The Romans had seldom any vessels with
more than five banks of oars. Such vessels as were intended for lightness,
had only one bank of oars; this was particularly the case with the vessels
of the Liburnians, a piratical tribe on the Adriatic.
The sails, in very ancient times, were made of leather; afterwards of
rushes. In the days of Agricola, the Roman sails were made of flax: towards
the end of the first century, hemp was in common use among them for sails,
ropes, and new for hunting. At first there was only one sail in a ship, but
afterwards there appear to have been several: they were usually white, as
this colour was deemed fortunate; sometimes, however, they were coloured.
At the time of the Trojan war, the Greek ships had only one mast, which was
lowered upon the deck when the ship was in harbour: near the top of the
mast a ribband was fastened to point out the direction of the wind. In
later times there seem to have been several masts, though this is denied by
some authors.
It remains now to speak of the materials of which the ships were built,
their size, and their crews.
The species of wood principally employed in the construction of the Grecian
ships were alder, poplar, and fir: cedar, pine, and cypress, were also
used.
