Note 15: — III.—DRAMA. (Table-Case K and Glass Shade above.)

As early as the eighth century before Christ the Greeks possessed powerful war-vessels propelled by numerous oarsmen. These appear on vases of that date, as for example on a large bowl of Boeotian fabric (described below in connection with chariots, p. 169), which shows such a ship with its double line of rowers and a man at the stern managing the big steering-oars. The crew of this vessel seems to have numbered some forty men.15 A more finished representation of early Greek ships is seen on a cup (No. 70) of the end of the sixth century B.C. (figs. 23, 24), where the contrasted builds of the war galley and the merchantman are clearly indicated. The war galley has two rows of eleven and twelve oars respectively. The merchantman has no rowers, but is entirely dependent on its sail. It has a high-built hull, suited for holding cargo. In each we see the steersman at the stern with his two steering-oars. Beside him is the ladder for embarking and disembarking. A terracotta model ship from Cyprus (No. 71; fig. 25) of about this period shows the socket for the mast and the high poop for the steersman, with the remains of an iron oar. This vessel is doubtless intended for a merchantman. The numerous small terracotta boats (No. 72) found with this merchant vessel at Amathus give a good idea of the fishing boats of the time (Case 94; see frontispiece). These boats are also interesting as reminding us of the legend that Kinyras, king of Cyprus, promised Menelaos to send fifty ships to help the Greeks against Troy. He sent but one, carrying forty-nine others of terracotta, manned by terracotta figures. After the taking of Troy, Agamemnon is said to have made it his first business to punish Kinyras for his trickery. It would seem that the story must have been based on knowledge of the fact that terracotta boats were a product of Amathus. It is hard to suppose that it is merely a coincidence. The small model war-galley (No. 73) from Corinth, containing warriors armed with circular shields, is interesting from the place of its discovery, for Corinth was traditionally an early shipbuilding centre, and triremes are said to have been first built at that city.16