SeaTrials of the Trireme Olympias

[@acmaiden5236]

Man, I would have paid to row on this trieme! They should make this an olympic sport. 1 ship per country in an obstacle race!

[@williamt.sherman9841]

great idea. they should create "modern" Greek Olympics with classical style games. Honestly they should have contests that involve classic military fighting (like slinging, Javelin throwing, chariot archery and galley rowing.) it would be awesome.

[@katakai7117]

Greece better fucking win at least a metal if that becomes a thing

[@steliosoctavios]

can we put raming in the end?

[@dieglhix]

It looks actually funnier than driving a Lambo

[@pavise6333]

@@williamt.sherman9841 Naked athletes included

[@jacktanner4948]

This is experimental archaeology at its absolute best.

[@JuanManuelGrijalvo]

The nearest effort I have done is, I got to carry a real ancient amphora on my shoulder. Boy, it was empty, and the blessed thing weighed a ton. Can't guess how heavy it might be when full.

[@samrparker1224]

The guy at 7:40 and 10:30 is my dad. Insane to think this was in 1990. Damn.

[@speggeri90]

That's so cool! He was lucky to take part in this amazing experience.

[@dieglhix]

he was cut af tho

[@johnb.2460]

I rowed in 1990 right behind your father. He is a great person.

[@samrparker1224]

@@johnb.2460 Nice! Pretty awesome to see him way back, especially since he looks a little different now. Did you guys meet/talk at all?

[@johnb.2460]

@@samrparker1224 We spoke quite a bit during the 1990 summer trial and had a lot of fun. He taught me a great deal about rowing as I had never rowed before. I also hung out with your father's group of friends. It was a great time! Also in the small world category, my son's Greek teacher in high school also rowed in the 1990 trials. He told many cool stories about the trireme trials especially when they translated Herodotus' chapter on the naval battle of Salamis.

[@Hobgoblin1975]

its bloody kick ass and neat as hell. but man thank God for propellers.

[@AndyGadget]

The early sea trials in 1987 were crewed by volunteers in an open invitation to the boat clubs in Britain. A few friends from the club I rowed with (Staines Boat Club) made the trip. I would have loved to have gone but was above the height limit which I think was 5'10". On return they said it was extremely hot and cramped and things would not have ended well for those in the lower decks if the boat sank. On their final outing the greek captain water-skied behind the trireme.

[@jeremy1392]

That's amazing.

[@JuanManuelGrijalvo]

Perhaps they should have made her a wee bit bigger, to accomodate taller oarsmen and oarswomen. Also, summer temperatures in Greece are not the best to row, but the trials had to be done while you had your holidays.

[@anachronisticon]

Juan Manuel Grijalvo this was the exact recommendation (with other tweaks) for any further reconstructions. Based upon a different interpretation of the cubit measurement from which the ship was scaled.

[@JuanManuelGrijalvo]

@@anachronisticon Thank you very much. Most beautiful ship ever.

[@etholus1000]

Yeah ancient Greeks were a very small people, most people during the time were. I'm sure the ships weren't super cramped like it is in this video lol

[@herouldmedeherefords8705]

That was great seeing that, I was on Olympias that year but I have never seen this footage, great memories, great group of people.

[@mathiass1999]

The men rowing these ships for years must have looked like monsters.

[@pascalgallez1126]

In Roman times, chained to their oar, whipped at lenght and fed unadequately, they certainly did not make it long and were not in a position to get a tan and muscles.

[@kentslocum]

My favorite part of Ben-Hur is when he asks to be moved to a different side of the ship periodically, in order to work both sides of his body evenly. It had never occurred to me before then that rowing only on one side would create lopsided people! 😂

[@rboosterman9944]

The HS Olympias is an official commissioned warship of the Hellenic Navy... much like the USS Constitution is an official commissioned warship of the U.S. Navy.

[@jessicamason2526]

and the HMS Victory of the british royal navy

[@jeremy1392]

except Olympias is a reconstruction, while those are the original ships, although that's debatable thanks to the ships of Theseus.

[@ranjithanura520]

Very lucky and happy to see this war machine of Ancient Greek warriors. Thank you.

[@Theeeeelen]

so cool, would be a dream to participate in something like this

[@meilinchan7314]

I dunno. This is like a no-class Air Asia flight with very little leg room , head room and neither galley nor head for convenience.

[@MaskOfAgamemnon]

Hell, that thing GOES.

[@warc8us]

You can see people having a hard time hitting their heads on the beams in front and behind them. The ship was built to ancient specifications, but the average height of an ancient greek was quite a bit smaller than the average person today. It would be interesting to see a second ship built to scale with modern humans - Or this ship crewed by people all at or under 5'7.

[@TeddyBear-ii4yc]

I read a paper from one of the designers. The ancient texts described the ship using the cubit measurement and, apparently, there's a few of them of different sizes. If they built a second he said they'd have used a slightly bigger cubit to give rowers more room.

[@Tiberon098]

This is so cool to watch.

[@hpwan2]

Assasin's Creed: Odyssey brought me here... Malakas! they are trying to ram us!

[@kapios69]

same for me!

[@thucydides7849]

@@kapios69 DID SOMEBODY SAY....... SALVAGEEEE

[@risk5485]

*THERES MUCH TO DO AND MANY UNKNOWNS ON OUR HORIZON*

[@rebeccapowers1744]

I was on this crew

[@claudiajpace3944]

Me too!!!

[@enricosanchez2346]

Me too. My right foot was always on the ready in case you catch a "crab"😅.

[@jeanpierreragequit1726]

i wish i could.. but didnt know it was possible to do it. When i saw this on TV , i was teen & lived in France. I am still pasionated by history , further more with experimental archeology. I hope , maybe in the future, see that boat & see it moving on sea.

[@pitsinokaki]

Amazing - thank you so much for the upload!

[@bradjohnson4787]

A world treasure!

[@latvianman3433]

Have they tried this with only professional male rowers? I wonder if they could beat the record by recreating the kinds of people that would have done this in the past. Here it looks as if they're not reaching the potential. This thing is incredible. I'd love to see it one day.

[@Gunnar_Konig]

Apparently the ship is much heavier than the ancient ones, so even if you got absolute peak rowers to man it you still wouldn't even get close to the ramming speed of a real trireme.

[@pxlbltz]

@@Gunnar_Konig “Aegina, Athens, and others may have possessed a few vessels, but they were principally fifty-oars. It was quite at the end of this period that the war with Aegina and the prospect of the barbarian invasion enabled Themistocles to persuade the Athenians to build the fleet with which they fought at Salamis; and even these vessels had not complete decks.” Excerpt From: Thucydides. “The History of the Peloponnesian War”

[@AndyGadget]

They weren't professionals but they were keen amateur rowers (of all categories from novice to elite) from around the boat clubs of Britain. Several friends from my club (Staines Boat Club) went on the trip but I was too tall. I think the height limit was 5'10".

[@mombaassa]

Most professional rowers, would be too tall to fit into the allocated space. The average height of a crew in ancient times would have been about 5'5". Most modern rowers, would end up banging their heads one the beam in front of them, if they tried to row near top speed.

[@talyn3932]

Greek rowers weren't professional either. they were often drawn up for specific voyages and returned to their professions afterwards. As for males... it doesn't matter the sex, they needed uniformity, a big burly man would be a detriment to a rowing team if they drew harder and longer than everyone else. They would also not fit as well. Rowing is a whole body ordeal, so it is muscle mass overall more than upper body strength that matters here. In general, the more hardy rowers were the top deck rowers because they would often be in line for attack and weather conditions. So that is where your bigger folk would probably go. But someone like me, who is 6'6 I would be lucky to land any role in an ancient army or navy other then as a skirmisher or light fighter like an archer. I am too big for rowing and too big for heavy infantry. If I tower over the rest of the people in formation, I break uniformity, so as a skirmisher, I can use my size to advantage. I may qualify as an Athenian marine though.

[@LutzDerLurch]

I wonder if they ever tried that ram

[@MentalParadox]

Assassin's Creed brought me here. Amazing how games can inspire interest in real history.

[@jacklambert1521]

I've learned more about history through AC than history class in school. History class lets you read about history. AC lets you live it.

[@acmaiden5236]

@@jacklambert1521 Yes. AC is great to really get into a specific time period. Another game that really piqued my interest for history was Total war Rome 2 and Atilla. It's not as specific but much more broad, in the different civilisations, regions. but also timelines thx to the different campaigns.

[@황지호-z7h]

고대시대에 노잡이를 어떻게 했는지 궁금했는데 영상덕에 해결됐습니다. 귀중한 영상 정말 고맙습니다. 그나저나 노잡는 일이 생각보다 고도로 숙련된 일일 수 밖에 없는 이유를 저거보고 어렴풋이나마 파악하게 됐네요

[@AbrahamLincoln4]

Ramming speed!

[@poeticoidal]

This is so moving to see, like a gigantic human powered locomotive. It makes one wants to be part of it. So so cool in the least cool way☺️

[@kristiankonig3195]

And these are people who are just trying. This must have been a high tech murder weapon against enemy fleets in the hands of trained experts.

[@freshlense]

Great video, thanks for sharing.

[@zuutlmna]

Kept moored, the wood saturates, making it heavier, and slower. Swiftness of such a vessel was probably critical. Thus, originally they were always kept out of water when not in use (in combat).

[@zuutlmna]

Just the same, were I an antiquity era Greek naval commander, I think I would've explored the idea of finding some kind of bees wax and oil/grease mixture to apply to the outside hull for added water resistance.

[@JRandallS]

Makes me wonder if some sort of set of bicycle pedals for each person, could drive a shaft with a propeller; and further if that would be a faster method of propulsion.

[@siranthonychirpsalot2092]

Where are the marines? Every Athenian trireme would have at least 10 hoplites.

[@MaskOfAgamemnon]

It's not a historical reproduction, just a proof of concept.

[@DiscothecaImperialis]

This is a modern reconstruction of Old Athenian Trireme warship. the ship itself was financed by Brits banker and designed by Brits architech. The ship is similar to USS Constitution that it was made for naval history public relations purpose and not for modern actual combat. I bet these crews were all foreign volunteers. those of Northern Euros (maybe even descendants of Vikings though, whose also known to run their variants of galley)

[@williamt.sherman9841]

@@DiscothecaImperialis the USS Constitution was made for combat. It just outlived its combat value. the ship was made over 200 years ago

[@EmilReiko]

@@DiscothecaImperialis the viking age scandinavian warships are not variants of galleys

[@talyn3932]

@@EmilReiko They are Galleys. They just evolved from the Nordic War Canoes instead of sail ships.

[@FlyinBrian777]

I'm curious what the top speed would be with sails also? Well done.

[@megablazepr3603]

Less, cuz the sails would've created air resistance and made the ship slower with both. Either one or the other would've been better

[@DARIVSARCHITECTVS]

For me, manning a trireme would be a dream come true.

[@vincentmcnabb939]

Me too - I would have paid handsomely to be on that ship.

[@HideBoar]

This is fantastic! I wish I have a change to row the ship too. Also (a bit of off topic), the narrator sounds a bit like a mature SovietWomble...

[@adolfopatino_ph]

Una belleza .... admirable

[@toddstewart8823]

Wow, very neat video. The costumes worn by the oar crew I felt was more close to the modern period late 20th century, so THAT was a little OFF. But nonetheless pretty cool!

[@LuckyLuigi]

Fascinating.

[@markseb2003]

This is so awesome. But if that boat ever hit a reef it would be a catastrophe. How would people be able to avoid injury if the ship were damaged, and how would they be able to evacuate if the ship sank?

[@chrism9309]

Stealthy Statistician They wouldn't. It would be every man for themselves

[@chrism9309]

Seems a dumb thing for sailors not to know how to swim... I don't doubt that it was uncommon to swim, but you'd think with all the Roman public bathhouses that an ability/ affinity to swim would've trickled into other area of life.

[@jessicamason2526]

Chris M swimming did happen but not to the point we see today the only widespread swimming was done by the romans but those pools were relitivly shallow and not too large so it is arguable if swimming in such areas would translate to reliable swimming in open waters such as the Aegean sea

[@chrism9309]

Jessica Mason true- even with just the waves, let alone the depth, of the sea decent swimmers today would be hard pressed to survive such a thing

[@scelonferdi]

LoL, this comes 10 months later, but I think I read something about that somewhere(probably wikiprdia so take it with a grain of salt): Loses (of life) were actually really high comparared to naval engagements in other eras like the age of sail. If i remember correctly there was a recorded battle with loses close to 90% for the losing (pelopponesian) site. It is also reported that the winners (rammers) killed survivors clinging to wreckage with spears and other stuff. I guess thats partly because it is pretty much impossible to keep prisoners on such cramped ships.

[@LuisLim1963]

If this was made in 1990, why is the woman @6:35 wearing an "Athen 96" singlet? Please?

[@bydlo7540]

Athens had been bidding to host the 1996 Olympic games.

[@socratease4645]

Scary. You can’t really stop without messing up towers around you. And you’re stuck down there, can’t see out. Yikes. Amazing feat

[@rhysowens1]

So interesting

[@meilinchan7314]

Very little leg room, and almost no space for a hold or a galley (ha ha). I can see why during Caesar's civil wars so many rowers and marines were easy prey for people on shore, especially in Illyria because they had to forage if they didn't have baggage travelling alongside them.

[@dieglhix]

I would love to row on one of this

[@Potatonaught]

very cool

[@genericfakename8197]

If this was recorded in 1990, why is there an "Athens '96" shirt visible in the rowing crew?

[@lepil00]

Athens was a candidate for hosting the 1996 Olympic games. But at the end, Atlanta was selected.

[@AdurianJ]

@@lepil00 1996 was also 100 years since the first modern Olympic games which was held in Athens and is why the Greeks wanted it again 100 years later.

[@etholus1000]

@@AdurianJ It's a shame they didn't get it

[@RockinRedRover]

Still recall watching a UK tv documentary back in the late 80s, which was almost certainly about this ship and this footage. Think they were trying to prove the feasibility of the "evidence" that had been passed down in ancient books etc, which they did. I've NOT read-up on the subject since then, but this work also seems to prove that the supposed quinquerime I'd read abt as a kid, with either 5 banks of oars, or maybe 5 men per oar, was impossible for so many reasons. I do recall they started by making mockups of the seating arrangements for just a couple of oarsmen, to check wether they could fit in the tight space and their oars still be workable and reach the water. When they built the ship they started the trials with a few oarsmen in the centre of the ship, worked them up to proficiency, and then gradually added more alongside them. All were already experienced rowers. Incredible achievement, does this imply the Athenians didn't use slaves to row their war galleys, might be too hard too train an undernourished agrieved P.o.w. ?

[@yamiyomizuki]

Keep in mind that the word slave covers a wide variety of forced laborers throughout history, not all of them were underfed or badly treated, the ottoman janisary corps were an elite fighting force, they were also slaves, if only in the sense that they were conscripted and could not leave the service and were subject to various restrictions on their lifestyle, they were also well fed and well payd. The treatment of slaves generally depends on the availability of labor and the job that was being done.

[@cullen9119]

Athenian rowers were paid professionals

[@randalldunkley1042]

Ramming speed......faster, the Captain wants to water ski...

[@auradzrts691]

Ramming speed...!!!

[@aaronw2805]

That looked hard for the volunteers to achieve that speed and control, with breaks and consideration of their welfare on flat calm waters; I can't imagine what it must have been like under slave conditions, in all sea states and then possibly straight into battle conditions after transit??

[@claudiajpace3944]

I assure you it was a lot of fun.

[@pacosermis]

Podapo to genos? Othen ai Triiris ai kalai! This is anient greek and means... Where are you from? There who build the most beutifull trirems! Athens!!!

[@jamescatalao1370]

Didn't the first triremes not have sails?

[@chrisml8105]

Greek Triremes had sails, but in battle would leave their sails and masts on shore when going into action. I don't know about the "first" ones.

[@DiscothecaImperialis]

And Italy has no any interest to make any galley for similar purpose? Rome as a city and the core of the very empire is there, and Old Romans were a big fan of these Mediterranean galleys, Biremes, Triremes, Quadrigderemes and so on.

[@ahriman935]

They really weren't. They only used them out of necessity, to compete with other naval powers at Mediterranean. The Roman vessels were supposedly inferior too, and they dropped them the second they didn't need them anymore.

[@quoniam426]

8.8 knots ! LOL I see what you did there !

[@cracno1125]

Have this Trireme and it's crew fight the Draken Harald Hårfagre and it's crew. I want to see a Trireme ram a Draken so bad.

[@genericfakename8197]

Now rebuild Tessarakonteres

[@davidbocquelet-dbodesign]

That would be a nightmare and cost as much as an aircraft carrier, not sure to launch a quickstarter for this one ;)

[@Sneekystick]

That ship is Bitchin

[@Evan7893]

Have they ever rammed it into anything haha

[@Silirion]

Port.

[@jethro035181]

....if you really had to go to the washroom it would be really disruptive, and where would you go ? ....seems a very dirty sort of ship

[@fonkyman]

how about over the side ??

[@jethro035181]

fonkyman ....several hundred rowers going over the side? ....also how would you interrupt the rowers rhyme to allow one guy to relieve himself over the side.....face it dude....they went where they sat, and the ship stank

[@fonkyman]

jethro035181 you have proof of that ? besides when would all of them have to go at one time ?? except when in war time i bet they wouldnt have had a problem with letting them pull in their oars one at a time for those who had to go.... greeks and especially romans were much cleaner then youd think especially comapred to what came after them... they gave us sewage pipes and clean running water... id dont think romans and greeks would stand in their own shit if they could avoid it...

[@jethro035181]

fonkyman ....nope....i've no proof just common sense....the trireme was a very narrow beam ship and the oars were very long, so therefore you couldn't easily ship oars unless they did it all at once, and with a hundred oarsmen wanting to go at different times, the progress of the ship would have been badly impeded....i just can't see how it could have been done ....i used to do some sailing and cruising, and anyone going off the side of the boat left stains, so imagine what a hundred oarsmen left, regardless how cleanly the romans were ....in the 16th century and onwards, the common sailors were required to use the bowsprit netting for their dodos, and not the side of the ship....the officers had their private "holes"

[@fonkyman]

jethro035181 yeah some of that is true but in the 16th century they also had actual seats along the hull to sit on... and its not impossible at all to stop one oar while the rest keep going... you only have to lift it up or pull it in besides the lowest deck that should pose no problem... and seriously man nobody wants to sit in his own shit or work in it... maybe the simply stopped rowing every once in a while to allow people to take a shit... but anyways theres no scripture on what they did so you could be right or i could be or maybe they did both we wont find out :)

[@markseb2003]

Modern people are almost certainly much bigger and stronger than the ancient athenians mariners were, so it's possible the people in this video could achieve faster speeds than their hellenistic counterparts. Also, their greater height may be a reason why people in the video were complaining about hitting their heads.

[@athenavibrating4858]

Why do you think modern people are bigger and stronger? Human DNA has not changed in the last few thousand years.

[@Hobgoblin1975]

Athena Vibrating well strength would be hard to say, but its a fact the average height of people has been increasing.

[@athenavibrating4858]

The average height of a life-size Ancient Greek statue is around 1.85 meters with the maximum being around 2.15 meters. Classical and Hellenistic statues display an amazing understanding of the human anatomy of an athlete (we can't reproduce this level of detail in sculpture today). A bronze hoplite shield weights around 20 Kilograms. An elite hoplite in full armor would have to carry more than 40 Kilograms in armor. The battle of Marathon for example is estimated to have lasted around three hours. This means that the hoplites in question would have to fight non-stop for three hours whilst carrying more than half of their body weight under a temperature that could easily reach 40 degrees Celsius. Going to Rome we can be a bit more certain. Becoming a legionary had a height requirement which according to the sources we estimate around 1.70 meters with around 1.80 meters for the elite units. Let us compare with today; the average westerner is taller than 1.70 meters and a marine is trained so that he can carry at least 30 Kilograms in equipment. If anything, the conclusion is that the ancients were at least as high and definitely stronger than us. The theory that we are taller comes from comparing ourselves with people a few generations ago, not accounting for the fact that nutrition has been dramatically improved during the last century. But nutrition in ancient times was excellent in the civilized parts of the world and people used to exercise much more than ourselves.

[@CastelDawn]

Athena Vibrating pff, what stupidity...the average size was 1.85 meters? how silly....it has been proved countless time than people back then were shorter thanks to skeletons and such, period. there is no debate about it. i don't know in what kind of sick fantasy you're lost but here you go.

[@athenavibrating4858]

CastelDawn Your bad manners are surpassed only by your ignorance. There can be no reliable evidence from skeletons since people were cremated back then and whatever remains there exist are contorted by fire. But we do have skeletal remains from the Mycenaean period which show a minimum height of at least 1.70m. But we do have evidence from the literature which point to a similar height. We also have indirect evidence by the weight of hoplite armor which would be impossible for a weak man to wear. Go get yourself educated and come back and post in a few decades.

[@likmartin987]

И это корабль?!! Ну греки!!! Ну тупые!!! Где остойчивость? А если случится на море даже небольшое волнение?

[@cohall46]

Weak men and women need not apply for the position of oars persons. Very impressive.

[@Anthrax6989]

there is like 30% women are they really trying to achieve equal speed as in ancient times ? I think there should be strengh test before allowing people on ship like 50 push-ups or something like that

[@mr.generalissimo5678]

I think they would have done something like to make sure that they could reach their top potential.

[@Silirion]

50 push ups is, as described by the name a push. When rowing you need to push and pull =)

[@mombaassa]

The 30%, female component of the crew, was no accident. This vessel was built to ancient specifications. Most modern, males rowers, are too tall to fit into the allocated space. If they rowed at full speed, they would have been banging their heads on the beams. So, a maximum height of 5"10' was set, when recruiting. This, cut out many of the male applicants, who were experienced rowers. So, some of the places had to be filled by women.

[@claudiajpace3944]

We had to submit erg times.

[@daspec]

Imagine if instead of rowing, all these people pedaled to drive 2 shafts with propellers! It would be faster than a jet ski 😁