Persian Assault Teteres, Spear Brothers

Description

There is a good deal of debate as to how large ancient warships worked; the principles are understood, but the details are not always so clear. A Roman 'quadreme' or Greek 'tetreres' would seem to have four rows of oars if the name is translated literally. However, it is unclear how four sets of oars each with one rower apiece could be used without them getting in a terrible tangle even with a magnificently trained crew, or how the top set of rowers would be able to handle the extremely long oars pitched at a steep angle and still produce any power. The chances are that the term 'oar' had become synonymous with 'rower' and that the lowest bank had more than one man per oar. The other option was to go back to a double row of oars, with two men apiece. Two banks of oars would also have made for a cheaper construction task for each ship. Either way, the result was a ship that could rival the lighter trireme in speed, yet had more deck space for a large fighting contingent or artillery pieces.

Hardened by years of both inter-tribal combat and contact with enemies further afield, the most talented German warriors thus earned high status within their tribes. Whilst iron supplies were scarce, these men were privileged enough to equip themselves with lengthy spears, or 'framea', tipped with narrow, sharp points of iron. Whereas the framea was used for fighting at close quarters, lighter javelins were also carried to be hurled from a distance prior to melee. The taller and stronger the man, the bigger the spear he could carry; this established status, not only within the tribe, but also when facing the enemy.