Inventions & Discoveries · Weapons and war

Trireme

c. 700 BCE · 8th century BCE · Also known as trieres

The trireme was an ancient Mediterranean galley driven by three banks of oars with one man to each oar, first referred to at the end of the 8th century BCE; scholars are divided on whether it came from Greece or Phoenicia. Fast and agile, with a crew of about 200 including 170 rowers, it was the dominant warship of the Mediterranean from the 7th to the 4th centuries BCE. Triremes played a vital role in the Persian Wars, and a fleet of over 200 was the foundation of Athenian power.

Trireme
Image: Da jackson · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons

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First known
late 8th century BCE
Where
Greece or Phoenicia

NoteWhether it came from Greece (Corinth, by Thucydides) or Phoenicia (Sidon) is disputed; triremes are first definitely recorded in battle about 525 BCE.

Built onSail6th millennium BCE

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Mentioned in 2 profiles

MiletusMilitaryAthensMilitary

See also

Cite this entry
APA
The Epoch Institute. (2026). Trireme. In The Epoch Institute Encyclopedia. https://the-epoch-institute.org/encyclopedia/trireme
MLA
“Trireme.” The Epoch Institute Encyclopedia, The Epoch Institute, 2026, https://the-epoch-institute.org/encyclopedia/trireme. Accessed .
Chicago
The Epoch Institute. “Trireme.” The Epoch Institute Encyclopedia. 2026. https://the-epoch-institute.org/encyclopedia/trireme.
Harvard
The Epoch Institute (2026) ‘Trireme’, The Epoch Institute Encyclopedia. Available at: https://the-epoch-institute.org/encyclopedia/trireme (Accessed: ).

Last reviewed October 2026Random entry ↻