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HomeHome / Divide et Impera / Rhodos / Units / Trieres - Rhodioi Sphendonetai
Trieres - Rhodioi Sphendonetai RhodosRhodos Melee Ship

Trieres - Rhodioi Sphendonetai

A trireme is a 37 meter long oared warship (galley) with three decks of oars, developed from the bireme in the 5th century BCE. Popular with Carthaginian, Greek and Roman navies, this is the main warship of the classical age.

(Rhodian Slingers)

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

Of all the warships found in the ancient world, it is the trireme, or trieres, that remains the most famous and recognisable. Nearly all Hollywood 'sword and sandal' movies will include a trireme somewhere. The vessel was entirely designed for war. Its name came from the three rows of oars carried on each side, stacked above each other in staggered columns to give the rowers some room to work. The top row of oars pivoted on a rowlock, or oarlock, mounted on an outrigger projecting from the hull. This allowed the top oars to pitch down at a sharper angle to reach the sea without getting tangled in the lower ones. The trireme was a greyhound of a ship, capable of high-speed dashes with a well-trained crew and, contrary to popular belief, not all rowers were slaves. Aboard Greek vessels they were citizens, and were given respect, not the lash. They were also largely fair-weather ships, and unsuited to rough seas such as the Atlantic; the lowest level of oars were, at most, less than half a metre above the waterline. That, however, did not stop the trireme being a superb weapon against other ships: a high-speed ramming attack could rip a hole in the side of almost any target. The type was also large enough to be used in other ways, which lead to it carrying archers and assorted light artillery pieces.

(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.

Trieres - Rhodioi Sphendonetai

Unit Name

Trieres - Rhodioi Sphendonetai

Main Unit Key

Gre_Missile_Trireme_Rhodes

Land Unit Key

Gre_Marine_Rhodes

Naval Unit Key

greek_three

Soldiers

80

Category

Medium Ship

Class

Melee Ship

Custom Battle Cost

1062

Recruitment Cost

1062

Upkeep Cost

266

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

693

└ Ship

greek_three

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

Trieres
  • 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

Trieres
  • Poor hull strength
  • Light crew
  • Fast speed
  • Weak ramming
  • Poor boarding
  • Average 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
Trieres - Rhodioi Sphendonetai Lv. 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_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_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_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
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
Docks
Docks
(rom_HELLENIC_port_minor_small_military_3)
Level 2
Docks
Docks
(rom_HELLENIC_port_small_military_3)
Level 2
Neosoikoi
Neosoikoi
(rom_HELLENIC_port_small_military_4)
Level 3
Faction Availability
Grand Campaign
Macedonian Wars