The Ancient Mariners: Seafarers and Sea Fighters of the Mediterranean in Ancient Times

329 Pages·1967·15.38 MB·English

by  Lionel Casson

The
Ancient
Mariners
Seafarers and Sea Fighters
of the Mediterranean in Ancient Times
and Sea the
Seafarers Fighters of
The
Ancient
Mariners
Mediterranean in Ancient Times
Lionel Casson
The Macmillan Company
New York
LIONEL CASSON 1959
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. No PART OF THIS BOOK MAY BE
REPRODUCED ORTRANSMITTEDIN ANY FORM ORBYANY
MEANS,ELECTRONICORMECHANICAL,INCLUDINGPHOTO-
COPYING, RECORDING OR BY ANY INFORMATION STORAGE
ANDRETRIEVALSYSTEM,WITHOUTPERMISSIONINWRITING
FROM THE PUBLISHER.
FOURTH PRINTING 1967
LIBRARYOFCONGRESS CATALOGCARDNUMBER: 58-12437
THEMACMILLAN COMPANY,NEWYORK
COLLIER-MACMILLAN CANADA,LTD.,TORONTO,ONTARIO
PRINTEDINTHEUNITED STATES OF AMERICA
To
My
Girls
Foreword
viii
ley with slaves, thathe couldnotsail against the wind, andso on is
utterlywrong.
Probably this story could not have been properly told until now.
Up to a half-century or so ago we had only the writings of ancient
authorstosupplyinformation.Todaywecandrawon the findingsof
hundreds of archaeological excavations; these have laid bare mari-
time civilizations hitherto unknown, yielded an infinite variety of
objects of trade, and even turned up priceless written documents,
from the official records of the Athens Naval Base on imperishable
stone to a tattered fragment of a maritime contract between some
obscure businessmen on fragile papyrus. Moreover, in the last dec-
ade, the new science of underwater archaeology has enabled us to
explore the actual remains of ancientwrecks. There are still gaps in
ourknowledge, butfar fewer thantherewere fiftyyears ago.
The Ancient Mariners is addressed first and foremost to the gen-
eral reader. Yet, since there is no other book in any language that
covers the field, I have tried to straddle the fence and make it useful
for scholars as well. I have given the sources of all illustrative ma-
terial and citations. Though there are no footnotes, I have included
twoappendicesthatIhopewill tosomeextentreplace them. Oneis a
selected bibliography: the books listednot only supply the source of
most of theinformationin the text, butenable whoever is interested
to pursue any phase in greater detail. The other is an index of
Greek andLatinnautical terms cross-referenced to the text; areader
can, by looking up these words in the large lexicons, find many of
the passages in ancient authors which have supplied significant in-
formation. I hope, too, that the index will prove useful to those
whostill takepleasure inreadingtheliteratureofGreeceorRomein
the original; nautical terms can be a stumbling block to even an
accomplished classicist, for the standard lexicons all too frequently
define theminwaysthatareeithermeaninglesslyvagueordownright
wrong.
Manypeoplehelpedmeinmanywayswith this book; Ihavespace
to acknowledge only my most important debts. A fellowship from
theJohn Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation, by providing a
precious opportunity to travel abroad forover ayear, enabledme to
investigate the sites of scores of ancient Mediterranean harbors, to
search obscure corners of museums and come upon evidence that I
Foreword ix
would otherwise never have known of, and to use the unique facil-
ities of half a dozen European libraries. I took particular pains to
secure apt and clear illustrations; a number of institutions and in-
dividuals were of great assistance and their help is acknowledged at
appropriate points in the listofplates. I mustmention in particular
Mr. ErnestNashoftheFototecaUnione inRome; Iowe muchto his
eager and fruitful cooperation and to the splendid resources of the
archive he heads. A number of the chapters have benefited from the
remarks of my good friends, Professor Saul Weinberg and Professor
Naphtali Lewis. Chapter 13 owes much to the generous cooperation
of Fernand Benoit, Director of the Museum of Archaeology at
Marseilles. But far and away my greatest debt is the one I owe
myfather. Hepasseda careful andcritical eyeover thelanguage and
phrasing of every sentence in the manuscript; as a result, there is
hardly a page in the book that has not profited from his comments
and
suggestions.

Contents
Foreword vii
Down
1 to the Sea in Ships i
2 International Trade Begins 4
3 War on the Sea 37
4 Raiders and Traders 43
5 The Dawn of Maritime Exploration 58
6 Westward Ho! 66
7 The Wooden Walls 89
8 The Merchants of Athens 108
9 Beyond the Pillars of Hercules 128
10 The Age of Titans
141
11 Landlubbers to Sea Lords
157
12 East Meets West
173
13 Sea Digging !89
The
14 Pirates of Cilicia 198
XI
xii Contents
Rome Rules the Waves
15
16 All Routes Lead to Rome M
An End and a
17 Beginning 24O
Table of Dates
Selected Bibliography
Glossary of Greek and Latin Nautical Terms
Index