GALLEY, the ancient and medieval ship of the Mediterranean, propelled primarily by oars. The Venetian galleys were about 160 feet long above, and 130 feet by the keel, 30 feet wide and 20 feet length of stern-post. They were furnished with three masts, and 30 banks of oars, each bank containing two oars, and every oar being managed by six or seven slaves, who were usually chained to it. In the fore part, after the invention of cannon, they had three small batteries of cannon, namely, two 36-pounders, two 24-pounders and two 2-pound ers. They had also three 18-pounders on each quarter, and carried from 1,000 to 1,200 men.
The term galley, as applied to the ships of the ancient Greeks and Romans, refers espe cially to their warships, which were propelled chiefly by oars.
The Greek or Greco-Etruscan vases show many illustrations of biremes, that is, galleys with two banks, or longitudinal rows, of oars. The invention of this form of vessel was a very important advance in naval construction, for it permitted of a large increase in rowing-power, in proportion to the bulk and weight of the vessel. It was the trireme, however, which formed the chief warship of Greece during her prime. It had three banks of oars on each side. The seats for the rowers, which were remov able, were placed between the sides of the vessel and a series of upright and inclined tim bers supporting the main deck. The stem of the vessel was generally curved, and terminated in an ornamental figure-head, and the stern post was also usually curved upward and finished off ornamentally. At the stern there
was an elevated quarter-deck whence the helms man and the trierarch or naval captain gave orders. The latter had full command of the ship; the former acted as navigating officer, having the oarsmen and sailors under his com mand. The trireme had regularly two masts a mainmast with one large sail, and a very small foremast.
• The rowers formed much the largest portion of the crew, while an Attic trireme carried also 10 marines, 17 sailors, a sort of paymaster, two men in charge of the lines of towers, besides two boatswains, one with a flute, to give the time to the rowers. The total crew would thus be about 220. The total length of a trireme was about 120 feet, of which about 100 was devoted to the rowers; the breadth at the water line was some 12 feet; and the draught about 6 feet. A speed of or 9 knots was probably about the highest obtainable.
The Romans did not become important as a maritime nation till the period of their struggle With Carthage. They built large numbers of ships, chiefly of higher rates than the trireme. But the triumph of the bireme vessels, known as Liburnian galleys, at Actium led the way for a reversion to lower-rated ships. Consult Par ker, F. A., 'Fleets of the World: The Galley Period' (New York 1876) ; Chatterton, E. K. 'Sailing Ships and their Story' (London 1900) ; and 'Ships and Ways of Other Days' (Phila delphia 1913) ; Holmes, G. C. V., 'Ancient and Modern Ships' (2 vols., London 1906).