DOI Seite / Zitierlink:
https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.13851#0532
OF THE MILITARY AFFAIRS OF GREECE.
NaOVcu, mariners were exempt from drudging at the oar, but perform-
ed all other duties in the ship ; to which end, that all things might be
earned on without tumult and confusion, every one had his proper office,
as appears from Apollonius and Flaccus's Argonautics, where one is em-
ployed in rearing the mast, another in fitting the sail-yards, a third in
hoisting the sails, and the rest are bestowed tip and down the ship, every
one in his proper place : hence they had different titles, as from «£fxsva,
sails, the persons appointed to govern them were called «pjx£vig'a<, those
who climbed upon the ropes to descry distant countries or ships, were
termed tf^oivotdcrai, and the rest in like manner. There were a sort of
men inferior to the former, and called pstfoiavrai, who were not confined
to any certain place or duty, but were ready on all occassions to attend on
the rest of the seamen, and supply them with whatever they wanted (1).
The whole ship's crew were usually wicked and profligate fellows, with-
out any sense of religion or humanity, and therefore reckoned by Juve-
nal (2) amongst the vilest rogues :
Jnventes aliquo cum percussore jacentem,
Permixtum nautis, out furibus, aut fv.gitivis.
There you're sure to find, v
The bully match'd with rascals of his kind,
Quacks, coffin-makers, fugitives and sailors. duvden.
The soldiers who served at sea were, in Latin, termed classiarii, in
Greek, £<jri£xrxi, either because they did iiriQx'ivsiv ra$ vifscg, ascend into
ships ; or «*o th ^iSai'vetv <ra xar«£pwfJwtTa, from ascending the hatches
where they fought. They were armed after the same manner with those
designed for land service, only there seems always to have been a great-
er number of heavy-armed men than was thought necessary by land ; for
we find in Plutarch (3), that of eighteen men employed to fight upon the
hatches, in every one of Themistocles's ships, only four were light-armed :
indeed it highly imported them to fortify themselves in the best manner
they could, since there was no possibility of retiring or changing places,
but every man was obliged to fight ha',d to hand, and maintain his ground
till the battle was ended ; wherefore their whole armour, though in form
usually the same with that employed in land service, yet exceeded it in
strength and firmness. Beside this we find also sow few instruments of
war never used on land, the principal of which are these that follow :
Ao^ara vaufjur^a (4), spears of an unusual length, sometimes exceeding
twenty cubits, whence they are called in Livy (5) hastce long<£, and by
Homer |oSa mu^u^ou. and fjt-axpa (6) :
Munpoliri t-us-oirt, ra. pa «-<j>' \tt\ vw<r\v inure
With spears that in the vessels ready lay,
These strove to make the enemy give way .
Long spears, for sea-fights only made, compos'd
Of several pieces.--
Again,rin another place (7):
(1) Coelius Rhodiginus, lib. xxv. cap. 40. (5) Histor. lib. xx'viii. cap. 4L.
(2) Satir. viii. (6) Iliad. 6. v. 387.
(3) Themistocle. (4) Herodotus, (?) Iliad, 6. v, 677,
NaOVcu, mariners were exempt from drudging at the oar, but perform-
ed all other duties in the ship ; to which end, that all things might be
earned on without tumult and confusion, every one had his proper office,
as appears from Apollonius and Flaccus's Argonautics, where one is em-
ployed in rearing the mast, another in fitting the sail-yards, a third in
hoisting the sails, and the rest are bestowed tip and down the ship, every
one in his proper place : hence they had different titles, as from «£fxsva,
sails, the persons appointed to govern them were called «pjx£vig'a<, those
who climbed upon the ropes to descry distant countries or ships, were
termed tf^oivotdcrai, and the rest in like manner. There were a sort of
men inferior to the former, and called pstfoiavrai, who were not confined
to any certain place or duty, but were ready on all occassions to attend on
the rest of the seamen, and supply them with whatever they wanted (1).
The whole ship's crew were usually wicked and profligate fellows, with-
out any sense of religion or humanity, and therefore reckoned by Juve-
nal (2) amongst the vilest rogues :
Jnventes aliquo cum percussore jacentem,
Permixtum nautis, out furibus, aut fv.gitivis.
There you're sure to find, v
The bully match'd with rascals of his kind,
Quacks, coffin-makers, fugitives and sailors. duvden.
The soldiers who served at sea were, in Latin, termed classiarii, in
Greek, £<jri£xrxi, either because they did iiriQx'ivsiv ra$ vifscg, ascend into
ships ; or «*o th ^iSai'vetv <ra xar«£pwfJwtTa, from ascending the hatches
where they fought. They were armed after the same manner with those
designed for land service, only there seems always to have been a great-
er number of heavy-armed men than was thought necessary by land ; for
we find in Plutarch (3), that of eighteen men employed to fight upon the
hatches, in every one of Themistocles's ships, only four were light-armed :
indeed it highly imported them to fortify themselves in the best manner
they could, since there was no possibility of retiring or changing places,
but every man was obliged to fight ha',d to hand, and maintain his ground
till the battle was ended ; wherefore their whole armour, though in form
usually the same with that employed in land service, yet exceeded it in
strength and firmness. Beside this we find also sow few instruments of
war never used on land, the principal of which are these that follow :
Ao^ara vaufjur^a (4), spears of an unusual length, sometimes exceeding
twenty cubits, whence they are called in Livy (5) hastce long<£, and by
Homer |oSa mu^u^ou. and fjt-axpa (6) :
Munpoliri t-us-oirt, ra. pa «-<j>' \tt\ vw<r\v inure
With spears that in the vessels ready lay,
These strove to make the enemy give way .
Long spears, for sea-fights only made, compos'd
Of several pieces.--
Again,rin another place (7):
(1) Coelius Rhodiginus, lib. xxv. cap. 40. (5) Histor. lib. xx'viii. cap. 4L.
(2) Satir. viii. (6) Iliad. 6. v. 387.
(3) Themistocle. (4) Herodotus, (?) Iliad, 6. v, 677,