As well as the rowing men, there were 30 others on a trireme. Some of these were sailors who worked the sail, others were soldiers who shot arrows and tried to get onto enemy ships, to attack their crews with swords and spears. The man who steered the trireme was called a kubernete by the Greeks.

What did triremes look like?

A Trireme is an ancient oar-driven warship powered by about 170 oars men. It was long and slender, had three tiers of oars and one sail. On the bow was a battering ram that was used to destroy enemy ships. The tip of the ram was made of bronze and could easily slice through the side of a wooden ship.

Why were the triremes were effective warships?

The word 'trireme' was derived from the Latin word triremis, which meant 'three-oarer. ' These ships were about 120 feet long and required 170 men to operate the oars. Built for speed, the trireme's low weight made it unreliable in rough seas and was most effective in battles close to shore.