Editing Trireme (section)

===Propulsion and capabilities===
The ship's primary propulsion came from the 170 oars (''kōpai''), arranged in three rows, with one man per oar. Evidence for this is provided by Thucydides, who records that the [[Ancient Corinth|Corinthian]] oarsmen carried "each his oar, cushion (''hypersion'') and oarloop".<ref>Thucydides, II.93.2</ref> The ship also had two masts, a main (''histos megas'') and a small foremast (''histos akateios''), with square sails, while steering was provided by two steering oars at the stern (one at the port side, one to starboard).

Classical sources indicate that the trireme was capable of sustained speeds of around {{convert|6|knots|km/h mph|lk=in}} at relatively leisurely oaring.<ref>The Age of the Galley, pp. 58–59</ref> There is also a reference by Xenophon of a single day's voyage from [[Byzantium]] to [[Heraclea Pontica]], which translates as an average speed of {{convert|7.37|knots|km/h mph}}.<ref>The Age of the Galley, p. 58</ref> These figures seem to be corroborated by the tests conducted with the reconstructed ''[[Olympias (trireme)|Olympias]]'': a maximum speed of {{convert|8|knots|km/h mph}} and a steady speed of {{convert|4|knots|km/h mph}} could be maintained, with half the crew resting at a time.<ref>Adrian Goldsworthy, ''The Fall of Carthage: The Punic Wars 265–246 BC'', Cassell 2003, p. 98</ref> Given the imperfect nature of the reconstructed ship, as well as the fact that it was manned by totally untrained modern men and women, it is reasonable to suggest that ancient triremes, expertly built and navigated by trained men, would attain higher speeds.

The distance a trireme could cover in a given day depended much on the weather. On a good day, the oarsmen, rowing for 6–8 hours, could propel the ship between {{convert|80-100|km}}. There were rare instances, however, when experienced crews and new ships were able to cover nearly twice that distance (Thucydides mentions a trireme travelling 300 kilometres in one day).<ref>Hanson (2006), p. 261</ref> The commanders of the triremes also had to stay aware of the condition of their men. They had to keep their crews comfortably paced, so as not to exhaust them before battle.