7:00 pm
This illustrated talk will review the development of warships from the early 5th century BC when Greek triremes smashed the Persian navy at Salamis, one of the decisive battles in western history, to the last great battle of the Hellenistic era at Actium in 31 BC when Octavian crushed the fleet of Antony and Cleopatra and ensured his rise to power as the first Roman emperor. We shall especially look at the Athenian triremes, man powered missiles with 180 rowers, and the great battle ships of the Hellenistic world (some of which had 4000 rowers); we shall the evidence, literary, artistic and archaeological, for what these ships looked like and how they worked. The speaker has spent time on the Olympias, a full functional replica of a 5th century BC Athenian trireme, and has worked first hand on evidence for the great warships of Cleopatra's time.
Olympias replica in action
Hector Williams is Professor Emeritus of Greek, Latin and Classical Archaeology at the University of British Columbia; he directs UBC's two archaeological projects in Greece at Mytilene (Lesbos) and Stymphalos (NE Peloponnese). He has served on the board of the Vancouver Maritime Museum for 25 years (three as president) and currently chairs its collections committee. Raised in Churchill, Manitoba, he also works on the history and archaeology of Arctic exploration in Canada's North.
The Battle of Salamis: painting by Wilhelm von Kaulbach
For additional information:
Richard MacMichael
902-424-8897
richard.macmichael@novascotia.ca