THUCYDIDES 1 85 



and rivalry with each other ; while the soldiers 

 on board exerted themselves, when vessel came in 

 collision with vessel, that the operations on deck 

 might not fall short of the skill shown by others. 

 Indeed everyone, whatever the duty assigned him, 

 made every effort that he might himself in each 

 case appear the best man. And as a great number 

 of ships were engaged in a small compass (for 

 indeed they were the largest fighting fleets in the 

 narrowest space that had ever been known, since 

 both of them together fell little short of two 

 hundred), the attacks made with the beaks were 

 few, as there was no means of backing water, 

 or cutting through the enemy's line ; but chance 

 collisions were more frequent, just as one ship 

 might happen to run into anotlier, either in flying 

 from or attacking a second. So long as a vessel was 

 coming up to the charge, those on her decks plied 

 their javelins, arrows, and stones in abundance 

 against her ; but when they came to close quarters, 

 the heavy armed marines, fighting hand to hand, 

 endeavoured to board each others' ships. In 

 many cases, too, it happened, through want of 

 room, that on one side they were charging an 

 enemy, and on the other were being charged them- 

 selves, and that two ships, and sometimes even 

 more, were by compulsion entangled round one. 

 And thus the masters had to guard against some, 

 and to concert measures against others— not one 



