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HomeHome / Divide et Impera / Rodos (Macedonian Wars) / Units / Raiding Hemiolia - Rhodioi Sphendonetai
Raiding Hemiolia - Rhodioi Sphendonetai Rodos (Macedonian Wars)Rodos (Macedonian Wars) Missile Ship

Raiding Hemiolia - Rhodioi Sphendonetai

A hemiolia is a light and fast raiding ship developed in the 4th century BCE, favoured by pirates but also used by navies as a light patrol ship. It has one and a half rows of oars, making it faster and more powerful than earlier uniremes.

(Rhodian Slingers)

Few can match the deadly accuracy of the men of Rhodes.

The 'one-and-a-half' or 'hemiolia' was a light galley which was much favoured by pirates in the ancient world. It developed from the bireme, a ship that had two full decks of oars along its entire length. The hemiola reduced the number of oars on the upper level, leaving roughly half the number of oars and rowers in the midship section. The smaller number of rowers had little effect on overall speed because the laden weight of the vessel also dropped. Because it used both oars and sails, and the crew could rapidly change propulsion method, it was an ideal vessel for chasing down fat, wealthy merchant ships. Boarding attacks were mounted from hemiolas; ramming was not a useful tactic as loot ended up with the fish rather than enriching the pirates! The speed and handiness of hemiolas made them useful as scouts, supply boats and vessels used to pick off damaged enemies at the edge of battles.

(Rhodioi Sphendonetai)
Slingers were common in ancient armies. Slings are ancient weapons, dating back to Palaeolithic times. In comparison to bows, they were easy to make and had a greater effective range. Constructed from braided flax, hemp or rushes, a sling has a cradle where the shot is placed. One end has a finger-loop, while the other has a knot or strip giving a firm handhold. The slinger puts his middle finger through the loop and holds the knotted end with his thumb and forefinger. After whirling the shot in the sling it is released with a flick of the wrist. Quick to fire and reload, the sling was widely hated by those on the receiving end. Shot varied from stones collected in rivers to shaped lumps of clay and lead; lead shot could fly over 400 metres. Such missiles were sometimes inscribed with comments such as “Catch!” or “Take that!” Shot was difficult to see in flight, and although it lacked the penetrating power of an arrow it could easily break bone or stave-in armour at short ranges. Famously, the Roman Consul Paullus was killed by a slinger early in the disastrous Battle of Cannae.

Raiding Hemiolia - Rhodioi Sphendonetai

Unit Name

Raiding Hemiolia - Rhodioi Sphendonetai

Main Unit Key

Gre_Raiding_Hemolia_Rhodes

Land Unit Key

Gre_Marine_Rhodes

Naval Unit Key

greek_one_halfer

Soldiers

80

Category

Light Ship

Class

Missile Ship

Custom Battle Cost

688

Recruitment Cost

688

Upkeep Cost

172

Missile Damage

8

├ Missile Weapon

sling3

├ Projectile

sling3

├ Missile Damage

6

├ Missile Ap Damage

2

└ Base Reload Time

11

Accuracy

15

Range

215

Reload

28

Shots Per Minute

8

Ammunition

40

Ship Health

402

└ Ship

greek_one_halfer

Ship Speed

4

Melee Attack

17

Weapon Damage

7

├ Melee Weapon

dagger2

├ Weapon Damage

7

├ Weapon Deadliness

0

├ Armour Piercing

No

├ Bonus vs. Cavalry

0

├ Bonus vs. Elephants

0

└ Bonus vs Infantry

0

Charge Bonus

8

Melee Defence

39

├ Base Defence

13

├ Shield

shield1

└ Shield Defence

26

Armour

1

├ Armour

arm0

├ Armour Defence

1

└ Shield Armour

0

Health

20

├ Man Entity

light_light

├ Man Health

20

└ Bonus Hit Points

0

Base Morale

40

Abilities

Raiding Hemiolia
  • Row Hard 10
    Increases speed for 10 strokes.
    Ship speed
Rhodioi Sphendonetai
  • Stamina (excellent)
    Governs how fast the unit tires and restores fatigue, and is dependent on type of unit, weight and approach to combat.

Attributes

  • Improved Stamina
    This unit type has an improvement on the base stamina stat.
  • Hide (scrub & forest)
    This unit can hide in scrub and forest until enemy units get too close.
  • Hide (scrub & forest)
    This unit can hide in scrub and forest until enemy units get too close.

Strengths & Weaknesses

Raiding Hemiolia
  • Very poor hull strength
  • Light crew
  • Very fast speed
  • Weak ramming
  • Very poor boarding
  • Poor missile combat
Rhodioi Sphendonetai
  • Very long range
  • Average rate of fire
  • Low damage but average armour penetration
  • Very weak in melee
  • Very poor morale
Requires Buildings
Raiding Hemiolia - Rhodioi Sphendonetai Lv. 0 Port of Alexandria
Port of Alexandria
(dei_port_ALEXANDRIA_1)
Level 0
Port of Alexandria
Port of Alexandria
(dei_port_ALEXANDRIA_2)
Level 1
Port of Alexandria
Port of Alexandria
(dei_port_ALEXANDRIA_3)
Level 2
Port of Alexandria
Port of Alexandria
(dei_port_ALEXANDRIA_4)
Level 3
Cothon
Cothon
(dei_port_CARTHAGE_1)
Level 0
Cothon
Cothon
(dei_port_CARTHAGE_2)
Level 1
Cothon
Cothon
(dei_port_CARTHAGE_3)
Level 2
Cothon
Cothon
(dei_port_CARTHAGE_4)
Level 3
Port of Massalia
Port of Massalia
(dei_port_MASSILIA_1)
Level 0
Port of Massalia
Port of Massalia
(dei_port_MASSILIA_2)
Level 1
Port of Massalia
Port of Massalia
(dei_port_MASSILIA_3)
Level 2
Port of Massalia
Port of Massalia
(dei_port_MASSILIA_4)
Level 3
Port of Rhodos
Port of Rhodos
(dei_port_RHODES_1)
Level 0
Port of Rhodos
Port of Rhodos
(dei_port_RHODES_2)
Level 1
Port of Rhodos
Port of Rhodos
(dei_port_RHODES_3)
Level 2
Port of Rhodos
Port of Rhodos
(dei_port_RHODES_4)
Level 3
Port
Port
(rom_HELLENIC_port_1)
Level 0
Fishing Port
Fishing Port
(rom_HELLENIC_port_food_2)
Level 1
Fishmonger
Fishmonger
(rom_HELLENIC_port_food_3)
Level 2
Fish Market
Fish Market
(rom_HELLENIC_port_food_4)
Level 3
Military Wharf
Military Wharf
(rom_HELLENIC_port_large_military_2)
Level 1
Drydock
Drydock
(rom_HELLENIC_port_large_military_3)
Level 2
Military Port
Military Port
(rom_HELLENIC_port_large_military_4)
Level 3
Port
Port
(rom_HELLENIC_port_minor_1)
Level 0
Fishing Port
Fishing Port
(rom_HELLENIC_port_minor_food_2)
Level 1
Fishmonger
Fishmonger
(rom_HELLENIC_port_minor_food_3)
Level 2
Shipwright
Shipwright
(rom_HELLENIC_port_minor_small_military_2)
Level 1
Docks
Docks
(rom_HELLENIC_port_minor_small_military_3)
Level 2
Harbour
Harbour
(rom_HELLENIC_port_minor_trade_2)
Level 1
Trading Port
Trading Port
(rom_HELLENIC_port_minor_trade_3)
Level 2
Shipwright
Shipwright
(rom_HELLENIC_port_small_military_2)
Level 1
Docks
Docks
(rom_HELLENIC_port_small_military_3)
Level 2
Neosoikoi
Neosoikoi
(rom_HELLENIC_port_small_military_4)
Level 3
Harbour
Harbour
(rom_HELLENIC_port_trade_2)
Level 1
Trading Port
Trading Port
(rom_HELLENIC_port_trade_3)
Level 2
Emporion
Emporion
(rom_HELLENIC_port_trade_4)
Level 3
Garrison Buildings
Raiding Hemiolia - Rhodioi Sphendonetai x 2 Port of Alexandria
Port of Alexandria
(dei_port_ALEXANDRIA_1)
Level 0
Port of Alexandria
Port of Alexandria
(dei_port_ALEXANDRIA_2)
Level 1
Cothon
Cothon
(dei_port_CARTHAGE_1)
Level 0
Cothon
Cothon
(dei_port_CARTHAGE_2)
Level 1
Port of Massalia
Port of Massalia
(dei_port_MASSILIA_1)
Level 0
Port of Massalia
Port of Massalia
(dei_port_MASSILIA_2)
Level 1
Port of Rhodos
Port of Rhodos
(dei_port_RHODES_1)
Level 0
Port of Rhodos
Port of Rhodos
(dei_port_RHODES_2)
Level 1
Port
Port
(rom_HELLENIC_port_1)
Level 0
Fishing Port
Fishing Port
(rom_HELLENIC_port_food_2)
Level 1
Fishmonger
Fishmonger
(rom_HELLENIC_port_food_3)
Level 2
Military Wharf
Military Wharf
(rom_HELLENIC_port_large_military_2)
Level 1
Port
Port
(rom_HELLENIC_port_minor_1)
Level 0
Fishing Port
Fishing Port
(rom_HELLENIC_port_minor_food_2)
Level 1
Fishmonger
Fishmonger
(rom_HELLENIC_port_minor_food_3)
Level 2
Harbour
Harbour
(rom_HELLENIC_port_minor_trade_2)
Level 1
Harbour
Harbour
(rom_HELLENIC_port_trade_2)
Level 1
Raiding Hemiolia - Rhodioi Sphendonetai x 1 Port of Alexandria
Port of Alexandria
(dei_port_ALEXANDRIA_3)
Level 2
Cothon
Cothon
(dei_port_CARTHAGE_3)
Level 2
Port of Massalia
Port of Massalia
(dei_port_MASSILIA_3)
Level 2
Port of Rhodos
Port of Rhodos
(dei_port_RHODES_3)
Level 2
Drydock
Drydock
(rom_HELLENIC_port_large_military_3)
Level 2
Shipwright
Shipwright
(rom_HELLENIC_port_minor_small_military_2)
Level 1
Docks
Docks
(rom_HELLENIC_port_minor_small_military_3)
Level 2
Shipwright
Shipwright
(rom_HELLENIC_port_small_military_2)
Level 1
Docks
Docks
(rom_HELLENIC_port_small_military_3)
Level 2
Raiding Hemiolia - Rhodioi Sphendonetai x 3 Fish Market
Fish Market
(rom_HELLENIC_port_food_4)
Level 3
Trading Port
Trading Port
(rom_HELLENIC_port_minor_trade_3)
Level 2
Trading Port
Trading Port
(rom_HELLENIC_port_trade_3)
Level 2
Emporion
Emporion
(rom_HELLENIC_port_trade_4)
Level 3
Faction Availability
Grand Campaign
Macedonian Wars