реконструкции. Обратите внимание на то, что корабли в гавани не стояли с поднятыми мачтами: они лежали на палубе.

[@razcann3597]

Everything about this looks sooo much better than the Total War Series Campaign maps

[@johnathanlong5366]

I really am loving this series mate. Maybe you can do this with the Egyptian setting of AC Origins as well.

[@wiktormarcinkowski9904]

Do more please this is awesome

[@spyrosvassilakis4212]

It's important to know that different states used different tactics with their navies. The Athenian doctrine was "out maneuver the enemy ship and ram it" so they needed more rowers. Other navies preferred boarding so they used more marines.

[@EdwardCoplinBatman]

A let's play with a real historian! I love this!

[@FergusDal]

Beautiful, and so interesting :)

[@tomm5663]

Let’s raid the Piraeus, they can’t stop all of us!

[@jyttethebig2418]

Dabber Mcgee I’m in

[@DimiosTheGreatGR]

Μολών λαβέ

[@tomm5663]

Δήμιος I don’t speak debt

[@DimiosTheGreatGR]

@@tomm5663 well you speak butthurt

[@tomm5663]

Δήμιος listen here, mr yoghurt man. I’m in America, we speak American here, not Spanish. And I don’t care what the CRAZY FEMINISTS say about their liberal policies, I’m proud of my country because America is the greatest country in earth. And listen here, Greasy boy, if we want we can DESTROY you. 🇱🇷🇱🇷🇱🇷🇱🇷 #america #freeedom #patriot #fuckyeahUSA #trump2020 #youryoghurtnotmine #sarcasm #liberty

[@TheTheode]

Man, if my history teacher had been flying around in assasins creed as he talked about these places I think I would’ve gotten better grades and cared more about the subject.

[@shaolindreams]

The "Long Walls" look very short :p

[@ma-bq5jn]

ShaolinDreams they’re much longer irl

[@shaolindreams]

@@ma-bq5jn Yep

[@georgios_5342]

They're supposed to be long, not tall.

[@redsavage5997]

6-7 km long and 184m wide..

[@RomanCourier]

Wow. I‘m surprised by the width!

[@leanderfoster8450]

You should do a video like this on the temple of Poseidon at cape sounio, or the ancient theatre at epidavros

[@SpartanRexGaming]

Would you be able to cover some things in Sparta for this Discovery Tour Series?

[@donaykhabbak4215]

thanks Invicta. awesome video as usual!

[@YushaKozaki]

My old hometown. Brilliant video.

[@somedipshtinthecomments2507]

Athenian naval rowers were THE TROOPS

[@phoenixsong38]

for the next one can you maybe go inside someones house? or maybe inside of a temple? the video you did on the Athenian home was very cool. you dont have to dedicate the entire video to that locations homes, but maybe sprinkling it in?

[@Jagdtoq]

Frame first ship construction didn't appear until the 5th century AD. To make a ship in this period, first a the shape of the hull was dug out in the ground then the planks would be laid up using mortice and tenon joints, finally, the permanent vertical and horizontal frame pieces would be attached on the inside to retain the shape before the hull was lifted out of the ground.

[@bradleyshukla697]

Brilliant stuff, love Dani, what a humble guy

[@Composer_DanielPerez]

These video series are great! Any chance you will do the other big cities in the game? I know you have a few but are others planned?

[@Commandercody82]

Can you please do a video explaining in detail the Roman empires government structure within each province/region and how the system was set up from Augustus down? I always have a hard time understanding the structure of the government once I get to who is a “governor”

[@Insectoid_]

4 years ago. Jesus. My life is melting away.

[@Morithcat]

Love these! As a fan of Mycenaean Greece, I'm interested to know if you'll look at Mycenae, which I am told is on the game?

[@jamychong2876]

KZbin is red Facebook is blue OMG Invictus I love you💓

[@romko4496]

If I'd be your father I would slap you so fucking hard for being such a fucking disappointment

[@HappyCatholicDane]

Is the tempel of Olympos in the game? That would be a great place to visit.

[@christopherflux6254]

Depends what you mean. Mount Olympus isn’t in the game, but the city of Olympia (where the ancient Olympics took place) is in the game complete with temples. The Temple of Zeus the Olympian in Athens is in the game, but only as something being constructed

[@HappyCatholicDane]

Christopher Flux I was thinking about the city, with the great statue of Zeus.

[@christopherflux6254]

HappyDane yep it’s there.

[@EleanorCharlotte8855]

The stoas look like packed full of merchants and their imported goods. Does this map have the stone quarries up in the north of Acropolis which made the entire city of Athens? I was surprised when I saw the stonemasons working on the north facade of Parthenon.

[@nightlightabcd]

Great video, but you forgot to mention that the Roman copies of the Athenian ships were made from uncured wood and were consequentially temporary ships, but they got the job done!

[@LeadsTheFallen]

I love these

[@CrookedCrow66]

love these videos

[@mooneyplovwer4040]

Amazing Make More On Assassins Creed!

[@thedoruk6324]

Athens : *Look I am a great Sea power whose also advanced in culture! What could possibly happen?* Sparta & Persia : *Its free real estate!*

[@pgetheelderscrollsturkiye68]

In the end it doesnt even matters cuz: sparta 30k athens 4 mil population xd

[@OCinneide]

China: let me introduce myself

[@pgetheelderscrollsturkiye68]

@@OCinneide China: Let me *reproduce* myself

[@OCinneide]

PGE The Elder Scrolls Türkiye let me buy your port

[@pgetheelderscrollsturkiye68]

@@OCinneide let me force my entire population to work like slaves

[@brianfuller7691]

This is fascinating.

[@MmmChipotle]

Very cool!

[@oresteskolokouris3425]

Very nice job. But the real topography is quite different. Although Piraeus itself is pretty hilly (and much larger), and there is a hill to the north west of the city. The central city and most of the surronding leading to athens are very flat (phalero bay). Actually the famous Greek geographer Strabo wrote in the first century A. D., that Piraeus was formerly an island and lay 'over against' the mainland, from which it got its name, and that's beeing proven by paleoenvironmental analysis that in pre-historic times it was still an island (the name Piraeus comes from "Peran" that means the opposite coast). Soo there only the hills in the Piraeus peninsula, and the higher hill of Kastella and the rocky and hilly terain to the north west and everything arround is flat.... actually Piraeus may become an island again if the temperature rises around 3o celcius.

[@Mr.56Goldtop]

How much has the shoreline changed since those times?

[@nocensorship8092]

So that in game harbor was probably 10 times too small lol. It would be very impressive if an open world game could provide a detailed 1:1 size map but i guess that's impossibly much work with the current technology

[@lastyhopper2792]

is there an Artemis Temple at Munychia, Piraeus?

[@salinagrrrl69]

Top decks here look a lot like those in what pix lve seen coming out of the sunken ship finds from under the Black Sea.

[@james_the_darklord]

Where can I go to view it myself? Is there a link to a website?

[@bungeyedcatfish]

Thank you my dude

[@christopherrhodes3228]

Holy crap, caught this video in the first minute!

[@neoir8514]

Wow cool video

[@EduardoAyresSoares]

Why there is water/ponds on the floor everywhere? It looks pretty muddy

[@dodobyrde4645]

Fun video.

[@AbrahamLincoln4]

6:44 center of the vid *Lenny face*

[@spol]

much love.

[@arturmesropyan8087]

Would you pay a visit to Sparta next time please?

[@chrisgeorg1523]

Makes me a bit sad that Piraeus now is full of block of flats that ruined the city.

[@mitsvanmitsvanio6106]

Δονάλδιος Τράμπιος, ένας μεγάλος Έλληνας μαζί με άλλους μεγάλους Έλληνες όπως Δονάλδιος Δάκιος και Δάφιος Δάκιος και τον μεγαλοεπιχειρηματία ΜακΔονάλδιο (Μακ από το Μάκης) καθώς και τον συνονόματο του ΜακΔονάλδιο τον γηραιότερο τον γεωργό.

[@barahng]

What's even sadder is that the Chinese now own it.

[@mathewkanapilly796]

The one thing that I don’t like about galleys is people think that in ancient times there were slave galley rowers which didn’t really become a mainstream thing that we would think of until medieval times in around the 1400s

[@nonyurbusiness5891]

nice

[@lexopan]

The Athenian ship crews including the rowers were all armed, the Athenians didn't need as many Marines because the didn't need the excess weight of people that didn't row. Because of their skills of manoeuvring their ship's!

[@amarduratovic]

What was the lifetime of these ships? 30 years??

[@davidcutlip]

what about Biremes?

[@AbsolXGuardian]

Odd how Ubisoft messed up the style of ship building used. Because usually when things are inaccurate, its related to either gameplay, size limitations, or asset reuse. None of which seem to be relevant here.

[@dimitrioskavousanos9626]

Make a video like the if ceaser was not assassinate but for Alexander the great

[@knnthfrmn]

Damn!

[@royleon3525]

Visited Pireaus when I was in the navy. I was looking forward to the video. The graphics were superb, I just couldn't watch for more that a few minutes because of that unnecessary eagle that constantly irritated my eyes and concentration.

[@Harshhaze]

Um...Uh... Couldn't get those out of my head

[@jukeboxhero1649]

You can sail up a river out of the salt water and it will kill shipworms. The shipworm needs salt water or it dies.

[@viciouslady1340]

Our family home is walking distance to the port

[@augustocultochico177]

muy bueno felicidades

[@Forerunner1232]

Game devs watching this: *sweating profusely*

[@stronghand9932]

Not sure about the "cream of the crop" ONLY being allowed in the Piraeus. According to John Hale's work, "Lords of the Sea," any Athenian mariner could go the barbershops in the Piraeus. Rowers, tradesman, and a variety of other clerks and personnel worked in the Piraeus. While it is true that rowers of the triremes were Athenian citizens, they were certainly not the "cream of the crop" of Athenian citizenry. The Piraeus was the military and economic hub of Athens, so many people lived there.

[@TexasWarbird]

I wanted to like assassins creed - but I found out I couldn't use a shield while playing as a spartan? Not thanks buddy. But I did end up buying the game based on your video.

[@xiuhcoatl4830]

Its gameplay mechanics. You're supposed to fight as all assassins in the series so. Sneaky and using blades. Thats why would be better if they made other franchise set in the ancient world without those restrictions

[@paweandonisgawralidisdobrz2522]

I hate the way the long walls look in this game. Everything looks amazing but the long walls

[@Alexander99602]

Feeling cute today, might jog the smool walls today, several times actually

[@paweandonisgawralidisdobrz2522]

@@Alexander99602 thats a warm up at best, more like a break actually

[@Alexander99602]

@@paweandonisgawralidisdobrz2522 Atleast they added them, unlike some total war game

[@paweandonisgawralidisdobrz2522]

@@Alexander99602 dont remind me i need no more suffering tonight

[@Alexander99602]

@@paweandonisgawralidisdobrz2522 Not to mention that even in their atteot, not only athens was a megalopolis of its time, occupying that whole peninsula, but also it had dock on only one side, and couldn't be accessed from the other, like what was the other side? A beach with fancy umbrellas and minibars?

[@ChazOneZeroSeven]

this video made me buy a ps4 and assassin's creed odyssey

[@4ur3n]

it should have made you buy a PC and ac odyssey

[@anujpartihar]

@@4ur3n lol right on.

[@royalmitchell4905]

Weren't Athenian women required to be veiled in public? Why are the women in Athens in the Discovery Tour not veiled?

[@Normacly]

Ancient Athenian traditions required only females of elite families to wear veils when they were allow to go outside for special events. Laws wasn't force upon the lower classes who have to work extensively outside. Nor did non-Athenian females have to obey such laws. In essence, restrictive laws on women aren't enforce much when it interfers with the local economy. Good example is Iraq vs Saudi Arabia. Despite being both Muslim countries, females in Iraq aren't force to fully cover their face nor as restrictive within their homes compare to the Saudis. Reason being Iraqi females play a more active role in the economy compare to the Saudis who rarely do so due to oil money. Moreover, Saudis frequently hire female migrant workers to handle more active female taskes, so they can afford to place restrictive laws on their females.

[@Normacly]

@LooksMaximus Symposium Again, such practices were limited only to the elites. Kind of hard for a labour to restrict his wife at home when he needs her to earn money too to feed their family. A sure death from hunger or risk of being rape, a mess up situation but there was only one clear choice for those women. A good modern example is India. Despite having citizenship, Indian women suffer from a high rate of rape that is largely ignore by the authorities. Yet, many poor Indian women still work because it means they and their kid will have enough to survive.

[@Normacly]

@LooksMaximus Symposium I was wrong about the rape rate for India, but you are again mistaking the elites with the lower classes. If you purely read about the European Knights, you expected them to be the most honorable warriors based on their codes of conduct. In reality, those rules apply only to the nobles, peasants both civilians and footmen were not spare any mercy.