The Role of the Physical Environment in Ancient Greek Seafaring (Mnemosyne, Bibliotheca Classica Batava Supplementum)

In this study of the world of ancient Greek mariners, the relationship between the natural environment and the techniques and technology of seafaring is focused upon. An initial description of the geology, oceanography and meteorology of Greece and the Mediterranean, is followed by discussion of the resulting sailing conditions, such as physical hazards, sea conditions, winds and availability of shelter, and environmental factors in sailing routes, sailing directions, and navigational techniques. Appendices discuss winter and night sailing, ship design, weather prediction, and related areas of socio-maritime life, such as settlement, religion, and warfare. Wide-ranging sources and illustrations are used to demonstrate both how the environment shaped many of the problems and constraints of seafaring, and also that Greek mariners' understanding of the environment was instrumental in their development of a highly successful seafaring tradition. THE ROLE OF THE PHYSICALENVIRONMENT IN ANCIENT GREEK SEAFARING 3 CONTENTS 5 Acknowledgements 9 Introduction 11 The extent of change in the physical environment since antiquity 15 Sources of evidence and information 18 Maps, indices, and transliteration 20 Chapter One. The physical environment of ancient Greek seafaring 23 Introduction 23 The Development of the Greek Coastline 23 The geological formation of the Greek coastline 23 Erosion and the formation of local coastal topographies 27 Headlands and bays 29 Caves and related features 30 Cliffs 31 Natural harbours 33 Offshore rocks and islands 35 Deposition 37 Oceanographic Conditions near the Greek Coasts 40 Wave formation 40 Wave refraction 41 Waves against an indented coastline 43 Waves against cliffs 46 Currents in the Greek seas 47 Currents in the Aegean, Ionian, and Adriatic Seas 48 Currents at headlands 49 Currents through straits 52 Tides 55 Meteorology and the Greek Coastline 56 The annual weather cycle in Greece 56 The Etesians 58 Cyclonic winds: the Bora and the Sirocco 58 Land and sea breezes 61 Valley and mountain winds 63 Canalling and squalls: the effect of barriers on winds 66 Cloud formation, fog, and rainfall 71 Chapter Two. The topography of ancient Greek seafaring 77 Introduction 77 Promontories and Headlands 78 Dangers associated with the topography of headlands 79 Dangers associated with sea conditions around headlands 6 Dangers associated with winds around headlands 86 Malea 91 Straits 95 Problems related to currents in straits 95 Phormia, the land breeze, and the funnelling of winds through straits 100 Themistocles and the sea breeze 107 Difficulties caused by unpredictable winds in straits 110 Rocks and reefs in straits 113 Bays and the Availability of Shelter 115 The importance of natural areas of shelter 115 Natural harbours 118 Shelter behind headlands 120 Shelter in river mouths 124 Shelter behind islands 126 Factors limiting the degree of shelter to the lee of headlands and offshore islands 129 Areas offering particularly effective shelter 134 Shoals and Deposition 141 Harbourless Coasts 147 Chapter Three. Sailing routes and navigation 153 Coastal Seafaring—A Question of Degree 153 Geographical factors affecting coastal sailing 155 Geographical factors affecting open-sea sailing 160 Other factors affecting the question of coastal v. open-sea sailing 162 Deciding between the coastal and the open-sea route 166 Finding the most economical route: coastal routes 169 Finding the most economical route: open-sea routes 172 Characteristics of Sailing Directions and Routes 183 Headlands and islands as turning points 187 Headlands, islands, and other topographical features as milestones 190 Coastal Navigation 195 Headlands, islands, and other topographical features as coastal landmarks 195 Artificial and incidental coastal landmarks 203 Coastal landmarks and inshore navigation 211 Navigation out of Sight of the Coast 216 Navigation of coastal waters in fog or at night 216 Beacons 220 Navigation on the open seas 225 Conclusions 239 The Role of the Physical Environment in Ancient Greek Seafaring 239 The maritime functions of specific features of coastal topography 239 General meteorological and oceanographic considerations 243 The living environment 246 The Physical Environment and Human Technology 247 Interrelationships 247 Knowledge of the local environment 254 Appendix One. Sailing seasons, winter sailing, and night sailing 265 The sailing season 265 Winter sailing 268 Night sailing 271 Appendix Two. The seaworthiness of Greek ships, in the context of the Mediterranean environment 276 The Mediterranean as a seafaring environment 276 Ancient Greek attitudes towards seafaring 280 The seaworthiness of ancient Greek ships 281 Oared warships 286 Merchant ships 289 Conclusions 291 Appendix Three. Weather prediction 294 Weather prediction and the physical environment 295 Weather prediction and the physical environment 302 Other animals in weather prediction 303 Weather prediction during the winter-summer and summer-winter transitions 304 The role of migratory birds in predicting seasonal transitions 306 The end of summer and the autumn migration of cranes 308 The end of winter, swallows' spring migration, and the 'bird winds' 312 Plants as signals of changing seasons 318 Appendix Four. Terrestrial and 'socio-maritime' functions of features of coastal topography 320 Coastal settlements and natural indentations 320 Religious associations of headlands, islands, and straits 320 The military and naval significance of headlands, offshore islands, and straits 324 The role of headlands in fishing 326 The role of headlands and offshore islands in colonisation 327 Illustrations (1-37) 329 Maps 331 Sources 343 Bibliography 387 Geographical Indices 397 Index Locorum 408