II 



THE HIGHWAY OF THE WATERS 



THERE is no doubt that the use of sails for 

 propelling boats is as old as civilization it- 

 self. We know that the Egyptians used 

 sails at least 4,cxx5 years before the Christian era. They 

 did not depend entirely upon the sails, however, but 

 used oars in combination with them. Steering was 

 done with single or double oars lashed to the stem and 

 controlled by ropes or levers. This method of steering 

 remained in use until late in the Middle Ages, the in 

 vention of the rudder being one of the few nautical in- 

 ventions made during the centuries immediately fol- 

 lowing that unproductive period of history known as 

 the Dark Age. 



Following the Egyptians, the Phoenicians were the 

 greatest maritime nation of ancient times, but unfor- 

 tunately they have left no very satisfactory and authen- 

 tic records describing their boats. In all probability, 

 however, their ships were galleys having one or two 

 banks of oars, fitted with sails similar to those of the 

 Egyptians. 



If our knowledge of Phoenician boats is meager, our 

 knowledge of Greek boats, particularly the fighting 

 craft, is correspondingly full. From the nature of its 

 geographical location Greece was necessarily a marl- 



[56] 



