Alexandria's founded by Alexander

Alexandria's founded by Alexander the Great (by year BC): 334 Alexandria in Troia (Turkey) - 333 Alexandria at Issus/Alexandrette (Iskenderun, Turkey) - 332 Alexandria of Caria/by the Latmos (Alinda, Turkey) - 331 Alexandria Mygdoniae - 331 Alexandria (Egypt) - 330 Alexandria Ariana (Herat, Afghanistan) - 330 Alexandria of the Prophthasia/in Dragiana/Phrada (Farah, Afghanistan) - 330 Alexandria in Arachosia (Kandahar, Afghanistan) - 330 Alexandria in the Caucasus (Begram, Afghanistan) - 329 Alexandria of the Paropanisades (Ghazni, Afghanistan) - 329 Alexandria Eschate or Ultima (Khodjend, Tajikistan) - 329 Alexandria on the Oxus (Termez, Afghanistan) - 328 Alexandria in Margiana (Merv, Turkmenistan) - 326 Alexandria Nicaea (on the Hydaspes, India) - 326 Alexandria Bucephala (on the Hydaspes, India) - 325 Alexandria Sogdia - 325 Alexandria Oreitide - 325 Alexandria in Opiene / Alexandria on the Indus (confluence of Indus & Acesines, India) - 325 Alexandria Rambacia (Bela, Pakistan) - 325 Alexandria Xylinepolis (Patala, India) - 325 Alexandria in Carminia (Gulashkird, Iran) - 324 Alexandria-on-the-Tigris/Antiochia-in-Susiana/Charax (Spasinou Charax on the Tigris, Iraq) - ?Alexandria of Carmahle? (Kahnu)

Wednesday, September 30, 2020

Boarding a cruise ship in antiquity

Archimedes and his “Eureka” are common knowledge, but few people know that he designed an enormous cruise ship, the Syracusia.

It happened during the reign of King Hieron II of Syracuse, who in 240 BC ordered Archias of Corinth to execute the plans. The design was a very ambitious one, and we may wonder how on earth anyone in antiquity could possibly build the biggest and largest vessel ever. Money clearly was not an issue for it seems that even the best was good enough! What’s more surprising is that the project was completed in one year-time by 300 craftsmen.

Athenaeus gives us a very detailed description of the Syracusia and its cargo. She could carry 1940 passengers, soldiers, and crew, and boasted plush stables for twenty horses, each with its own stall. Next was a storage room for the horses’ fodder and the quarters reserved for the riders and their slaves.

Figures from antiquity are not always reliable, but it is generally accepted that the Syracusia had a length of 110 meters, which is more than twice the largest merchant ship in those days.

Wood from the Etna was implemented, and the doors were made of cypress and citrus wood. Hemp had been imported from Iberia to make the cables, whereas pitch and more hemp came from the Rhone Valley. As soon as one deck of the ship was completed, it was covered with slabs of lead. 

The upper deck was supported by three-meter-high Atlantes or Telamones, replacing regular columns (see: The Valley of Temples at Akragas). The very top of the ship was a promenade reserved for the guests who could wander through gardens filled with different species of trees and flowers. These were watered through well-hidden lead pipes. Individual sections of this deck were made more comfortable with shaded roofs or tents covered with branches of ivy and vine. The layout inevitably led the guests to the Temple of Aphrodite paved with agate. It was furnished with statues, and its walls were covered with frescoes. The entire ship was further adorned with statues and vases, painted walls, and fancy earthenware. Ivory and precious marble were lavishly used.


The second deck served as lodging for the passengers and counted 142 cabins all paved with mosaics. Together, these individual pavements told the whole story of the Iliad. The guests could enjoy the comforts of a bathroom and a gymnasium, relax in a common dining room or withdraw in the serene setting of the library and drawing room. The entertainment of the passengers was guaranteed!  

An onboard kitchen was a must, and Athenaeus confirmed that there were ovens and mills. Freshwater was stored near the head of the ship in a cistern that could hold as much as 78,000 liters. This water tank was caulked with pitch and covered with tarpaulins. Another cistern contained seawater to store the cook’s fish supply. This one, in turn, was coated with lead. Nothing is said about the service on board, the people responsible for the maintenance and the cleaning.

The Syracusia also had its own army on board,  which, according to the sources, varied between 200 and 400 men. They were housed on a special deck in front of the ship where a giant catapult was mounted. This machine could shoot a stone weighing ninety kilograms to a distance of 200 meters. Eight towers, each manned with two archers and four men in full armor further assured the defense of this unique vessel against any possible attack. The ship was additionally equipped with four wooden defense towers. The crew to steer this oversized ship probably was handpicked. It is said there were twenty banks of rowers. The entire ship was protected by a surrounding palisade making enemy boarding impossible. 

All the components of the Syracusia were beyond normal proportions as Archimedes clearly thought out of the box! Besides, this is one example where his famous screw was successfully implemented to pump out the bilge water.

The number of provisions on board was equally huge. Athenaeus once again provides the facts and figures: 90,000 bushels of grain, 10,000 amphorae of Sicilian salt fish (is this the famous garum?), some 500-600 tons of wool (for what purpose?), and 20,000 talents were spent on “other cargo”. All these goods were stored in the lowest deck.

To ensure safe anchoring, the Syracusia counted eight iron anchors. Unfortunately, these were used only once because that huge ship made only one single trip across the Mediterranean to Alexandria in Egypt. It is important to realize that only a few ports were large enough to receive this size of vessel. As far as I know, besides Syracuse, only Rhodes, Pergamon, and probably Portus/Rome offered the necessary space and maneuverability for the Syracusia

In the end, all King Hieron could do, it seems, was to present the Syracusia as a gift to Ptolemy III Euergetes. It was eventually renamed Alexandreia. Otherwise, nobody knows what happened to this proud colossal ship afterward.

[The picture of the mosaic representing the Death of Archimedes is from NYU Mathematics]

4 comments:

  1. This story of a ship too big for any port was debunking.
    Syrakosia could dock to Alexandria and to Rodi,and in several others great ports.
    Anyhow could stay offshore and use some shuttles for link with minor ports.
    The thuth is that Syrakosia was a technology demonstrator and a mobile fair of Sicilian products,above all for the Ptolemaic market.
    At the end the gift of this ship loaded with grain to Egypt on occasion of a famine was a demonstration of the grandeur of Siracusan kingdoom,and a publicity move.
    The King Hieron was what can be defined a technocrat and a businessman.
    He was not a tyrant because assembly and bouleterion were kept,so in some way and some anachronism we can call him a constitutional King.
    For sure if he had built Syrakosia,the all thing was a good deal for him and Siracuse

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  2. Hi Carmelo, I couldn’t help thinking of your love for King Hieron while writing about the Syracusia. Your comment does not come as a surprise, thank you.
    To set the record straight, however, I did not state that the ship was too big for any port. I said “for any port in Sicily”, meaning she had to sail away to a destination other than your beloved island. But, you are right, the casual reader may not pick up the fact that I’m talking about Sicily only. I’ll consider rephrasing that part. There were indeed several harbors that were large enough, although not a great number. Rhodos for one, and I believe Pergamon also had larger facilities.
    As to the PR move of Hieron (90,000 bushels of grain is quite a lot!), he definitely made a statement which the world will remember for ever!

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  3. Hi Argyraspid,well admit that as Sicilian i admire very much Hieron.
    But about he are many interesting studies and of course questions (for exemple where was his palace in Ortigia,where was his mausoleum,and many others query). Moreover are fascinating aspects of his long reign.
    One is the official art of Hieronian Syracuse,that was one of the first deliberated neo-classicism in history of west: the resumption of the ancient Greek-Sicilian architecture (doric order,use of telamons,corinthian capital with archaic kymation).
    Fascinating age the Hieronian age.

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    Replies
    1. Yes, Carmelo, I do understand your fascination and admiration for Hieron. He deserves to make headlines in our history books.
      Further to your previous comment, I adapted my paragraph about the harbors that could have welcomed the Syracusia.
      Thank you for your interest.

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