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HomeHome / Divide et Impera / Byzantion (Macedonian Wars) / Units / Fire Pot Dieres - Epibatoi
Fire Pot Dieres - Epibatoi Byzantion (Macedonian Wars)Byzantion (Macedonian Wars) Melee Ship

Fire Pot Dieres - Epibatoi

A fire-pot armed bireme, this 30 meter long oared warship (galley) has two decks of oars and jars of flammable pitch suspended over the bow on long poles. These are dropped onto enemy ships and can quickly ignite the decks.

(Greek Marines)

Soldiers trained for perilous service aboard the galleys of the navy, but also as an offensive force on land.

The waterline ram was first mounted on a vessel in around 850BC. Warships and naval tactics were transformed. Ships were no longer platforms for infantry battles on the water; the ship itself became the weapon. Galleys changed as the new reality sank in. Ramming at speed would hole and sink an enemy, therefore slimmer, faster, handier ships were required. More speed on demand obviously required more oars a fast ship with a single row of oars ended up being stupidly, impractically long. The solution, then, was to put in a second set of oars above the first, but slightly offset to allow for rowers' benches. These biremes, a Latin word meaning 'two oars', or dieres, the Greek equivalent, were no longer than previous designs but had twice the number of rowers. They were fast, manoeuvrable, and could carry a fighting contingent. Some nations also gave their bireme crews fire pots; these clay pots filled with oil and pitch were hurled at enemy ships in the entirely reasonable hope of setting them ablaze.

(Epibatoi)
The thureos, a large oval-shaped shield, became common throughout the Hellenistic world from the 3rd century BC. Made from wood covered in hide, it differed from the earlier Greek hoplon in having a central handgrip, which was protected by a vertical spine running the length of the shield. This in turn could be further reinforced by the addition of a wide metal strip that protected the grip and the user’s hand. Inspired by the sub-rectangular and oval shields of the Celts, possibly through contact with the migrating Galatians, its usage seems to have spread through the Illyrian and Thracian tribes before it was adopted by the Greeks. Although large, the thureos was light in comparison to the traditional hoplon, and was adopted by heavily-armoured peltasts. Named after their shields, 'thureophoroi' could fight as common peltasts, skirmishing with javelins, but could also form up with their larger shields and longer spears in a similar fashion to a phalanx. The versatile and useful design of the thureos meant it was used by many armies, including the auxiliaries and cavalry of the later Roman Legions.

Fire Pot Dieres - Epibatoi

Unit Name

Fire Pot Dieres - Epibatoi

Main Unit Key

Gre_Firepot_Bireme

Land Unit Key

Gre_Marines

Naval Unit Key

greek_fire_pot_two

Soldiers

60

Category

Light Ship

Class

Melee Ship

Custom Battle Cost

1062

Recruitment Cost

1062

Upkeep Cost

266

Missile Damage

11

├ Missile Weapon

prec1

├ Projectile

prec1

├ Missile Damage

11

├ Missile Ap Damage

0

└ Base Reload Time

10

Accuracy

5

Range

80

Reload

0

Shots Per Minute

6

Ammunition

4

Ship Health

501

└ Ship

greek_two

Ship Speed

4

Melee Attack

27

Weapon Damage

10

├ Melee Weapon

gsword3

├ Weapon Damage

10

├ Weapon Deadliness

0

├ Armour Piercing

No

├ Bonus vs. Cavalry

0

├ Bonus vs. Elephants

0

└ Bonus vs Infantry

0

Charge Bonus

13

Melee Defence

79

├ Base Defence

21

├ Shield

shield6

└ Shield Defence

58

Armour

12

├ Armour

arm7

├ Armour Defence

12

└ Shield Armour

0

Health

24

├ Man Entity

rome_infantry_very_heavy_slow

├ Man Health

20

└ Bonus Hit Points

4

Base Morale

60

Abilities

Fire Pot Dieres
  • Row Hard 10
    Increases speed for 10 strokes.
    Ship speed
Epibatoi
  • Stamina (poor)
    Governs how fast the unit tires and restores fatigue, and is dependent on type of unit, weight and approach to combat.

Attributes

  • Disciplined
    This unit does not suffer a morale penalty when the general dies. It can also rally after routing more often.
  • Hide (forest)
    This unit can hide in forests until enemy units get too close.

Strengths & Weaknesses

Fire Pot Dieres
  • Very poor hull strength
  • Very light crew
  • Fast speed
  • Very strong initial ramming
  • Good boarding
Epibatoi
  • Good attack
  • Average defence
  • Average damage but low armour penetration
  • Normal morale
Requires Buildings
Fire Pot Dieres - Epibatoi 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
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
Neosoikoi
Neosoikoi
(rom_HELLENIC_port_small_military_4)
Level 3