Pictures of Ancient Greek Boats

Ancient Greek Methods of Boating and Sailing by Kenny McMahon, Nick Chadha, and Paul Hotchkiss. Boating and sailing became very important to the Greek way of life. The Greeks needed ways to import and export trade goods both within Greece and to other countries. The mountainous terrain of Greece made sailing the easiest way. Wars also caused countries to learn about sailing. Navies became a must in these wars. For instance, the battle of Salamis (480 B.C.) was won because the Athenian navy was superior to the Persian navy. There were three main types of boats during this time. One was the military ship, one was the cargo ship, and there were also small craft. The military and cargo ships played a major role in ancient Greek wars and shipping. Small craft were smaller boats for just a few passengers, somewhat like a modern rowing dinghy. The ships of Ancient Greece began as very basic, but there were a lot of improvements over time, so that the ships soon became very fast, and the Greeks became very efficient in their sailing techniques. This is one reason why the Greeks were so powerful in their time. [Ships] [Ancient Greece]