158 



NAVY. 



naval warfare. They originated chiefly with the 

 < 'arthaginians, who had inherited all the commercial 

 skill and enterprise of their Phoenician forefathers. 

 No longer contented with the trade of Egypt, Phoe- 

 nicia, the lied sea, Gaul, Spain, and Mauritania, and 

 the narrow limits of the Mediterranean, they stood 

 boldly forth beyond the Pillars, hitherto esteemed 

 the ne vlus ultra of the earth, and carried their com- 

 mercial enterprises to the western coasts of Europe 

 and Africa, and even to the British isles. So extended 

 a commerce, and the spirit of monopoly with which it 

 was carried on, led to the creation of powerful arma- 

 ments ; which were also necessary for the protection 

 of the many colonies which Carthage possessed in 

 Spain, Sicily, and elsewhere. 



The galley was the form of ship used in war by 

 the Carthaginians. Their triremes, as they were 

 called by the Romans, from their having three rows 

 of oars, were usually one hundred feet in length, ten 

 in breadth, and seven in height. This form, long, 

 low, and narrow, though not adapted to encounter a 

 stormy sea, was admirably suited to move rapidly in 

 smooth water ; for, whilst the small breadth opposed 

 little resistance in dividing the water, the extreme 

 length made room for many rowers, and gave great 

 impetus to the attacks of the beak. The bow curved 

 upwards, forming a circular beak, which was faced 

 with iron : or else it receded suddenly, having a single 

 sharp point, like a ploughshare, projecting at the 

 surface of the water, and intended to open the side 

 of an antagonist, and cause her destruction. Fre- 

 quently the beak was formed to represent a lion, 

 tiger, or other ravenous beast calculated to inspire 

 terror. It was always surmounted by the national 

 emblem ; thus an owl stood on the prow of an Athe- 

 nian galley ; a cock on a Phoenician or Carthaginian, 

 and the eagle on a Roman. Here or at the stern 

 were also placed the ensigns and standards, and 

 trumpeters, standing beside them, sounding their 

 shrill blasts to inspire courage at the. moment of 

 onset. From the bow to the stern there extended a 

 flooring or deck, which served as a battle-field for 

 the mailed and heavy armed soldiers who fought. 

 The stern was covered with a circular shed or pavilion, 

 richly carved and decorated with streamers and tro- 

 phies. Under this was placed the tutela, representing 

 some patron deity, to which sacrifices and prayers were 

 offered, and which was held so sacred as to furnish a 

 sanctuary to whoever took refuge there. From this 

 elevated station, too, the commander surveyed the 

 fight and directed the efforts of his followers. There 

 were two distinct classes of officers and men in each 

 galley. The commander of the soldiers was supreme, 

 and under him the pilot, who took his station abaft, 

 at the side of the steersman, directed all necessary 

 evolutions and manoeuvres. The pilot was assisted 

 in the command of the sailors by his mate, and by the 

 agitator or encourager of the rowers, whilst a musi- 

 cian marked the measure of the stroke, and, by the 

 harmony of his voice and instrument, inspirited the 

 rowers when weary with toil. As for the rowers 

 themselves, they were placed below deck on rows of 

 benches, ascending above each other diagonally, the 

 bench of one serving for the footstool of his comrade 

 immediately above and behind him. We read of five 

 benched, eight benched, and even forty benched 

 galleys ; but this cannot possibly mean, as many sup- 

 pose, so many distinct banks of rowers. (See the 

 article Galley, where various theories regarding the 

 constitution of the ancient war-vessels are given.) 

 We have already said that the rowers were distinct 

 from the soldiers, who fought, for rowing was esteem- 

 ed a great drudgery, and was not unfrequently, in 

 ancient as in modern times, the punishment of male- 

 factors, who were chained perpetually to the benches 



on which they rowed. It was, perhaps, from the infn- 

 sion of such unainiable materials, that bailors came 

 to be esteemed infamous and wicked wretches, totally 

 destitute of humanity and religion. Galleys wen; 

 steered with oars run on the quarters, and managed by 

 men standing near the pilots, and ready to obey their 

 orders. Sails were also used to ease the rowers, and 

 attain a greater velocity, when the wind was fair ; 

 both masts and yards were, however, always taken 

 down and stowed out of the way, on the eve of an 

 engagement, and the oars alone used, thus enabling 

 the galley to move and turn without reference to the 

 direction of the wind. These sails were sometimes 

 made of variegated stripes, and we occasionally read 

 of the galley of an emperor or an admiral having sails 

 of purple, embroidered with gold. The body of the 

 vessel was tastefully painted, representing gods, 

 animals, or historic scenes, and sometimes the oar- 

 blades were richly gilded. 



Such were the locomotive means of the galley. I ts 

 means of offence consisted in the various weapons 

 and missiles used on land. Javelins and arrows 

 were discharged in showers from the deck, or from 

 turrets at the bow and stern. As a protection from 

 these, a curtain of hides was used, from behind which 

 the soldiers discharged their missiles in return, or 

 thrust with very long spears, used only at sea. In 

 the centre were engines from which rocks were pro- 

 jected of sufficient size to sink a ship ; and, as the 

 combatants approached, great masses of iron, from 

 their form called dolphins, were let down from the 

 elevation of the mast-head, and sometimes passed 

 through the bottom of an adversary, to his inevitable 

 destruction. Battering rams, which were beams 

 pointed with iron, were also suspended from the 

 mast, and forced with destructive effect against the 

 enemy's side. But the great means of annoyance 

 was the attack of the beak ; and, in order to make 

 it with complete effect, it was very desirable to gain 

 the wind, so as to bear down upon an adversary with 

 the greatest velocity, demolish his oars, open his side, 

 or even overturn and run down the vessel. Earthen 

 pots of live coals and pitch, and of combustibles ready 

 to combine and burst forth in flames, were either ca>t 

 from ship to ship, or so suspended over the beak, 

 that when the shock took place they would fall on 

 the deck of the assailed. It is said of Hannibal, an 

 ancestor of the great Hannibal, that he threw, on one 

 occasion, pots containing live snakes upon the enemy's 

 deck, and, as he had conjectured, filled the crew with 

 horror at so unwonted an attack, and availed himself 

 of their consternation in securing the victory. Fire 

 ships were also used at this early period with destruc- 

 tive effect. The line of battle was usually triangular, 

 the admiral's ship being at the angle in advance, and 

 the line of store-ships forming the base. Before en- 

 gaging, it was usual for the admiral to pass in a small 

 boat throughout his fleet, haranguing his followers, 

 and urging them to do their duty. Thus inspirited, 

 a shout of anticipated triumph would pass from ship 

 to ship ; and when the gilded shield was at length 

 displayed as a signal for battle, the shrill trumpets 

 sent forth their blasts, and the combatants rushed to 

 the encounter, rending the air with shouts and war 

 songs. The battle won, the victors returned to port, 

 towing their prizes, their ships being decorated with 

 fragments of the wrecks, themselves crowned with 

 laurel, and singing paeans to Apollo. The richest 

 of the spoil was reserved as an oblation to the gods 

 and broken, or even entire galleys were p.acea in the 

 precincts of the temples. 



Such was the state of naval warfare until the 

 Romans, incited by their contest with Carthage for 

 the possession of Sicily, first turned their attention to 

 naval affairs. Such was the invincible daring of this 



