Galley Slave: Difference between revisions
m
→[[Real Life]]: clean up
m (cleanup categories) |
m (→[[Real Life]]: clean up) |
||
Line 52:
* Subverted: Actually far less common (though not unknown) in the [[Sword and Sandal]] era. Slave galleys were a staple of Renaisance naval warfare when it became normal to put several men on an oar. In Ancient and Medieval times freemen were preferred because rowing one man to an oar required more skill.
** The Roman Army's Naval Service only wanted free men, who were paid well, well trained, and highly motivated by the chance of citizenship at the end of their tenure. Since ramming and boarding actions were a staple of ancient sea combat, you'd need fast ships crewed by professionals willing to do their best. As a further reason, if the ship was boarded, a crew of angry and armed free men rowers was a far better second line of defense than chained, unhappy slaves.
** Being a Galley Rower was also a prestigious Athenian Navy position, for similar reasons as their Roman counterparts. It is true that the rowers were ''thetes''
** Carthaginian Navy rowers had living and training requirements similar to a modern athlete. No wonder their Navy was so feared in the Mediterranean.
| |||