The History of Greek Shipping
By Spyros M. Polemis
The Greeks, more than any other people in the world, have remained, during their entire, very long history, mariners without interruption, they have loved the sea, they have thought of it as a beautiful element, and they believed it had godlike powers; whilst the others, such as the Phoenicians and the Romans, used it to conquer other people. The Greeks considered the sea a friendly environment and they were happy with the sea's caprices. Very quickly they came to realize that the sea could offer them a way of life, together with the joy of freedom and an increasing freedom of spirit. Seamanship came naturally to the Greeks, and this had to do with the landscape of their surroundings, the geographical position of Greece, her climate and her endless coastline. The landscape is mountainous and the farming area only comprises one-fifth of the entire nation and hence it can only offer a poor harvest. Thus, the sea was a way out. The endless coastline which covers 92 percent of Greece's orders, forms closed inlets, natural harbors, deep bays, golden beaches and hundreds of picturesque islands. It was natural, that such beautiful surroundings would inspire the Greeks and would also instill in them a love for the sea. The geographical position of Greece was an advantage because she was approximately in the middle of the Ancient Mediterranean, between Asia and Italy, near Egypt and Libya to the South, and next to the other Balkan countries to the North: she was at the crossroads of the most ancient shipping lanes. The distances were not great and for thousands of years our seamen were navigating under clear skies, almost always in sight of land.

The Greek climate, although it had great variety, rarely endured typhoons or very strong gales. The temperature was always pleasant, blue skies, clear atmosphere, and the sun almost a permanent source of light. Such an environment does make for a freer spirit, strengthens the imagination and makes people optimistic, liberal and daring. In other words, it created the necessary conditions for the Greeks to become very good shipping men.

THE MARITIME PRE-HISTORY OF THE GREEKS
The Greeks basically started their pre-historic times in shipping with the emergence and dominance of the fleet of Crete and to a smaller degree with the establishment of similar fleets of some cities of Continental Greece. Before the Cretans, the Aegean was dominated by the Karas, the Helegas and the Phoenicians, who engaged in maritime commerce and piracy. The Greeks, because of these powerful fleets and because of attacks by the pirates, withdrew inland to more defensible positions in the mountains. Later on, however, under strong leadership they ventured out into the sea and they took up piracy. Piracy was not considered bad in those days, because to be a pirate you had to have virtues; you had to be brave, daring and you had to possess seamanship. Pirates were considered as privileged people and they were greeted with hospitality.
Thus, the Cretans were the first who succeeded in building up a considerable navy and conquered the Mediterranean. Minos, the King of Crete managed to push the Karas out of the Cyclades and clean-up the Aegean from the pirates; the ships of Crete started to engage in maritime commerce and with the passage of time they would sail to all the ports of the then known Mediterranean.

There were about 100 cities that were carrying on maritime commerce, first of which was Phaestos, and especially the capital of Crete, Knosscs. Their power was so great that all the cities were without protective walls.

Under the leadership of King Minos, the Cretans really became masters of the seas. The decline of Crete as a maritime power came about through violent happenings. There were very destructive fires and violence as a result of the invasion of the Ahaiss. This was around 1450 BC, at a time when the Cretan fleet had weakened or was far from the island.

Thus, we come to the second phase of the development of the pre-historic Greek fleet, after the domination of the Cretans, with the emergence of mariners from the ports of continental Greece.

It is difficult to know the facts of that period with any large degree of accuracy because mythology engulfed historical events. With the passage of time and centuries, the maritime history of a region was only retained as legend through mythological gods or heroes. Hercules was one of the great seamen of the time, as was Jason, and many of their compatriots who eventually established such a vibrant trade within the Black Sea, at a time when the Cretan fleet had weakened.

Pre-Hellenes were the inhabitants of Greece before the Dorians came, and before they were called Hellenes. The advance against Troy, which was indeed the biggest maritime operation of the pre-historic period, gives us an idea of the size of the fleets and consequently power and domination of the cities of that period. Mycenae was then the biggest maritime power and this is why Agamemnon was the leader of the expedition. Mycenae contributed 300 ships, in a total of 1,186 vessels that sailed against Troy. The islands contributed 174 ships from which 80 were from Crete. Homer and Hesiod poetically describe part of the maritime history of the period and the seamanship of the pre-historic Greeks. Hesiod talks about the most basic premise, the seamanship of people, that people learn by necessity, for when their land is not fertile and does not produce, they take to the sea and learn the hard way.

Hesiod also gives some sound advice. Good advice for us all, I believe. For a prudent merchant and shipowner, Hesiod says, it is unforgivable to load on his ship all his fortune, because in the case of an accident, he may be totally destroyed. Not to be taken literally but metaphorically a very good parallel. He also suggests that larger vessels, not small ones, should be used for the carriage of cargoes.

This sounds very familiar indeed. During his time, the 8th century BC, the most suitable periods for sailing's were the spring and the summer. The mariners of the day, before the rains came, "and before the new wine was opened", would stop their voyages and would take their ships out of the water. The boats would stay on shore all during the autumn and the winter.

The "DANAIS" and the "ARGO" are the first named ships of the Greek merchant marine. They were both equipped with sails and 50 oars; the first ship belonged to Danaos and the second to Jason.

The ships of course were not just used for cargoes but also for adventurous voyages to discover new places or for expeditions of war and conquest.

The "ARGO" was built in Tifan, a city in the Gulf of Corinth, a city famous in those days for her shipyards and a home of the best mariners of that period.

The ships that followed "ARGO", in Homer's time, were of 20 and 50 oar construction, with a higher stem and deeper hold, better for the open sea. Ship construction, according to Homer, was quite advanced. The boats were painted on the outside both for preservation but also for decorative purposes, with "miltos", equivalent to today's red lead or primer, and they were either covered with red or blue paint or tar.

The 20-oar vessels had about 50 crew, whilst the 50-oar ones, about 120 men. There were two officers, the master who was the navigator but also steered the boat, and the bursar, who was also the steward. They usually sailed only during the day, whilst for the nigh if they were not in a safe port or safe enclosed bay or anchorage, they would draw the boa out of the water on to a beach.