Payton Gore
Honors English II
Mr. Cottrell
1 November 2012
Ancient Roman Ships
In the Ancient World, ships were important to the many of the civilizations. Rome’s ships can be linked to the great economy and to the conquering of many other countries. Ships brought some advantages, disadvantages, and a productive Navy. Ancient Roman ships have the same uses and meanings like all other ships of different eras.
In Ancient Rome they used their ships to gain many advantages. They used them in transporting goods such as grains, wines, and olive oils. Using ships meant that they good ship things in bulk, which in turn meant they would get more money at once (Grant, p. 357). The use of warships helped them dominate on land and sea. They kept pirates and enemies from hurdling stones from ships to the land. Roman ships had many more advantages that helped them gain money and power throughout Ancient Roman times (Woods).
Roman ships, like all other ships had some disadvantages. One disadvantage was that they were not used for the most part all year. They were used form late spring to early. This was because they landmarks they use for navigating were hard to make out due to the weather, and on top of not being able to see they landmarks the days were also shorter so nightfall fell quicker. The wind speed and power had a huge effect on sailing because the best direction for it to come from was from behind or the side, because the sail was set at a 90 degree angle. If the wind came from another direction it took great effort to turn the sails around so that they could keep going (Grant, pp. 357-359).
The Ancient Roman have not always had a Navy. It was not created until 311 B.C., it was formed to protect a new colony that roman had conquered. The Roman Navy consisted of anywhere from 190 to 205 men aboard. Most of the men were rowers and the rest were Marines and sailors; they were usually the main men who would fight. Sometimes if needed some of the rowers would…