Conquering the Sea

Maritime Trade:
Ancient Greek Merchant Ships

The geographical location of Ancient Greece provided its inhabitants with excellent opportunities for shipping. With the decline of the Phoenician city-states, the Greeks took over sea trade in the Mediterranean and became ‘the carters of the sea.’

Even before this, the Greeks had used ships for travelling along the coast and between the islands, so they had a great deal of experience in navigation. They became masters of shipbuilding; they constructed merchant ships both large and small using the finest materials and sophisticated techniques.

Square sail

Square sails were the most common type over a long period of time. They were
widely used by ancient Egyptians,
Greeks, Romans, even Vikings.
Their disadvantage is that it can
only be used downwind (if the wind
is blowing in the direction of travel).
To travel into the wind or
in completely calm conditions
the boat was propelled
forward by oarsmen.

The smallest trading boats were operated by a crew of 2 sailors, with no oarsmen to help. They had to hope for the right wind direction.

Ancient Greek merchant ship

The hull was wide and deep.
Direction was controlled by steering oars.

Yard

The yard was fastened to the mast with ropes.

Sea trade

Export commodities: olives, wine, metalwork, marble, pottery.

Import commodities: cereals from
Sicily and Egypt, meat from Phoenicia,
fish from the Black Sea region, glass
from Egypt, carpets from Persia,
perfumes from Arabia, silk from the
Far East, as well as slaves.

The largest port: Piraeus (Athens)

Amphoras

The most important products that ancient
Greece exported were olives and wine,
transported at the time in amphoras,
which were tall, slim pottery jars
with a pair of large handles.